Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 12: Jets vs. Ravens
The defending Super Bowl champions are looking up at the always-in-the-news Jets in the playoff race as they prepare for Sunday’s game.
Evan Habeeb-US PRESSWIRE
The New York Jets have been a surprise team this season, currently sitting at 5-5 and holding on to the AFC's fifth seed. The Baltimore Ravens have been on the flip side of that, with a 4-6 record a year after winning the Super Bowl. Sunday, the Ravens host the Jets in a 1 p.m. ET game that probably has more real-life intrigue than fantasy. But still, there are some relevant fantasy performers to consider:
Jets
Start in every league: Nick Folk
Start if you're desperate: Chris Ivory, Defense/special teams
Bench: Geno Smith, Bilal Powell, Jeremy Kerley, Santonio Holmes, Stephen Hill, Josh Cribbs, Jeff Cumberland, Zach Sudfeld
Last week included Folk’s first missed field goal of the season, but considering the weather they were playing in, it wasn’t indicative of the kicker’s skill. He ought to be fine.
Ivory has averaged 88 rushing yards a game in his last four games, and that includes an 11-yard outing in Week 8. He’s been the best Jets offensive player for a month now. That said, he’s not known for his health, and the Ravens are the third-toughest team against opposing running backs. ... The Jets’ defense has scored -4 points in its last three games combined, which is obviously horrible, but the Ravens tend to be generous with defenses. It’s only a deep-league play, but there’s possibility.
Trends (alternating good/bad games) say that Smith is worth starting this week, as he had his worst career game last Sunday, but that’s short-sighted, and anyone starting Smith is short-sighted, as well. ... Powell has fallen decidedly behind Ivory on the Jets’ depth chart, and unless and until Ivory gets injured, it’s tough to picture his value being very high. ... Between health and middling performance, the entire pass-catching crew in New York -- Kerley, Holmes, Hill, Cribbs, Cumberland, and Sudfeld -- is way too questionable to buy in on. Holmes was the big guy last week, but missed a lot of practice over the past week. There are just too many question marks.
Ravens
Start in every league: Torrey Smith, Defense/special teams
Start if you're desperate: Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Marlon Brown, Justin Tucker
Bench: Bernard Pierce
So Smith has only three scores on the season, but he’s still 15th in the league in receiving yards, and the Jets don’t stop wide receivers well. ... The Ravens’ defense has been fairly average this season overall, but Geno Smith has thrown 16 interceptions this year; odds are good Baltimore will get one or two.
Flacco’s numbers have fallen off lately, with two of his worst games this season coming in his last two games. That said, last week’s numbers were held down by the weather in Chicago, so it’s not time to give up completely on him as a fantasy contributor just yet. ... Rice owners had to be happy with his huge game Sunday, as it was looking increasingly like he was done. Whether it was a sign of things to come or one last burst, this week is a big question mark, with the Jets a great team against running backs. ... Brown has had a couple of big games this season, but he’s been wildly inconsistent; after 19 points in Week 9, he only had one in Week 10 before missing Week 11. ... Tucker ranks 12th in fantasy points among kickers, which makes him a solid middle-of-the-road kicker option.
As disappointing as Rice has been this season, Pierce has been almost as disappointing, only in far fewer touches. He’s not even really worth owning.
• Week 12 fantasy football position rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
