Fantasy Football Start/Sit Week 12

Start: Drake Maye (NE @ CIN): Maye is sitting on 2,836 passing yards with a 20 to 5 TD to INT line and a top-tier QBR. Now he gets a Bengals defense that ranks bottom six in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks in a game with a 49.5 total, and New England is favored by more than a touchdown. If you overthink a set it and forget it QB1 against a 3 and 7 defense that is dead last in points and yards allowed, you deserve to watch those points happen on your bench.

Start: Matthew Stafford (LAR vs. TB): Stafford leads the league with 27 touchdown passes against only two interceptions, and now gets a Buccaneers defense that sits in the softer half of the league versus fantasy quarterbacks in a home game with a 49.5 total. In an offense that creates multiple Cedar Point water slides every week and as a touchdown favorite, he is a slam start with four touchdown upside if Tampa has to chase and leaves the back end exposed.

Sit: Shedeur Sanders (CLE @ LV): Sanders just posted a 4 of 16 line for 47 yards with a pick, a QBR barely above zero, and did not lead a single scoring drive. Now he is potentially heading into a road start in a game with a gross 36.5 total, where his head coach still calls him the backup if Dillon Gabriel clears concussion protocol. A third-string rookie with four college coordinators is not the guy you trust in a low-scoring rock fight between two 2-8 teams, especially when even a soft Raiders pass defense can win simply by making him execute basic pro reads.

Sit: J.J. McCarthy (MIN @ GB): McCarthy has 842 passing yards with a 6 to 8 TD to INT line and a QBR in the mid-20s, and is coming off a meltdown game where he sprayed balls all over the field. Now he draws a Packers defense that ranks top seven toughest against fantasy quarterbacks. Throw in a 41.5 total at Lambeau and a division opponent that squeezes the middle of the field, and there is zero reason to stream a struggling rookie who has to be perfect just to land you a middling week.