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Week 14: First Look
Individual Fantasy Breakdowns of Each Week 14 Game
One Week Season
December 04, 2024
By: Mike Johnson (@mjohnson86)
At this point in the season, most trade deadlines have passed so the “Buy Low, Sell High” article no longer makes sense! In its place, on Wednesdays we will give you a quick summary of each game’s important information to know and pay attention to as you get ready for your lineup decisions in these key weeks to end the season and into the playoffs.
Packers at Lions
Spread/Total: DET -3, 51.5
Weather: Dome
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Romeo Doubs, WR, GB
Matchup Notes:
Second matchup between teams, first was played in wet weather in Green Bay in Week 8.
Detroit opponents pass at the second-highest rate in the league.
Packers WR Jayden Reed has gone over 100 receiving yards three times this season – all three of Green Bay’s losses.
Saints at Giants
Spread/Total: NO -4.5, 40.5
Weather: 45 and clear
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Saints TE Taysom Hill – OUT
Saints RB Kendre Miller may return from IR
Giants starting QB undecided between Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito
Giants TE Theo Johnson is out for the season
Matchup Notes:
26th- and 27th-ranked run defenses in the league
Saints still alive for playoff berth, but pretty much have to win out
Browns at Steelers
Spread/Total: PIT -6.5, 44.5
Weather: 40 and clear
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Browns WR Cedric Tillman (concussion)
Matchup Notes:
Teams played two weeks ago in Cleveland in a blizzard, Browns won a close one.
Steelers take a two-game lead in AFC North with a win.
Jameis Winston is averaging 336 passing yards in five starts, including 497 on Monday night against Denver. Cleveland leads the league in pass rate.
Russell Wilson had 414 passing yards against the Bengals last week, the most he has had in a game since 2017.
Falcons at Vikings
Spread/Total: MIN -5.5, 45.5
Weather: Dome
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Vikings tight end Josh Oliver has missed the last two games and T.J. Hockenson has had a near every-down role in that time.
Matchup Notes:
Kirk Cousins returns to face his old team. Cousins has struggled against pressure this season and the Vikings lead the league in blitz rate.
Minnesota’s defense faces the highest opponent pass rate in the NFL.
Kyle Pitts had zero receptions last week, but the Vikings gave up 12 receptions to Trey McBride last week. Pitts and Drake London could see a lot of quick targets.
Raiders at Buccaneers
Spread/Total: TB -6.5, 46.5
Weather: 75 and clear
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Bucky Irving, TB, RB – Hurt his hip in Week 13 but returned to the game.
Raiders RBs Alexander Mattison and Zamir White have missed back-to-back games.
Matchup Notes:
Tampa Bay’s defense operates as an effective “pass funnel” as they are strong against the run but allow the third-most passing yards per game in the NFL.
Las Vegas has scored over 20 points in a game once since Week 3.
Raiders TE Brock Bowers and WR Jakobi Meyers have averaged a combined 24 targets per game in the three games since their Week 10 bye.
Panthers at Eagles
Spread/Total: PHI -12.5, 45.5
Weather: 45 and clear
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert is expected to miss this game, leaving Grant Calcaterra as the starting tight end.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.
Panthers rookie WR Jalen Coker may return this week and it is unclear what Carolina’s WR rotation will be with him back.
Matchup Notes:
Bryce Young has been playing very well lately, but he gets a much tougher matchup against an elite Eagles defense.
Saquon Barkley has the NFL single-season rushing record in his sights and faces the league’s worst run defense.
Carolina is 29th in DVOA against TEs this season, making Grant Calcaterra an interesting streaming option.
Jaguars at Titans
Spread/Total: TEN -3.5, 40.5
Weather: 55, slight chance of rain
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Mac Jones will start at QB for the Jaguars.
Titans RB Tyjae Spears returned last week but Tony Pollard still dominated usage.
Matchup Notes:
Calvin Ridley has been terrific against man coverage this season and the Jaguars play man at the third-highest rate in the league.
Jacksonville WR Brian Thomas Jr. narrowly missed two long touchdowns last week and the Jaguars will likely have to throw the ball a lot in this matchup.
Jets at Dolphins
Spread/Total: MIA -6, 44.5
Weather: 75 and clear
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Breece Hall, RB, NYJ – Played through a knee injury in Week 13 and missed practice on Wednesday.
Matchup Notes:
Miami has had 10 days of rest after losing to Green Bay on Thanksgiving.
Jets rookie WR Malachi Corley played a season high in snaps in Week 13 coming out of New York’s bye and could be given more opportunities down the stretch of a lost season.
The Jets rank 27th in plays per game, while the Dolphins rank second in opponent plays per game allowed – which could result in very low play volume for New York.
Seahawks at Cardinals
Spread/Total: ARI -2.5, 44.5
Weather: Dome
Key Injuries to Monitor:
DK Metcalf, WR, SEA – Has been dealing with a knee issue but should be good to go.
Matchup Notes:
These teams played in rainy weather two weeks ago in a game which did not have an offensive touchdown.
Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. leads all rookies with seven receiving touchdowns and all of them have been scored in a dome or in Miami.
Arizona TE Trey McBride has 73 receptions without a receiving touchdown. The NFL record is 86.
Bills at Rams
Spread/Total: BUF -5, 49.5
Weather: Dome
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Keon Coleman, WR, BUF
Dalton Kincaid, TE, BUF
Matchup Notes:
The Rams’ defense has given up most of their big games to opposing RBs and perimeter WRs, making Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman potentially interesting Flex options this week.
Buffalo has a very good run defense and is strong against perimeter and downfield passing. This should result in a high volume of targets to Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua in the middle of the field.
Bears at 49ers
Spread/Total: SF -4.5, 43.5
Weather: 60 and clear
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Roschon Johnson, RB, CHI – If he is out, D’Andre Swift could see a huge workload.
49ers tackle Trent Williams has missed multiple games and is critical to their offense.
49ers star defenders Nick Bosa and Fred Warner are battling injuries. If one or both miss this game, the Bears’ chances of success are much higher.
Matchup Notes:
49ers WR Deebo Samuel has played very poorly lately, but his role could grow with Christian McCaffrey done for the season.
The Bears’ defense operates as a “run funnel” due to their conservative shell coverages and strong secondary.
San Francisco’s defensive injuries have made them much more beatable than we have seen in past years.
This is the first game for Chicago since firing head coach Matt Eberflus, and it wouldn’t be surprising for rookie WR Rome Odunze to be featured now that the team is clearly looking to the future.
Chargers at Chiefs
Spread/Total: KC -3.5, 42.5
Weather: 50 and clear
Key Injuries to Monitor:
Ladd McConkey, WR, LAC – Was having a monster game in Week 13 before sustaining a knee injury. Status looks very iffy for this week.
Matchup Notes:
Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt split the RB duties for the Chiefs in Pacheco’s first game back.
Los Angeles has had a weak run defense in recent weeks.
Kansas City ranks 11th in the NFL in point differential despite its 11-1 record.
Bengals at Cowboys
Spread/Total: CIN -5, 49.5
Weather: Dome
Key Injuries to Monitor:
CeeDee Lamb, WR, DAL
Jake Ferguson, TE, DAL
Matchup Notes:
The Cowboys’ defense has played better the last two weeks but lost several key defensive backs to injury and could be very overwhelmed against the Bengals’ elite passing game.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle is coming off his best game of the season and has an elite matchup against the Bengals.
Both teams must win to stay alive for a playoff berth.
Chase Brown continues to dominate the RB work for the Bengals since they lost Zack Moss.