Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 14

It’s playoff time or last chance to make the playoffs time. Either way, it’s a big week for fantasy players, and making the right lineup calls is as critical as ever. Here are several of the best and worst matchups for Week 14.

The time has come to take the Buccaneers seriously, and Winston has been a big reason for it, throwing for 23 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Winston gets perhaps his best matchup of the season this week against a Saints pass defense that is allowing yards and touchdowns at a rate that would make Santa blush. At home and with a playoff berth within his reach, expect Winston to light up the scoreboard this week.

There likely won’t be any playoffs in the Chargers’ near future, but that won’t stop Rivers from going down swinging. Dontrelle Inman has stepped up recently to give Rivers a complement to rookie Tyrell Williams, making the Chargers dangerous through the air. The Panthers are all banged up on defense, and their season is slipping away. It’s a great spot for Rivers to top 300 yards and three touchdowns.

The Jets are a hot mess right now, and the Q-word was in the air — along with Colts touchdown passes — on Monday night. We’ll see how much pride this team has left, but if the Jets come to play, Forte is in a sweet spot against the dreadful 49ers defense. The Jets will really be looking to lean on Forte to hide Bryce Petty, and the 49ers, who allow 168 rushing yards per game, will be happy to oblige.

Attacking the Browns with skill players has been a winning formula all season, and Hill drove that point home in Week 7, rushing for 168 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting between Ohioans. With Gio Bernard and A.J. Green sidelined, Hill should continue to see a high number of carries, and unlike in the past two weeks, he should actually do something with them.

You could pretty much play the entire starting offense for the Bengals and expect to put up a big number. LaFell has had 25 targets in the three games since Green went down, and went for 95 yards and a touchdown last week. Tyler Boyd is also a solid play — as is Tyler Eifert — but LaFell is the one Andy Dalton seems to like best with Green out of action.

Like a modern-day Cris Carter, all Moncrief does is catch touchdowns. Moncrief has had a touchdown in all five games since returning from an injury, and with the Texans’ solid pass defense likely to focus on T.Y. Hilton, Moncrief is a solid bet to make it six in a row with a TD.

Ertz was one of the biggest busts in the season’s first half, but since Week 9 he has been the monster his owners expected him to be from the beginning. In the past five games, Ertz has seen 47 targets, turning them into 32 receptions and a pair of touchdowns. Washington has given up a spike in production to the tight end over the same period.

It has been a dream second season for Mariota, but the Broncos pass defense is a nightmare for any quarterback. Mariota has shown tremendous resiliency for his owners this season, but this might be the week to seek out an alternative in what should be a low-scoring affair.

Quietly, Tannehill has also posted a solid season for the Dolphins, but if the Broncos are the toughest pass defense, the Cardinals are No. 2. They simply do not allow big games to opposing quarterbacks — and for all of Tannehill’s successes, they have generally come against weak opponents. He could be in for a rude awakening on Sunday.

Running backs have had recent successes against the Seahawks, and that might prove true again this Sunday. But if last week is any indication, Starks isn’t going to be the one taking advantage. Starks had just four carries last week, and this is a revenge game for Christine Michael, who had nine carries last week and is expected to see that number increase. It was fun while it lasted for Starks owners, but the party appears to be over.

The Cowboys are great at running the ball. They’re also pretty good at stopping the run. It has been the rare back this season who has had success against Dallas, mainly because teams that face the Cowboys get substantially fewer plays to run and are generally playing from behind when Dallas gives up control. It’s a bad recipe for a good back, and despite his recent success, Jennings really isn’t that good.

Matthews has been coming on strong for weeks, but the brick wall that is the Denver secondary is now directly in Matthews’s path. This is probably going to be a Delanie Walker game in this offense, as Mariota won’t have as much time to look deep and Matthews won’t be getting open against Aqib Talib and friends.

Mr. Parker, meet Mr. Patrick Peterson. Enjoy your day.

He’s hurt, doesn’t exist on the same page with Tom Brady, and faces a tough defense in the Ravens on Monday night. Bennett hasn’t found the end zone since Week 5 against the Browns, who let all tight ends go wild on them. That was a long, long time ago. Better luck next year.