Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

—Written by Brad Berreman
—Edited by Marc Caviglia
—Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

Week 14 is the first week of playoffs in most fantasy football leagues, or the final regular season week in those that use Week 17 to decide their champion. Injuries continued to be a factor in Week 13, as Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte looks likely to miss multiple weeks with a knee injury and Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson injured a hamstring once again in just his second game back after a prolonged absence.

Fantasy owners can no longer hang onto players who are not getting it done and are wasting roster space, for sentimental value, allegiance to a favorite team or otherwise. Among our Week 13 waiver wire recommendations that worked out well were C.J. Spiller, Christian Ponder, and Roy Helu as well as Matt Prater, the Atlanta Falcons defense, Joel Dreessen and Darrius Heyward-Bey to a lesser extent. Those of you that read the entire piece thoroughly may have preemptively added Marion Barber, who will be among the players most in demand on waiver wires this week due to Forte’s injury.

Quick Note: Not all players that had strong Week 13 outings are on this list, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have value. If you have any questions about free agents not discussed in this article, head over to the forums and we’ll help you with the answers.

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QUARTERBACKS - PICK THEM UP

Alex Smith (San Francisco 49ers)

Smith threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, as he rebounded after one of his worst performances of the season in Week 12 against the Baltimore Ravens. He will get another nice matchup in Week 14 against the Arizona Cardinals, who have allowed at least 250 passing yards in eight of 12 games this season . Back in Week 11, Smith threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns (with one interception) against the Cardinals and he has a solid history of productivity against them in his career. After next week, Smith gets a tough matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15, but things get easier in Week 16 against the Seattle Seahawks and Week 17 against the St. Louis Rams. The former No. 1 overall pick has been an underrated fantasy contributor all season, and he is still available in 43 percent of Fleaflicker leagues right now.

Consider Adding In: 12-Team and 14-Team Leagues

Christian Ponder (Minnesota Vikings)

Ponder went 29-for-47 for a career-high 381 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions against the Denver Broncos in Week 13, as he also had one carry for 12 yards in the game. With running back Adrian Peterson’s status up in the air going forward, the rookie signal caller looks likely to continue to throw the ball plenty going forward as he continues to show improvement. The Vikings will take on the Detroit Lions, who allowed 587 passing yards in their two games prior to Week 13 and will be missing defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (suspension) for next week’s game. Another favorable looking matchup is looming for Week 15 against the New Orleans Saints, who entered Week 13 allowing 16.2 fantasy points (eighth-most in the league) to opposing quarterbacks. Both matchups are likely to require plenty of passing from Ponder regardless if Peterson is active or not, so he is well worth adding in deeper leagues where starting two quarterbacks can be done. He is likely to still be available in the vast majority of leagues at this point.

Consider Adding In: 12-Team and 14-Team Leagues, particularly two-quarterback leagues

Matt Moore (Miami Dolphins)

Moore threw for 162 yards and a touchdown along with 22 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders in Week 13, as he continued to be productive as the Dolphins’ starting signal caller. He has now posted 49 fantasy points (ESPN scoring) over the last three weeks, and will now get three more favorable matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles (Week 14), Buffalo Bills (Week 15) and New England Patriots (Week 16) during the fantasy football playoffs. All three teams came into Week 13 in the bottom 12 of the league in terms of fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks, so Moore should be able to make the most of his opportunities. His upside is not great, as he only topped 250 passing yards once in seven starts this season, however owners in deep leagues that can start two quarterbacks should consider Moore a worthwhile addition for the playoff run.

Consider Adding In: 12-Team and 14-Team Leagues, particularly two-quarterback leagues

Quarterbacks Watch List: Josh Johnson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Caleb Hanie (Chicago Bears), T.J. Yates (Houston Texans), Dan Orlovsky (Indianapolis Colts)