Fantasy Football Week 15 Starts, Sits: Advice For Toughest Lineup Decisions
Week 15 of the NFL season is here, and that means fantasy football league playoffs are underway across the world.
Choosing the wrong players at this stage of the season could cost you prize money, bragging rights or both. Don’t fret, though. We’re here to help.
Here are NESN.com’s top five fantasy football starts and sits for Week 14:
STARTS
Nick Foles, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Foles isn’t as good as Carson Wentz, but he’s not bad, either. He has plenty of weapons to target in the Eagles’ offense, and his matchup against the New York Giants defense is a good one. The Giants have given up a league-high 26 passing touchdowns and got torched last week by a Dallas Cowboys offense that was without elite running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Blake Bortles, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Nope, this isn’t a joke. You should strongly consider starting Bortles this week against a Houston Texans defense that’s missing its top two pass rushers (JJ Watt and Whitney Mercilus) and allowing 24 passing touchdowns, which is the third-most in the league. Bortles has averaged 288.5 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions over the last two weeks
Dion Lewis, RB, New England Patriots
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has looked shaky the last few weeks and it’s missing its two best players for this week in linebacker Ryan Shazier and cornerback Joe Haden. Lewis should get plenty of touches, both as a running back and a receiver out of the backfield. He’s tallied 90-plus rushing yards in two of the last three games and is averaging 5.5 yards per carry this season.
Latavius Murray, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Murray should be able to provide fantasy owners with solid production against a poor Cincinnati Bengals run defense that allows 132.2 yards per game with a total of 10 rushing touchdowns.
Josh Gordon, WR, Cleveland Browns
After not playing since 2014, Gordon has proven he’s still one of the most talented wide receivers in the league. He’s tallied seven catches for 154 yards and a touchdown in two games. He’s a good flex or WR2 option for fantasy owners Sunday.
SITS
Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Winston has thrown a total of four touchdown passes and four interceptions with no 300-yard performances over the last three games, and in Week 15 he’s going up against an Atlanta Falcons defense that is playing its best football of the season and allows the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt.
Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders
Carr has been a huge disappointment for fantasy owners this season, and you shouldn’t start him against the Dallas Cowboys even though their defense has allowed 24 touchdown passes and a 67.2 completion percentage. Over his last five games, Carr has thrown a total of six touchdown passes and four interceptions, with only one 300-yard performance.
Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Hyde is very talented, but the Tennessee Titans are a tough matchup for opposing running backs. The Titans’ defense allows the third-fewest yards per carry, and the unit is one of seven to allow less than 100 rushing yards per game this season.
Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
The Vikings allow just 3.9 yards per carry and 88.3 rushing yards per game. This is a bad matchup for Mixon, who was a limited participant in practice Thursday because of an injury.
Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Winston’s recent struggles have greatly impacted Evans’ fantasy production. The talented wideout hasn’t hauled in seven catches in a single game or scored a touchdown since Oct. 22 against the Buffalo Bills. His lack of receptions (four in the last two games combined) and touchdowns make him too much of a risk in both PPR and standard scoring leagues.
