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Week 14 Top Plays - GRIND TIME ⚙️

QB:

• Alex Smith, KC (vs OAK) [CASH]Andy Reid finally handed over the play calling duties last week and Alex Smith got back to throwing the ball downfield which was clearly working at the start of the season. The Raiders are ranked 30th against quarterbacks over the last 4 games and 23rd overall on the season. This game has one of the highest over/under totals of the slate at 47.5 points with only a 4 point spread in favor of the Chiefs. Look for Alex Smith to get back to the level of play he was seeing earlier in the season.

• Jared Goff, LAR (vs PHI) [TOURNAMENT]It's somewhat of a tough matchup for Goff as the Eagles are ranked 11th overall on the season against Quarterbacks and 1st overall over the last 4 weeks. However they've only had to face the likes of Trubisky, Prescott (without Zeke), Osweiler and Beathard, so they've padded their recent stats facing some of the worst quarterbacks and teams in the league. Goff has flashed his upside at times this year and the Rams currently have one of the highest team implied point total for the main slate at 25.3 points. The Eagles no doubt have one of the better pass rushes in the league but the Rams have also been one of the best teams at avoiding sacks only allowing 20 on the season.

• Josh McCown, NYJ (@DEN) [CONTRARIAN] The stiff Denver defense we saw earlier in the year has fallen apart over the past 6 weeks. They went from being a top 5 defense against the run and pass in week 8 to now being ranked 13th against Quarterbacks on the season and 20th over the last 4 games. The Jets continue to exceed everyones expectations coming into this season as McCown surely made some sort of deal with the devil to have this sort of season, so we may as well ride it while it continues.

Other QBs to consider:

• Jimmy Garoppolo, SF (@HOU): Gets to face the worst pass defense in the league after putting up 293 yards last week against one of the better pass defenses.

• DeShone Kizer, CLE (vs GB): Just missed some huge passes to Gordon last week, surely an extra week of practice and facing the 20th ranked pass defense, he can do better.

• Blaine Gabbert, ARI (vs TEN): 2 of his 3 starts were against top pass defenses and he looked decent and now he's back to face a below average pass defense.

RB:

• Lamar Miller, HOU (vs SF) [CASH]The 49ers are ranked 31st against running backs on the season, giving up 107 yards rushing and a half a TD per game. Houston has been terrible without Watson, but Miller has still been seeing 16+ rushes per game. The volume should be there in what looks like a winnable home game for the Texans. On a salary per carry value basis, Miller is near the top of the list in a very positive matchup.

• Melvin Gordon, LAC (vs WAS) [TOURNAMENT]Gordon has seen 19+ rushing attempts in each of the last 3 games. He's been fairly quiet since week 6, but the volume remains and the Chargers have been hot. Most of the touchdowns have been going to Keenan Allen, but Gordon has a chance to see 2 any given week. Washington is ranked 23rd against running backs on the season allowing 94 yards and .8 TDS per game.

• Kareem Hunt, KC (vs OAK) [CONTRARIAN]After taking off the reigns of Alex Smith last week, the deep passing game should open running lanes for Kareem Hunt as it was doing earlier in the season. Oakland is going to have to worry about both the passing game and the running game now, and these are the situations where big plays can be had. After 5 straight disappointing weeks, Hunt should be low owned and have some high upside against the 20th ranked defense against running backs allowing 29 FPPG on the road.

Other RBs to consider: 

• Giovani Bernard, CIN (vs CHI): Mixon likely won't play, leaving Bernard as the main back. It's a below average matchup, but the workload should be there in a home game.

• Mike Davis, SEA (@JAX): Seattle's running game has been a disaster all season, but Mike Davis looked darn good against the eagles last week.

• LeSean McCoy, BUF (vs IND): Gets one of the better matchups of the week, however injured Tyrod as a question mark complicates matters. Even though with Peterman as QB, McCoy had a big game.

TE

• Stephen Anderson, HOU (v.SF) [CASH]CJ Fiedorowicz joins Ryan Griffin on IR, leaving TE duties all up to Anderson. Last week is unlikely to repeat itself, but the dude got 12 targets and is priced like a punt play. His matchup with SF is a desirable one as well, 4 of the last 5 TEs to face this defense scored a touchdown. There are a lot of great TE options this week, but this one should get decent ownership in cash games, is super cheap and should produce.

• Hunter Henry, LAC (v.WSH) - If I weren’t terrified of the Chargers doing a Chargers thing and not getting this man the ball, he’d be a cash play. He SHOULD be good this week.

• Zach Ertz/Trey Burton, PHI (@LAR) - I like whomever the Eagles start at TE this week. Should be high scoring, and the TEs are an important part of the Philly offense.

DEFENSE:

• Cincinnati Bengals (v.CHI) [CASH]The Bears are content with going through the growing pains of starting a raw quarterback. That’s good news for opposing fantasy defenses. The Bengals don’t have a lot of good performances, but there really aren’t many good options at defense this week. This is probably the best matchup, it’s just a matter of the Bengals taking advantage of it. The Bears have 10 offensive points in their last two games so the floor for the Bengals is pretty high.

• Los Angeles Chargers (v.WSH) [TOURNAMENT]The Washington offensive line has been battered with injuries. Right tackle Morgan Moses was carted off last week, and left tackle Trent Williams has been battling a bad knee injury for most of the season. Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram should feast in this one. There should be plenty of opportunities for strip sacks and scoop-n-scores.

• Seattle Seahawks (@JAX) [CONTRARIAN]The Jags will likely be the higher owned defense in this one since they are at home and have been the better defense this year. The Seahawks d tends to step up in big games, however, and this is one as they want to maintain their lead for the wild card and they’re going up against this year’s best defense so they’ll want to show out. The defense is dealing with injuries, but they performed well against the Eagles despite that, so they should be able to handle the Jags. Bortles hasn’t thrown many INTs on the year, but he hasn’t played many good defenses, so that can definitely change as well.

Other DEF to consider:

• New England Patriots, (@MIA) - The Patriots are on fire. Jay Cutler is Jay Cutler. They’re the best bet of the week if you play a slate with the Monday Night Game.

• Chicago Bears, (@CIN) - Not a lot of good cheap options. The Bears D is beat up, but they face the Bengals only 6 days after they played a violent game with the Steelers and it should be cold.

INJURIES TO WATCH:

• Cam Newton, CAR - Shoulder, limited in practice, probably maintenance related

• Matt Stafford, DET - Right Hand, didn’t throw in practice, questionable

• Dak Prescott, DAL - Right Hand, will play

• Tyrod Taylor, BUF - Knee, won’t practice, day-to-day

• Mark Ingram, NO - Toe, didn’t practice, questionable

• Joe Mixon, CIN - Concussion, didn’t practice, unlikely to play

• Ameer Abdullah, DET - Neck, didn’t play last week, questionable

• Adrian Peterson, ARI - Neck, didn’t practice, questionable

• Doug Martin, TB - Concussion, limited, likely to play

• Jonathan Stewart, CAR - Ankle/Foot, not practicing, likely to play

• Damien Williams, MIA - Shoulder, not practicing, unlikely to play

• Robert Woods, LAR - Shoulder, not expected to play

• Rishard Matthews, TEN - Hamstring, limited, likely to play

• Amari Cooper, OAK - Concussion/ankle, unlikely to play

• Chris Hogan, NE - Shoulder, limited practice, likely to play

• Will Fuller V, HOU - Ribs, unlikely to play

• Sterling Shepard, NYG - Hamstring, didn’t practice, questionable

• Allen Hurns, JAX - Ankle, won’t practice, unlikely to play

• Kelvin Benjamin, BUF - Knee, limited practice, questionable

• Zach Ertz, PHI - Concussion, didn’t practice, questionable

• Delanie Walker, TEN - Ankle, didn’t practice, likely to play

• Hunter Henry, LAC - Knee, limited practice, likely to play

• Charles Clay, BUF - Knee, didn’t practice, likely to play

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