We are only hours away from the start of week 14, but we can’t relax yet. With all of the relevant injury designations, weather and news, we have to stay focused. This article will cover the NFL week 14 injuries, news, and final lineups. This information will be continuously updated until the 1:00 PM EST kickoffs.
Last Updated: 12/09 12:50 PM EST
Joe Flacco, BAL, QB – OUT
Matt Stafford, DET, QB – Questionable
Melvin Gordon, LAC, RB – OUT
James Conner, PIT, RB – OUT
Kerryon Johnson, DET, RB – OUT
Doug Martin, OAK, RB – Questionable
Matt Breida, SF, RB – OUT
Isaiah Crowell, NYJ, RB – Active
Odell Beckham, NYG, WR – OUT
T.Y. Hilton, IND, WR – Active
Sammy Watkins, KC, WR – OUT
Keke Coutee, HOU, WR – OUT
DeSean Jackson, TB, WR – OUT
Josh Doctson, WAS, WR – Active
Robbie Anderson, NYJ, WR – Active
Seth Roberts, OAK, WR – Questionable
Michael Gallup, DAL, WR – Questionable (likely)
Mo Allie-Cox, IND, TE – OUT
Deone Bucannon, ARZ, OLB – OUT
Budda Baker, ARZ, SS – Questionable
Tony Jefferson, BAL, SS – Questionable (unlikely)
Tavon Young, BAL, CB – Questionable
Marlon Humphrey, BAL, CB – Questionable
Dre Kirkpatrick, CIN, CB – OUT
Vontaze Burfict, CIN, OLB – OUT
Cordy Glenn, CIN, T – OUT
Denzel Ward, CLE, CB – OUT
Phillip Gaines, CLE, CB – OUT
Larry Ogunjobi, CLE, DT – Questionable
Sean Lee, DAL, OLB – OUT
Chris Harris, DEN, CB – OUT
Darius Slay, DET, CB – Questionable
Bryan Bulaga, GB, T – Questionable (unlikely)
Johnathan Joseph, HOU, CB – Questionable
Ryan Kelly, IND, C – OUT
Eric Berry, KC, S – Questionable
Brandon Mebane, LAC, DT – Questionable (unlikely)
Xavien Howard, MIA, CB – OUT
Travis Swanson, MIA, C – Questionable
Stephon Gilmore, NE, CB – Questionable
Buster Skrine, NYJ, CB – Questionable
Maurice Hurst, OAK, DT – Questionable
Jalen Mills, PHI, CB – OUT
Jordan Hicks, PHI, MLB – OUT
Timmy Jernigan, PHI, DT – OUT
Demar Doctson, TB, T – Questionable
Last Updated: 12/09 12:50 PM EST
According to NFL Weather, no games are projected to have winds over 15 mph and the only game with projected precipitation is the New Orleans-Tampa Bay game, in which light rain is expected.
UPDATE: The New Orleans-Tampa Bay game will experience rain throughout the game and is expected to have 15 mph winds.
UPDATE: It has just been reported on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio that the rain has subsided in Tampa Bay and the sun is out. The field will be wet, but consistent rain is no longer expected during the game.
Last Updated: 12/09 12:50 PM EST
Last Updated: 12/09 12:50 PM EST
Quarterbacks:
Phillip Rivers,
Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck
Identifying the number one cash game quarterback was not hard this week; however, the margin between the top options is not as wide as myself or my co-host on the Suck My DFS Podcast may have led you to believe. To me, Phillip Rivers is the best cash game play. His $8,300 price tag is higher than what I usually want to pay, but there are issues with the second, third, and fourth options that give me pause. Aaron Rodgers, while he may physically and emotionally feel relief equivalent to Atlas taking five from holding the world on his shoulders, still has to play in the Mike McCarthy/Joe Philbin offense. Philbin himself admitted that he hadn’t called plays since the 90’s earlier this week. Even if Rodgers calls every play, he still has to choose from the best of the bad plays, as teams cannot install a new offense in one week.
For cash purposes, Jameis Winston and Andrew Luck have drawbacks as well. If weather wasn’t going to be an issue, Winston would be my preferred play even with Demar Dotson’s questionable status. We also don’t know if and or when Winston will revert back to turning the ball over, as this will likely be the first time in three weeks that they won’t be playing with a lead. As it relates to Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton’s injury status frightens me. This offense, and Luck, will struggle mightily if Hilton can’t play. Should Hilton come off the injury report, Luck will garner serious cash consideration, and will likely stay locked as my GPP tournament.
Rivers gets to play against one of the NFL’s worst teams, and with Austin Ekler slated to start at running back, it’s more likely that they build their lead through the air in the first half. He’s the only quarterback to throw for multiple touchdown passes and at least 200 yards in every game this season.
UPDATE: Aaron Rodgers is now my cash game quarterback. His slight discount in price gives me the flexibility, if needed, to move up from Keenan Allen to Michael Thomas. Rodgers will also be higher owned than Phillip Rivers in cash games, and thus, gives me a little extra protection.
UPDATE: It has just been announced that the Packers will be without both their starting guards and starting tackle, Bryan Bulaga. I think this dramatically impacts Aaron Jones, which could mean for an increase in attempts today for Rodgers. This announcement is not causing me to move off Rodgers in cash, for now.
UPDATE: The previous announcement about the Green Bay Packers offensive line has moved me off of Rodgers to Phillip Rivers. Rivers has way less risk and has the far superior matchup, the only question will be his volume.
Running Backs:
Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott, LeGarrette Blount, Jaylen Samuels
Making a case as to why Christian McCaffrey (CMC) and Ezekiel Elliott are good cash game plays this week would be a waste of my time and yours, but I’ll do it anyway. CMC faces Cleveland, who’s seen the fifth most rushing attempts and surrendered the fifth most rushing yards per game over their last three games. When you add CMC’s role as essentially the only running back taking snaps and Cam Newton’s apparent shoulder injury, he’s got an excellent path to making cash value despite his $9,100 price. Elliott has a similar usage with the Cowboys. While his matchup isn’t as great and Philadelphia is more vulnerable via the air, they’ve surrendered the fourth worst yards per attempts over their last three games with 5.8. In addition, Elliott has seen at least five targets in each of his last six games.
LeGarrette Blount is cash game viable with the absence of Kerryon Johnson, but you don’t need to take that risk as Jeff Wilson is the same price and will be far more popular in cash games. Blount represents the perfect pivot from Wilson in tournaments given their similarity in price. What separates the two are workload, which favors Wilson, and matchup, which favors Blount. In the last two games without Kerryon Johnson, Blount averages 17.5 attempts at 4.2 yards per carry. He faces what could be considered the absolute worst run defense in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have been poor all season and that trend continues as they’ve surrendered five yards per carry and 1.3 rushing touchdowns per game over their last three contests. Blount could easily score single digit points; however, he could also have a performance like he did against the Bears (22.8 FD points). And if he does, he’ll be owned in the low single-digits and will no doubt help you differentiate from your competitors.
Just play Jaylen Samuels. He could do exactly what Spencer Ware did last week and only produce 10 points, which won’t kill your chances in cash games. However, the opportunity costs of not playing him mean you won’t have access to multiple studs at the top like CMC, Elliott, or Kamara when the rest of the field does. Don’t get cute, start every cash lineup with Samuels as your running back two or flex.
Wide Receivers:
Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins, Keenan Allen, Chris Godwin, Courtland Sutton
The analysis for Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins is nearly identical. They both overwhelmingly lead their teams in target share, they both have tremendous chemistry with their quarterback, and they both will contend with capable offenses on the other side which will keep them involved the entire game.
Keenan Allen, while the number one receiver on his team, does not have the same kind of separation in terms or target share or touchdowns. However, his $7,900 price tag gives us a discount for that reason. Allen’s biggest problem will be how quickly the Chargers take the lead, and whether or not he was a big contributor. Since Allen spend most of his time in the slot, he won’t have to worry about seeing William Jackson in coverage.
Chris Godwin and Courtland Sutton will be two of the most popular receivers on the entire slate regardless of contest type. Both are $5,600 and both will benefit from injuries to teammates which should shift targets their way. Sutton will likely benefit from his teammates injury more, but Godwin will likely have a better matchup in a game where the Buccaneers have to throw. I’m personally using both of them in cash, allowing myself to pay up for two premium running backs and a tier one wide receiver.
Tight Ends:
Eric Ebron
Even with options like Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz on the main slate, Eric Ebron is the most attractive to me. We’ve seen that Ebron is gameflow proof. Whether it’s getting shut out in Jacksonville, or shooting it out in Houston, Ebron is a focal point of the offense. There is not situation, outside of an injury, that Ebron doesn’t get targeted at least seven times, including one or two redzone opportunities.
Defense/Special Teams:
Green Bay Packers
Other than the Chargers, there isn’t a defense that stands out as a must play. With that in mind, I’ll just try to identify what the most popular sub $4,000 defense is and play them. At this point, that defense is the Green Bay Packers; however, it’s likely to change.
Last Updated: 12/09 12:50 PM EST
This first lineup will represent my cash-game lineup. The second lineup is being used in all my single-entry contests between 100-1,176 people.
Featured Image Courtesy of Roto Street Journal
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