Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 13: Last-Minute Fantasy Football Advice for Sunday

A few days removed from Thanksgiving and a mere hours before the Sunday Week 13 kickoff, owners need to kick the fantasy football lineup decisions into high gear.

Those Thursday games have shown loud and clear that this playoff stretch is in no way simple for owners. Through Thursday, not many could have predicted that Joique Bell would be the highest-scoring back—ahead of LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray and Marshawn Lynch.

So it goes this time of year. Owners a bit behind in the research department due to spending time with family and things more important than fake football should fret not.

Catch up with the best and worst plays of the weekend with a deep dive into various start 'em, sit 'em scenarios below.

Fantasy Football Week 13 Start 'Em

Position	Player	Team	Opp.
QB	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	vs. NO
RB	Andre Ellington	ARI	at ATL
WR	Jarvis Landry	MIA	at NYJ
TE	Delanie Walker	TEN	at HOU
D/ST	Dolphins	MIA	at NYJ
K	Greg Zuerlein	STL	vs. OAK

Start with the most important position of all. Well, not in fantasy, except for those select few who can carry a team on their own.

For a stretch, that was Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The seventh-highest scorer at his position scored 44 in Week 8 and 35 more the week after, but he posted just 10 in Week 11 before a bye.

Try not to hold a grudge, though. Big Ben should be well on his way to 20 points or more against the New Orleans Saints, especially considering the showdown happens at home. As Steelers media manager Dom Rinelli points out, he cannot be stopped on his home turf:

Recall that the Saints surrender the ninth-most points to quarterbacks, too.

Again, grudges are bad, folks.

Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington has scored nine, six and five points over the course of his last three outings—making it easy to forget he is the 10th-highest scorer at the position this year. 

Ellington will be back on the minds of many fantasy owners after this weekend, though, thanks to a matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. As is the case for any back with that blessing, Ellington is set to go off—the Falcons surrender the second-most points to backs and allowed 26 last week alone.

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Jarvis Landry is a name that gets nowhere near enough attention near the playoff stretch. The rookie is essentially the No. 1 wideout in Miami despite the presence of Mike Wallace. Words from quarterback Ryan Tannehill really tell the whole story.

“I have a lot of confidence in Jarvis,” Tannehill said, per The Associated Press, via CBSMiami.com. “He’s a playmaker. … Once you get the ball in his hands, it’s a chance of a touchdown every single time.”

Landry now has three touchdowns over the course of his last two games and five or more catches in each of his last four. The growing rapport with his quarterback will only be furthered with a matchup against a New York Jets defense that allows the 12th-most points to wideouts and has surrendered a minimum of 20 in three of its last four games.

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Delanie Walker is the name to know at tight end moving forward. Thanks to the promotion of rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger, Walker is a must-start commodity regardless of matchup.

Walker posted 15 points last week on five grabs for 155 yards. He now has 19 targets over the course of two games with his new quarterback and either a touchdown or more than 100 receiving yards in that span.

Now, Houston does allow just the third-fewest points to the position this year, but Walker is a mismatch nightmare who can use his newfound usage rates to get owners quality production regardless. He proved that much against Philadelphia last week, a team that still ranks in the top 10 against the position.

Fantasy Football Week 13 Sit 'Em

Position	Player	Team	Opp.
QB	Philip Rivers	SD	at BAL
RB	Steven Jackson	ATL	vs. ARI
WR	Marques Colston	NO	at PIT
TE	Mychal Rivera	OAK	at STL
D/ST	Packers	GB	vs. NE
K	Caleb Sturgis	MIA	at NYJ

Sometimes matchups are just not that they seem at face value. 

Donald Miralle/Getty Images

The Baltimore Ravens do surrender the eighth-most points to quarterbacks this season. Philip Rivers is the 10th-highest scorer at the position, too (that said, his one time not in double digits this season saw him humorously score in the negatives).

But ponder this—owners are expecting a west-coast team to travel and play well in Baltimore, where the Ravens have yet to allow a quarterback to throw multiple touchdowns. Not only that, Rivers has scored just 11 and 13 points after his dip to negatives three games ago and has clearly seen his fantasy production suffer since the return of lead back Ryan Mathews.

The same notion applies to Atlanta running back Steven Jackson. As a running back who only gets what is blocked for him, expecting Jackson to do much against an Arizona defense that does this is hard to justify:

While Jackson has double-digit performances in two of his last three, the Cardinals allow the second-fewest points to backs—and just held run-first Seattle and Lynch to eight points.

Speaking of veterans to avoid, steer clear of Saints wideout Marques Colston. Still owned in more than 75 percent of leagues despite just two trips to double digits this year, the veteran wideout may be in for the worst performance of his season in Pittsburgh this weekend.

As DraftSharks points out, the veteran struggles when not in a shielded environment:

In the cold air of Pittsburgh against a Steelers defense that ranks in the middle of the pack against wideouts, Colston is one to avoid. He did post 14 points last week, but with Brandin Cooks out of the picture, one has to think that extra production will mostly go to deep threat Kenny Stills.

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Those on the hunt for a good example as to just how volatile the tight end position is need look no further than Mychal Rivera.

The Oakland Raiders had a breakout star on their hands thanks to a stretch of eight, 15 and 12 points that started back in Week 8. Over the course of his past two games, though, Rivera has scored just four points on as many catches—with a goose egg in the points department coming last week.

Now Rivera has to hit the road to St. Louis and attempt a turnaround against a Rams defense that surrenders the sixth-fewest points to tight ends, has allowed just two touchdowns to the position and only one double-digit performance.

Owners in need will find better help elsewhere.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.