Good morning. Tonight’s Patriots and Steelers matchup is bittersweet.

Bitter because it marks the start of the final week of the fantasy football regular season. Sweet for anyone who enjoys texting miserable fans of the Patriots and Steelers. We’ve waited a long time for this.

TRIVIA

RANKINGS

Terry McLaurin falls to WR40. He got cardio last Sunday, but that’s about it, with 0 receptions on 3 targets. His 53.4 receiving yards per game are the lowest of his career and he has fewer FPPG than Curtis Samuel (when Samuel plays in full), per @ScottBarrettDFB. Pass.

Trey McBride rises to TE4. Since given a starting role, McBride leads all TEs in targets and receptions, is 2nd in yards, and 3rd in FPPG (16.2), per @RonStewart.

The second-year stud TE acts as a fringe-WR1, scoring as the WR14 in FPPG while posting a 28.3% target share (good for WR6), per @ScottBarrettDFB.

Our rest-of-season 0.5 PPR rankings were updated early this morning 👇️ 

POSITION REVIEW

Quarterback

Dak Prescott’s Weeks 14-17 schedule = league-winner. “What do the Bills, Dolphins, and Lions have in common? They all put up points in bunches. They're also not particularly strong against fantasy football quarterbacks. That's a perfect recipe for Dak Prescott to continue his hot streak,” per Andrew Ball of RotoBaller.

This week, Dak faces an Eagles secondary that was just torched by Brock Purdy (29.5 points, QB2). The Eagles allow QBs to score a league-high +4.9 points above their average, per FootballGuys tool; since Week 8, Dak is averaging 28.8 points per game. This would project him for over 33 points.

Don’t panic over Justin Herbert. Bad weather and a strong Patriots defense are the cause of Week 13’s 7.9 point outing. “Herbert has scored at least 20 points in 54% of his games this season and should remain locked in as a high-end QB1 moving forward,” per Tim Brosnan of FantasyPros.

C.J Stroud has been a revelation (QB4 in fantasy points per game), but lost his favorite WR in Tank Dell and faces the league's top pass defense (QBs score -4.0 fantasy points less against the NYJ). Consider alternatives in game that could have bad weather, per Josh Larky & Ryan Reynolds of The 33rd Team.

• Lamar Jackson has just two 20-point games since Week 4 and only one 20-point game since Week 7. He has fewer than 15 fantasy points in four of his past five games, per Liz Loza of ESPN.

• Jets coach Robert Saleh said Zach Wilson will start in Week 14 against the Texans, as if that matters. J(ust)-E(ndure)-T(he)-S(uffering).

• Derek Carr was practicing despite a concussion in Week 13. Carr said he “feels good” and is recovered from neck and rib injuries. The concussion may keep him out in Week 14, which would be huge for Jameis Winston & Chris Olave.

Running Back

It’s not looking good for Austin Ekeler. “Chargers HC Brandon Staley suggested a potential "competition" for backfield carries when asked about increasing Joshua Kelley's workload. RB Austin Ekeler has recorded 24 carries for 50 yards in the last two games”, per @alexinsdorf99.

It’s been a rough 2023 for Ekeler, the preseason RB2, who is RB26 on the season. 17.5% of his carries have gone for 0 or negative yards, per @kyle_borg. Ekeler sustained a high-ankle sprain Week 1; he's at 2.99 YPC since. Prior to 2023, Ekeler's career YPC was 4.59, per Adam Levitan.