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 lineup 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 take precedence. But sometimes players are very close, and in those cases I'm glad to offer opinions on how I'd approach those situations. Sometimes I like certain players more or less than Ian, and sometimes I have different risk tolerance with injuries etc. If I don't get to your question, either I missed it (it happens) or the rankings are very clear. OK, on to the games!
Jets at Bills: Jets won the earlier meeting, and though most think the Bills will win the rematch, New York's potential for making this a game shouldn't be overlooked. The likely committee nature of both backfields is a problem, as are the wide receivers beyond the No. 1 guys, which is why they're ranked conservatively. Weather won't be an issue, at least.
Browns at Bengals: Weird that the Browns have won most recent games. But if you watched much of Deshaun Watson last week, that streak seems likely to end here. Cincinnati's offense should be very good, but with Cleveland you've got Watson's rust and the fact that Amari Cooper isn't 100 percent and it will need to be confirmed he's even active. David Njoku is back, though, and both starting running backs look good (but no Hayden Hurst for the Bengals).
Texans at Cowboys: It's the shooting dead fish in a barrel game of the week. Strange things happen all the time, but I can't see how the Texans consistently move the ball or stop Dallas, so thumbs up on all Cowboys, and down on virtually all Texans, whose main wideouts will be Chris Moore and Phillip Dorsett. Dameon Pierce is the tough one, since Dallas has in fact been weak against the run, but he'll be the defensive focus. Not an automatic bench, but if you start him you realize it could go poorly; ideally he'll get enough work while it's still a game to run for 60 yards and score. Both Dallas running backs look good, mild concern they won't need to pass a ton (so I'm not throwing Gallup into lineups, as a for instance).
Vikings at Lions: Should be higher-scoring, though the Lions defense has been playing better of late. Good thing with Minnesota is the offense tends to be focused through just a few players, although Adam Thielen disappoints more often than not, leaving just Jefferson, Hockenson and Cook as the strong options. We're buying into the D'Andre Swift now the lead back idea, so he looks like the week's better starter from this backfield. With Jamaal Williams you need a touchdown, though to his credit he's been a pretty good bet in that regard this year. Both QBs and both No. 1 wideouts ranked favorably.
Eagles at Giants: Giants defense plays tough at times, but hard to seriously downgrade key Eagles with the kind of numbers they've been putting up. The big question in this game is Saquon Barkley, who's questionable with a neck injury. He's been getting in limited practices, so I'm assuming he's fine and am using him where I have him. But some monitoring to confirm he's active will be required.
Ravens at Steelers: Big game in the AFC, with the Steelers on the outskirts of playoff contention and the Ravens (who can seemingly beat or lose to anyone) more comfortably there. But they'll be starting Tyler Huntley, the Steelers will be starting a lesser offense against a good Ravens defense, and the over-under of 37 might not be quite low enough. The tight ends look like the best options, and maybe George Pickens (with Diontae Johnson questionable). Tyler Huntley viable for his running, but all in all I'm thinking more defense than offense (and as a result both Ds look good). Usually this is the kind of game that shows up in primetime or has lousy weather or both, not this year.
Jaguars at Titans: Trevor Lawrence is questionable; I think he's playing, but makes sense to downgrade him some. It's a tough defense anyway that doesn't tend to give up a lot of touchdowns, the Eagles notwithstanding. No Treylon Burks for the Titans, but I'm leery of dipping into the other wide receiver options, even though I need one this week (I'm currently using Darius Slayton and Terrace Marshall, not with enthusiasm, but a tough week for byes. Six byes in Week 14! What the hey).
Kansas City at Broncos: Denver has a tough defense, so I think you can shy away from various Kansas City wideouts, who are always iffy to do anything anyway. But Patrick Mahomes and Isiah Pacheco look fine to me, and obviously Kelce. For Denver, I'll pass on pretty much everyone. The offense doesn't score, it's Week 14, I give up. Jerry Jeudy should see plenty of targets and Greg Dulcich will be a top 2 receiver, so OK, I'll use them.
Panthers at Seahawks: Seattle offense should be very good, the question is which running backs. Kenneth Walker (with his "jammed" ankle, thanks Pete Carroll) isn't expected to play, nor is DeeJay Dallas. That leaves Travis Homer as the likely starter, problem is he's always been more of a third-down back. So Tony Jones will also get some work. Homer is the best bet and he's ranked highest, but there's some risk. Good news is the Panthers run defense is bad, and Seattle's offense should have a lot of success moving the ball, helping them set their backs up in some favorable situations, e.g. near the goal line. D'Onta Foreman should be solid with Seattle's defense not good either, and as noted I'm using Marshall and would use DJ Moore. But let's not get too crazy with Sam Darnold or anything. Thumbs up on Geno, DK, Tyler.
Buccaneers at 49ers: Lower-scoring game. If Leonard Fournette is inactive, I'm fine using Rachaad White. If he's active, they're splitting time in a bad matchup. For San Francisco, I expect the main skill guys will be fine. Yeah it's Brock Purdy, but Jimmy G is just Jimmy G, he's more the beneficiary of the skill talent than the driver of that bus. But a tough matchup. Chris Godwin fine, Cade Otton and Mike Evans lower, but it's a pass-heavy offense and will be the same this week.
Dolphins at Chargers: I hate the arguments about Tua and Justin Herbert. They're both really good. Herbert is not the problem with the underachieving Chargers. Look around the NFL, see that more than half and possibly two thirds of the quarterbacks are mediocre or bad, and don't give the actual very good ones so much grief. Whatever. This game should be higher scoring. The return of Mike Williams complicates the outlook for Joshua Palmer, that's the main uncertainty. And the distribution of carries in the Miami backfield. Go with the rankings and blame us if you're trying to tap into those uncertain situations.
Patriots at Cardinals: There have been worse Monday games, but this one doesn't look outstanding. New England's offense faces a lousy defense, Arizona's offense faces a good defense. So it's easier to start some lesser New England players based on that. In general, Rhamondre and Conner look good for their full-time roles. Sounds like Jakobi Meyers (concussion) might not play, but nerve-racking counting on DeVante Parker or Nelson Agholor. But the matchup is good and the opportunity might be. Both quarterbacks look viable, but we mentioned we don't love Murray, it's just hard to keep him down too much with his pass-run combo.
Enjoy the games.