As Week 14 approaches, if you have Christian McCaffrey on your fantasy team, you’re likely relieved if you’ve already secured a playoff position. This weekend, he’ll be out as the 49ers enjoy their bye. The other teams also taking a break include the Panthers, Patriots, and Giants, creating a potential gap in the backfield that could affect several flex starter options. On the plus side, they might still have enough depth on the bench to cover the absence of CMC.
Teams on bye: Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers.
Players involved: Rico Doodle, Tuba Hubbard, Tre Veyon Henderson, Lamondre Stevenson, Devin Singletary, Tyrone Tracy, Christian McCaffrey.
Jordan Mason, Vikings vs. Commanders
The status of Aaron Jones’ shoulder injury remains unclear, but he might sit out against the Commanders this week. If that happens, Jordan Mason could step in as the lead back, which is promising given the favorable matchup, as the Commanders have allowed a lot of fantasy points to running backs this season.
Jones hurt his shoulder in the last outing against the Seahawks and couldn’t return to the game. It seems the injury isn’t major, so he may still have a shot to play this week. If he can’t, Mason could take the lead role, though it’s possible that Xavier Scott might ultimately take over.
Benson has been dealing with an injury since Week 4 and went through arthroscopic surgery on his meniscus. He participated in limited practice ahead of Week 12 but didn’t play. He was inactive last week after being limited again, leaving his current status a bit uncertain. It’s unclear if he hit a snag in his recovery; he hasn’t had any updates recently.
Omarion Hampton, Chargers
Hampton is still out and was spotted wearing a no-contact jersey last week. He’ll need some good news soon if he’s to have any chance of playing against the Eagles on Monday night.
Kamara experienced an MCL sprain in Week 12 and missed the following week. Devin Neal stepped up and had 17 touches in the game against the Dolphins, but he didn’t get a large number of possessions. It’ll be interesting to see if Kamara can get back to practice this week, which would impact his potential return.
Scoring expectations: Cowboys at Lions (54.5)
Bengals vs. Bills (52.5)
Rams vs. Cardinals (48.5)
Colts vs. Jaguars (47.5)
And a few lower-scoring matchups to consider: Titans vs. Browns (33.5)
Eagles vs. Chargers (40.5)
Broncos vs. Raiders (40.5)
Dolphins at Jets (41.5)
Maximum implied individual team total
Banknotes (29)
Lions (28.8)
Rams (28.5)
Seahawks (26)
Cowboys (25.8)
Minimum Implied Individual Team Total
Titans (15)
Raiders (16.5)
Saints (17)
Browns (18.5)
Falcons (18.5)
Notable spreads include: Saints at Buccaneers (-8.5)
Rams at Cardinals (-8.5)
Broncos (-7.5) vs. Raiders
Seahawks (-7.5) vs. Falcons
Bears vs. Packers (-6.5)
