NFL Fantasy Football Start and Sit Week 13

We had a rough go of it in Week 12, missing on start calls for Matt Ryan (injury) and Jason Snelling (Michael Turner returned), while missing on all of our sleeper picks.

We learned not to trust in Browns players, and that even though a quarterback (Tony Romo) is struggling and going up against a very solid pass defense, he can still go off and make you look like a fool.

With that said, accept our apologies for the off week, and allow us to make it right with a set of picks that will steer your in the right direction for Week 13.

Start

Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears

In any other week, Cutler is among three quarterbacks who have thrown way too many interceptions in 2009 to even remotely consider. However, he has a nice matchup with a weak St. Louis Rams defense, and he's too talented to stay down at this level for long. Get a good week out of him before you ride someone else through the playoffs.

Prediction: 22-30, 301 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT

Alex Smith, QB, San Francisco 49ers

Smith has been playing well as of late and has a solid matchup this week against a Seattle pass defense that can't stop tight ends to save its life and really hasn't been very good against the pass overall. We like Frank Gore to do his thing this week as well, but there's a very good chance Smith hooks up with Vernon Davis a couple of times this week, making him a solid play if you need him.

Prediction: 20-29, 266 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT

Fred Jackson, RB, Buffalo Bills

Jackson totaled 116 yards last week and has a firm grasp of the Bills' starting running back gig, supplanting former starter Marshawn Lynch. He's facing a New York Jets defense that definitely can be run on, and the only thing stopping him is some poor play from Ryan Fitzpatrick. At the very worst, he should be a very strong Flex option going forward.

Prediction: 17 att, 89 yds, 1 TD, 4 rec, 36 yds, 0 TD

Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers

Stewart and the rest of the Carolina rush offense were very mediocre last week, but that was largely due to the Panthers relying on Jake Delhomme way more than they should have. Delhomme has an injured finger and could be seeing the bench very soon, so expect a heavy dose of the rushing attack this week. That, and starter DeAngelo Williams is nicked up again, so we like Stewart's chances.

Prediction: 14 att, 75 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec, 14 yds, 0 TD

Malcolm Floyd, WR, San Diego Chargers

We've been down on Floyd ever since he stepped into the starting lineup, and while he still hasn't had a game with more than three catches, his 80-plus-yard performance last week showed us he has the big-play ability worthy of a WR3 spot. Only use him if you really need to, but we like his chances this week against the Browns' horrible pass defense.

Prediction: 4 rec, 89 yds, 1 TD

Sit

Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants

Manning is shrugging off yet another issue with his foot, but we're not being so quick to excuse it this time around. The Giants still haven't done a great job reverting to their supposedly strong running game, so Manning may be forced into action. That may not mean good numbers against a Dallas Cowboys defense that looks much better than it did in the first meeting earlier this year.

Prediction: 17-33, 244 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT

For the rest of the "Sit" calls this week, as well as the sleepers, go here .