Fantasy football advice, Week 17: Who to start/sit for Ravens vs. Bengals

A Week 16 loss by the Cincinnati Bengals changed the team's fortunes. Now, instead of sitting safely in line for an AFC bye, the Bengals are in the conference's three-seed, and need a win and some help to earn themselves a week off. Meanwhile, a Week 16 win by the Baltimore Ravens seriously changed the fortunes of the Pittsburgh Steelers in their own quest for the playoffs. Sunday, the Bengals and Ravens face off to end their regular season.

The Ravens have been injury-ravaged all season long, but come into Sunday basically healthy, at least from a fantasy perspective; all the team's remaining active fantasy contributors are healthy. On the Cincinnati side, quarterback AJ McCarron, wide receiver Marvin Jones and tight end Tyler Eifert have all been on the injury report over the course of the week, but all three are expected to go Sunday, with Eifert at least worth one last check come the active reports late Sunday morning.

Start ‘em: Steve Smith Sr. has missed seven games. In that time, Kamar Aiken has averaged almost 10 fantasy points a game. That's enough of a sample size that he gets a low-end WR2 rank.

Start ‘em?: In six starts, Buck Allen has had four good-to-better games, and two disaster outings. If you have him, you probably don't have better options, but he's far from a sure thing. ... Justin Tucker had a strong start to the season and still has some occasional big games, but since the team's offense was ravaged by injury he's become much more inconsistent. ... The Ravens' defenses has gotten better as the season has gone on, and the Bengals under quarterback No. 2 don't have nearly the formidable offense they had early in the year.

Sit ‘em: It was a surprisingly decent week for Ryan Mallett a week ago en route to a surprise win, but against Cincinnati, he's a definite stay-away. ... Maxx Williams had one game with 10 fantasy points, but hasn't gone over four otherwise.

Start ‘em: In his last five games, A.J. Green has 11-plus fantasy points four times, averaging 13.8 in that time. ... It's a binary thing for Tyler Eifert; if he sits, he's out of fantasy lineups, but if he plays, he's a must-start. ... Mike Nugent has six-plus fantasy points in every game since Week 4. ... The Bengals' defense is one of the league's upper-level units, and faces the Ravens' fourth different starting quarterback of the season.

Start ‘em?: If I were forced to use a Cincinnati running back, it'd be Jeremy Hill, who has been getting the carries lately, but even he's only a flex option.

Sit ‘em: In three games since Andy Dalton's injury, AJ McCarron has averaged 12.7 fantasy points a game. He has weapons and an up-and-down defense opposite him, so he isn't without upside, but he's impossible to trust. ... Giovani Bernard has six or fewer fantasy points in four of his last five games. His numbers have fallen off. ... Marvin Jones has fallen off a bit of late. He still has upside, but overall probably isn't worth a long fantasy look.

Start in every league: Kamar Aiken, A.J. Green, Tyler Eifert, Mike Nugent, Cincinnati defense
Start if you're desperate: Buck Allen, Justin Tucker, Baltimore defense, Jeremy Hill
Bench: Ryan Mallett, Maxx Williams, AJ McCarron, Giovani Bernard, Marvin Jones