Two teams far removed from the playoff chase get the chance to play each other far from relevancy Sunday, as the Tennessee Titans travel to California for a 4:05 p.m. ET game against the Oakland Raiders. Both teams are 4-6, several games out of the leads in their respective divisions, and only in the playoff hunt by virtue of there being only five decent AFC teams for six playoff spots. On the flip side, there are a handful of fantasy-relevant players in the game:
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 12: Titans vs. Raiders
Right around the time the Titans looked like they might be in contention, it all fell apart. Of course, that’s better than the Raiders, for whom it never actually came together.
Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Titans
Start in every league: Chris Johnson, Defense/special teams
Start if you're desperate: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Kendall Wright, Delanie Walker
Bench: Shonn Greene, Nate Washington, Rob Bironas
Who knows what Johnson is anymore? His fantasy scoring in the last three weeks has gone 29 points, 5 points, 20 points. There are no trends to be found. But he’s still the best offensive player on the Titans, and has four scores in three weeks. ... The Titans’ defense has cooled off as the season has gone on, but they get to face a quarterback who, last week aside, is probably not really NFL-caliber. That is always helpful.
An anonymous quarterback with Fitzpatrick's stat line might get more respect in fantasy circles; in the four games he's been the Titans' primary quarterback, he's scored double-digit fantasy points three times, and 20-plus points twice. His one truly awful game came in Seattle against the Seahawks, and that's a tough go for any quarterback. He's been perfectly decent this year. ... Wright is clearly Tennessee's top wide receiver -- targets, catches, yards, whatever -- but he still has only one touchdown and one double-digit fantasy day on the season. Until he starts breaking through with big days, he's really hard to trust. ... Walker has been on fire lately, with a touchdown and double-digit fantasy points in three of his last four games. In the other one, though, he had only two catches and 13 yards, and he's only topped five receptions in a game once all year. Is it just a hot streak, or a real change for the eight-year vet?
There was some worry that Greene would snake goal-line touches from Johnson, and somehow get enough looks to make himself fantasy-relevant, but that hasn’t come close to happening. ... Washington started the season hot, with 44 fantasy points in the first four games, but he has only 17 in the six since, with the team looking elsewhere. ... Bironas just hasn’t gotten enough field-goal opportunities to do much this season.
Raiders
Start in every league: Rashad Jennings
Start if you're desperate: Rod Streater, Defense/special teams
With McFadden almost certainly out for another game, Jennings -- facing a Titans’ defense that is fifth-worst against running backs in the NFL -- could have another huge game, his third in four weeks, and find himself looking at a possible starting job next season, in Oakland or elsewhere.
Moore is also out Sunday, leaving Streater as the Raiders’ top wide receiver option. Last Sunday was his best game of the season, so if he can continue that, he’ll have potential, but he is averaging only 5.8 fantasy points a game over the season. ... The Raiders’ defense has scored negative fantasy points twice this season and double-digit fantasy points five times. There hasn’t been much consistency there, but when the defense is good, it can be really good.
Sure, McGloin was really good a week ago, but it’s way too early to believe in him full-throttle. ... McFadden is likely to miss another game, and even if he goes, how can you trust him to play much? ... The Raiders have clearly opted for Jennings over Reece, so anyone holding on to him as a theoretical handcuff can stop now. ... Moore, too, is out for another game; Holmes could see an increase in looks, but he’s way too low to be a viable sleeper. ... Rivera has to have a touchdown to be fantasy valuable; he hasn’t had more than 36 yards in a game without a score. ... Janikowski is the 30th-ranked fantasy kicker this year.
• Week 12 fantasy football position rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
