Week 15 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Play or Bench Advice for Fantasy Playoffs
By now, the importance of start 'em, sit 'em decisions in NFL fantasy football shouldn't be lost on owners heading into Week 15.
Week 14 started the playoffs for most, and alongside its arrival came endless examples. For instance, those who trusted Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott despite weeks of mediocre performances got one of the top-scoring days. Those who trusted Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons likely bowed out of the playoffs entirely thanks to a dud of a performance.
Owners who have worked hard to perfect the start-sit process all year are not only likely still in the running, they have plenty of confidence going into Week 15.
TOP NEWS
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Colts Release Kenny Moore
Projecting Every NFL Team's Starting Lineup 🔮
Rookie WRs Who Will Outplay Their Draft Value 📈
Let's provide an assist to all levels of players by comparing and formulating matchup rankings below and looking at some of the week's notable start-sit hurdles.
Quarterback
| Cam Newton (vs. GB) vs. Russell Wilson (vs. LAR) | Russell Wilson |
| Matt Ryan (at TB) vs . Ben Roethlisberger (vs. NE) | Ben Roethlisberger |
| Drew Brees (vs. NYJ) vs. Kirk Cousins (vs. ARI) | Drew Brees |
| Jay Cutler (at BUF) vs. Matthew Stafford (vs. CHI) | Jay Cutler |
| Jimmy Garoppolo (vs. TEN) vs. Andy Dalton (at MIN) | Jimmy Garoppolo |
Start: Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (vs. NE)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came through in Week 14 for owners, dropping 28.74 points on the heads of the Baltimore Ravens while throwing for 506 yards.
This hasn't always been the case though, as Big Ben has four performances of less than 15 points this year. And his opponent, the New England Patriots, has inflated numbers against quarterbacks because of a disastrous start to the season they've since somewhat cleaned up.
Still, the Patriots allow the fifth-most points to opposing quarterbacks on average, and both teams have something to play for given the playoff implications. And while the unit has been better, the Patriots just let Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler hit the 22.92 mark.
On paper, Big Ben shouldn't regress much, if at all.
Sit: Matthew Stafford, DET (vs. CHI)
With everything on the line for those owners in the fantasy playoffs, name recognition often has to go out the window.
Such is the case here with Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, a guy who has hit north of the 20-point mark all of three times this year. He's never failed to hit double digits at least, giving him a nice floor.
But those looking for the strong base to transform into a huge outburst (like a 28.08 mark earlier this year) in the right matchup aren't in a good spot this week as Stafford takes on the Chicago Bears.
Those NFC North rivals permit the sixth-fewest points to quarterbacks and just held Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals under the 10-point mark.
Running Back
| Le'Veon Bell (vs. NE) vs. Todd Gurley (at SEA) | Le'Veon Bell |
| Jay Ajayi (at NYG) vs. LeSean McCoy (vs. MIA) | LeSean McCoy |
| Devonta Freeman (at TB) vs. Alex Collins (at CLE) | Devonta Freeman |
| Derrick Henry (vs. SF) vs. Mark Ingram (vs. NYJ) | Derrick Henry |
| Jerick McKinnon (vs. CIN ) vs. Givoani Bernard (at MIN) | Jerick McKinnon |
Start: Jordan Howard, CHI (at DET)
Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard is one of the biggest hit-or-miss players in fantasy today.
The sophomore back has six single-digit outings this year but also has outbursts of 17.6, 18.5 and 27.5 points.
That last number came in Week 14, where Howard tore through the Bengals to the tune of 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns. While he's an obvious regression candidate, Chicago's lead back still gets a Detroit defense coughing up the fifth-most points to the position.
Howard has had nagging injuries and dealt with a quarterback change, which skews his numbers a bit. But he put up the 18.5 points on Detroit in their first meet, and it's a solid expectation to set going into this one.
Sit: Frank Gore, IND (vs. DEN)
Now 34 years old and carrying an Indianapolis Colts offense without Andrew Luck, Frank Gore remains one of the most impressive players in the NFL.
That doesn't always translate to fantasy success, though.
Gore has 13.9 or more points in two of his last three outings, but one of his recent strong outputs required 36 carries for 130 yards. Relying on a 34-year-old back to carry it 36 times isn't the way to win a fantasy championship, to say the least.
To make matters worse, Gore now has to deal with the Denver Broncos, a team predictably strong against the run by allowing the 10th-fewest points to the position. This is one of those rare occasions where opportunities won't equal production.
Wide Receiver
| DeAndre Hopkins (at JAX) vs. Larry Fitzgerald (at WAS) | DeAndre Hopkins |
| Julio Jones (at TB) vs. Antonio Brown (vs. NE) | Antonio Brown |
| Adam Thielen (vs. CIN) vs. Nelson Agholor (at NYG) | Adam Thielen |
| Doug Baldwin (vs. LAR) vs. T.Y. Hilton (vs. DEN) | T.Y. Hilton |
| Mike Evans (vs. ATL) vs. Corey Coleman (vs. BAL) | Mike Evans |
Start: Alshon Jeffery, PHI (at NYG)
The man with a shiny new contract is still one to start in Week 15 despite an injury to his starting quarterback.
This refers to Alshon Jeffery of the Philadelphia Eagles, who should still thrive despite Carson Wentz going down and Nick Foles stepping in to take over the offense. Jeffery has six trips to double digits this year and has feasted in the right matchups, so a quarterback change shouldn't be too disastrous.
It helps Jeffery gets to beat up on the hapless New York Giants, a team surrendering the 10th-most points to wideouts this year.
In fact, the change under center could mean even more usage for Jeffery as a safety valve, which is nothing but a good thing against a defense like this. He hasn't always been reliable this season with his new team, but this looks like a slow pitch right over the middle of the plate.
Sit: Doug Baldwin, SEA (vs. LAR)
Despite playing with an obvious MVP candidate, Seattle Seahawks wideout Doug Baldwin hasn't always been a consistent option for fantasy owners.
Baldwin enters Week 15 coming off a 13.8-point performance, yet it came via catching three of his six targets. Overall, he has reached double digits only five times this year, needing touchdowns to get there.
A touchdown-based producer at wideout is the last thing owners should want to trot out against the Los Angeles Rams, owners of a defense allowing the eighth-fewest points to wideouts so far.
For as good as the Seahawks have looked in patches this year, Baldwin scored 3.7 points on the unit on four of eight targets earlier this year, and something similar wouldn't come as a surprise.
Tight End
| Zach Ertz (at NYG) vs. Adam Shaheen (at DET) | Zach Ertz |
| Jason Witten (at OAK) vs. Rob Gronkowski (at PIT) | Rob Gronkowski |
| Delanie Walker (at SF) vs. Kyle Rudolph (vs. CIN) | Kyle Rudolph |
| Evan Engram (vs. PHI) vs. Jack Doyle (vs. DEN) | Evan Engram |
| Jimmy Graham (vs. LAR) vs. Stephen Anderson (at JAX) | Jimmy Graham |
Start: Zach Ertz, PHI (LAR)
Speaking of safety valves for the Eagles, don't look past tight end Zach Ertz.
Ertz had a rough few weeks while entering the league's concussion protocol, but he's already back out at practice, which is a good sign for both the Eagles and owners.
For owners, a game against the Giants should print money because they permit the most points outright to tight ends this year. Ertz tallied 9.5 with a touchdown earlier in the season, and things have only gotten worse for the Giants since.
Though his injury came at an unfortunate time from a fantasy perspective, Ertz should have a huge bounce-back performance.
Sit: Delanie Walker, TEN (at SF)
It hurts to sit a big name like Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker, yet owners should be more than familiar with doing so given the up-and-down nature of the position.
Walker is a great example of this over the last three weeks alone, where he scored north of 12 points twice in a row, then fell to all of 4.2 points in Week 14.
Walker is easily one of the best tight ends in the league, but only maybe two players are matchup-free plays at the position. He isn't one of them, so his playing a San Francisco 49ers defense allowing the 10th-fewest points to tight ends should give owners pause.
The 49ers have only allowed one double-digit outing by a tight end all year, so owners shouldn't expect Walker to post the second.
All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")