The fantasy football playoffs begin in Week 13 for a lot of leagues. This might be your last chance to make the cut. Only Pittsburgh and Carolina are on bye this week, but injuries are taking their toll late in the year. If you're struggling to fill any roster spots, there are still streaming options out there to plug in.
Last week's advice looked good by recommending starting Jeremy Hill, Odell Beckham Jr. and Mike Evans. The downside came from advising owners to sit Tre Mason and Reggie Wayne (sort of). Let's check out the some of the top start and sit recommendations for Week 12.
Start
QB Jay Cutler vs. Buccaneers: Tampa Bay's defensive numbers might look better in recent weeks, but this is still the same team that gave up over 300 passing yards and two-plus touchdowns to Brian Hoyer, Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees. Cutler finished with three scores in Week 11, providing more hope about his potential when owners were ready to cut him after his embarrassing loss to the Packers. Time to trust Cutler again.
QB Josh McCown at Bears: On the other side of the field from Cutler you'll have McCown as a solid streamer for Week 12. McCown is averaging 295 passing yards and two touchdowns in his last two games. Now he gets Chicago, the team that allows the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Mike Evans is dominating with McCown under center. Look for this duo to continue to light up the box score.
RB Isaiah Crowell at Falcons: Ben Tate is out of the picture in Cleveland, which makes Crowell and Terrance West more appealing across all leagues. Crowell is averaging a yard more per carry than his rookie counterpart. The Falcons allow the second-most fantasy points to running backs, and while they've been tougher in recent matchups, this is still a great matchup for Crowell. Let's just hope he hangs onto the football.
RB Tre Mason at Chargers: Mason won't be making the sit list after his performance last week against the Broncos. The rookie finished with 29 carries for 113 yards against one of the league's better run defenses. He's getting a high volume of touches every game. The Rams trust him handling the work of a featured back. Now Mason's schedule starts to lighten up. He's a reliable RB2 this week.
WR Josh Gordon at Falcons: Sticking with the Browns, their best offensive weapon returns to action in Week 12. Obviously some fantasy owners are over-hyping Gordon's 2014 debut, but fantasy owners should feel confident starting him against an Atlanta defense that is also in the bottom 10 against opposing wide receivers. Gordon is ready to show what he can do, and despite the talk of the Browns limiting his snaps, this is a team in a playoff race that needs his help. Call it a gut feeling, I think Gordon finds the end zone here.
WR Anquan Boldin vs. Washington: Boldin has put together seven consecutive double-digit PPR games. Averaging 8.3 targets per game, Boldin still seems to be an underrated commodity in most fantasy leagues. Start him as your WR3 against Washington.
TE Larry Donnell vs Cowboys: Donnell caught seven passes for 90 yards in his first meeting with the Cowboys. Dallas is now giving up the third-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Giants trailing in Sunday's matchup, leaving Eli Manning to throw the ball often again. Garbage time points are fine with Donnell.
Sit
QB Matt Ryan vs. Browns: He's been on the start list the past two weeks with great matchups against the Buccaneers and Panthers. Ryan finished those two games with a total of two touchdowns and 487 yards, hardly the numbers we were hoping for. Joe Haden is stepping up for the Browns defense, which is one more obstacle for Ryan to overcome. Ryan has thrown two touchdowns in just one of his last six games.
QB Robert Griffin III at 49ers: Washington is a joke right now. Griffin and Jay Gruden don't appear to be on the best of terms with each other right now, which is not exactly what you want when you're heading into a game against the No. 4 pass defense in the league. According to Rich Hribar of XN Sports, the 49ers allow the lowest completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks. I don't see how any fantasy owner can feel comfortable starting Griffin.
RB Shane Vereen vs. Lions: The script for Week 11 called for a heavy dose of the power running game for the Patriots, leading to 38 carries from Jonas Gray. That won't happen in Week 12 against a Lions defense that has allowed four touchdowns all season (the same number Gray scored against the Colts). It's setting up to be a Vereen week for the Patriots.
RB Ryan Mathews vs. Rams: Mathews' return was lackluster as he rushed for 70 yards on 16 carries. Not the worst fantasy day, but the matchup should've led to better production. The Rams defense is playing better against the run in recent weeks, and considering Mathews will still be sharing some of the workload in the backfield, it might be best to take the wait-and-see approach.
WR Golden Tate at Patriots: Brandon Browner is reportedly going to cover Calvin Johnson, leaving Darrelle Revis to shadow Tate throughout Sunday's game. Matthew Stafford facing a tough pass defense on the road does not give me any more promise concerning Tate's upside for Week 12. After seeing two targets last week, it's looking like another down week.
WR Michael Floyd at Seahawks: Some owners might think Floyd's stock is on the rise after he caught two touchdowns in Week 11, but those were his only receptions on five targets, and now he's going against the team that allows the fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. Floyd and the rest of the Cardinals wide receivers will be volatile fantasy options going forward, especially with Drew Stanton under center. Avoid this week.
TE Jacob Tamme vs. Dolphins: The good news is Tamme saw 10 targets in Week 11 after Julius Thomas went down with an ankle injury. The bad news is he's still Jacob Tamme. The veteran tight end caught only four passes for 31 yards against the Rams. He's managed to catch 10 of his 22 targets in 2014. If Thomas is inactive, starting Tamme is still a risky play. He isn't a playmaker.