Week 13 of the NFL season signals the beginning of the stretch run, but fantasy football players have been in crunch time for a while now. The regular season for fantasy football (in most sane leagues) comes to an end after Week 14, so a lot of people hovering around .500 are essentially in win-or-go-home mode, which makes lineup decisions even more critical if you need a victory to reach the fantasy postseason.
A few players we covered last week in this space let down their teams again in Week 13, so we'll issue some reminders below. There are also some big name stars who are in bench territory for those in desperation mode, so let's dive into the stars you should sit in Week 14, beginning with a former NFL MVP.
Fantasy football stars who should be benched after week 13
QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
The idea of benching Jackson in a win-or-bust situation for fantasy would have seemed crazy a month ago, but this version of Jackson is not paying the bills. Since his four touchdown return from injury against Miami, Jackson has delivered just one touchdown pass and turned the football over five times, including a pick and two fumbles on Thanksgiving night against Cincinnati.
All of those turnovers, and the fact that Jackson is notably running less post hamstring injury, has meant he is delivering single digit points to his fantasy owners. That kind of production is benchable in any circumstances, but it is understandable that you would want to ride your top passer in the event he recaptures his form in Week 14 and lifts the squad into the fantasy postseason.
The Ravens have a tough draw in Week 14 against Pittsburgh, whose pass defense has been better than its run defense, so Baltimore could opt to ride Derrick Henry more to protect a limited Jackson. The streaming market could offer viable alternatives here, including Tyrod Taylor or Tua Tagovailoa from a Jets-Dolphins matchup with two suspect defenses, so any Jackson managers should strongly weigh their options if their season is on the line.
RB Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
The well is running dry for Jeanty, whose talent has been stifled by his situation in Las Vegas. The team has fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly already but a coaching change can't fix a subpar offensive line, which has failed to open holes for Jeanty all season long.
Jeanty got a hefty diet of touches in Sunday's loss to the Chargers, but 61 yards on 21 touches is not going to get the job done. Six catches in there at least offers some help in PPR leagues, but Jeanty is getting most of the focus from opposing defenses, which is problematic since the only real threat other than him on offense is tight end Brock Bowers.
Week 14 brings another brutal matchup for Jeanty as he deals with Denver's elite defense, which entered Week 13 giving up the fourth-fewest fantasy points to running backs. While there is a good chance the Raiders force-feed Jeanty the ball to try and keep things close, there is little fantasy upside here unless he finds his way into the end zone.
WR Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
The struggles that Jackson is having for the Ravens are directly impacting his top pass catchers, including Flowers, who is coming off a dismal two-catch for six-yard showing against Cincinnati on Thanksgiving night. That number is a bit skewed since Jackson did connect on a touchdown to Flowers in the game but it was wiped off the board due to an offensive pass interference penalty called on Flowers.
Flowers was visibly frustrated with the struggles of the passing game and committed a key fumble late in the game that killed Baltimore's chances at a comeback. Jackson has continued to look Flowers' way frequently, feeding him at least five targets in every game since returning from his hamstring injury, but the pair haven't connected for a touchdown since back in Week 1.
This situation is incredibly frustrating for Flowers' fantasy managers, who are basically stuck with a talented player who is borderline unusable while Jackson sorts through his issues. There is a good chance the Ravens shift into run-first mode to give Jackson time to fix things, which diminishes the potential impact Flowers can have for fantasy purposes in a critical week.
WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
We warned you last week not to use Vikings' pass catchers in your lineup since J.J. McCarthy was killing the fantasy value of his receivers. Since that post went live, McCarthy wound up in concussion protocol and missed Week 13, leading to a new rock bottom for Jefferson and company with Max Brosmer delivering the worst quarterback play in the league this season.
Despite receiving plenty of hype from Minnesota's coaching staff, Brosmer looked the part of an undrafted rookie against Seattle's tough defense, completing just 19-of-30 passes for 126 yards with four interceptions in a 26-0 loss. Jefferson received six targets from Brosmer but caught only two of them for four yards, failing to crack 1.5 fantasy points in half-PPR leagues.
Like Flowers above him, Jefferson is an incredibly talented receiver stuck at the mercy of awful quarterback play. While Washington's defense offers a friendlier fantasy matchup than Seattle's, Jefferson cannot be trusted as long as he is having historically bad passers trying to get him the football.
WR Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
Odunze is another player we warned you about last week and he delivered another dud in Chicago's Black Friday victory over Philadelphia. While owners who picked Odunze are still hoping that he can recapture the bananas production from the Bears' first four games, the fact is that the offensive game plan has completely shifted for Chicago since their early bye.
Ben Johnson has instilled a tremendous commitment to the run and it paid off in spades against the Eagles, seeing Kyle Monangai and D'Andre Swift turn a combined 40 carries into 255 yards and two touchdowns against the defending champs. All of those rushes meant Caleb Williams wasn't as much of a factor, completing 17-of-36 passes for only 154 yards, with Odunze catching 2-of-6 targets for 8 yards.
The Bears have won five straight games so there is little reason for Johnson to deviate from his preferred game plan, meaning there will be less work for Odunze than his fantasy owners were hoping for going forward. A trip to Green Bay in Week 14 should lead to plenty of run game opportunities as Chicago looks to slow down the Packers' pass rush, making Odunze a benchable option in a must-win fantasy situation.