18 players to start or sit in fantasy football for Week 12

Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 12 opponent: at Atlanta Falcons

Why you should sit him: Winston presents a high ceiling, but his interceptions make him a risk each week. He has 13 interceptions over the past five games, and the Falcons defense has come out of the bye with a vengeance while stealing wins over the Saints and Panthers.

Team: Detroit Lions

Week 12 opponent: at Washington Redskins

Why you should start him: Driskel has been viable in fantasy through two games. This week, he gets a Washington team ranked 28th in pass defense DVOA. Outside of Sam Darnold last week (QB7), Washington hasn't allowed huge fantasy performances to quarterbacks, but with the Detroit run game up in the air, Driskel may look to throw a bit more than some previous quarterbacks.

Team: Green Bay Packers

Week 12 opponent: at San Francisco 49ers

Why you should sit him: Rodgers' performances have varied this season based on the script. Rodgers has had five games with one touchdown or less — three of them have come on days when Aaron Jones found the end zone on multiple occasions. So far, the 49ers' pass defense has been better than their run defense, which means both Jones and Jamaal Williams could see increased touches. There's no harm in playing Rodgers, but we're not expecting him to finish as a top-10 quarterback this week.

Team: Cleveland Browns

Week 12 opponent: vs. Miami Dolphins

Why you should start him: Hunt has a role in the Browns offense. In two games, he's had 11 and 12 touches, totaling 74 and 58 scoreless yards, both against strong defenses in Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Hunt should be able to make the most of his touches this week against the Dolphins' porous defense and perhaps even find the end zone.

Team: Atlanta Falcons

Week 12 opponent: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Why you should sit him: The Bucs still possess the No. 1 run defense by DVOA. With Devonta Freeman out, Brian Hill looked set to take the reins in Week 11. He had 15 carries for just 30 yards (he did have a touchdown called back). Qadree Ollison ended up getting Atlanta's only rushing score of the day on one of his four carries. While Hill is getting the carries, he's not efficient, and the Bucs even managed to stop Christian McCaffrey from scoring last week. Stay away from this backfield situation.

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 12 opponent: at Cincinnati Bengals

Why you should start him: Samuels has a great matchup with the league's second-worst defense if James Conner misses the game with a shoulder injury. Even if Conner plays, he's likely to be limited, meaning Samuels could still be worth a start. The Bengals have given up either 100 yards rushing or a rushing touchdown to an opposing RB in every game this season.

Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Week 12 opponent: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Why you should sit him: Mixon has seen his touches blow up since the Bengals' bye, with 45 over the last two games. He scored his first rushing touchdown last week against the Raiders. However, the Steelers haven't allowed a running back to top 100 yards all season.

Team: Buffalo Bills

Week 12 opponent: vs. Denver Broncos

Why you should start him: Singletary has been one of the most efficient running backs in football the last four weeks, averaging 5.3 yards per touch. Denver has a strong defense, but six running backs this season have produced 80 total yards or more against them. With Singletary involved in both the run and pass game and Frank Gore losing touches, he has a chance for a big day.

Team: Miami Dolphins

Week 12 opponent: at Cleveland Browns

Why you should sit him: Ballage has been the most inefficient running back this season and one of the most inefficient running backs in NFL history. It's nice that he gets the touches in Miami, and he saved fantasy owners last week with a touchdown in his nine-yard performance. But a game on the road, where the Dolphins are expected to trail, is not one to target.

Team: Cleveland Browns

Week 12 opponent: vs. Miami Dolphins

Why you should start him: In the first start/sit column of the year while explaining our method of choosing borderline players, I wrote, "This list avoids obvious players — of course, you're going to start Odell Beckham Jr." Now Beckham finds himself on the periphery of lineups as he's slogged through a down 2019 season. So, we're here to say: start him with confidence this week. Over the last four weeks, Beckham has been a top-20 receiver in yards and catches. If he had found the end zone in any of those matchups, the fantasy view of him would be much different. Beckham gets the Dolphins this week and the Bengals in Week 14. If he doesn't break out now, it may never happen.

Team: Washington Redskins

Week 12 opponent: vs. Detroit Lions

Why you should sit him: Whether it is regression, the rookie wall, or the effect of Dwayne Haskins, McLaurin's slump has now been as long as his strong first half of the season. McLaurin has 12 catches for 158 scoreless yards over the last four weeks. He still gets targeted by Haskins, and last week, he had a 67-yard catch called back, but he's not having the same success with Haskins throwing the ball. He also has a tough matchup, as he will likely see Lions cornerback Darius Slayton in coverage on some routes.

Team: Atlanta Falcons

Week 12 opponent: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Why you should start him: As mentioned, the Bucs own a strong run defense, but their pass defense has been friendly to wide receivers. Ridley is coming off of an eight-catch, 143-yard, 1-touchdown game against the Panthers and should be in line for big numbers if the Falcons are forced to throw.

Team: Los Angeles Rams

Week 12 opponent: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Why you should sit him: Cooks is heading towards playing as he goes through concussion protocol. However, he's missed essentially four weeks, as he was knocked out of Week 8 early with the concussion, had a bye in Week 9, and missed games in Weeks 10 and 11. We think it's better to play it safe with Cooks, who was having a down season before the concussion anyway, and see how his role looks once he's back on the field.

Team: Chicago Bears

Week 12 opponent: vs. New York Giants

Why you should start him: Robinson has been a high-ceiling, low-floor fantasy receiver this season. The highs have been lines like 8-97-2 against the Raiders, the lows have been 1-6-0 against the Eagles in Week 9. Nonetheless, whether Mitch Trubisky or Chase Daniel is starting, Robinson has the chance for a big game against a vulnerable Giants pass defense. According to Mike Tagliere of FantasyPros, Robinson is set to face Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker, who is one of the worst graded corners in football.

Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Week 12 opponent: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Why you should sit him: Boyd has just one touchdown this season and hasn't topped 65 yards the last five weeks. Last week, after receiving only three targets, Boyd griped about not getting the ball from quarterback Ryan Finley. Perhaps the Bengals force-feed Boyd this week, but the Steelers don't present an easy matchup to do so. He's a risky start, knowing he's finished as a top-20 WR just twice this season.

Team: New York Jets

Week 12 opponent: vs. Oakland Raiders

Why you should start him: Since Week 6, Griffin is TE4 in fantasy, thanks to four touchdowns and three games with 50-plus yards. In that stretch, he's also had two clunkers, games with just one catch for one yard and -2 yards. With tight end being what is, he's still worth a shot, especially against the Raiders, who will be making an early start on the road.

Team: Denver Broncos

Week 12 opponent: at Buffalo Bills

Why you should sit him: Fant has been on the rise in recent weeks, but this week, he draws a brutal matchup against the Bills, who have all but shut down opposing tight ends this year. Fant has been getting a lot of targets but catching just 56% of them. That means he'd need a lot of targets to produce against the Bills.