NFL fantasy football: Players who can make a difference in playoffs

In most leagues, Week 15 is likely a key fantasy playoff week. With that in mind, let’s quickly get to highlighting players who could make a difference and a few players to possibly avoid. Remember, there are two Saturday games this week.

Play ’Em

▪ Starting Jared Goff (Los Angeles Rams) takes some leap of faith off a four-interception game at Chicago, though he should rebound back at home against an Eagles defense allowing 277.4 passing yards per game (third most).

▪ Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh) plays at an elite level at home (307 passing yards and 2.7 touchdowns per game this season) and he’s thrown for at least 300 yards in five of his past six games against New England.

▪ Baker Mayfield (Cleveland) has quickly shown to be a solid NFL starter, averaging 268 yards and 1.9 passing touchdowns per week, and he gets a Broncos defense allowing 320 yards passing over the past three games.

▪ Josh Allen (Buffalo) has developed a safe floor of fantasy statistics with his rushing productivity. Allen averages 112 yards rushing over his past three games.

▪ Joe Mixon (Cincinnati) should be busy and effective at home this week – Oakland allows 144.5 yards rushing per game (second most).

▪ John DeFilippo is out as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator while Kevin Stefanski takes over. With that change, it’s reasonable to expect a quick uptick in offensive performance and perhaps a larger workload for star running back Dalvin Cook (Minnesota).

▪ Nick Chubb (Cleveland) has turned into a safe, must-start fantasy running back with touchdowns in five straight games.

▪ Leonard Fournette (Jacksonville) comes off a rough outing, but keep the faith this week against a Washington defense that has allowed 37 points per game over their past three (second most).

▪ Lamar Miller (Houston) has averaged 91 rushing yards in his past seven games while the Jets have allowed 173.7 rushing over its past three games (most in the NFL).

▪ Tevin Coleman (Atlanta) is tough to trust given his recent production, though this is a good set-up – at home and against the 30th-ranked run defense that also allows 1.4 rushing touchdowns per game (most in the NFL).

▪ Kenneth Dixon (Baltimore) has looked strong averaging 5.4 yards on 31 touches and the Ravens’ coaches have said his role will grow, and it’s a week for solid production against a Tampa defense allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs.

▪ Robert Woods (Los Angeles Rams) remains consistent at 79.4 yards per game, and this is a spot for a strong game against an Eagles defense allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.

▪ Allen Robinson (Chicago) is due for a score and remains the Bears’ top target (five receptions in each of the past two games), and he gets a Packers defense allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.

▪ Curtis Samuel (Carolina) and DJ Moore (Carolina) are strong plays – Samuel has gone over 80 yards in back-to-back games and Moore has averaged 90 receiving yards in his past four games, while New Orleans allows the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.

▪ The passing volume hasn’t been high for the Seahawks, but Tyler Lockett (Seattle) remains a solid fantasy starter nonetheless. Lockett has five receptions or a touchdown in every game this season except one.

▪ Tim Patrick (Denver) has sleeper potential as an under-the-radar wide receiver option – he led the Broncos last week in yards and targets with Emmanuel Sanders out while the Browns allow 277.9 yards passing per game (second-most).

Sit ’Em

▪ Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay) hasn’t thrown an interception in 368 consecutive passes (an NFL record), but going against the Bears’ defense should be avoided (it allows the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks).

▪ Marlon Mack (Indianapolis) has totaled just 33 yards in each of his past two games and it’s hard to see that improving much against a Dallas defense allowing a league-low 59.7 yards rushing per game over its past three.

▪ Mike Evans (Tampa Bay) is a star talent, but he could be benched this week against a stout Ravens defense allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers and a league-low 18.5 points per game.

This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 10:46 PM.