If you made it to the Fantasy playoffs despite your No. 1 pick, Christian McCaffrey, missing most of the season, congratulations. Unfortunately, it sounds like you're going to have to make due without him for at least one more week. After McCaffrey missed Thursday's practice head coach Matt Rhule said he did not expect his star running back to play in Week 14.
If you have Mike Davis, the math is pretty simple here. If not, it looks bleak. Ty Johnson was our favorite waiver wire add at running back coming into the week, but now it sounds like Frank Gore will play. J.D. McKissic probably isn't available in your league. Adrian Peterson could be in play, but there's also a chance both D'Andre Swift (illness) and Kerryon Johnson (knee) return.
In non-PPR the guy with the highest projection who might be available is Peyton Barber, who will take over the early downs role for Washington. He's a touchdown-or-bust option, which probably describes Jeff Wilson and Gus Edwards as well. The fact is, there are no good starting running back options available on the waiver wire.
The one guy who could be an exception is Tony Pollard. The Cowboys have a short week and Ezekiel Elliott has been limited by a calf injury in practice. If Elliott were to miss Week 14, Pollard would be a top-12 back in the rankings against the Bengals. At the very least Pollard is worth a roster spot until Elliott is cleared.
More Week 14 help: Start 'Em & Hit 'Em | Starts & Sits, Sleepers & Busts | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: RB | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: WR | Waiver Wire Priorities | Trade Values | QB Preview | RB Preview | WR Preview | TE Preview | Week 13 Winners | Losers | Believe It Or Not
Week 14 RB Preview
Who's Out
The following players are being projected as out for Week 14:
Numbers to know
- 67.5 -- PPR Fantasy points for McKissic since Week 9. That ranks ninth among running backs.
- 16 -- David Montgomery has at least 16 touches in all but two games this season.
- 3.2 -- Ronald Jones leads the NFL with 3.2 yards after contact per rush attempt.
- 53 -- Todd Gurley has not topped 53 rushing yards since Week 7.
- 9.1 -- Kareem Hunt has one game with more than 9.1 PPR Fantasy points since Nick Chubb returned.
- 1 -- Cam Akers has still not seen more than one target in any game.
Matchups that matter
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Waiver Wire Targets
This is entirely dependent on the status of D'Andre Swift and Kerryon Johsnon, so check for news right before you make your waiver claims.
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Barber had 14 carries after Gibson went down in Week 13. He has decent touchdown odds as Washington's short yardage back.
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Edwards may only see 7 to 10 carries, but he's proven useful with that workload before.
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Wilson has split pretty evenly with Mostert the past two weeks but this is a very difficult matchup.
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Penny will return to practice on Wednesday and will have fresh legs for the stretch run. Both Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde have been playing hurt, so there's a chance we see Penny in a feature role before the season is over.
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DFS Plays
I'd like to be more creative than this, but Mike Davis has performed like a No. 1 running back when Christian McCaffrey has been out and Davis is not priced like a No. 1 running back.
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Heath's Projections
So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 14 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big-time last season.
