Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 11

Your leagues are probably approaching trade deadlines, waiver wires are thin and the fantasy playoffs are just on the horizon. To make matters worse, the Giants, Browns, Saints and Steelers are off this week. Well, three of those four teams make matters worse.

QB Mark Sanchez vs. Buccaneers
Sam Bradford is out of the picture for a couple weeks, leaving Sanchez to step in again in Chip Kelly's fast-paced offense. We saw Sanchez handle his starting duties just fine in 2014. Four of his nine games last season finished with 300-plus passing yards, and he threw two touchdowns in six of those starts. Tampa Bay has allowed the third-most passing touchdowns in 2015. Facing a solid run defense, the Eagles will be forced to rely on Sanchez's arm.

QB Derek Carr at Lions
The Raiders struggled last Sunday facing the Vikings, but Carr was still able to finish as the QB10 for the week. Now he faces a Lions secondary that gives up the fourth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Detroit is now playing with Rashean Mathis and Josh Wilson. Carr has been matchup-proof for the most part, and there's not much to be concerned about with his outlook for Week 11.

RB Darren McFadden at Dolphins
Tony Romo is (finally) back. Opposing defenses will have to worry about the pass again when facing the Cowboys, so McFadden might be the biggest beneficiary of his return. Over the past four weeks, McFadden is averaging more than 26 touches per game. The Dolphins are only behind the Chargers in fantasy points allowed to running backs. Do you need any more reasons to start DMC?

RB LeGarrette Blount vs. Bills
According to Rotoworld's Rich Hribar, Blount has seen 11 carries inside the 5-yard line since Week 3, a mark that leads the league in that span. The Bills have allowed a rushing touchdown to a running back in four of their last five games (the only miss was last week, and Chris Ivory still racked up 99 yards). Blount is averaging nearly 23 touches per game in his last three starts.

WR Stevie Johnson vs. Chiefs
Injuries have moved Johnson into the No. 1 role for the Chargers. You'll notice below his quarterback is on the sit list, but that doesn't mean Johnson can't enjoy a solid game. He saw double-digit targets with Keenan Allen out in Week 9. Antonio Gates is dealing with two injuries at the moment. Rivers will be relying on Johnson often in Week 11. PPR owners should love his upside.

WR Jordan Matthews vs. Buccaneers
If you're feeling confident about Sanchez, it's time to fire up Matthews as well. If you look at the splits from 2014, Matthews was scoring five fantasy points per game more with Sanchez under center, and keep in mind he was also competing with Jeremy Maclin for targets. Tampa allowed 12 touchdowns to wide receivers over the first half of the season. Matthews will see plenty of chances on Sunday.

TE Eric Ebron vs. Raiders
This is more of an indictment of the Raiders' inability to cover tight ends than it is an endorsement of Ebron, but the Lions No. 1 tight end has been effective when healthy. Excluding his game with Seattle where he left with a knee injury, Ebron has seen at least five targets in six starts. Tight ends have scored 10 touchdowns on Oakland's defense. Ebron is off the injury report and ready to add to that embarrassing mark.

QB Kirk Cousins at Panthers
Last week's QB1 (seriously, that's not a joke) finds himself facing his toughest defense of the season in Week 11. The Panthers secondary has 14 interceptions in 2015, and they've only allowed 11 passing touchdowns. Four of those touchdowns came from Aaron Rodgers. In four road games so far, Cousins has yet to throw multiple touchdowns in a single matchup. Go ahead and put him back on the bench.

QB Philip Rivers vs. Chiefs
It was looking like the Chiefs' secondary would be in for a rough year after they allowed eight touchdowns over two games earlier this year, but this unit is a different matchup now. They haven't allowed more than one passing touchdown in a game since Week 5. Rivers is playing without Keenan Allen and Malcom Floyd, and he will likely get a less than 100 percent Antonio Gates for Sunday's game.

RB Jeremy Hill at Cardinals
You can talk about game flow. You can hope for better days ahead. But Hill is just not cutting it. He finished with seven carries in Week 10. He hasn't scored a rushing touchdown since early October. Arizona's run defense looks as good as it's been all year, and this will be another tough weekend for the Bengals' ground game.

RB Alfred Morris at Panthers
Washington fans aren't going to be recommending this post. Morris finally showed up last week facing a Saints defense that presented his best matchup of the season. Now he gets a defense that keeps opposing running backs well under 4.0 yards per carry. The Panthers have only allowed two running backs to eclipse 70 yards rushing in 2015. Washington is the underdog by more than a touchdown according to Vegas. Matt Jones is a better option if you have to start someone from this backfield.

WR Kamar Aiken vs. Rams
He's not a flashy player, in case you couldn't tell by his back-to-back games of just over 10.0 yards per reception. Aiken thrives off of volume passing, which is likely bad news for this week's matchup. The Rams (currently yielding the second-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers) haven't allowed a wide receiver to catch more than four passes since Week 4. With an over/under set at 41, scoring expectations are low for both sides.

WR DeSean Jackson at Panthers
Since returning from a hamstring injury, Jackson's presence has barely been noticed. He finished with two catches in a game where Washington scored 47 points. Now facing Josh Norman and Charles Tillman, you shouldn't be expecting Week 11 to be Jackson's return to fantasy glory. Keep him benched for another week.

TE Charles Clay at Patriots
Clay put together eight receptions over his last three starts. LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins are back in the spotlight now that they're healthy. Clay is a good weapon for Tyrod Taylor, but he faces a tough matchup again with Jamie Collins back for New England. While Clay managed to find the end zone in his first game against the Patriots, he finished with 19 yards that week. Only three tight ends have scored on this defense in 2015.