Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 14: Bills vs. Buccaneers

Two teams with little left to play for but draft position face off Sunday.

Dec 8, 2013, 12:30 PM UTC

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Spor

Three NFL teams have had more than half of their games started by rookie quarterbacks this year. All three have struggled, and all three have losing records. Two of those, the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, face off Sunday in a 1 p.m. ET game in Tampa Bay (the New York Jets are the third). The two teams have little to play for as far as real football is considered -- the Buccaneers are eliminated from the playoff race, and the Bills are all but finished -- but both are hoping to end a rough 2013 season on a higher note. There are a handful of worthwhile fantasy matchups in Sunday's game:

Bills

Start in every league: ...

Start if you're desperate: E.J. Manuel, C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson, Dan Carpenter, Defense/special teams

Bench: Stevie Johnson, Robert Woods, Scott Chandler

In his first three and last two starts of the season, Manuel has offered at least 14 fantasy points. In between, he was injured and/or ineffective. He’s had his moments, but it’s fairly unlikely any fantasy owners are going to have to resort to using him in the playoffs. ... Here’s the thing: one of Spiller and Jackson is almost certain to go off in Sunday’s game. It’s doubtful that both will, against a decent Tampa Bay run defense, and it’s really hard to guess with any confidence which one will have the big game. But there aren’t many fantasy owners who have both, and anyone who has only one is probably going to be starting whichever one they have. Still, it’s a weird situation. ... Carpenter has been a top-10 kicker this year, and has kicked three or more field goals five different times. ... The Bills’ defense has had ups and downs of late (a high of 21, a low of zero in the last two months), and the same can be said of defenses facing Tampa Bay. There’s a wide range of outcomes here.

There is no pass-catcher in Buffalo you want to rely on in the fantasy playoffs, be it Johnson, Woods, Chandler, lesser-used Marquise Goodwin or T.J. Graham.

Buccaneers

Start in every league: Bobby Rainey, Vincent Jackson, Defense/special teams

Start if you're desperate: Mike Glennon

Bench: Tiquan Underwood, Tim Wright, Rian Lindell

Since his historic Week 11 performance, Rainey has been really quiet. This game could be his chance to make some noise again, as the Bills have struggled against running backs of late (see Steven Jackson's performance last week). ... Jackson is a Week 14 must-start with a caveat -- he's been on the injury report all week. But if he's active, he has to be in fantasy lineups; only the Philadelphia Eagles allow more points to fantasy running backs than Buffalo. ... The Buccaneers' defense has been a top-10 unit this year, and while it has only cracked 10 twice since Week 4, it stands a good chance of getting back there Sunday.

Glennon had his worst game as a starter in Week 13, held to three fantasy points. That said, it was on the road against an excellent Carolina defense; it shouldn’t serve as a total indictment of the rookie quarterback. He ought to be fine, though not outstanding.

Underwood followed up his huge Week 12 with a poor Week 13; what are you going to believe -- his entire career, or that one big game? ... Wright has had fewer than 20 receiving yards in three of his last four. ... Lindell was awful early in the season; he has yet to be truly good all season, and has missed four field goals in his last three games.