For the next month, all I'll be listening to is Christmas music. I'm that guy. You've been reading content all season from that guy.
I'm really not sorry. Christmas is the best time of year, and for more than just the celebration, too. Yes, I'm excused for listening to bad music that brings a sense of nostalgia - something that's probably not excused any other time of year - but December also means something else is here: the fantasy football playoffs.
Perhaps your fantasy league's postseason doesn't start until next week, but plenty of them do begin in Week 14. Let's make some good lineup decisions, shall we?
Quarterback
Start our algorithms. The Eagles and Sanchez are fortunate to be playing at home against Seattle, but I still wouldn't trust the matchup at all. No quarterback has ranked higher than 18th in weekly scoring against Seattle since Week 5, while the average score over this time span versus the Seahawks has been an absurdly low 9.00 (median of 8.79). Sanchez has been a strong fantasy asset, but this isn't the week you want to throw him into your starting lineup.
Start ESPN.com shows me that Eric Decker is still being started in over 18 percent of leagues. I don't understand.
Decker has a grand total of nine receptions over his last three games, ranking as a WR4 in 12-team leagues this season. The Jets will face a Vikings secondary on Sunday that's allowed the 11th-fewest fantasy tallies to opposing wideouts, coming in ranking 11th against the pass in terms of Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP. While Decker may find the end zone, there's no way I'm banking on him in the playoffs.
Start Jarvis Landry - A guy I'd feel comfortable rolling with this weekend is Jarvis Landry, who's taken over as Ryan Tannehill's favorite target in the Dolphins offense.
Landry now has a silly-high 37 targets over Miami's last four contests, and he's ranked no worse than 30th at wide receiver in weekly PPR scoring since Week 8 ended. The Jimmy Smith-less Baltimore Ravens continue to struggle against the pass, making Landry a nice option, especially in PPR leagues.
Sit John Brown - You can't feel good about playing any Arizona Cardinal. The offense is a mess, and Drew Stanton has a worse Success Rate - the percentage of plays that are deemed positive in terms of NEP - than any other quarterback in the league not on the New York Jets. That means fewer effective completions for his wide receivers, which means less opportunity due to shortened drives. With only 10 targets in his last two games combined despite a Larry Fitzgerald injury, it's not smart to play Brown.
Start Stedman Bailey - As I mentioned above with Shaun Hill, the Washington Redskins' secondary has been incredibly ineffective this season. It hasn't just helped quarterbacks though -- wide receivers are naturally seeing the effect of this too.
Washington's allowed a top-six wide receiver performance in each of their last three games, while Stedman Bailey, over his last two, has seen 15 targets, 12 receptions, 189 yards and a touchdown. It shouldn't surprise anyone if he - the man who's becoming the Rams' top receiving threat - finds success in Washington this weekend.
Other Players to Start: Odell Beckham, DeAndre Hopkins
Other Players to Sit: Michael Crabtree, Andre Holmes
Tight End
Start Heath Miller - Miller saw a crazy 14 targets against the Saints last week, finishing as a top-five tight end option in PPR leagues as a result. He now has four top-six PPR games on the year, showing us all that, despite the fact that he now runs like a dad, Miller still has a high ceiling.
The Steelers get the Bengals this week, who have generally struggled against the tight end position this year. The position is also a wasteland right now, so having a player like Miller who's bound to see five or six targets is actually kind of rare.
Sit Owen Daniels - After performing like a legitimate TE1 for a couple of weeks, Owen Daniels has slowed his pace and now has just 12 targets over his last three games. During this stretch, he's scored no more than five fantasy points - PPR ones - in a given week. The Ravens face Miami in Week 13, who defend the tight end position better than anyone in the league. In fact, no tight end has ranked higher than 11th in weekly PPR scoring versus the Dolphins.
Start Kyle Rudolph - If you start Rudolph this week, you're mostly chasing a touchdown reception. He has the right matchup to score though, as the Jets have allowed 12 tight end touchdowns this season, two more than any other team. The hope, too, is that Rudolph continues to get healthier and see more volume in the Vikings' offense. Regardless, the scoring upside is there in Week 14.
Other Players to Start: Travis Kelce, Delanie Walker
Other Players to Sit: Luke Willson, Eric Ebron
Defense
Start the Minnesota Vikings - If you want upside in a streaming defense this week, Minnesota should be your go-to. They're at home (that's the first huge plus), are a top-half defense according to our numbers (that's the second one), and will face the Jets (ding ding ding!). New York has allowed five different defenses to rank in the weekly top four in defensive scoring this season, and why would you not want to target a defense facing Geno Smith?
Sit the Seattle Seahawks - Though I've mentioned how good the Seahawks defense has been, I can't ignore the fact that Vegas sees 48.5 points being scored in this contest, with the Eagles being favored. If the game was being played in Seattle, I'd be all good with a fantasy owner starting them. In Philadelphia, however, I'd look elsewhere.
Other Defenses to Start: Houston Texans, Detroit Lions
Other Players to Sit: San Diego Chargers, Buffalo Bills