Week 13 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Highlighting Matchups to Exploit and Avoid

Heading into Sunday, there's a good chance your game has already started to take form. With three Thanksgiving games already in the books, several fantasy stars already feasted on favorable matchups.

If you are a Calvin Johnson, Alshon Jeffery or LeSean McCoy owner, things are going swimmingly right now. If you happen to be going against one of those, you've got some ground to make up on Sunday.

So what's a fantasy owner to do?

Maximize your lineup and get ready to watch the points pile up. With the fantasy football playoffs starting in some formats—and just around the corner in others—now is not the time to lay an egg. 

Of course, putting together the perfect lineup means taking advantage of some soft matchups and identifying who may underachieve this week. Here's a look at who should be in your lineup and who needs to sit out the week. 

Pos.	Player	Opponent
QB	Ryan Tannehill, MIA	New York Jets
RB	Andre Ellington, ARI	Atlanta Falcons
WR	Marques Colston, NO	Pittsburgh Steelers
TE	Kyle Rudolph, MIN	Carolina Panthers
D/ST	Cincinnati Bengals	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
K	Randy Bullock, HOU	Tennessee Titans

There's a reason that Ryan Tannehill was the most added quarterback in ESPN leagues this week. The Miami Dolphins' signal-caller was a stud against the Denver Broncos on the road with a three-touchdown performance for 26 points in standard leagues. 

As Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald notes, Tannehill's excellent play isn't a flash in the pan. He's been at it for a while now:

Now, he gets the woeful New York Jets defense. Gang Green has allowed the most points to quarterbacks this season. Expect the numbers to keep piling up for the quarterback, as Tannehill is a strong start in Week 13. 

Tannehill owners may be getting used to making him a weekly start, but Andre Ellington owners are likely considering hitting the drop button on the Arizona Cardinals' rusher. That would be a mistake at this juncture. 

Ellington's numbers have been down. It's been three weeks since he's scored in double digits. However, that could be chalked up to a murder's row of run defenses. He's seen the St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks in his last three matchups. 

The encouraging thing for fantasy owners is that regardless of his poor output in those games, Ellington was still heavily involved in the offense. He had 23 touches against both the Rams and Lions and 15 touches against the Seahawks.

The obvious concern for owners would be the addition of Michael Bush to the Cardinals backfield, but head coach Bruce Arians eased those concerns.

"It’s going to be hard to have a guy who didn’t play in OTAs and didn’t have training camp,” Arians said, via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. “For me to give him the ball on Sunday [in Atlanta], that would be pretty hard.”

Ellington will get his touches, and he'll take advantage of a porous Atlanta defense.

One player who hasn't been getting touches but could still break out is Marques Colston. The 31-year-old receiver actually had a bit of a breakout game last week. He scored his second touchdown of the season and first since Week 3. 

However, with Brandin Cooks now out of the lineup, the opportunity for Colston to continue seeing a larger share of the red-zone targets is still there. Add in the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers have given up the seventh-most points to receivers over the last six weeks (via ESPN), and Colston is back to starter status this week. 

Speaking of players who are emerging as relevant options after quiet seasons, Kyle Rudolph is an intriguing option for those looking to the waiver wire for tight end options. The Minnesota Vikings' pass-catcher returned to action for the first time since Week 3 and resumed his role as a full-fledged starter, as noted by Master Tesfatsion of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The tight end's 50 yards were an encouraging output after missing such a long period of time. With Jerick McKinnon out, Teddy Bridgewater may need to rely on his tight end even more this week against the Carolina Panthers. 

As many savvy fantasy owners know, picking the right defense to start from week to week is all about matchups. For those owners, starting anyone against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been a successful strategy. The Bucs are allowing the third-most points to opposing defenses. 

Randy Bullock could be the surprise kicker of the week. The Tennessee Titans gave up 20 points to Cody Parkey last week. The Houston Texans have the honor of beating up on Tennessee in Week 13.

Pos.	Player	Opponent
QB	Matt Ryan, ATL	Arizona Cardinals
RB	Isaiah Crowell, CLE	Buffalo Bills
WR	Vincent Jackson, TB	Cincinnati Bengals
TE	Heath Miller, PIT	New Orleans Saints
D/ST	Green Bay Packers	New England Patriots
K	Caleb Sturgis, MIA	New York Jets

Matt Ryan is the definition of a matchup quarterback this season, and he's definitely not a first-option player this week. The Falcons' gunslinger is taking on a Cardinals defense that hasn't given up multiple passing touchdowns in four straight games. 

Ryan has scored 14 standard points in three straight weeks now. He'll be lucky to even match those numbers on Sunday and doesn't have any upside to cross that threshold. 

Isaiah Crowell has risen up the fantasy football running back ranks in recent weeks, but owners may want to stay cautious. His 20-point performance against the Falcons may be a sign of things to come. However, he has yet to get more than 15 carries in a single game and takes on a Buffalo Bills defense that allows the third-fewest points to running backs this season. 

The Browns might #feedthecrow more, but that doesn't mean it will equate to a fantasy football feast for owners against the Bills' fearsome front. 

Vincent Jackson is another player who ignited some interest among owners with a big week in Week 12. He rode a five-reception, 117-yard day to his highest fantasy output since Week 5. However, it isn't likely he repeats those numbers. As the Bucs' PR Twitter account points out, it's rare for Tampa to produce two 100-yard receivers. 

It's apparent that Mike Evans has overtaken the veteran as Tampa's top target. With a tough matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals secondary on the docket, he's the lone receiver to start against Cincinnati. 

Steelers tight end Heath Miller is another pass-catcher who will likely follow a promising performance with a dud. The veteran reeled in five catches for 71 yards for the Steelers last game, but he goes against a New Orleans Saints defense that has given up the fewest points to tight ends all season. 

Caleb Sturgis may seem like an appealing option at kicker. After all, the Dolphins should have no problem putting points on the board against the Jets' miserable defense. However, much like last week, that may work against the kicker. 

The Dolphins set up Sturgis with four extra points and no field-goal attempts. It's likely he'll see many more extra points than field goals once again. 

The Green Bay Packers defense has been an appealing boom-or-bust option this season. Before scoring four standard points last week, it put up performances of 17 and 26 points. With Tom Brady going against the green and yellow, expect them to be much closer to four points this week.