Week 14 ended with a bang as Baltimore and Cleveland had a high-scoring, 47-42 Monday Night Football thriller. Many playoff games were decided last night. If you were able to survive and advance, you are now only two weeks away from winning your league title.
If you have made it this far, more likely than not, your starting lineup is strong as is your opponent’s. Now is the time to make sound decisions on who to start, and kicking and defensive choices matter. Take time to examine your WR3, your FLEX, your RB2. Do not overthink it, but examine the match-ups. You would hate to leave valuable points on your bench.
First off, let’s take a look at some defensive options for Week 15. The Rams are rostered in every league, as are the Steelers and Dolphins. If you have any of them, do not overthink anything and start them with confidence. The Ravens defense is reeling, but has a strong match-up at home against Jacksonville.
Here are a few streaming options to consider this week:
Buffalo (BUF): The Buffalo offense is humming, but the defense stood-out against Pittsburgh. They now face off against Drew Lock. Playing on the road at Mile High can always be tricky, but Buffalo should control the game and put pressure on the Broncos to keep up. There is potential for a number of turnovers.
San Francisco (SF): Road favorite at Dallas (-2.5) with a 45 point game total; the Dallas offense could have issues.
If you are streaming quarterbacks, consider these options:
Phillip Rivers (IND): The Texans defense is terrible. Mitch Trubisky just had his way with them in a Week 14 contest. The Colts offense is hitting its stride, with Jonathan Taylor is running well and finally coming to life. In addition, Nyheim Hines is a weapon and the passing game has healthy options with T.Y. Hilton and Michael Pittman. Consider Rivers to be a QB1 this week.
Jalen Hurts (PHI): Hurts was recommended on our Waiver Grab last week and was solid, leading his team to victory in New Orleans. He now faces off against Arizona. Arizona is a near-touchdown favorite, but Philadelphia should be able to move the ball. Hurts has a built in floor with his rushing ability. In superflex, fire-up Hurts. Roster him to block your opponents even if you do not need him.
Kickers are always difficult to predict. We do not want kickers to lose the game for us (Dan Bailey last week). Justin Tucker, Harrison Butker and Rodrigo Blankenship should be rostered everywhere, but there are a few kickers this week that standout. Having a 6-7 point kicker advantage can make the difference between winning and losing.
Mason Crosby (GB): This is an easy one: The Packers are big favorites at home on Saturday night. The Packers should hang a number on Carolina in a game with a 50+ point total. This would be my preferred option this week.
Matt Gay (LAR): The Rams face off against the Jets. They should have no problem scoring.
Daniel Carlson (LVR): The Chargers come into Sin City for a Thursday Night tilt with the highest Vegas point total on the board at 55. Carlson is a reliable kicker who sees plenty of opportunities. Use him with confidence.
In terms of waivers, there is not a home run-add this week, but there are a number of players who should be rostered. Remember, you are not only adding players to your roster, but you are preventing your opponents from adding them. If you are holding a lot of FAB, there is no reward for taking it with you. There are only two weeks left — spend it.
As always, our threshold are players rostered in less than 20 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Jeff Wilson RB San Francisco (19%)
Wilson is in a split with Raheem Mostert, but is the preferred goal line back. He found the end zone last week against Washington. He now has a good match-up against Dallas and a divisional game next week against San Francisco. Wilson can be used as a FLEX or a low-end RB2 this week.
Lynn Bowden WR/RB Miami (2%)
Bowden had an eye-opening performance last week against the Chiefs with 7 catches for 82 yards. He now has 11 catches for 123 yards in his last two games. The Dolphins offense is decimated; Mike Gesicki, Devante Parker and Preston Williams could all miss this week. Bowden can be fired up as a WR3. As an added bonus, Bowden is RB eligible in Yahoo! — add him with confidence.
Peyton Barber RB Washington ( 8%)
Barber is the definition of a low-ceiling play, but we cannot discount the fact that he had 12 carries last week. Only consider in the deepest of formats.
Russell Gage WR Atlanta (11%)
Gage has been on our Waiver Grabs article a few times this season. He is a nice play for deep leagues with Julio Jones out. Last week, Gage caught 5 passes for 82 yards. As an added bonus, he threw a touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley. The Falcons lack weapons, and Gage should be a big part of the game plan as long as Jones remains out.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling WR Green Bay (20%)
The proverbial boom-or-bust play at wideout, “MVS” is coming off of a 6 catch performance with 85 yards and a TD. If you are in a jam, consider using him in a solid match-up against Carolina. The Packers should score a lot of points. This is the sort of play that you should consider if you are an underdog.
Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins WR Cleveland (13%)
Higgins is coming off back-to-back solid games. Last night on Monday Night Football, he had 6 catches for 68 yards and a score. He has 19 targets over the last two and is displaying great chemistry with Baker Mayfield. You may not want to use him this week, but consider adding him. Next week he has a great match-up against the embarrassing Jets.
Cole Kmet Chicago TE (6%)
The second-round draft pick is coming on for Chicago. He had 4 catches for 41 yards last week, and is playing over 70 percent of snaps. Minnesota has been stingy against tight ends this season, but if you are in a jam, consider Kmet.
Irv Smith Minnesota TE (7%)
I cannot get away from Irv Smith.
I love his game and potential. Last week he had 4 catches for 63 yards and a score against Tampa Bay. There is a chance that Kyle Rudolph misses another game, and if he does, Smith would be a low-end TE1. It would be great to see Smith end the year with a bang (especially for my dynasty teams).
Best of luck in Week 15!