NFL Week 14: Bengals vs Bears fantasy football starts and sits

It is time to start talking fantasy playoffs, unless you are in one of those weird leagues that plays until Week 17, which would lead me to the question, why?

In any case, here are the players from the Bears and Bengals game that you should make sure you have in your line up, or keep on the bench at all cost. Remember, don’t get cute in the playoffs.

Must starts

A.J. Green (Bengals WR): Last week Green put on a show. Even though he was robbed of a log touchdown catch by a bogus holding call, he still finished with seven catches, 77 yard and two touchdowns. It could’ve been a better night if he held onto a few more second night passes, but you should expect another big game from Green this week against the Bears this week.

Favorable matchups

Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen (Bears RBs): The Bengals haven’t done a great job at slowing down opposing running backs. When teams have committed to the running game it seems to give them serious issues. The Bears just happen to have one of the best duos in the NFL.

Howard is more of the running downs back that the Bears love to just have pound away on a defense, and Cohen is great for points per reception leagues. Cohen also seems to be a threat to score at any point in a game. He has a passing, receiving, rushing and punt return scores credited to him this season. I’d say it is safe to have either one in your lineup this week.

Giovani Bernard (Bengals RB): Joe Mixon is out this week with a concussion, so Bernard will likely receive almost all of the touches. He had 96 total yards last week on 15 touches. In case you needed a reminder that he is a talented running back. The Bears are sort of middle of the road as far as run defense, but the volume of looks Bernard will get is what makes him an attractive flex option this week.

Good but not great

Andy Dalton (Bengals QB): What can you say except Dalton has been very good as of late. He may not be a top fantasy quarterback, but he is solid. He hasn’t thrown an interception for six weeks, and he has thrown at least two touchdowns in all of those games except against the Jaguars defense. He isn’t going to go out and win your matchup, but you won’t be cursing his name if you lose.

Bengals Defense: This seemed like a very popular move for this week, but with so many starters out for the Bengals it is hard to expect they do as well as everyone thought they would during waiver wire pickups. You may be stuck with them, and it could end up being okay. It just won’t end up being that super smart move that propels you into the next round of the playoffs like you were hoping.

Unfavorable matchups

Brandon LaFell (Bengals WR): Last week is the perfect example of why you shouldn’t rely on Bengals’ receivers aside from Green. LaFell had one of his better games of the season. He was involved in the offense, but he only finished with four catches for 55 yards. He really needs to score to actually be worth playing, but he has only done that twice this season.

Tyler Kroft (Bengals TE): Much like LaFell, Kroft needs to score to be worth playing. He does it quite often though. Still he is a boom or bust player because he doesn’t get involved enough with the offense to cover up for games where he doesn’t score. I wouldn’t play Kroft unless you have to.

Just sit them

Mitch Trubisky (Bears QB): Trubisky has never thrown more than a touchdown in any of the games he has started. He has only thrown for over 250 yards once this season. He doesn’t have the weapons to be a viable option.

Kendall Wright (Bears WR): So the Bengals will be thin in the secondary, and Wright is the leading receiver for the Bears. Still he isn’t a viable fantasy option, and neither is any other Bears receiver. The Bears simply don’t throw the Ball enough, and none of them are that good.