Week 14: Playoffs?!? - 8 comments

If you’re still emotionally invested in our Start/Sit article, it likely means you’ve made the playoffs in your league. Well done. No matter how many sites you read religiously, how many sets of rankings you follow or how many people you ask for advice on a weekly basis, you deserve all the credit. So take a moment to revel in your accomplishment. Done? OK, let’s get busy.

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	vs. OAK	100
2	Drew Brees	NO	at TEN	95
3	Cam Newton	CAR	vs. ATL	90
4	Matthew Stafford	DET	vs. MIN	89
5	Tom Brady	NE	at WAS	86
6	Tony Romo	DAL	vs. NYG	82
7	Philip Rivers	SD	vs. BUF	77
8	Eli Manning	NYG	at DAL	75
9	Michael Vick	PHI	at MIA	74
10	Matt Ryan	ATL	at CAR	73
11	Tim Tebow	DEN	vs. CHI	71
12	Rex Grossman	WAS	vs. NE	66
13	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	vs. CLE	65
14	Carson Palmer	OAK	at GB	61
15	Joe Flacco	BAL	vs. IND	58
16	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	vs. NO	56
17	Matt Moore	MIA	vs. PHI	54
18	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	at SD	52
19	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	vs. KC	50
20	Alex Smith	SF	at ARI	50
21	Andy Dalton	CIN	vs. HOU	46
22	Christian Ponder	MIN	at DET	40
23	Tarvaris Jackson	SEA	vs. STL	38
24	Blaine Gabbert	JAC	vs. TB	37
25	Caleb Hanie	CHI	at DEN	35
26	Colt McCoy	CLE	at PIT	34
27	Kevin Kolb	ARI	vs. SF	29
28	Dan Orlovsky	IND	at BAL	25
29	T.J. Yates	HOU	at CIN	24
30	Josh Johnson	TB	at JAC	24
31	Tyler Palko	KC	at NYJ	23
32	Tom Brandstater	STL	at SEA	15

Start: Rex Grossman. He’s had weeks of fantasy relevance this year, and even without Fred Davis, he should be in line for a big effort against the turnstile defense of the New England secondary.

Sit: Ben Roethlisberger. As pointed out by Eli Ricke in this week’s Weekly Weakling, most quarterbacks don’t pass for big numbers against the Browns because they don’t have to. Try and get Ben on your bench.

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Arian Foster	HOU	at CIN	100
2	Ray Rice	BAL	vs. IND	96
3	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	vs. STL	92
4	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	vs. TB	91
5	Ryan Mathews	SD	vs. BUF	85
6	DeMarco Murray	DAL	vs. NYG	80
7	Michael Turner	ATL	at CAR	80
8	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	vs. CLE	80
9	Chris Johnson	TEN	vs. NO	79
10	Michael Bush	OAK	at GB	79
11	Reggie Bush	MIA	vs. PHI	79
12	LeSean McCoy	PHI	at MIA	78
13	Roy Helu	WAS	vs. NE	72
14	Darren Sproles	NO	at TEN	72
15	Steven Jackson	STL	at SEA	66
16	LeGarrette Blount	TB	at JAC	63
17	Shonn Greene	NYJ	vs. KC	62
18	Kevin Smith	DET	vs. MIN	60
19	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	at WAS	58
20	Beanie Wells	ARI	vs. SF	57
21	Mike Tolbert	SD	vs. BUF	57
22	C.J. Spiller	BUF	at SD	55
23	Cedric Benson	CIN	vs. HOU	54
24	Ben Tate	HOU	at CIN	54
25	Frank Gore	SF	at ARI	53
26	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	at DAL	53
27	Marion Barber	CHI	at DEN	52
28	Peyton Hillis	CLE	at PIT	50
29	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	vs. ATL	49
30	Willis McGahee	DEN	vs. CHI	49
31	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	at DAL	49
32	Mark Ingram	NO	at TEN	48
33	Donald Brown	IND	at BAL	46
34	Ryan Grant	GB	vs. OAK	46
35	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	vs. ATL	45
36	Isaac Redman	PIT	vs. CLE	44
37	Adrian Peterson	MIN	at DET	43
38	Brandon Saine	GB	vs. OAK	42
39	Dexter McCluster	KC	at NYJ	40
40	Danny Woodhead	NE	at WAS	38
41	Maurice Morris	DET	vs. MIN	36
42	Felix Jones	DAL	vs. NYG	36
43	Toby Gerhart	MIN	at DET	35
44	Daniel Thomas	MIA	vs. PHI	35
45	Montario Hardesty	CLE	at PIT	34
46	LaDainian Tomlinson	NYJ	vs. KC	34
47	Marcel Reece	OAK	at GB	33
48	Thomas Jones	KC	at NYJ	32
49	Jackie Battle	KC	at NYJ	32
50	Pierre Thomas	NO	at TEN	32

Start: C.J. Spiller. He was much better than expected last week as the Bills’ new feature back, and with the rest of the offense grinding to a halt, Spiller should see plenty of work again this week.

Sit: Frank Gore. He’s getting through games despite being nicked up, but he doesn’t have a whole lot of fantasy points to show for it. Gore seems likely to sabotage a fantasy season this December.

Rank	Wide Receivers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. MIN	94
2	Victor Cruz	NYG	at DAL	89
3	Percy Harvin	MIN	at DET	87
4	Jordy Nelson	GB	vs. OAK	87
5	Wes Welker	NE	at WAS	86
6	Vincent Jackson	SD	vs. BUF	84
7	Roddy White	ATL	at CAR	79
8	Greg Jennings	GB	vs. OAK	79
9	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	vs. SF	78
10	Brandon Marshall	MIA	vs. PHI	77
11	Dez Bryant	DAL	vs. NYG	76
12	A.J. Green	CIN	vs. HOU	74
13	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	at DAL	72
14	Steve Smith	CAR	vs. ATL	72
15	Michael Crabtree	SF	at ARI	69
16	Santana Moss	WAS	vs. NE	68
17	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	at MIA	66
18	Mike Wallace	PIT	vs. CLE	65
19	Mike Williams	TB	at JAC	64
20	Miles Austin	DAL	vs. NYG	64
21	Nate Burleson	DET	vs. MIN	62
22	Damian Williams	TEN	vs. NO	59
23	Golden Tate	SEA	vs. STL	59
24	Anquan Boldin	BAL	vs. IND	58
25	DeSean Jackson	PHI	at MIA	58
26	Antonio Brown	PIT	vs. CLE	57
27	Malcom Floyd	SD	vs. BUF	56
28	Laurent Robinson	DAL	vs. NYG	56
29	Marques Colston	NO	at TEN	55
30	Julio Jones	ATL	at CAR	55
31	Torrey Smith	BAL	vs. IND	54
32	Reggie Wayne	IND	at BAL	53
33	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	vs. KC	53
34	Pierre Garcon	IND	at BAL	53
35	Jabar Gaffney	WAS	vs. NE	52
36	Steve Johnson	BUF	at SD	51
37	Brandon Lloyd	STL	at SEA	49
38	Plaxico Burress	NYJ	vs. KC	49
39	Lance Moore	NO	at TEN	47
40	Johnny Knox	CHI	at DEN	46
41	Darrius Heyward-Bay	OAK	at GB	46
42	Brad Smith	BUF	at SD	43
43	Nate Washington	TEN	vs. NO	43
44	Doug Baldwin	SEA	vs. STL	43
45	Dwayne Bowe	KC	at NYJ	42
46	Deion Branch	NE	at WAS	42
47	Anthony Armstrong	WAS	vs. NE	40
48	Donald Driver	GB	vs. OAK	39
49	Eric Decker	DEN	vs. CHI	38
50	Andre Roberts	ARI	vs. SF	38
51	Early Doucet	ARI	vs. SF	38
52	Jason Avant	PHI	at MIA	38
53	Titus Young	DET	vs. MIN	38
54	Denarius Moore	OAK	at GB	38
55	Greg Little	CLE	at PIT	37
56	Brian Hartline	MIA	vs. PHI	37
57	Legedu Naanee	CAR	vs. ATL	36
58	Harry Douglas	ATL	at CAR	35
59	David Nelson	BUF	at SD	35
60	Ben Obomanu	SEA	vs. STL	35
61	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	vs. CHI	34
62	Jacoby Jones	HOU	at CIN	34
63	Roy Williams	CHI	at DEN	34
64	Davone Bess	MIA	vs. PHI	33
65	Kyle Williams	SF	at ARI	33
66	Vincent Brown	SD	vs. BUF	32
67	James Jones	GB	vs. OAK	31
68	Earl Bennett	CHI	at DEN	30
69	T.J. Houshmandzadeh	OAK	at GB	30
70	Austin Pettis	STL	at SEA	29
71	Devin Aromashodu	MIN	at DET	27
72	Steve Breaston	KC	at NYJ	26
73	Jerome Simpson	CIN	vs. HOU	26
74	Kevin Walter	HOU	at CIN	26
75	Josh Cribbs	CLE	at PIT	25

Start: Golden Tate. The former Golden Domer with a nose for the end zone has replaced Sidney Rice as Seattle’s No. 1 receiver, and that makes him a solid play the rest of the way.

Sit: Brandon Lloyd. The Rams are dealing with injuries to both Sam Bradford and A.J. Feeley, leaving practice-squad player Tom Brandstater to get the first-team reps this week. Expect nothing from Lloyd if Brandstater starts.

Rank	Tight Ends	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE	at WAS	100
2	Antonio Gates	SD	vs. BUF	81
3	Jimmy Graham	NO	at TEN	80
4	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	at CAR	74
5	Kellen Winslow	TB	at JAC	66
6	Jason Witten	DAL	vs. NYG	64
7	Dustin Keller	NYJ	vs. KC	59
8	Jermichael Finley	GB	vs. OAK	58
9	Aaron Hernandez	NE	at WAS	57
10	Anthony Fasano	MIA	vs. PHI	51
11	Ed Dickson	BAL	vs. IND	51
12	Vernon Davis	SF	at ARI	50
13	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	vs. MIN	48
14	Brent Celek	PHI	at MIA	47
15	Heath Miller	PIT	vs. CLE	47
16	Jake Ballard	NYG	at DAL	43
17	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	vs. HOU	42
18	Owen Daniels	HOU	at CIN	42
19	Tony Scheffler	DET	vs. MIN	40
20	Dennis Pitta	BAL	vs. IND	39
21	Kevin Boss	OAK	at GB	36
22	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	vs. TB	35
23	Dallas Clark	IND	at BAL	34
24	Greg Olsen	CAR	vs. ATL	32
25	Joel Dreessen	HOU	at CIN	30
26	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	at DET	30
27	Delanie Walker	SF	at ARI	30
28	Logan Paulsen	WAS	vs. NE	30
29	Evan Moore	CLE	at PIT	29
30	Jared Cook	TEN	vs. NO	29
31	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	at DET	26
32	Ben Watson	CLE	at PIT	25

Start: Anthony Fasano. He’s been very solid over the last few weeks, and he gets an Eagles squad short on talent at the linebacker position. That makes Fasano your best desperation play at tight end.

Sit: Jermaine Gresham. He’s been a borderline TE1 all year, but this week he faces a very good Texan defense in what should be a low-scoring game. You run the risk of a goose egg with Gresham this week.

Rank	Kickers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	at GB	70
2	David Akers	SF	at ARI	70
3	Dan Bailey	DAL	vs. NYG	67
4	John Kasay	NO	at TEN	66
5	Robbie Gould	CHI	at DEN	65
6	Billy Cundiff	BAL	vs. IND	64
7	Jason Hanson	DET	vs. MIN	63
8	Mason Crosby	GB	vs. OAK	62
9	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	at WAS	62
10	Nick Novak	SD	vs. BUF	62
11	Neil Rackers	HOU	at CIN	58
12	Matt Bryant	ATL	at CAR	54
13	Mike Nugent	CIN	vs. HOU	52
14	Connor Barth	TB	at JAC	50
15	Rob Bironas	TEN	vs. NO	50
16	Phil Dawson	CLE	at PIT	48
17	Steven Hauschka	SEA	vs. STL	47
18	Dave Rayner	BUF	at SD	46
19	Olindo Mare	CAR	vs. ATL	46
20	Dan Carpenter	MIA	vs. PHI	46
21	Shaun Suisham	PIT	vs. CLE	46
22	Alex Henery	PHI	at MIA	45
23	Josh Scobee	JAC	vs. TB	44
24	Nick Folk	NYJ	vs. KC	42
25	Graham Gano	WAS	vs. NE	38
26	Matt Prater	DEN	vs. CHI	34
27	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	at DAL	34
28	Ryan Succop	KC	at NYJ	32
29	Jay Feely	ARI	vs. SF	30
30	Ryan Longwell	MIN	at DET	30
31	Josh Brown	STL	at SEA	28
32	Adam Vinatieri	IND	at BAL	24

Rank	Team Defense	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Seattle Seahawks	SEA	vs. STL	76
2	Denver Broncos	DEN	vs. CHI	73
3	San Francisco 49ers	SF	at ARI	71
4	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	vs. IND	70
5	Chicago Bears	CHI	at DEN	69
6	Green Bay Packers	GB	vs. OAK	69
7	New England Patriots	NE	at WAS	67
8	New York Jets	NYJ	vs. KC	63
9	Miami Dolphins	MIA	vs. PHI	63
10	Detroit Lions	DET	vs. MIN	60
11	St. Louis Rams	STL	at SEA	60
12	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	vs. TB	58
13	Houston Texans	HOU	at CIN	54
14	Kansas City Chiefs	KC	at NYJ	53
15	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	vs. CLE	52
16	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	vs. NYG	44
17	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	at MIA	44
18	Arizona Cardinals	ARI	vs. SF	43
19	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	at DET	43
20	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	at CAR	41
21	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	vs. HOU	37
22	Tennessee Titans	TEN	vs. NO	35
23	Indianapolis Colts	IND	at BAL	35
24	Carolina Panthers	CAR	vs. ATL	31
25	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	at JAC	31
26	New York Giants	NYG	at DAL	29
27	New Orleans Saints	NO	at TEN	27
28	Cleveland Browns	CLE	at PIT	27
29	Oakland Raiders	OAK	at GB	26
30	San Diego Chargers	SD	vs. BUF	25
31	Washington Redskins	WAS	vs. NE	21
32	Buffalo Bills	BUF	at SD	19

R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe, writes for FanDuel and Razzball and has previously written for FanHouse. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.

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8 Responses to “Week 14: Playoffs?!?”

joejlitz says:

December 8, 2011 at 4:59 pm

Wow! Broncos are ranked high! I own both the Bears and Broncos (picked them up this week). The way I see it, no Forte + no Cutler = no Bears offense and, as a result, a Bears defense that will underperform.

So, I’ve thought about starting DEN over CHI here. Especially since DEN is at home. But I’m not sure I’ve got the guts to pull the trigger. If you’ve got more insight, R.J., I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts on it.

(incidentally, can DEN DST break a punt/kick return?)

Thanks!
Reply
JJGBPD says:

December 8, 2011 at 5:06 pm

I agree with you! Von Miller returning and Hanie playing with no Forte… Denver has a great matchup. I do think the Bears D will cause havoc for Tebow, but, he finds a way to get it done each week and the matchup favors Denver.
Reply
Smipims says:

December 8, 2011 at 6:05 pm

That’s a really high ranking for Golden Tate. He’s playing against STL, but I don’t know if SEA is a good enough team to take advantage of the matchup.
Reply
daullaz says:

December 8, 2011 at 11:05 pm

@joejlitz: The Broncos just aren’t turning the ball over with Tebow under center. It would be shocking if the Broncos don’t win the turnover battle against road Hanie. He got the vote-of-no-confidence after the loss last week, and I seriously doubt he’s bringing his A-game. Hanie’s been sacked 11 times over his two starts. If not for the Rams starting a practice squad QB, the Broncos would be far and away the No. 1 play this week.
Reply
JackedSierra says:

December 10, 2011 at 11:59 am

i have baltimores d.. seattle is sittin on the waiver. grab em and start em???
Reply
daullaz says:

December 10, 2011 at 8:19 pm

Baltimore’s obviously a great play as well, but I personally prefer Seattle.
Reply
dirtbags13 says:

December 11, 2011 at 12:40 pm

CJ Spiller or Willis McGahee? 1 pt PPR league
Reply
JONWALKER says:

December 11, 2011 at 1:04 pm

Gould or Janikowski for today as my kicker?
Reply