Every Saturday morning, I'll take a quick look at all the week's games, offering my own take on what I think will happen, as well as touching on significant injury news since our Weekly came out. I'll check in every so often over the course of the day to answer questions, too.
What follows is a brief look at all the games with how I'd react in my own lineups to injury developments or other news. The official rankings are the ones in the Weekly. Those are the ones that subscribers are paying for. Sometimes players are very close in the rankings, and if I get questions like that, I'll offer opinions. Sometimes I like certain players more or less than Ian, and sometimes I have different risk tolerance with injuries/weather issues, etc.
Bears at Lions: Game played this afternoon, so get those lineups set. I'm using Marvin Jones and would use Tate and Stafford, but note the Bears defense has been pretty solid in most of its games. For Chicago I'm using Howard while acknowledging a negative game script where he becomes less useful is possible. Kind of like Tarik Cohen in deeper leagues. Gonna be very hard for one of these 7-6 teams like the Lions and Packers to slip into the playoffs.
Chargers at Kansas City: I'm a little concerned about Philip Rivers on the road against a defense that's been tough for him in the past. But he's playing great, the defense isn't as good this year, and my alternative is Matt Ryan, who simply looked awful in his last game. So I'm hinging Week 15 on Rivers and the Chargers. Respect for the Chargers defense has me cool on Kansas City's passing game, but I probably couldn't sit Hill and Kelce should be fine. Hunt comes off a good game, good matchup there.
Dolphins at Bills: Weather won't be as bad/awesome as it was last week. Still wouldn't use any Bills but LeSean McCoy and possibly Charles Clay in desperation. Usual Dolphins look OK, mostly Drake and Landry. It will be cold but they're not expecting snow this time.
Packers at Panthers: Missed out on Jamaal Williams' big game last week. But he's starting at zero this week like everyone else and I'm not using him against one of the league's best run defenses. I'd use Rodgers, my feeling is he should be able to stay intact as long as nobody drives him into the ground shoulder-first. And I've dusted off Jordy Nelson and am using him in a league, too. Green Bay's defense pretty soft so I'm fine with all Panthers, though Devin Funchess missed some practice time with a shoulder injury; gotta make sure he's active. Tomorrow morning one to stick by the computer if you've got a big playoff game.
Ravens at Browns: Really disgusted by John Dorsey's comments this week to rip the previous GM. What the hell, man. Even if you feel that way, not sure what purpose those comments serve. New sheriff in town! And he's short on class. Oh yeah, the game. Baltimore D pretty good. I'd go ahead and use Josh Gordon and maybe Duke Johnson in PPR, but wary of everyone else. Better matchup for Baltimore's passing game than run, but Mike Wallace has an ankle injury that cost him some practice time this week.
Texans at Jaguars: Leonard Fournette didn't practice all week. There's a chance he'll be inactive, or at best limited. I don't have him anywhere but would at the very least be watching the inactives, and a little wary of using him even if he's available. Better to switch him out for a comparable option if you have anyone remotely close. Similar situation with DeAndre Hopkins, although I'm assuming he'll play, but again, gotta check those inactives. Jacksonville can probably get by with other runners, while Houston's offense would crash and burn if Hopkins out.
Bengals at Vikings: Cincinnati's defense is basically a skeleton crew this week. Latavius Murray in particular looks great, and they don't have anyone who can cover Adam Thielen or Stefon Diggs, either. Biggest worry is maybe Case Keenum won't up big numbers if they're running at will and Cincinnati's offense is struggling. No Kyle Rudolph, David Morgan is the TD-only fill-in, make sure Joe Mixon is active (and tough matchup for him and A.J. Green, the only Bengals you should be really considering).
Jets at Saints: Personally I've seen enough of Bryce Petty to know I want nothing to do with the Jets offense. I guess maybe Robby Anderson or Austin Seferian-Jenkins could happen to catch a touchdown at some point, but my overall feeling is one of, stay away. Saints should do pretty much whatever they want, and similar with Case Keenum, there's some worry that if the Saints are running great, Drew Brees won't need to do as much. But maybe Brees throws a couple of touchdowns to running backs and so forth. Saints should roll and their offense should be fine and their defense is a nice one-week option.
Eagles at Giants: Will be cold for this one, and it's Nick Foles in, so I'm thinking the Eagles will run a lot; not as excited about the passing game. With the Giants, they seem in favor of runs and really short passes. So I'm sitting Sterling Shepard, and using Evan Engram in PPR with my fingers crossed. And I want no part of the three-back committee against the league's best run defense.
Cardinals at Washington: Washington defense against sack-prone Blaine Gabbert is one of our prime streamers. Kerwynn Williams and Samaje Perine both look decent, and I'm hoping Larry Fitzgerald has just two more big games in him, the next two weeks.
Rams at Seahawks: Huge game in the NFC West. Seattle's defense is really banged-up, a plus for those of us counting on Todd Gurley and any Rams receivers. Russell Wilson is a legit MVP candidate and I'm using him and other key Seattle offensive players, including Mike Davis. I think the NFC will be better off if both these teams make the playoffs. A good NFC team will miss. Supposed to be rainy for this one, maybe a negative for passing offenses.
Patriots at Steelers: Huge game. I'm surprised by the number of people thinking Pittsburgh will win. I hope I'm wrong, but this matchup generally has not gone well for the Steelers of late, and their defense is pretty shorthanded without Shazier and Haden (may play, but we'll see). That being said, key starters for both teams look fine in a probable high-scoring affair. JuJu Smith-Schuster has a hamstring injury, best avoided if possible.
Titans at 49ers: As mentioned previously, I'm basically totally disgusted with the Titans and their fantasy production this year. I'd use Delanie Walker against his former team but am cool on the running back committee and underperforming Marcus Mariota. For San Francisco, Carlos Hyde is one of those players you probably drafted early and have to use for his modest weekly production -- enough that he's better than your bench options, not enough to get excited about using him. Guess I can drop C.J. Beathard in dynasty, sorry man.
Cowboys at Raiders: This game, right? Who knows why the league didn't flex this eyesore out of the Sunday night lineup. Why have the ability to flex games at all if you're not going to use it in this case? Raiders ain't going to the playoffs and Cowboys seem pretty unlikely, too. League needs to take a look at their scheduling practices which keep giving up the Dolphins in primetime too. As for this, thumbs up on Crabtree and Bryant. Quarterbacks and running backs look OK too. No Amari Cooper, which most fantasy teams have been saying for a while.
Falcons at Bucs: As noted earlier, I'm sitting Ryan for Rivers. But this is a great matchup and I think the Falcons offense will be very good. No Tevin Coleman, most likely, and he certainly shouldn't be used. The disappointing Mike Evans gets one of his last chances to help fantasy teams who have been burned by him all year long. Can't blame anyone for being down on him. If I had him, I'd probably use him about as the rankings suggest. I want no part of the Bucs ground game though. Jameis Winston says every Bucs player supports Dirk Koetter. OK, right.
Enjoy the games.