Making the Call on Week 14's Toughest Fantasy Lineup Decisions

The fantasy playoffs started with a bang when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Chicago Bears 41-28.

The score wasn't indicative of how badly the Bears played for much of the night, but early fireworks from the Cowboys led to some garbage-time heroism from their opponents. There were plenty of high fantasy scores to be had Thursday night, something we haven't seen much of this season.

Hopefully, the soaring scores put you ahead instead of behind the eight ball. Either way, difficult lineup decisions might be on the horizon. Here is some guidance for Week 14.

Start: Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

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How many more frustrating weeks will we have to suffer through before Travis Kelce delivers? Perhaps we have seen the last one.

After all, Kelce has a juicy matchup this week against the Arizona Cardinals. That defense has given up oodles of fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season, much like it did last year, when it was the most generous.

St. Louis' Jared Cook, Seattle's Cooper Helfet and Atlanta's Levine Toilolo have each scored a touchdown against the Cardinals in the past three weeks.

Kelce is up next.

Fantasy Prediction: five receptions, 75 yards, one TD

Final Verdict: This is a great matchup, one Kelce should finally be able to exploit for a nice game—assuming the Chiefs get him the ball, of course.

Sit: Greg Olsen, TE, Carolina Panthers

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It might seem like a great idea to start Greg Olsen—quarterback Cam Newton's second-favorite target this season—against a New Orleans defense that has been quite average this season. Once again, tread carefully at the position.

The New Orleans Saints have clamped down on opposing tight ends this season, allowing just three touchdowns to two players all year long. They have given up the second-fewest fantasy points per game to the tight end position.

There may be few offensive options in Carolina to begin with—hence few better players to target—but Olsen isn't a great bet to score fantasy points this week.

Fantasy Prediction: three receptions, 40 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: As with Owen Daniels a couple of weeks ago, a potentially tasty matchup could wind up leaving a sour aftertaste.

Start: Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Russell Wilson hasn't had the season many fantasy owners were hoping for.

The Seattle Seahawks quarterback got off to a great start, but the team's commitment to the run and a lack of weaponry have short-circuited what could have been a great season.

Oh, he has had some big games, to be sure, and he is the seventh-best fantasy quarterback in the land. But he could have been up there with league-leading Andrew Luck in an ideal world.

This week, he might climb the ladder a bit against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles defense has been the third-most generous to opposing quarterbacks this season despite not having given up a rushing touchdown or many yards on the ground. Most of the quarterbacks they have faced haven't been of the rushing type, to boot.

Wilson is most certainly someone who can do damage on the ground, and the Eagles secondary could be generous in spite of his lack of weaponry.

Fantasy Prediction: 22-of-31, 250 yards, two TDs; six carries, 50 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: It's going to be a scorcher in Philadelphia this week, and Wilson is going to provide the heat.

Sit: Colin Kaepernick, QB, San Francisco 49ers

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Russell Wilson's divisional foe seems like he is in a similar boat this weekend, facing off against an Oakland Raiders team that just gave up 52 points to the St. Louis Rams.

Don't let that fool you, however—Colin Kaepernick isn't a good option this weekend.

That's because, for all their faults, the Oakland Raiders have given up only 20.7 points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season. That is good for 11th-fewest in the league. Scott White of CBS Sports elaborates:

"

The Raiders don't rank especially low against the pass, but they've allowed 22 touchdown passes, tied for seventh-most in the league, to just five interceptions.

And a big reason they don't rank lower against the pass is because teams don't need to pass all that much against them. They're 1-11, after all. They fall behind big, and usually early, allowing teams to run out the clock against them.

"

If the Raiders fall behind early this week, they can expect Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde to see a nice chunk of carries, effectively taking the ball out of Kaepernick's hands.

The 49ers haven't exactly been an offensive powerhouse, either. Kaepernick is currently 15th in fantasy scoring, and he might be lower were it not for some missed games from other quarterbacks.

That is all not to mention this will be a heated matchup despite the fact that it's not a divisional tilt. The Raiders and the 49ers hate each other, and they don't seem fazed by that 52-0 shellacking. Here is what Justin Tuck had to say, per Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com:

"

I think the best thing for us now is to turn all of our attention and our focus to what lies ahead, and that's this bloodbath that I think we're about to have against the 49ers. Big rivalry game. Everybody in this area has been waiting for this game for a long time. I think that's the best thing that could have happened after a loss like that, is to have this type of game where all of your attention has to be focused on the 49ers going forward.

"

It could be tough sledding all around in this matchup, and fantasy points might be scarce for Kaepernick as a result.

Fantasy Prediction: 20-of-32, 225 yards, one TDs, one INT; five carries, 40 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: This just isn't a great matchup for a quarterback who has struggled to put up fantasy points in the past.

Start: Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Brian Bahr/Getty Images

While sitting Colin Kaepernick this weekend is prudent, starting his running back is also smart.

Frank Gore is in the twilight of his career, and his fantasy numbers show it, as he is ranked 21st in the league at his position. Of course, his offense's reticence to give him the ball has had something to do with that.

This weekend, the San Francisco 49ers would be wise to lean on Gore and that backfield. While the Raiders haven't given up too many fantasy points in the passing game, they have been sieves against opposing running backs.

Last week, Tre Mason went supernova against the Raiders. This week might not be that kind to Gore, but it's a great matchup nonetheless.

Fantasy Prediction: 22 attempts, 110 yards, one TD; three receptions, 25 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: This is simply a great matchup for Gore, who should cash in with a big game.

Start: Jordan Matthews, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

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The Seattle Seahawks have their defensive mojo back, and Mark Sanchez is due for an implosion. Well, if you believe in that sort of thing, anyway.

In reality, Sanchez is quarterbacking the Philadelphia Eagles just fine, and there have been plenty of fantasy points to go around with him under center. The question is whether the Eagles can score against that vaunted Seahawks defense.

Oddsmakers seem to think so, as the Eagles are slight favorites in a game in which 48 points is the over/under. Should you take the under with cornerback Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks coming to town?

Chip Kelly is still the mastermind in Philadelphia, as you might recall, and he figures to maximize his team's ability to score this week. If you were thinking of benching anyone because of the matchup, think again.

That goes especially for receiver Jordan Matthews, who likely won't see Sherman in coverage, as he lines up in the slot 92 percent of the time, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Fantasy Prediction: five receptions, 75 yards, one TD

Final Verdict: He might not go off in a bad matchup, but Matthews should see plenty of action this week as Sanchez's favorite target.

Flex Only: Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers

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After lurking just below the Mendoza Line in the fantasy realm in previous weeks, receiver Keenan Allen finally had another big game with a pair of touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 13.

This week, he'll face a New England Patriots defense that was just lit aflame by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The San Diego Chargers figure to be in a high-scoring dogfight at home.

Allen should be a slam-dunk starter, right?

Well, not so much. That's because Darrelle Revis is coming to town, and he might not be too happy about getting toasted on Jordy Nelson's 45-yard touchdown reception for the Green Bay Packers last week.

The Chargers aren't quite the Packers on offense, despite some quality play at times this season. The Patriots are likely to keep Revis on Allen for much of the game, unlike last week, when he moved around because of the bevy of receiving weapons.

Fantasy Prediction: five receptions, 65 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: It could be a high-scoring game, but Allen might have a tough time scoring fantasy points against Revis.

Start: Mike Wallace, WR, Miami Dolphins

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Mike Wallace continues to be underwhelming in both real life and fake football. His only saving grace has been the fact that he has scored seven touchdowns this season.

He missed out on one last week on a nice deep throw from Ryan Tannehill, attempting to make an ill-advised one-handed catch. He had a decent game in points-per-reception (PPR) formats, but it could have been a much better night in a good matchup.

Wallace gets an even better matchup this week against a Baltimore Ravens defense that has given up the most fantasy points per game to opposing receivers this season.

Fantasy Prediction: six receptions, 95 yards, one TD

Final Verdict: Wallace keeps getting cracks at soft passing defenses, and the Ravens are the softest yet.

Start: Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Steve Nesius/Associated Press

Giovani Bernard's re-entry into the Cincinnati Bengals lineup has been disappointing for fantasy owners.

He has been stuck in a true timeshare with rookie Jeremy Hill, and Bernard hasn't been particularly effective for much of his time on the field.

This week, Bernard might have it a bit better on both counts.

Hill did himself no favors this week by getting on the wrong side of offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, who came down on his running back after an ill-advised quote on the offense's struggles, per Coley Harvey of ESPN.com:

"

Jeremy don't play quarterback. What Jeremy needs to do is run the ball. What Jeremy wants to do -- I don't care if it's eight men or seven men -- break tackles, OK? That's what running backs do. They break tackles and that's it. At the end of the day, his job is to run through somebody and come out the other side and go find a way to score, period. So all his drop-down, who did this, did what -- that ain't his call.

"

That could mean little in the grand scheme of things, but it's worth noting in case it gets Bernard more carries.

Bernard gained 44 yards on his first five carries last week, but the Bengals got out of sync with some turnovers, and his day sputtered after that. Hopefully, a good start this week will lead to a big game overall.

At any rate, he has averaged nearly four points per game more against the Steelers than everyone else, although it has only been two games.

Fantasy Prediction: 14 attempts, 85 yards, zero TDs; four receptions, 35 yards, one TD

Final Verdict: Bernard might get a bit more action this week thanks to Hill's outburst, and he has played well against the Steelers in the past.

Flex Only: Marion Grice, RB, Arizona Cardinals

John Bazemore/Associated Press

The Arizona Cardinals may be without Andre Ellington this week.

He suffered a hip pointer early last week, and it is severe enough that he should miss practice the entire week, per Kent Somers of AZCardinals.com. Should Ellington miss the game, it would be a golden opportunity for his backups to shine.

Perhaps the best choice to insert into lineups will come in the form of rookie Marion Grice.

The former San Diego Charger got all but one touch after Ellington left the game. That amounted to eight touches for 40 yards as the Cardinals were desperately trying to play catch-up against the Atlanta Falcons.

Arizona is back home this week, playing against a Kansas City defense that has allowed three touchdowns to running backs in the past two games, including 112 yards and two scores to Oakland's Latavius Murray on just four touches two weeks ago.

That would be a dream for anyone who starts Grice, but he could have a nice game for anyone who thinks he's worthy of a flex spot this weekend.

Fantasy Prediction: 16 attempts, 75 yards, zero TDs; three receptions, 20 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: Grice might have the perfect combination of opportunity and matchup this week.

All fantasy statistics and rankings courtesy of FFToday.com. All odds courtesy of OddsShark.com.

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