Fantasy football: 5 sleepers to start, 5 starters to sit in Week 14

Fantasy football Sleepers, sits, starts, ahead of Week 14.

It’s crunch time in fantasy football.

A little scouting and you can avoid a crucial late-season loss or do just enough to cross the finish line with a win this week. We’ve got you covered with a quick scouting report to help you out.

Here are five sleepers to start and five starters you’ve got to sit in fantasy football Week 14:

Starts

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

QB Tom Brady

Things aren’t going well for the Patriots. Correction: Things aren’t going well for the Patriots offense. Their defense had led them to their 10-2 record. But this could be a good game to have faith in Tom Brady. The Chiefs have an offense that could put up some points even against a stout defense such as New England’s, plus Brady played well against the Kansas City defense twice last season. He had 340 yards and two scores in that game, which was also a home game for him.

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Chiefs’ opponent preview, Week 13: Scouting the Raiders

A detailed scouting report on the Chiefs’ Week 13 opponent, the Oakland Raiders.

The 7-4 Kansas City Chiefs return from their bye week to face the 6-5 Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead.

Back in Week 2, the Chiefs beat the Raiders 28-10. Oakland jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead but would fall flat and not score another point. The Chiefs exploded in the second quarter with 28 points and never look back.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 443 yards and four touchdowns and receiver Demarcus Robinson had a career day with six receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns.

Kansas City is looking to sweep Oakland for the fifth time in the last seven seasons. If it does, it will essentially have a three-game lead over the Raiders with just four games to go, all but locking up the AFC West.

Make sure to check out our first scouting report on the Raiders earlier this season. There you’ll find the history between these two teams, the Raiders’ key additions and subtractions in personnel, key players, and coaching schemes. Check out the next page in order to find the key matchups for the Week 13 contest.

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9 fantasy sleepers for Week 13

Sam Darnold, Benny Snell Jr. and LeSean McCoy highlight the Week 13 list of fantasy sleepers.

In most fantasy football leagues, Week 13 is the final week of the regular season. You might be desperate for a win and need one sleeper to put you over the top.

Or you might already be well set for the playoffs. Even if you are, you should be looking to add as much depth as possible for the postseason.

Either way, Touchdown Wire presents nine fantasy football sleepers for Week 13.

9. Russell Gage, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Gage could be a good player to start in the Thanksgiving night game with the Saints. He gradually has taken on a bigger role in the offense because so much defensive attention goes to Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Gage had eight catches for 76 yards in Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay. He should play a bigger role going forward.

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Bills playoff picture: Damien Williams rejoined Chiefs ahead of Mexico trip

Buffalo Bills playoff picture: It appears the Chiefs will have the services of running back Damian Williams against the Chargers on Monday Night Football in Mexico City.

It appears the Chiefs will have the services of running back Damien Williams against the Chargers on Monday Night Football in Mexico City.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Williams, who was listed as questionable coming into Week 11’s final game, made the international journey down south with his teammates.

Williams missed the Chiefs’ practices on Friday and Saturday due to personal reasons. In Week 10 during a Chiefs loss to the Titans, Williams was their starter. Former Bill LeSean McCoy was actually a healthy scratch.

Per Chiefs Wire, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid cited McCoy’s age and workload for the decision to make McCoy inactive. McCoy has also struggled with ball security with KC. Williams had a costly fumble in the Chiefs’ loss to the Titans, too. Other than the fumble, Williams had a productive game, averaging 4.1 yards per carry (77 rush yards) while adding another five catches for 32 yards.

Even Chiefs Wire admits that there’s “no telling” which of those two will be the starting back on Monday Night Football.

The upcoming game against the Chargers on Monday is a big one for the Chiefs and Bills in regards to the AFC playoff picture.

If the playoffs started today, the 7-3 Bills – the first wild-card team – would face the 6-4 Chiefs, who lead the AFC West and hold the fourth seed in the conference.

But the Chiefs have the Raiders right on their backside, who also sit at 6-4.

An added nugget as well: If the Chargers lose this game, their playoff hopes are likely done as well as they enter the game at 4-6.

All three of the aforementioned AFC West squads will be teams the Bills scoreboard watch the rest of the 2019 season. Buffalo has no meetings against any of them down the stretch.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid explains RB LeSean McCoy’s absence vs. Titans

Is this a reasonable explanation for why RB LeSean McCoy was made inactive or just the one that Andy Reid is giving out?

Kansas City Chiefs running back LeSean McCoy was a healthy scratch against the Tennessee Titans in Week 10.

There was little indication leading up to the game against the Titans that McCoy would get the week off. Perhaps the writing was on the wall after McCoy lost a crucial fumble in Week 8 against the Packers. The Chiefs turned to Damien Williams in Week 9 as McCoy saw just six snaps.

If we’re to believe Andy Reid’s explanation, McCoy being made inactive had nothing to do with the fumble. Instead, Reid claims to be managing the workload of the 31-year-old running back.

“Yeah, I just thought it was the right thing to do right now,” Reid said after the game. “LeSean’s not getting any younger, so it’s important that I manage him the right way as we go. I just thought it was the right thing to do at this time.”

Basically, Reid chalked missing this game up to McCoy receiving veteran rest. What exactly warrants that rest, though? McCoy did have an ankle injury earlier this season, but he did not appear on the injury report during the week leading up to the Titans game.

As far as the workload is concerned, McCoy has played only 204 snaps this season. His game-high of 32 snaps came against the Detroit Lions in Week 4. Williams has seen 220 total snaps on the season, so it isn’t like McCoy is getting workhorse snaps every week.

Reid wouldn’t commit to a sure plan for McCoy moving forward. It seems there’s something Reid wants to see from him in practice before he returns to the lineup.

“We’ll see,” Reid said. “I’ll just manage him the way that I think is best so that he stays effective throughout the season. That’s not where I’m at right this minute. I’ll get there with him. We’ll see how it goes this week.”

That bit about staying effective has me wondering if Reid isn’t trying to motivate McCoy by making him inactive. It feels strikingly similar to what happened with Reggie Ragland earlier in the season. Reid claimed he was still a starter, yet he was inactive for several weeks before he was eased back in and became a bigger part of the game plan.

Could something like that work with McCoy? We’ll find out when he makes his return, which could be as early as Monday night in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers in Mexico City.