In addition to our weekly Waiver Wire posts, we’ll also be providing valuable matchup analysis each week along with our suggestions on who to start and who to bench. If you have any additional matchup questions, or you are not sure who to start this week, feel free to post them in our Fantasy Football Forum.

Indianapolis (13-0) at Jacksonville (7-6)
Indianapolis YARDS/GAME RANK Jacksonville YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 227.0 20th Passing Defense 239.5 26th
Rushing Defense 110.4 17th Rushing Defense 107.0 14th
Passing Offense 302.1 1st Passing Offense 229.9 18th
Rushing Offense 88.0 30th Rushing Offense 127.8 9th
Fantasy Impact: According to their head coach, the Colts starters will start and play this coming Thursday; so you might not have to bench them this week. Now with this being said, it is will be interesting to see how much they play. If you own Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, or Dallas Clark you probably do not have a great back up but if you have a serviceable back-up in any of those positions you have to ask yourself this, will my back-up do better than this Colt can in three quarters of play? I believe it is worth the gamble to start the Colts especially Manning and Clark because chances are they are head and shoulders better than your back up quarterback and back up tight end. For the Jags this is a huge game and will be treating it as a playoff match-up. The game plan is simple when you play the Colts – run the ball so Manning does not have it and Maurice Jones-Drew has always done well against Indy. Expect a good day out of him and possibly Mike Sims-Walker who was banged up last week and should not have played. If anyone is going to sit early for the Colts it might be there defense so Sims-Walker might get a quarter or two against the back-ups. He is not a WR1 but is a great flex option (if healthy) this week.
Dallas (8-5) at New Orleans (13-0)
Dallas YARDS/GAME RANK New Orleans YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 229.2 21st Passing Defense 235.6 23rd
Rushing Defense 100.2 8th Rushing Defense 112.0 19th
Passing Offense 274.9 7th Passing Offense 294.8 4th
Rushing Offense 128.5 7th Rushing Offense 138.9 5th
Fantasy Impact: Saturday night football is here and the unlike the Colts the Saints have something to play for. They need to win two out of the next three to clinch home field. This means Drew Brees will face a secondary that was burned last week by Chargers. Brees will find his targets which now includes Robert Meachem. Meachem has been a great second half find so feel safe starting him in deeper leagues along with the usual cast of Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey. Reggie Bush came to life last week but he is still a tough start in my eyes as long as Pierre Thomas is playing. Thomas is the running stud and start him accordingly. The entire Saints team will get a slight boost since linebacker DeMarcus Ware is doubtful to play on Saturday. December has to at least be in the back of the Cowboy’s minds but that just might give them the added drive beat this Saints team. This is a huge game for the Boys and I believe Tony Romo will have a nice day. For the last two weeks average quarterbacks have shredded the Saints defense so Romo could prove to be an excellent play. Miles Austin is the only Cowboy receiver worth starting and should be considered a high-end WR2 this week. Jason Witten has been up and down over the last few weeks but the Saint will double Austin leaving the door open for Witten start him in all leagues. Lastly, the Cowboys should try to control the clock but it is a time share out in big D., Marion Barber still has the most value but is a flex play at best.
Arizona (8-5) at Detroit (2-11)
Arizona YARDS/GAME RANK Detroit YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 248.6 28th Passing Defense 272.1 32nd
Rushing Defense 111.2 18th Rushing Defense 128.4 25th
Passing Offense 270.8 9th Passing Offense 222.5 20th
Rushing Offense 93.4 27th Rushing Offense 95.5 26th
Fantasy Impact: Again this is why we said trade for all Cardinals. They face a team in the Lions that give up big plays to receivers and the Cards have two of the tops in the league. Expect Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin to all be great plays this week. It is still a time share for the running backs so be careful there. The Cards have troubles with big, tall, fast, receivers – Calvin Johnson type receivers.
Cleveland (2-11) at Kansas City (3-10)
Cleveland YARDS/GAME RANK Kansas City YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 238.0 25th Passing Defense 237.2 24th
Rushing Defense 148.1 29th Rushing Defense 148.1 28th
Passing Offense 152.5 32nd Passing Offense 189.6 27th
Rushing Offense 104.5 20th Rushing Offense 102.2 21st
Fantasy Impact: If it was not for fantasy football who would actually care about this game? First for the Browns, true they beat my Steelers (if you have not figured out I am a Steelers fan but remember we said not to draft any of them so I can be impartial when needed) last week but no one is really worth starting. In deeper leagues you should have picked up Chris Jennings who might be the back of the future for the Browns and the coaching staff really likes him. So Jennings is a sleeper start in deeper leagues but hands off on the rest of the team. You might think to start Matt Cassel since it is the Browns but don’t do not start a single Chief other than Jamal Charles. Charles will be a nice draft pick next year and will start for the Chiefs since he has been lights out since taking the job from a cut Larry Johnson. Start Charles as a RB2 or even a low end RB1 this week. (yep he was on our deep sleeper video as well)
San Francisco (6-7) at Philadelphia (9-4)
San Francisco YARDS/GAME RANK Philadelphia YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 243.6 27th Passing Defense 218.6 18th
Rushing Defense 95.0 5th Rushing Defense 101.5 10th
Passing Offense 204.9 21st Passing Offense 271.5 8th
Rushing Offense 98.8 24th Rushing Offense 106.1 19th
Fantasy Impact: Alex Smith finally will face a big test this week in the Eagles. They simply shut down receivers but they do not shut down tight ends so my favorite and as proclaimed best fantasy tight end Vernon Davis is again a must start. Of course you will have to start Frank Gore but he is downgraded to a flex play even if the Eagles rush defense did not look that great last week. The Eagles will throw the ball to next years’ second round, roughly 17th overall pick, DeSean Jackson at least a few times for the deep ball and he will catch at least one of them making him a WR1 play this week. Donavan McNabb should also be considered a great start. Will Brain Westbrook play this week? The chances are a less than a coin flip but this hinders anyone that has been using LeSean McCoy. Keep an eye on the situation but downgrade both values if they are both active.
Chicago (5-8) at Baltimore (7-6)
Chicago YARDS/GAME RANK Baltimore YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 201.8 8th Passing Defense 208.2 11th
Rushing Defense 127.9 24th Rushing Defense 97.8 6th
Passing Offense 232.8 17th Passing Offense 240.4 14th
Rushing Offense 85.8 32nd Rushing Offense 127.8 8th
Fantasy Impact: Jay Cutler is just waiting for the season to be over at this point. He has been turning the ball over at a ridiculous rate. This week he is facing a defense that is hot and he can be sure to throw at least one pick over that time frame. Do not start Cutler if you can help it along with Devin Hester and Greg Olsen. One would think that this would leave the door open for Matt Forte however, defenses can play single coverage on the outside stacking the box against Forte. Forte is a flex play at best but that is only in deeper leagues. If you have made it this far then you know you first round pick Forte is a bust and sit him accordingly. The Ravens have been up and down however, with Mark Clayton sidelined it is only the Derrick Mason show for targets from Joe Flacco. Flacco should not be starting unless you are in a two quarterback league and Mason is a good WR2 option since the Bears secondary is not strong this season. The man for the Ravens is Ray Rice he (as stated after Week 3) will be a top five pick next season and is again a top five play this week.
New England (8-5) at Buffalo (5-8)
New England YARDS/GAME RANK Buffalo YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 211.3 14th Passing Defense 189.2 5th
Rushing Defense 109.3 16th Rushing Defense 170.5 32nd
Passing Offense 300.1 2nd Passing Offense 177.8 29th
Rushing Offense 118.5 14th Rushing Offense 113.4 17th
Fantasy Impact: Did Randy Moss quit last week? If he did he owes a ton of fantasy owners an apology. I believe he will not dog it this week and will have a nice game. That is if banged up Tom Brady plays. Brady has a ton of injuries however, I believe he will play on Sunday and will hook up with Moss early to quite the critics. One thing is certain Wes Welker will catch a ton of balls. He is on pace to possibly be the NFL all-time leader and I expect 10 more catches this week. The Bills do have a decent pass defense and a terrible run defense so Lawrence Maroney might have good day but the Pats throw the ball and it will be Welker having the huge day since the season the rush D is so bad is because once a back (or in this case Welker) gets into the second tier the Bills cannot tackle anyone. So will Terrell Owens be a Pat next year? I believe so even if no one else does. I think Owens might try to showcase his talent this game, he is my sleeper in deeper leagues. Other than Owens we can talk about Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson who both had an alright game last week but it is certainly Jackson that is the flex play not Lynch from this point forward.
Green Bay (9-4) at Pittsburgh (6-7)
Green Bay YARDS/GAME RANK Pittsburgh YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 187.0 3rd Passing Defense 209.2 13th
Rushing Defense 85.0 2nd Rushing Defense 84.9 1st
Passing Offense 276.5 6th Passing Offense 270.3 10th
Rushing Offense 119.3 13th Rushing Offense 113.5 16th
Fantasy Impact: I have said this before but Aaron Rodgers is having one hell of a year. First and foremost he is a must start no matter who is he is playing and this week he gets the Steelers who have lost to the Chiefs, Raiders, and Browns this season. (yes I am a Steelers fan and yes that hurts to write). This means start Rodgers, Donald Driver, and Greg Jennings this week. The Steelers are still Steelers when it comes to the rush attack so consider Ryan Grant a flex play and do not think he will put up the same numbers as he did last week. Ben Roethlisberger should start again and I expect Hines Ward to play but neither is a great option against this tough defense this also includes Santonio Holmes. Charles Woodson all but locked up defensive player of the year last game and will be playing to make it without question this week so Holmes might be hard pressed to get open. If the Steelers win they do it the old fashion way and that is by running the ball. This is good news for Rashard Mendenhall owners the bad news is the Packers run defense was built to stop division rival Adrian Peterson which means this second year star should have his own issues.
Miami (7-6) at Tennessee (6-7)
Miami YARDS/GAME RANK Tennessee YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 233.6 22nd Passing Defense 258.2 31st
Rushing Defense 106.1 13th Rushing Defense 99.4 7th
Passing Offense 192.5 25th Passing Offense 200.6 23rd
Rushing Offense 150.1 3rd Rushing Offense 165.3 2nd
Fantasy Impact: Ricky Williams was fumbling the ball a ton last week and some asked (my girlfriend, is he getting high again?) well I doubt it and I think he will have a good bounce back game. Williams is a RB2 even if he is facing a tough running defense like the Titans. Other experts like Chad Henne this week but if you are in the second round of your playoffs you have to have a better quarterback then Henne so please do not sit a starter for him. Vince Young went down for the Titans last week and is unclear if he will play this week but it does not matter. You start one Titan, next year’s number one overall pick, Chris Johnson. Johnson will do what he does and keep helping you finish first in your league.
Houston (6-7) at St. Louis (1-12)
Houston YARDS/GAME RANK St. Louis YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 214.8 15th Passing Defense 222.8 19th
Rushing Defense 114.5 20th Rushing Defense 147.2 27th
Passing Offense 295.9 3rd Passing Offense 195.2 24th
Rushing Offense 88.7 29th Rushing Offense 117.6 15th
Fantasy Impact: Like the Cards, we loved the Texans playoff match-ups and Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson did what they were suppose to do last week with a huge day and I believe will do it again this week. It does not matter if a corner and two safeties are watching Johnson, he is the best receiver in the game (yes I am still saying that) and will prove it again this week. He is leading the league in receiver yards and should add to that lead this week. Since I am so high on Johnson I am also high on Schaub. Schaub is a great start this week and should be consider a top five play. Looks like we were all wrong because Arian Foster looks to be the guy to own as far as the running back goes for the Texans, he had the most carries last week. With that being said do not start any Texan running back because it is a full blown time share. Now for the Rams it is only one guy who is a good start this week – Steven Jackson. He should have a nice day against the Texans and even might finally punch another one in at the goal line this game.
Atlanta (6-7) at New York Jets (7-6)
Atlanta YARDS/GAME RANK New York Jets YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 257.8 30th Passing Defense 160.4 1st
Rushing Defense 117.8 23rd Rushing Defense 104.3 11th
Passing Offense 236.3 15th Passing Offense 169.3 30th
Rushing Offense 111.5 18th Rushing Offense 169.1 1st
Fantasy Impact: Matt Ryan and Michael Turner might be back this week, and if so, then start both of them but be careful. The Jets defense has been solid again as of late and might make it hard for two guys coming off injuries. If Ryan and Turner start, then things should open up a little bit for Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez but White is a flex play at best due to Darrell Revis checking him. The Jets on the other hand have to love this match-up; too bad no receiver is talented enough to start and yes this includes stone- hands Braylon Edwards. The only Jet worth starting is Thomas Jones and he is a solid RB2 this week.
Oakland (4-9) at Denver (8-5)
Oakland YARDS/GAME RANK Denver YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 218.3 17th Passing Defense 183.3 2nd
Rushing Defense 154.2 30th Rushing Defense 107.4 15th
Passing Offense 165.0 31st Passing Offense 225.2 19th
Rushing Offense 101.6 22nd Rushing Offense 123.2 12th
Fantasy Impact: I can finally write how bad JaMarcus Russell is again this week. Due to an injury, Russell found himself in the game against the Redskins and immediately proved why he is the worst quarterback in the league. No Oakland Raider should get a start against a tough Denver defense but if you need one guy then that man is Justin Fargas. Fargas (another one of our sleepers) is the starter and actually has had a few decent outings in a row. Only in the deepest leagues should he be considered a flex play and yes Louis Murphy is a breakout player but if you are in the second round of the playoffs you have to have better options. The Broncos need this game and Brandon Marshall is coming off an all-time record 21 catches. (he might have worked out in points per receptions leagues) I do not see why he will not catch at least 10 this week and he might even get closer to the 15 mark. Marshall is a great play and is a WR1 this week. This does not mean I suggest start Kyle Orton in standard leagues but in two quarterback leagues you certainly could do worse. The running situation is scary but Knowshon Moreno gets the slight edge of Cornell Buckhalter once again.
Cincinnati (9-4) at San Diego (10-3)
Cincinnati YARDS/GAME RANK San Diego YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 209.1 12th Passing Defense 207.1 10th
Rushing Defense 86.4 3rd Rushing Defense 117.1 21st
Passing Offense 203.8 22nd Passing Offense 278.4 5th
Rushing Offense 132.8 6th Rushing Offense 87.5 31st
Fantasy Impact: This the tale of two teams going in what seems to be the opposite direction. The Bengles have been playing not quite as well as they have had but since serviceable. The fantasy player not serviceable is Carson Palmer who has yet to throw for over 300 yards. Sit Palmer but when Palmer does find a receiver it always seems to be Chad Ocho Cinco. Ocho Cinco will get a ton of attention and should be considered a low end WR2 or a flex play but should be a starter for you. I have a feeling that Cincy will want to keep the Chargers off the field so they will go back to the comeback player of the year Cedric Benson. Benson will get the rock over 30 times (bold prediction) and have a nice day on Sunday. For the Chargers, I have been loving my boy Vincent Jackson and he finally bounced back last week. I expect Phillip Rivers to find his tall target early and often. When you mix in the fact Antonio Gates has been playing great Rivers with a sub par Cincy secondary expect Norv Turner to move to 17 and 0 in December. (this is way he always keeps his job) The combo of LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles equals a serviceable running back but for fantasy term you cannot do that so try not to start either against a good front line.
Tampa Bay (1-12) at Seattle (5-8)
Tampa Bay YARDS/GAME RANK Seattle YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 200.2 7th Passing Defense 252.8 29th
Rushing Defense 161.2 31st Rushing Defense 104.3 12th
Passing Offense 191.2 26th Passing Offense 240.4 13th
Rushing Offense 98.2 25th Rushing Offense 91.0 28th
Fantasy Impact: Just like the Browns and Chiefs, this game is only watched by fantasy owners and home town fans. First I have nothing to say about the Bucs – do not start any of them and this includes my favorite dud Antonio Bryant. We have selected Bryant as a dud five times this year and we are five for five. He has been playing better as of late but he is way too inconsistent to even start against a secondary that let Andre Johnson run wild last week. Now the Seattle Seahawks have been driving people crazy all year speaking of inconsistency, but I have a feeling that this week against a terrible pass defense and a rush attack that cannot get to the quarterback Seattle will have a nice day. Yes I say start TJ Houshmandzadeh – I know he has been a huge disappointment but I consider him even a WR2 this week. No back for either team is worth starting due to the time share and I am not even going to make a pick because you are not even thinking of starting any of them if you made it this far in the playoffs.
Minnesota at Carolina (5-8)
Minnesota YARDS/GAME RANK Carolina YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 216.7 16th Passing Defense 192.4 6th
Rushing Defense 86.9 4th Rushing Defense 137.3 26th
Passing Offense 269.2 11th Passing Offense 187.5 28th
Rushing Offense 125.0 11th Rushing Offense 149.9 4th
Fantasy Impact: Brett Favre had a bounce back game last week and should continue to roll as the Vikings travel east to Carolina. Sidney Rice is still a breakout star and if Percy Harvin’s head feels ok (and return yards count) consider all three a good play this week. Now the Panthers have a tough time against the run and I do not need to tell you start Adrian Peterson because you are in second round and drafted him with your first overall pick. The Panthers Steve Smith has been playing better but Jake Delhomme might be back. This does not really hinder him but the fact it is the Vikings does. The interesting match-up will be the running game of Carolina against this unstoppable defense line of the Vikings. DeAngelo Williams is always a must start but he is flex play this week since I think the Vikings line will win this match up and yes this means Jonathan Stewart needs to be on your bench.
New York Giants (7-6) at Washington (4-9)
New York Giants YARDS/GAME RANK Washington YARDS/GAME RANK
Passing Defense 206.5 9th Passing Defense 188.0 4th
Rushing Defense 100.6 9th Rushing Defense 117.5 22nd
Passing Offense 268.3 12th Passing Offense 236.0 16th
Rushing Offense 125.2 10th Rushing Offense 100.9 23rd
Fantasy Impact: Monday night will be in the Nation’s Capitol and again Jason Campbell looks to be the perfect pick up and play. The Giants secondary is so banged up and has been awful while the Skins are putting up almost 30 points a game their last three. You might ask who the hell is scoring if the Skins are putting up 30? The answer is 2-year tight end Fred Davis who has officially broken out to the point where some Skins fans are saying they should trade their favorite Chris Cooley. This means yes play Davis this week, maybe even over a semi proven player. Also, Devin Thomas has stepped up but not worth a start unless you are in a deep league. The future might be now for the Redskins as Quinton Ganther got the start last week and found the endzone twice. He will start again but faces a much tougher Giants line. Not a terrible flex-play but do not expect two touches again. (got that one right as a pick up and play roll the dice call in many of the forums) The Giants have to win this game and the way teams beat the Redskins is running the ball to set up the pass. I believe the Giants will give a heavy dose of Brandon Jacobs followed up with touch of Ahmad Bradshaw who returned from an injury in nice fashion last week. This should set up the pass for Eli Manning to find Steve Smith. Now with all this being said this is historically a defensive battle and all players cannot be considered higher than a second option.
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