FANTASY FOOTBALL ADD/DROPS

Week 14 working the waiver wire: Playoff time

Week 14 working the waiver wire: Playoff time
The Texans defense has a nice matchup against the Broncos. Photo by Getty Images.

For many leagues the playoffs have already arrived. This means that it might be easier to add free agents with many teams already done for the season. Keep in mind the owner % mentioned is for 10-team standard ESPN PPR leagues. Some of these players below are good for the short-term, while others have more long-term value. You have to make the call on what your team needs. Immediate help to start this week, or a player to stash on your bench and hope he breaks out soon. Let's get started!

QB

Mike Nowak/Chargers team site

Ryan Tannehill: He plays the Raiders this week, so the matchup doesn't get much better. I like him a lot better than the other options this week. Owned in 23% of leagues.

Jared Goff is coming off a great game, but his matchup against the Seahawks concerns me. Only two teams have been tougher against QBs over the last 4 weeks. Owned in 58% of leagues.

Sam Darnold: Darnold was running for his life last week, and even a great matchup against Miami is a little scary. Owned in 33% of leagues.

Philip Rivers: Proceed with caution! Rivers could get benched during his game against the Jags, and that's the last thing you want this time of year. Owned in 43% of leagues.

RB

Photo by Getty Images.

Rahaad Penny: He's owned in just 41% of 10-team leagues and scored twice this week. He's in a time-share so it's hard to know when he'll have a big game. He plays the Rams this week, which is a below-average matchup. Owned in 41% of leagues.

Bo Scarbrough: He's had at least 14 rushing attempts for 3 straight weeks and had 21 rushing attempts against the Bears on Thanksgiving. You have to love his workload. He gets the Vikings this week who are the 8th best matchup for RBs over the last 4 weeks. Rostered in 46% of leagues.

Derius Guice: He looked great this week, but you still have to deal with Adrian Peterson getting touches. He's out there in about 50% of leagues.

Alexander Mattison: If Dalvin Cook is out with the shoulder injury, Mattison could be a league winner. Cook says he intends to play this week though.

Duke Johnson: He had a great game against the Patriots, but his usage is so inconsistent. 2 weeks ago against Indy he had only 6 touches. Owned in 58% of leagues and get the Broncos this week.

WR

Robbie Anderson: He's had 2 great games in a row and gets the Dolphins this week. Pick him up. He's rostered in 48% of leagues.

James Washington: He's been awesome in 3 of his last 4 games. He's only rostered in 23% of leagues and has a great matchup against the Cardinals.

Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard: It's hard to know which guy to start but if you're desperate, you can give one of them a shot. Shepard has the better pedigree.

TE

Kyle Rudolph: I've been saying it for weeks, add him! He has 6 TDs over his last 6 games.

Jack Doyle: He just had a huge week, so pick him up if you need a TE. He's available in 50% of leagues and plays the lowly Bucs this week.

Ryan Griffin: He gets the Dolphins this week and has been pretty decent if you're desperate. He's available in 75% of leagues.


DEF

If you need some help on defense, the Texans and Vikings have decent matchups.

Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5FM. We're on every Sunday morning from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.

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Can the Texans get more out of Tank Dell? Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans won their second straight AFC South title Sunday with a victory over the Dolphins and a loss by the Colts.

It’s the eighth division title in franchise history with each of them coming since 2011.

Coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud are the only coach/quarterback duo in NFL history to capture division titles in their first two seasons together.

“Clinching the AFC South is huge for us,” Ryans said Monday. “Great accomplishment by all of our guys. It’s always our goal. You want to make it in the postseason, you have to win your division, it starts there. And so, we’re just thankful for everyone who played a part in us reaching a first step of our goal and that’s getting in.”

It's the fourth time the Texans (9-5) have won consecutive division titles and the first since 2018-19. This success comes after they won just 11 games combined in the three seasons before Ryans and Stroud arrived.

The Texans got the 20-12 victory Sunday thanks to a dominant outing by their defense, which forced four turnovers. Tua Tagovailoa lost a fumble on a strip-sack by Will Anderson Jr. and the Texans intercepted him three times, which tied his career high.

Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. secured the victory with two interceptions in the fourth quarter, with both coming on passes intended for star receiver Tyreek Hill.

“Just defensively our guys stepped up and did a really good job closing out the game the way we needed to,” Ryans said. “Stingley is playing just unbelievable football right now. Ask him to cover, man coverage, to go and get two picks versus a really good offense, that was huge for us.”

Stingley also had two tackles for loss Sunday to become the first cornerback in NFL history to have two interceptions and two tackles for loss in a game.

Stingley, who was the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, has five interceptions this season with four of them coming this month.

What’s working

Houston is third in the NFL with a plus-13 turnover differential after forcing four turnovers Sunday while losing the ball just once. The Texans are second in the NFL with 19 interceptions and are tied for seventh with nine fumble recoveries.

On offense, Stroud has thrown nine interceptions and Houston has lost just six fumbles.

What needs help

The Texans got the win Sunday by taking advantage of turnovers on a day the offense mustered a season-low 181 yards. Stroud threw two touchdown passes, but his 131 yards passing were the third fewest of his career.

But he wasn’t the only one who struggled offensively against the Dolphins. Joe Mixon, who has seven 100-yard rushing games this season, was held to just 23 yards on 12 carries after being shaken up on a hard hit early.

“I feel like we definitely could have been better in a lot of ways, but happy with the win and got to just move on,” Stroud said.

Stock up

LB Henry To’oTo’o had one of his best performances of the season Sunday, finishing with 11 tackles, half sack and a forced fumble. The Texans needed him to elevate his play to make up for the loss of fellow linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who served the first of a three-game suspension Sunday for his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence.

Stock down

WR Tank Dell had just 26 yards receiving against the Dolphins after he had 23 yards receiving against Jacksonville before the bye. He’s had one 100-yard game this season after having three as a rookie last season.

Injuries

Ryans brushed off a question about Mixon’s health Monday saying: “he’ll be fine.” … Houston TE Cade Stover missed the game after having an emergency appendectomy Saturday night. … DT Foley Fatukasi injured an ankle in the second quarter and didn’t return.

Key number

45 — The Texans had three sacks Sunday to give them 45 this season, which ranks second in the NFL entering Monday and is one shy of the franchise record of 46 set last season.

Next steps

The Texans visit the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday before hosting the Ravens on Christmas Day. Houston has won just one of the past five meetings with the Chiefs. That includes a divisional round playoff game in the 2019 season that they lost 51-31 after racing to a 24-0 lead.

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