Week 11 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Final Review of Most Difficult Fantasy Matchups

Sometimes fantasy owners are forced to start a player who doesn't have a favorable matchup. With regular starters hampered by injury or inactive due to a bye week, this becomes a rather common conundrum in the fantasy realm, especially later in the season.

Welcome to Week 11.

This is the second-to-last time we'll have to deal with bye weeks this season. However, we must first deal with the lack of availability of players on the Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets this week.

Fantasy owners have been arguing over which reserve player will be a better addition to their lineups for the better part of the week now. Let's go ahead and put an end to that debate by listing one player to start, and one to sit, in the four major fantasy football positional categories.

Quarterback

Start 'Em: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions

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Stafford isn't getting much love from fantasy circles this week due to a difficult matchup against an Arizona Cardinals team that's allowing an average of just 14.7 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. However, owners should not be afraid to start him in Week 11.

The Cardinals are not strangers to giving up plenty of passing yards in any given game. In fact, they are ranked 30th in the league and are allowing an average of 274.2 yards through the air per contest. The reason why their fantasy numbers look so good is due to several matchups against below-average quarterbacks.

Arizona's defense held up nicely against the likes of Austin Davis, Brandon Weeden and Derek Carr, but it was torched by Nick Foles, Peyton Manning and Colin Kaepernick—even Kirk Cousins fared well against the Cardinals.

Stafford has Calvin Johnson and most of his other weapons back at his disposal this week. Have faith in Detroit's signal-caller and add him to your starting lineup.

Sit 'Em: Mark Sanchez, Philadelphia Eagles

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Sanchez looked like a whole new player in Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers. He put up 21 fantasy points for the owners lucky enough to gamble on him. Still, don't expect lightning to strike again this week against the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay has been solid against average quarterbacks this season and have flourished against signal-callers who throw too often. In Week 5, 44 passing attempts yielded 11 fantasy points to the Minnesota Vikings, and just last week, 40 attempts earned Jay Cutler just eight fantasy points.

When the Packers get out to an early lead—as they did in the two aforementioned games—opposing quarterbacks begin to force bad throws into coverage, and a ball-hawking secondary goes to work. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers hinted at his notion after Week 10, via the team's official Twitter account:

We all know Sanchez's history of throwing interceptions, and if he isn't red hot out of the gate Sunday, he should expect to be put into this position. Starting Philadelphia's quarterback against a surging Rodgers and a solid Packers secondary is simply too much of a risk.

Running Back

Start 'Em: Alfred Blue, Houston Texans

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Those fantasy owners who stashed Blue on their bench due to Arian Foster's injury history are about to reap the rewards. On Saturday, ESPN's Adam Schefter announced the Texans starter was downgraded to out for the team's upcoming contest against the Cleveland Browns:

Don't be afraid of Blue's average of 3.4 yards per carry this season. He'll have plenty of chances to light it up against a Browns defense that is allowing an average of 134.2 yards per game on the ground. Also, with quarterback Ryan Mallett making his first career start, expect Houston to come out with a run-oriented offense to ease the burden on its new signal-caller.

The stars have aligned for Blue in Week 11, and owners should rush him into their starting lineups.

Sit 'Em: Matt Asiata, Minnesota Vikings

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At first glance, Asiata appears to have a very favorable matchup against the Chicago Bears this week. However, when looking closer at the impending contest, things may not be as they seem.

Yes, Chicago has been gashed on the ground quite a few times this season, but there's one thing that's very important for Asiata's owners to take into consideration: The Bears have allowed only four rushing touchdowns in nine games this season.

Asiata gets his value on scoring runs. He's not a big-volume guy, so his bread and butter is getting in the end zone. Chicago allows far more yards than it does touchdowns to opposing ball-carriers, making Jerick McKinnon the Vikings back to play this week. Asiata is best relegated to the bench.

Wide Receiver

Start 'Em: Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants

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Don't let a stingy San Francisco 49ers pass defense that ranks fifth in the league get the best of you here. Start Beckham with conviction in Week 11.

This rookie receiver's chemistry with quarterback Eli Manning is off the charts. He's eclipsed the century mark in his last two games due to a combined 21 targets from the Giants signal-caller. Beckham is clearly the No. 1 option in this passing game with Victor Cruz shelved, and he should be treated as such in the fantasy realm.

Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson sums him up well:

While the 49ers are putting up solid numbers against the pass this season, wide receivers have been able to do some damage at times. The team is allowing an average of 21.3 fantasy points to the position and has allowed big days for pass-catchers on more aerial-oriented teams.

Sit 'Em: Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks

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The Seahawks don't have much of a passing game these days. After the team traded Percy Harvin to the Jets, fantasy owners thought Baldwin would be the next big thing. Well, it hasn't turned out that way, as he's only gained more than six fantasy points in one game this season.

Expect that trend of futility to continue in Week 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs and their top-ranked pass defense. This team is even difficult to score on from a fantasy perspective, as the Chiefs haven't allowed more than one touchdown pass to an opposing wide receiver in a single game this year. That equates to Kansas City giving up an average of just 18.8 fantasy points per contest to the position.

Given Baldwin's run of ineffectiveness, and the Chiefs' run of shutting down opposing wide receivers, common wisdom suggests benching the Seahawks pass-catcher this week.

Tight End

Start 'Em: Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts

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Sure, Dwayne Allen continues to be the sexy play at tight end for the Colts. However, there are reasons to warrant a start for Fleener as well in Week 11 against the New England Patriots.

The tight end is coming off his best game of the season, hauling in four receptions for 77 yards and a score against the Giants. Expect quarterback Andrew Luck to look Fleener's way often due to a strong Patriots secondary capable of clamping down on his wide receivers. After all, the last time these teams met, Fleener led the team with 11 targets, coming away with six catches for 74 yards,

This season, New England hasn't been overly efficient against tight ends, allowing an average of 8.4 fantasy points per game to the position. The Patriots have also given up a touchdown to opposing tight ends in all three of their most recent contests.

Sit 'Em: Mychal Rivera, Oakland Raiders

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Well, it was a good run while it lasted for Rivera. He quickly burst onto the fantasy scene after hauling in seven receptions for 83 yards in Week 8 against the Browns. He followed that up nicely with two consecutive scoring performances in the past two weeks.

Still, his fantasy owners just barely got their money's worth in Week 10, when Rivera scored a garbage-time touchdown with less than one minute remaining in the game. Don't expect that to happen again this week against a San Diego Chargers team that is only allowing an average of 5.0 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends, fifth-fewest in the league.

Making matters worse for Rivera in Week 11 is that his scoring opportunities will be severely limited. The Chargers have allowed only two touchdowns to tight ends in nine games this season. Rivera may have more solid games ahead, but this won't be one of them.

All fantasy statistics courtesy of ESPN.com and current as of November 15.