Fantasy football: Start-em, sit-em players for Week 13
By Jay Marsdale
Sit-em: Tyrod Taylor (BUF) vs. New England
The Buffalo Bills’ quarterback saga in 2017 has been odd and confusing. Nathan Peterman should have never started over Tyrod Taylor. Luckily for Peterman this week, it is going to be Taylor out there struggling against the Patriots newly tough defense.
When the season began, New England’s defense was one of the worst in the league. However, the Patriots have not allowed an opponent to score 20 points in any of their last seven games. They have seemingly figured it out on defense, and that should scare the rest of the league.
Taylor has historically thrown for yards against the Patriots defense, but he has had difficulty finding the end zone. In five games against the Patriots, Taylor has only four touchdown passes. This would be a fine number against one of the best team in the league, but he also has four interceptions against them. For a quarterback and offense that relies on ball control and time of possession as much as Buffalo, these numbers are game changing.
Tyrod is also going to be without his top target this week with Kelvin Benjamin still injured. Benjamin was acquired at the trade deadline to take some of the pressure off of Taylor in the passing game. Unfortunately for Taylor and the Bills offense, Benjamin hasn’t been on the field enough to make an impact since the trade.
The Patriots take away the opponent’s top target. That is their style of defense. Right now, the Bills only real threat is through the running game. Whether it is running back LeSean McCoy or Taylor himself running, New England will be ready to stop them.
They are going to make the Bills into a passing offense, and that could lead to more interceptions and problems for Taylor. Fantasy football players need to think about a different option at quarterback if you have been starting Taylor throughout the season.
Other options: Marcus Mariota (TEN) vs. Houston and Brett Hundley (GB) vs. Tampa Bay