Week 14 should be the end of the Fantasy Football regular season. Teams are clawing for division titles, begging for wild card scraps, or praying to the Fantasy Gods for that first-round bye. But it won’t be easy. There’s a lot of A-list players out with a mini-bye-mageddon this weekend: Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, Rico Dowdle, Chuba Hubbard, Tetairoa McMillan, Drake Maye, TreVeyon Henderson, Hunter Henry, Wan’Dale Robinson and Jaxson Dart. All these stalwarts on a bye, all vanishing from your lineup right when you need them most — like fathers running out for cigarettes. On the injury front, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Alvin Kamara, Aaron Jones, Tee Higgins, Drake London and Marvin Harrison Jr. might have to sit out. Be sure to track their status. If your league’s playoffs start this week, shame on you. They should not take place with four NFL teams on a bye. Your commissioner should get coal in his stocking.
GIDDY UP!
QB Dak Prescott at Lions — This is a smash spot for Dak. The Lions are still in a turkey-induced coma after getting carved up like a Butterball on Thanksgiving by Jordan Love (4 TD Passes). With injuries to safety Kerby Joseph (knee) and cornerback Terrion Arnold (concussion), the already thin Detroit secondary could get cooked again.
QB Jared Goff vs. Cowboys — The Dallas secondary is even worse than the Lions’. The erratic Goff should be forced to the air to keep pace with Dak. This game has the highest predicted point total (53.5) of the week. I’m loving this matchup for Goff.
RB Bucky Irving vs. Saints — In his first action since Week 4, Bucky was supposed to be on a pitch count. They lied. He led the Bucs with 17 carries, 61 yards and a TD. He had great success last year against the Saints (170 yards, 2 TDs), so ride him into battle as an RB1.
RB Quinshon Judkins vs. Titans — The wind chill in Cleveland this Sunday will be in the low 20s with wind gusts up to 22 mph. That’s not weather, that’s punishment. The 1-11 Titans wish they were home drinking Tennessee whiskey by the fire. The only thing keeping the Titans warm will be a red-hot Judkins.
WR Nico Collins at Chiefs — A tale of two teams in opposite directions; the Chiefs are flailing and the Texans are surging. As they make their playoff push, Houston will rely on their best player to hit pay dirt against Kansas City.
WR Michael Pittman at Jaguars — Pittman has had sickly showings in two out of his last three games, but the Jags are the prefect antidote. He’s never dipped below 13 fantasy points vs. the Jags since 2022.
TE Colby Parkinson at Cardinals — Seven TEs have had 50+ yards against the Cardinals in 2025. Colby’s best game to date has been 47 yards, but I say he cracks the half-century mark in sunny Arizona. I also really like Brenton Strange vs. the Colts.
WHOA DOWN!
QB Lamar Jackson vs. Steelers — Should you bench Jackson? Statistically, yes. He hasn’t thrown or run for a TD in a month. Is that a pattern or a warning? If you have better options, consider it. Otherwise, hold your nose, say a prayer, and start him. But you’ve been warned.
QB Tyrod Taylor vs. Dolphins — The matchup against Miami whispers hope, but don’t get carried away with Tyrod. He topped 200 yards passing just once in five appearances, has one TD pass per contest, and there’s a better than average chance he doesn’t finish the game due to injury.
RB David Montgomery vs. Cowboys — I see this game getting out of hand, limiting Monty’s usage on the ground. And he doesn’t catch many passes (20 all year). Best to hope for a short-yardage TD, but he’s only had three since Week 4.
RB D’Andre Swift at Packers — Green Bay’s tough run defense (8th) combined with an increased time share with Kyle Monangai bumps Swift down to RB3 territory.
WR Terry McLaurin at Vikings — Terry might be scary, but Minnesota’s pass D is scarier. For all their flaws, the 4-8 Vikes still possess a shutdown secondary as evidenced by just limiting the NFL’s best WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba to his worst game of the year (2/23 yards).
WR Khalil Shakir vs. Bengals — The Bengals boast the league’s worst run defense, so the Bills will repeat last week’s successful game plan, run the ball a ridiculous 51 times, and freeze Shakir out altogether.
TE AJ Barner at Falcons — The Falcons have given up one TD to TEs all season. Find a better option.
Thursday Night Special: The Cowboys are on a roll, shocking the Eagles and Chiefs. The Lions have lost four of their last seven, including to the Packers, Vikings, Eagles, and almost the Giants. My money’s on the Cowboys to hog tie the Lions and keep their impressive win streak going. Cowboys 38, Lions 35
Enter the code NEW30 for 30% off the subscription price of FantasyGuru.com, the finest source for Seasonal, DFS and Sports Gaming advice.
Bill Reinhard is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and a columnist for FantasyGuru.com.
