Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 15: Smartest Matchups to Exploit, Sleeper Plays and More

The fantasy football playoffs are rolling along, and hopefully your team is doing the same.

Week 14 wasn't light on curveballs, especially at the quarterback position. Props to anyone with the foresight to give a spot start to Tua Tagovailoa (316 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing score), Drew Lock (280 passing yards with four touchdowns) and even the forgotten Mitchell Trubisky (267 passing yards and three scores).

Will Week 15 take a step back toward normalcy, or are more surprises in store? We'll answer those questions and more with an early look at the top start-or-sit calls for the critical slate.

Start: Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams vs. New York Jets

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Far from a weekly starter, Jared Goff is still someone you want to roster with a favorable matchup on the docket.

It doesn't get much more favorable than the winless New York Jets, who allow the third-most fantasy points to the quarterback position, per Yahoo. They also surrender the second-most points per game (30.2) and occupy the same spot in passing yards yielded per contest (286.8).

Whether you're streaming quarterbacks or just in need of a quick lift, Goff is capable of putting big numbers on the stat sheet. He's thrown for more than 300 yards in three of his last six games and has multiple touchdown passes in just as many outings.

Sit: Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots

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Fantasy streaming is a tough business. One week, someone emerges as a star; the next, they're best to be avoided.

That's the case here with Tagovailoa, who probably punched multiple tickets to the next round with his Week 14 effort. But now Bill Belichick awaits the rookie, as does a New England defense holding quarterbacks to the sixth-fewest fantasy points at the position.

Complicating matters for the 22-year-old, he won't have a full arsenal of weapons around him. Preston Williams is already on injured reserve, and DeVante Parker, Mike Gesicki and Jakeem Grant all exited Sunday's loss to the Kansas City chiefs early with injuries.

It's hard trusting any rookie to solve the defensive puzzles presented by Belichick, and it's almost impossible for a young signal-caller operating with less than a full deck of cards.

Start: Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans

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The Jonathan Taylor hype train is steamrolling out of the station.

At one point, a crowded Colts backfield had limited the opportunities afforded to their rookie rusher, and his box scores were usually held in check. But Indy has entrusted him with heavier workloads of late, and he's taken them and...well, run with them. A lot.

Most recently, the 21-year-old popped for a career-high 150 rushing yards and two scores against the Las Vegas Raiders, but that was merely the continuation of a too-hot-to-touch streak. He now has 331 rushing yards to show for his last three outings, plus nine catches (on nine targets) for 83 yards and a score.

It's anyone's guess who can stop Taylor at this point, but don't bet on the Texans answering that call. Houston has allowed the second-most fantasy production to the position and ranks second-to-last in both yards per carry (5.0) and yards per game (152.3).

Sit: Todd Gurley II, RB, Atlanta Falcons

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Todd Gurley II's first go-round in Atlanta has been hit or miss, and his whiff rate is climbing at the least opportune time.

Saddled with the second-worst yards per carry average of his career (3.6), the 26-year-old has become volume-dependent, and the volume isn't nearly loud enough of late. He's managed single-digit carries each of his last three games and had as many or fewer carries than Ito Smith in the past two.

If Gurley's sliding stats weren't worrying enough, there's also a daunting date with Tampa's defense looming in Week 15.

The Bucs have been the NFL's best run defense by carry (3.5) and by contest (80.9), and they're one of only eight defenses to have allowed single-digit rushing touchdowns (nine). Only three defenses have allowed fewer fantasy points to the position this season.