At one point this season, the Buffalo Bills were 2-2 and looked like a pleasant surprise. Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars made it all the way to 0-8 before winning four of their last five. Through 14 weeks, the two teams are 4-9, and Sunday's matchup -- in Jacksonville at 1 p.m. ET -- could decide who drafts where in the NFL Draft, which is really all the two teams have in mind for the rest of the season. As little intrigue as there is for the playoffs, there might be aven less for fantasy players:
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 15: Bills vs. Jaguars
Somehow, the Bills and Jaguars are tied at the same 4-9 record, though they’ve taken wildly different paths to get there.
Mike Ehrmann
Bills
Start in every league: Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller
Start if you're desperate: Dan Carpenter, Defense/special teams
Bench: E.J. Manuel, Stevie Johnson, Robert Woods, Scott Chandler
After last week’s disaster (four fantasy points for Spiller, three for Jackson) some fantasy owners might have been scared off of the Bills’ running backs, and not for no reason -- it’s rare for both guys to have simultaneous big games. But unless you are that rare fantasy owner who owns both guys, you probably don’t have a decision to make -- you’re running whichever one you have out there and hoping this week is his week.
Carpenter’s biggest stretch was early in the season, but he has scored seven or more fantasy points 10 times in his 13 games. He’s a low-end starting kicker, but a perfectly acceptable play. ... Defenses score well against the Jaguars, though that has become less dramatic as the season has gone on; meanwhile, the Bills’ defense is on the fringes of the top 10. It’s an iffy play, but there’s potential.
Manuel had a disaster game Sunday, with only 184 rushing yards and four interceptions. While he’s not going to fall apart to that extent, he’s really far from trustworthy. ... And, as an effect of Manuel’s mediocrity and inconsistency, Johnson and Woods and the tight end Chandler -- and the Bills’ other receivers -- just can’t get enough touches to be valuable.
Jaguars
Start in every league: ...
Start if you're desperate: Cecil Shorts III
Bench: Chad Henne, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jordan Todman, Ace Sanders, Mike Brown, Marcedes Lewis, Josh Scobee, Defense/special teams
After a bad run in Weeks 10 and 11, Shorts has gotten somewhat back on the right track of late, with three straight games of seven or more fantasy points. He’s a low-end WR3, at best, but he’s at least on the map.
Henne has been decent, but no more than decent, of late, and even in two-quarterback leagues, he’s not someone fantasy owners need to rest their seasons on. ... It looks like the Jaguars are going to err on the side of caution by sitting the injured Jones-Drew, and it’s hard to blame them, even with him approaching free agency. ... In the meantime, assuming Jones-Drew is done, Todman stands to benefit, but you’ll want to see a good performance from him before riding that way. ... If you’re in a “who can score six fantasy points league,” sure, use Sanders -- the guy has exactly six points five times this year, and in his last four in a row. Otherwise, no thank you. ... Brown had a couple big games earlier, but he’s slid back to irrelevance. ... Lewis has been on the rise of late, with 18 fantasy points in his last two games. Still, he’s only on the fringe of tight-end relevance. He could be worthwhile, but it’s not likely. ... The Jaguars’ defense has improved as the season has gone on, but when you start off historically bad, you kind of have to improve.
• Week 15 fantasy football position rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
