‘The Queen’s Journal’ vs ‘Western Gazette’: Fantasy Football series—Week 14

The Journal’s picks for start ’em sit ’em Week 14

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This is the eighth week of an ongoing ’start ‘em

While the trend of back-and-forth wins continued last week and served us a big win, we hope to stop the pattern now and win two in a row this week to tie things up.

Our analysts made great picks last week, although we can’t give them all the credit. Much to our delight, Western benched Darren Waller, who racked up 45 points, the highest-scoring player of the week. We were pleasantly surprised—and a bit confused—to see Western is doubling down on this strategy and has opted to bench the tight end yet again this week. This should give us a bit of breathing room, but just to be sure, we’ve delivered what we’re confident will be another winning roster.

Start ‘em:

Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks will take on the winless New York Jets this week. The Jets have been awful this year and may become the first team unable to win a game since the 2017 Cleveland Browns. Not surprisingly, the Jets also give up the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. Look for Wilson and the Seahawks to coast to a win this week after being embarrassed by the Giants. Wilson has struggled lately, but the Jets offer a perfect rebound matchup to get him back to his MVP-level form. 

James Robinson and the Jacksonville Jaguars will host their rival Tennessee Titans this week. While the Jaguars haven’t been strong this year, James Robinson has been a bright spot. He’s also been the most consistent fantasy running back in the league to this point, having never scored under 10 points in a single game this season. The Titans’ defence also provides a favourable matchup, as they allow the seventh-most fantasy points to running backs this season.

Davante Adams and the Green Bay Packers will play the Detroit Lions this week, a David and Goliath matchup between two division rivals. Led by Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams, the Packers’ offence has been dominating teams all season long. That shouldn’t change this week as the Lions’ defence is putrid, giving up the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this year with Adams making a case that he’s the NFL’s best at the position. Adams is a must-start this week and every week.

Darren Waller and the Las Vegas Raiders will square off against the Indianapolis Colts this weekend. Both teams are fighting for a playoff spot, making this an interesting game. Over the last four weeks, Waller has scored the most fantasy points among tight ends and he’ll look to continue the trend this week. Despite Indianapolis’ stout defence, Waller should still be able to produce, albeit probably not to the tune of 200 yards and two touchdowns like he did last week. However, Waller is the most-targeted player for the Raiders’ passing attack and has become a must-start player every week in fantasy, regardless of the matchup.

As mentioned, the Seattle Seahawks will be playing the Jets this week.  Also mentioned is how bad the Jets are in all phases of the game of football, including their offence, which has managed to turn the ball over like no other team in the NFL. This is a perfect bounce-back game for the Seahawks’ defence, and you should give them the start this week in fantasy. 

Sit ‘em: 

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens take on the Cleveland Browns as the Browns look to continue their winning streak and snap their 17-year playoff drought. Jackson has been playing well but inconsistent this season, failing to match his MVP-caliber performance last season. When facing teams with winning records, Jackson’s record has been less than stellar, having lost each time this season. Expect this Week One rematch to feature a strong Browns run defence that can hold their own against one of the best running quarterbacks in the league.

Ezekiel Elliot and the Dallas Cowboys take on the Cincinnati Bengals this week as both teams sit mired in mediocrity heading into the end of the season. This is shaping up to be a disappointing season for Elliot, who hasn’t had a touchdown since a Week 11 win against Minnesota and continues to struggle with Andy Dalton at quarterback. Over that stretch, Elliot’s percentage of offensive snaps taken has fallen to under two-thirds and he has failed to break 100 yards more than once this season.

Bryan Edwards and the Las Vegas Raiders take on the Indianapolis Colts this week as the Raiders come off a miraculous Hail Mary win against the New York Jets. In Week 13, Edwards was targeted once for no gain and took only 15 offensive snaps. Against a dominant Colts’ defence ranked among the top five in the league, Edwards should have a quiet game.

Chris Herndon and the Jets take on the Seahawks; Herndon has started almost every game this season but has never been targeted above seven times. In a loss against the Raiders last week, Herndon was not targeted at all, despite both starting and playing two-thirds of offensive snaps. Though the Seattle defence has struggled throughout the season, they should be able to contain Herndon.

The Detroit Lions take on the Green Bay Packers this week in a classic midwestern matchup as the Lions look to continue their momentum off a win last week against the Chicago Bears. However, with Rodgers playing at an MVP calibre and the Packers having handily beaten the Lions in Week Two, Detroit’s defence will face an uphill battle to contain an offence ranked second in the league. Rodgers has made it extra tough on the NFC North competition this year with the Packers averaging 37 points per game this season against the divisional competition. 

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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