Week 15 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Play or Bench Advice on Top Fantasy Football Stars

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Zach Bolinger/Associated Press

It can be difficult to navigate your fantasy football team to your league’s playoffs, especially if you get hit hard by injuries. So any manager who has made it to the postseason should feel proud. However, now the pressure is on.

From here on out, every fantasy matchup will be an elimination game. Either win and advance or lose and your season is over. That will be the case beginning in Week 15, which marks the start of the playoffs for the majority of leagues.

As has been the case throughout the season, there will be some difficult lineup decisions to make. Here’s start/sit advice to help with those choices as you look to open the playoffs with a win.

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Gary McCullough/Associated Press

Over the past two weeks, James Robinson has barely played, as he fumbled in back-to-back games and had his playing time reduced. He had only eight carries for 24 yards in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Rams and then recorded only six carries for four yards in Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans.

However, there’s one major change for the Jaguars heading into their Week 15 matchup: Urban Meyer is gone. The head coach was fired in the early hours of Thursday morning, and Darrell Bevell has taken over as the interim coach. So the offensive game plan could look different for Jacksonville on Sunday.

That should bode well for Robinson, especially because the Jags have a favorable matchup against the Houston Texans. In his first two NFL seasons, Robinson has had some impressive performances. And this will likely be one that establishes him as a legitimate fantasy option at running back.

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Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press

Throughout the 2021 season, the Seahawks have struggled to get their running game going. However, that wasn’t an issue in Week 14, when Rashaad Penny broke out with a huge performance against the Texans, rushing for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

However, it may be too soon to rely on Penny as a fantasy starter, even if that was an impressive showing. Seattle faces a much tougher matchup in Week 15, as it takes on the Los Angeles Rams and their defense, which is allowing the seventh-fewest rushing yards per game in the NFL (100.6).

If Penny has another strong showing, then perhaps he will be in fantasy consideration the following week. But for now, wait to see whether that game against Houston was a fluke or a sign of things to come.

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Aaron Doster/Associated Press

After a slow start to the season, Brandon Aiyuk has fared much better in recent weeks. He’s scored three touchdowns over his past six games (including last time out against the Cincinnati Bengals), and he’s had at least 55 yards in all but one of those contests.

Against the Bengals, Aiyuk had a season-high 10 targets after getting at least six in each of the previous three weeks, so it’s clear he’s going to remain heavily involved in the 49ers passing attack. And in Week 15, San Francisco’s offense will have a favorable matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

With Atlanta allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to wide receivers per game, according to NFL.com, Aiyuk should have another strong performance. There’s a good chance he will score another touchdown as well, making him a strong option for fantasy lineups again this week.

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Nick Wass/Associated Press

It’s possible that the Ravens will be without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson on Sunday, as he suffered a sprained ankle in Week 14’s loss to the Cleveland Browns. Regardless of whether Jackson plays, it’s probably wise to leave Marquise Brown on the bench in fantasy for Week 15.

Brown hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 7, and he’s been held to a maximum of 55 yards in each of his past four games. Baltimore’s passing attack has been struggling, which has caused Brown to lose much of his fantasy value.

On Sunday, the Ravens are facing the Green Bay Packers, who are allowing the ninth-fewest passing yards per game in the NFL (218.5). So don’t expect Brown to put up any bigger numbers, making it the smart decision to sit him and find other receivers with better matchups to start.