Week 13 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Play or Bench Tips for Fantasy Football Owners

The NFL's Week 13 slate serves up another explosive batch of matchups. 

Maybe the serving isn't as appetizing as say, recent holiday spreads and desserts, but it's hard to complain about seven games boasting a spread of seven or more points and five games with an over/under of 50 or more, according to OddsShark.

Fantasy football owners shouldn't have a hard time knowing where to look thanks to games like Carolina-Tampa Bay, Los Angeles Rams-Detroit and Los Angeles Chargers-Pittsburgh on the menu. 

Here's a look at comparisons and tough start-sit decisions. 

QB

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Patrick Mahomes (at OAK) vs. Matthew Stafford (vs. LAR)	Patrick Mahomes
Cam Newton (at TB) vs. Kirk Cousins (at NE)	Cam Newton
Drew Brees (at DAL) vs. Russell Wilson (vs. SF)	Drew Brees
Dak Prescott (vs. NO) vs. Ben Roethlisberger (vs. LAC)	Ben Roethlisberger
Deshaun Watson (vs. CLE) vs. Baker Mayfield (at HOU)	Deshaun Watson

Start: Jameis Winston, TB (vs. CAR) 

It's often hard to recommend Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston. When he's taking care of the football, he boasts 30-plus upside. When he's not, he might pull a 12.84-point performance like he did in Week 8 while throwing four picks. 

One week ago, Winston seemed to grab some solid momentum for himself with two touchdowns and no interceptions on his way to a 22.88-point showing in a win. 

Next up for Winston is an NFC South game against a Carolina Panthers team coughing up the sixth-most points to quarterbacks on average this season—including 26.02 to Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 9. 

With Winston in place of Fitzpatrick, fantasy owners have a matchup they can count on against the freefalling Panthers. 

Sit: Matt Ryan, ATL (vs. BAL) 

Elsewhere in the NFC South, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is usually the opposite—he's dependable. 

Except that isn't the case in Week 13, where Ryan will have to welcome the Baltimore Ravens to town and attempt to work around a defense allowing just the fourth-fewest points to his position this year. 

Granted, Ryan has 20 or more points in three of his last four outings and seven times overall. Even so, it's hard to ignore some of Baltimore's feats this season from a fantasy perspective, which include holding both Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger to fewer than 17 points apiece. 

Given how simple it is to stream starters at quarterback, owners ducking Ryan for at least one week as a precautionary measure makes sense. 

RB

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Kareem Hunt (at OAK) vs. Aaron Jones (vs. ARI)	Aaron Jones
Christian McCaffrey (at TB) vs. Matt Breida (at SEA)	Christian McCaffrey
Saquon Barkley (vs. CHI) vs. Ezekiel Elliott (vs. NO)	Saquon Barkley
Alvin Kamara (at DAL) vs. David Johnson (at GB)	Alvin Kamara
Todd Gurley (at DET) vs. LeSean McCoy (at MIA)	Todd Gurley

Start: Aaron Jones, GB (vs. ARI) 

Feel free to keep blindly trusting in Aaron Jones. 

It seems the Green Bay Packers coaching staff finally got the memo, letting Jones see heavy involvement every week since the Week 7 bye. Over that five-game span, he has hit double digits all but once and two of his last three outings have checked in at 24.8 points at a minimum. 

A versatile threat, Jones shouldn't have any problems erupting for a major day with the Arizona Cardinals in town considering that defense surrenders the fourth-most points to opposing backs this year. 

Those Cardinals have allowed at least one running back to reach double digits in all but one game this year, oftentimes letting two runners from the same backfield reach the mark. Barring a dramatic regression from the coaching staff, Jones should flirt with the 20-point mark. 

Sit: Adrian Peterson, WAS (at PHI) 

Roger Steinman/Associated Press

Check any holiday food with a fork recently? 

It's the same deal with Adrian Peterson. The surprise resurgence for the 33-year-old running back was fun while it lasted, but he's had single-digit performances in three of his last four outings. The exception was a two-touchdown affair, otherwise known as an anomaly. 

It all adds up nicely. Peterson's body is starting to break down. Defenses are figuring him out. His offensive line is down a pair of starters, if not more depending on Trent Williams' health. Worst of all, the Philadelphia Eagles only permit the 12th-fewest points to backs this year. 

Were Peterson five or so years younger, owners could blindly throw him into the fire this time of year and have reasonable expectations. Not anymore. 

WR

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
DeAndre Hopkins (vs. CLE) vs. Amari Cooper (vs. NO)	DeAndre Hopkins
Tyreek Hill (at OAK) vs. A.J. Green (vs. DEN)	A.J. Green
Antonio Brown (vs. LAC) vs. Keenan Allen (at PIT)	Antonio Brown
Julio Jones (vs. BAL) vs. T.Y. Hilton (at JAX)	Julio Jones
Mike Evans (vs. CAR) vs. Michael Thomas (at DAL)	Mike Evans

Start: D.J. Moore, CAR (at TB) 

On the other side of that Tampa Bay-Carolina encounter, expect rookie wideout D.J. Moore to put on a show. 

Moore has quickly made a fantasy name for himself lately, totaling 25.2 and 13.8 points over his last two outings. His meshing with Cam Newton and the Panthers offense figured to take some time as it does for all rookie wideouts, but the full-on arrival seems to be here. 

This is nothing but a good thing for those owners who scooped up Moore as he heads into a dance with the Buccaneers. The hosts allow the third-most points to wideouts on the season, allowing north of 15 to someone named Dante Pettis a week ago. 

Though he had a rough outing in Week 9 against these Buccaneers, Moore struggled on just two targets—he's had 17 over his last two games. 

Sit: Allen Robinson, CHI (at NYG) 

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

So much for the Allen Robinson breakout. 

It seemed like one of the offseason's biggest free-agent moves was finally close to matching the hype, as Robinson posted 28.3 points in Week 10, only his third trip to double digits all season. 

He's still at three heading into Week 13. 

Robinson followed up the massive outing with showings of 5.4 and 4.7 points despite a respectable 11 total targets over the two games. Now the outlook gets even bleaker on the road against a New York Giants team holding wideouts to the 11th-fewest positional points this season. 

TE

Matchup Comparison	Verdict
Travis Kelce (at OAK) vs. Greg Olsen (at TB)	Travis Kelce
Zach Ertz (vs. WAS) vs. Eric Ebron (at JAX)	Eric Ebron
Cameron Brate (vs. CAR) vs. Trey Burton (at NYG)	Trey Burton
David Njoku (at HOU) vs. Jonnu Smith (vs. NYJ)	David Njoku
Kyle Rudolph (at NE) vs. Jordan Reed (at PHI)	Jordan Reed

Start: Eric Ebron, IND (vs. JAX) 

A 19-point showing for Indianapolis Colts tight end Eric Ebron wasn't an anomaly by any means. 

Ebron quietly has eight double-digit showings this year, with half of them checking in at 15 or more points. Longtime fantasy owners know how odd this is for the position, though they have had to take the good with the bad considering two single-digit performances. 

In other words, Ebron gets a massive green light in Week 13 against a Jacksonville Jaguars defense allowing the eighth-most points to his position this season. 

Provided he's healthy, of course. Ebron missed practice Wednesday, so it's something to keep a close eye on all week. 

Sit: C.J. Uzomah, CIN (vs. DEN) 

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

More than a few owners probably had the right idea with Cincinnati Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah. 

Knowing Tyler Eifert's injury history and the fact he was more of a vertical threat than Tyler Kroft, Uzomah seemed like an obvious add. 

Yet over his last three games, Uzomah hasn't reached the seven-point mark—despite seeing a resounding 13 targets in one game. 

This unfortunate level of productivity won't do much to exploit a Denver Broncos defense allowing the ninth-most points to the position. Even worse, he'll have Jeff Driskel under center, not starter Andy Dalton. 

All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.