Week 13 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Lineup Advice, Stars to Exploit and Sleeper Options

Week 13 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Lineup Advice, Stars to Exploit and Sleeper Options0 of 4

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Weekly starters in fantasy football are well-established at this point of the 2024 NFL season.

What’s far less certain, though, is which fringe starters will go off that particular week.

These start-or-sit debates are the questions keeping fantasy managers up at night, but we’re here to try to help you rest comfortably by running through a few of our top recommendations for Week 13.

Start: C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans (at Jacksonville Jaguars)1 of 4

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C.J. Stroud was electric as a rookie, but he has struggled to make those same connections as a sophomore. He already has nearly twice as many interceptions (nine, up from five) and is well behind his pace in yards (2,875, down from 4,108) and touchdowns (14, 23).

He’s really only had one game this season in which he lived up to his billing as a fantasy star. That came in Week 4, when he threw for a season-high 345 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Care to venture a guess as to which defense he did that damage against? You got it, it was the Jaguars, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to the position, per Yahoo, and ceded three-plus passing touchdowns to four different quarterbacks, including Joe Flacco and Caleb Williams.

Sit: Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions (vs. Chicago Bears)2 of 4

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Jared Goff has been a rock-solid fantasy starter who sometimes authors an exceptional outing.

Since Detroit is comfortable playing the ground-and-pound game with its dynamic running back duo, though, the quarterback occasionally underwhelms. Fantasy managers just witnessed that Sunday, when he went without a touchdown for the second time this season.

Now, you might think this is an overreaction to a quiet performance, particularly since it came on the heels of a four-score effort. This has less to do with his scoreless Sunday, though, than it does a daunting date with Chicago’s stingy defense.

No one allows fewer fantasy points to quarterbacks than the Bears, and they were giving Goff fits already last season when they weren’t nearly as stingy. In two 2023 matchups, he managed just 397 passing yards with three touchdowns against five interceptions.

Start: Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at Carolina Panthers)3 of 4

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Bucky Irving has yet to wrestle control of Tampa’s backfield away from Rachaad White, but it appears the tide may be turning in the rookie’s favor.

In the 10 games they’ve played together, White has tallied more touches five different times. But in the last four contests, Irving has handled more touches three times and had just as many in the other.

Not coincidentally, Irving has also produced more scrimmage yards in three of the last four, most recently turning 12 carries and six receptions into 151 scrimmage yards and a score.

That’s reason enough to consider the 22-year-old for a start on a weekly basis, but what should lock him into your lineup this week is the matchup with Carolina’s defense.

The Panthers have allowed the most fantasy points to running backs by a not-insignificant margin and are generous enough to potentially allow both Buccaneers backs to be fantasy-relevant this week.

Sit: D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears (at Detroit Lions)4 of 4

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Chicago’s running back room is crowded. D’Andre Swift still finds a way to sometimes post starter-level stats, but those are far from a given.

The 25-year-old failed to crack 70 scrimmage yards in two of his last three games and didn’t sniff the end zone in either contest. The 13 carries he handled Sunday were his fewest since September.

Momentum is not on his side, and neither is this matchup. The Lions have allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to running backs and just held Jonathan Taylor to a season-low 35 scrimmage yards.