The light is at the end of the fantasy tunnel, and all of our work has led us to the final week of the fantasy regular season. Fantasy managers still in the playoff hunt are all working to secure their best position to find a route to a championship!
When it comes down to it, making the right lineup decisions is more important this week than maybe any other week of the season to date. For the final time of the fantasy regular season, we’re here to walk through a few matchups at each position before getting those final lineups set for Week 14!
Make sure to use all of the awesome tools at Footclan HQ to help better decide who’s in your lineup this week!
Quarterbacks
vs HOU
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Consensus -
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
The return to a fantasy superstar has been a nice ride for Patrick Mahomes this season. Mahomes is currently the QB2 on the year and has been insanely consistent for fantasy managers, finishing as a top-10 QB in 9 of his 12 games already this season. What’s more exciting for fantasy managers is that Mahomes has gotten back to the “boom” games that win weeks, with six games this season over 25+ fantasy points. Consistency has been key for Mahomes, though, with just one game this season where he’s thrown under 220 passing yards, a mark he missed six times in 2024.
If Mahomes is going to push teams through to the fantasy playoffs, Week 14 brings a really tough test against the Houston defense. The Texans’ defense has been one of the absolute best against the pass this season, allowing just 12 passing TDs on the season while forcing the 4th-most interceptions. For fantasy, Houston’s defense has been a matchup you want to completely avoid with QBs. Through their 12 games this year, the Texans haven’t allowed a single top-12 QB finish, with the highest coming from Mac Jones back in Week 8. It is difficult to prescribe sitting Mahomes based on how great he’s been this season, but it may be worth considering a streaming option with so much on the line this week.
vs PIT
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Consensus -
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
It’s really time to have a conversation about Lamar Jackson’s struggles since returning from injury. Since he came back from injury in Week 9, Jackson has just one top-12 QB finish and has finished with less than eight fantasy points in three straight weeks. What should be really concerning for fantasy managers is the lack of rushing production that Jackson is putting out, which used to be a great baseline for his fantasy production. Jackson is averaging just 29.3 rushing yards per game this season and only 19.6 since he returned from injury. This would easily be the worst per-game rushing average Jackson has produced since his rookie season, when he averaged 43.4 yards per game rushing and only started seven games.
There should be a prime opportunity for Jackson to get back on track for fantasy this week against the Steelers in a big AFC North matchup. Pittsburgh’s defense has been a team to target with fantasy QBs this season, allowing 20+ fantasy points from opposing QBs in seven games already this year, though they have only allowed one QB to hit that mark in their last four games. There could be some hope that Jackson can get some real work on the ground this week, with the Steelers allowing Josh Allen a solid 33 yards and a TD rushing the ball just last week. It feels risky, but Jackson should be in lineups this week for fantasy managers.
Running Backs
@ GB
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Consensus -
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
While it’s not really fair to call it a takeover, there has definitely been a shift in the RB room for Chicago thanks to the increased work we’re seeing from Kyle Monangai. Monangai has been much more involved in the Bears’ offense over his last seven games, averaging 15 opportunities per week and finishing as a top-24 RB in 5 of those games. What’s really given Monangai a boost for fantasy lineups has been the five rushing TDs he’s gotten, all of which have come inside the 10-yard line, so it feels like Chicago prefers him over Swift when they get near the goal line.
If he is going to stay in the heat for fantasy managers, Monangai has a tough matchup again this week to try and produce against the Packers defense. Green Bay has only allowed nine total rushing TDs on the season and is giving up just 3.9 yards per carry. For fantasy, Green Bay has been a decent matchup for RBs over the last several. In their last six games, the Packers have given up five top-24 RB finishes in their last five games and five rushing TDs during that stretch. When it comes down to it, Monangai and the Bears’ running attack is one that you really want pieces in down the stretch of the season.
@ CLE
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Consensus -
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
Hopes weren’t high for the offensive production in Tennessee this season, but there was some expectation that Tony Pollard could be productive for fantasy as a centerpiece around a rookie QB. Instead, Pollard has been a bit of a disaster, only finishing as a top-24 RB three times so far this season and scoring just two rushing TDs. What’s worse is Pollard now seems to be in a full split backfield alongside Tyjae Spears, who is able to bring receiving work to the table, though he hasn’t been overly productive for fantasy purposes either. On the season, the Titans’ offense averages the lowest number of yards and points per game, so there isn’t much meat on the bone for Pollard.
Any chances that Pollard could get going in Week 14 aren’t realistic with a tough matchup against the Browns on tap. Cleveland’s defense allows the fewest yards per rush in the league at just 3.7 and features the league leader in tackles for loss in Myles Garrett. For fantasy, though, the Browns aren’t a brick wall for RBs. In their last four games, Cleveland has allowed a top-12 RB each week. While there is some slight hope that Pollard could produce for fantasy managers, he’s really a low-end FLEX option this week.
@ DET
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Consensus -
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
It’s really been a fun season to watch the rebirth of Javonte Williams into the fantasy-relevant world as a part of the Cowboys offense. Williams has been great, finishing as a top-24 RB 8 times already this season after hitting that mark just 18 times in his first four seasons combined. What’s put Williams over the edge into the “must-start” category for most of the season has been the massive amount of TDs he punched in already this year, with eight TDs scored. There could be some concern about that TD scoring, since Williams hasn’t gotten into the end zone since Week 8, and all but one of his TDs have come from inside the red zone.
A great Thursday night matchup against the Lions should provide plenty of scoring opportunities to have Williams in lineups this week. Detroit has been solid against the run this year, only allowing eight rushing TDs and just 3.9 yards per carry. For fantasy, the Lions have been tough for opposing RBs, allowing just two top-24 RB finishes in their last six games and just one TD to the position during that stretch. It’s hard to think about sitting a player in a game that has an expectation of nearly 55 points to be scored, but Williams might need to be considered a FLEX-level play (in your RB spot since it’s Thursday night) for this week.
Wide Receivers
vs WAS
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
It’s been a really tough stretch for one of the best WRs in the league in Justin Jefferson. While it isn’t entirely on Jefferson, the production for fantasy really just hasn’t been what fantasy managers were hoping they would get out of an early 1st round pick in drafts. Over the last seven weeks, Jefferson has scored 10+ fantasy points just three times and finished as a top-24 WR just once. Jefferson hit rock bottom last week against the Seahawks, scoring a career-low 1.4 fantasy points. There’s hope that the return of JJ McCarthy to the lineup should aid Jefferson’s fantasy woes, but that hope could be misplaced as Jettas has only averaged 9.5 fantasy points with McCarthy under center and finished inside the top-24 WRs just twice.
What could be a better reason to play Jefferson this week is the matchup against the Commanders. Washington’s defense has allowed the 2nd-most passing yards on the season and 23 passing TDs. Over their last six games, the Commanders have allowed seven top-24 WR finishes, including five WRs that finished inside the top 10. While there are still plenty of questions around the ceiling for Jefferson going forward, fantasy managers shouldn’t be completely scared off of having him back in their lineups this week.
vs IND
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
A change of scenery was exactly what the fantasy doctor prescribed for Jakobi Meyers. Since being traded from Las Vegas to Jacksonville, Meyers has returned to being a very usable fantasy WR. In the three games he has played a full allotment of snaps for the Jaguars, Meyers is averaging five receptions for 68 yards and has caught TDs in back-to-back weeks while finishing as the WR18 and WR11. Even with the return of Brian Thomas Jr. to the lineup last week, Meyers saw a 24% target share in a game that didn’t really require the Jaguars to throw all that much.
Meyers should have a chance to catch fire this week by NBA Jam standards, with a chance for a third-straight solid fantasy performance against the Colts. Indianapolis has allowed the 6th-most passing yards on the season, and things may get worse with star CB Sauce Gardner injured in last week’s loss to the Texans. For fantasy, the Colts have allowed a top-10 WR in each of their last three games. While he’s not the big name in Jacksonville’s WR room, Meyers may be a sneaky good play for fantasy lineups again in Week 14.
@ MIN
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Consensus -
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
It has been a rough road for Terry McLaurin after coming off a career year in 2024 when he finished as the WR5. McLaurin has only played in 5 games this season, but has been a top-24 WR twice when he’s been on the field. Last week, McLaurin fought through a really tough matchup against the Broncos and delivered a WR9 finish thanks to 14 targets in the passing game and a late TD that could have been the game-winner had the Commanders converted their two-point conversion. With the anticipated return of Jayden Daniels to the lineup for Washington, fantasy managers may be hoping the pair can find their spark that ignited fantasy rosters last season.
If Scary Terry is going to bring another solid week to fantasy managers, he will have another difficult matchup against the Vikings to do so. Minnesota’s defense has allowed the 5th-fewest passing yards in the league this season while giving up the fewest passing plays of 20+ yards. In their last four games, the Vikings have held opposing teams’ WRs to 20 points or less each week and are fresh off holding the NFL’s leading WR, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, to a lowly 3.3 fantasy points. McLaurin has shown he can take on tough matchups already this season, but he may be capped at a FLEX option against such a tough passing defense.
Tight Ends
vs TEN
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
The change at QB seems to have directly benefited rookie TE Harold Fannin in the Browns’ passing game. In the two games that Shedeur Sanders has started for Cleveland, Fannin has seen 11 total targets and most recently finished as the TE10 last week against the 49ers. While Fannin has consistently been involved in the Browns’ passing game throughout the year, something definitely feels different about how Fannin is being targeted by Sanders, and he has one of the friendlier schedules for TEs down the stretch of the season.
That TE-friendly end of season starts this week with a matchup against the Titans. Tennessee’s defense has been bad against pretty every position except for TEs. On the season, the Titans are allowing just 8.3 fantasy points to opposing teams’ TEs. Tennessee has allowed a top-10 TE in two of their last three games, though, so there’s an opportunity that Fannin could get loose in one of the many ways he’s involved in the Browns offense.
@ NYJ
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Andy -
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Mike -
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Jason
While we might be in store for another slow “ramp-up” era from Darren Waller, the TEs involved in the Dolphins’ passing game shouldn’t be ignored. After missing four games to injury, Waller walked back into the Miami offense and led the team in receiving yards against the Saints last week. Where Waller really did his damage before he was injured was in the red zone, where he caught four TDs in a three-week stretch and finished as a top-6 TE twice.
If Waller gets more involved in the Dolphins’ offense, a matchup against the Jets could provide an opportunity for him to return to fantasy viability again this week. New York’s defense has been decent against TEs this season, but has allowed some big games to the position, including Waller’s TE2 finish back in Week 4. Over the last month, the Jets have allowed two top-10 TE finishes, including the TE6 finish to Kyle Pitts just last week. While it still remains to be seen how much Waller will be worked back into the Miami passing attack this week, he could be a real option at TE for fantasy managers in need of a ceiling play at the position.