Every Saturday morning, I'll take a quick look at all the week's games, offering my own brief 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.
Washington at Titans: I assume at least most people who would have been starting Derrick Henry here were eliminated from the playoffs a while ago. Other than him, there aren't many desirable options. Tennessee should run a ton and Washington's offense shouldn't do much of anything. I picked up Jeremy Sprinkle in a best-ball lineup league because, hey, No. 1 tight end. And maybe Jamison Crowder catches some balls, and I think Washington will give Adrian Peterson 15-20 carries even if it's not working. Great game to do the rest of your Christmas shopping.
Ravens at Chargers: Melvin Gordon seems to be fine and I'd use him. I'm less confident personally in Keenan Allen. I have him and JuJu Smith-Schuster playing on the same team (for 3rd place, thanks for last week guys) and not entirely sure what I'm going to do. I think I will start Allen, because JuJu seems iffier. For the Ravens, Gus Edwards should be the main runner, I'm expecting a competitive game. I'm using Philip Rivers, he's earned it (and my alternatives aren't better).
Giants at Colts: No Odell Beckham, just another star who's not there for the fantasy playoffs. Why the Giants haven't put him on IR, I have no idea, my guess is they want to sell tickets for Week 17 by having people thinking he might play. Big game coming for Marlon Mack, I think, with the Giants really awful against the run. Will that hurt the passing offense, like it did last week? Possible. I think you use Hilton and Ebron and probably Luck, but it might work out that they don't have to do as much. Engram fine for the Giants, Shepard more of an eh option, because all of his good games were earlier in the season.
Jaguars at Dolphins: Should be lots of running here. Leonard Fournette for the Jaguars, Kalen Ballage for Miami. Seems a little more trustworthy than Kenyan Drake, but Adam Gase doesn't like your fantasy team. Zero interest in either passing game.
Falcons at Panthers: We've discussed this game elsewhere on the site. The absence of Cam Newton doesn't have to be a bad thing for Carolina's passing game. Hard to trust Moore or Samuel or Ian Thomas after last week, but at least their quarterback has a functional throwing arm. Tevin Coleman should be pretty much a full-time back for Atlanta. I expect Julio Jones will play, but it's not certain; need to be on hand for those inactives. Christian McCaffrey should be the best player on the field, by a wide margin. Hey, Carolina not officially eliminated yet! How crazy would that be. I know, not gonna happen.
Bengals at Browns: Nick Chubb and Joe Mixon are my favorite players in this game. Both look very good, Chubb for running and Mixon for total yards (because what else is Cincinnati going to do with no Green or Tyler Boyd). I suppose it's a nice matchup for Mayfield and Landry, but I don't see the Bengals offense pushing them to really do a ton.
Bucs at Cowboys: Should be a Cowboys win, with Ezekiel Elliott putting up huge numbers and maybe a little Prescott to Cooper along the way. For Tampa Bay, they'll maybe put up some serviceable production from Mike Evans, but I can't see investing too heavily in their offense. I think I have to use Peyton Barber somewhere, so hopefully he falls into the end zone somewhere during a 27-14 loss.
Vikings at Lions: Detroit's offense also looks essentially unusable right now. Zach Zenner should be a starting running back against a defense that's been a little off against the run of late. Hopefully Kenny Golladay finishes with good numbers, although he's questionable with a chest injury, so some risk in using him. But Matthew Stafford and the rest of the offense should struggle. For Minnesota, Dalvin Cook should be good for all-around production in PPR, and the wide receivers look fine. Healthy players in a must-win game; can be hard to come by this kind of year.
Bills at Patriots: Zero interest in the Bills offense in this game. Josh Allen should struggle. LeSean McCoy and Chris Ivory are both playing and shouldn't do much. For New England, should be an easy win and I'm fine using Brady, Michel, White, Gronk, Edelman. Not counting on good production from whoever replaces Josh Gordon the most.
Packers at Jets: Aaron Rodgers is playing, but I'm not expecting huge numbers. He has the groin injury, I guess, and says he's only playing to show leadership or whatever. I think it will be a heavy dose of Jamaal Williams. For the Jets I really like Robby Anderson (wish I'd liked him more last week) and would be OK with Elijah McGuire. Some chance it's a decent offensive game for both teams, so regular starters are fine. No apparent weather concerns, it's balmy here in the Northeast right now.
Texans at Eagles: We're not too keen on Houston's offense in this game. I think I need to use Deshaun Watson, and at least Philadelphia is weakest against the pass. Certainly no one is sitting down DeAndre Hopkins. But Lamar Miller is questionable and the Eagles are tough on the run, so the ground game is best avoided. I feel the same about Philadelphia's offense; committee, uncertain how the backs will be used, best avoided. Ertz and Jeffery look fine, those are the highlights.
Rams at Cardinals: I don't think Todd Gurley is playing. If the Rams can't win this game without Gurley they're not going anywhere in the playoffs anyway, so they need to try to do so while giving him a week of rest. Should be a C.J. Anderson-John Kelly committee, and the Rams will probably wind up passing more than running. Or scoring a defensive touchdown, also possible. Larry Fitzgerald's last home game? Have to think he's at least considering hanging them up. Loved his quote this week though: "When I retire I'll let you know...I won't say 'this is my last game, celebrate me.'" Larry is awesome. Maybe he rises up with a good game here, but more realistically I'd pass on the Cardinals offense. I guess David Johnson in PPR.
Bears at 49ers: Discussing Jordan Howard with a friend, I kind of realized that I only like to use him at home against a bad run defense/sorry opponent. San Francisco has been competitive, especially at home. Chris Carson had a nice game against them last week, but I think Tarik Cohen is Chicago's better back. Mitchell Trubisky looks fine, at least, for both passing and running, and Cohen. Hard to trust any of the receivers. For San Francisco, I would not start anyone but George Kittle. Moving on.
Steelers at Saints: So I'm not optimistic about JuJu. Groin injuries aren't the kind of thing you suck it up and run routes with. Might be inactive, might try to play and have to come out. Unfortunate, but I think it's best to scour the bench or waiver wire for alternate options. For the Saints, their offense should be great, if anyone relying on Saints actually survived Week 15, I didn't. For the Steelers I like Samuels and Brown and I suppose Big Ben will get his points along the way, but I don't view James Washington as a nifty plug and play. They've got Eli Rogers, they've got two capable tight ends. I just don't see a huge game from Washington, but doesn't mean I'm right.
Kansas City at Seahawks: Rain potentially an issue in Seattle, though I think if Patrick Mahomes has gotten you this far, you're not messing around. He's starting, so are Tyreek and Kelce, so is Damien Williams as a full-time running back, pretty much (Ware doubtful, he's not playing). For Seattle, they'll probably put up good offensive numbers, too, so Carson and (I think) Baldwin and Lockett and Wilson are all viable. Should be a good game and an important one for playoffs in both conferences.
Broncos at Raiders: Christmas Eve, and it was pointed out to me that Denver has played a road game on either Christmas Eve or Christmas night three years in a row. Brutal! I know, they get paid well. Still seems unfair that Denver keeps getting that slot. As for the game, I was a little surprised to see Denver favored. Raiders might be playing their last-ever game in Oakland. What's the Broncos' motivation? Oakland has also played better at home. I like Phillip Lindsay and that's about it for the Broncos. Raiders, we like Jared Cook and I'd grudgingly sign off on Jordy Nelson.
Enjoy the games.