Fantasy Football: One QB, RB, WR, and TE primed for huge Week 14 performances

With Week 14 underway, the fantasy football regular season is nearing an end. Fantasy managers are fighting for their playoff lives this week in a majority of leagues and these four players can single-handedly swing the pendulum.

A win-or-go-home matchup in Week 14 is what fantasy football is all about. Drafting your team, playing the waiver wire, making trades, and your entire roster construction process come down to one week. From this point forward, nothing that happened over the first 13 weeks of the season matters. Be sure to plug these four players into your fantasy football lineups with your season on the line.

Here is one QB, RB, WR, and TE who are primed for huge Week 14 fantasy football performances

QB: Justin Fields, Chicago Bears

In two games since returning from a thumb injury, Justin Fields has averaged 81.5 rushing yards per game. Now, he has a chance to win a lot of fantasy managers their matchups this week against a deteriorating Lions defense that he’s run all over in each of their past three meetings.

Fields hasn’t just done it with explosive runs. He’s been a focal point of the Bears ground game, earning double-digit carries in his past two games and 30 total rush attempts in that span. Fields’ workload as a runner bodes well for his fantasy prospects against a Lions defense that ranks last in the NFL in rushing yards per game allowed to opposing quarterbacks (30.1).

Not only have the Lions struggled to defend mobile quarterbacks, they have struggled against the pass, ranking 21st in the NFL in opponent passing yards per game (229.3). According to NBC Sports’ Matthew Berry in his weekly “Love/Hate” column, the Lions have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks over the past two weeks. 

Finishing as Week 14’s top quarterback in fantasy football is within the range of outcomes for Fields given the matchup and his dual-threat abilities.

RB: Zack Moss, Indianapolis Colts

Zack Moss regained control of the Colts backfield last week with Jonathan Taylor being ruled out due to a thumb injury that required surgery. With Taylor out of the picture, no Colts running back other than Moss earned a carry last week, with Moss playing 94 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. While it didn’t result in the best fantasy performance, that is the type of usage fantasy managers dream of for their running backs.

Per Denny Carter of NBC Sports’ weekly column titled “The Regression Files,” Moss had the second-most expected fantasy points among running backs and played on every one of the team’s snaps inside the 20-yard line, two encouraging stats that bode well for his Week 14 outlook.

Moss has been a workhorse this season when Taylor doesn’t play. In Matthew Berry’s weekly “Love/Hate” column, he points out that Moss has averaged 23.6 touches per game in games in which he logs at least 70 percent of the Colts' offensive snaps. Berry added that Moss now faces a Bengals defense in Week 14 that has allowed a rushing touchdown to an opposing running back in four straight games and eight of their last nine games overall.

The Bengals rank 31st in the NFL in opponent yards per rush attempt (4.8) and 27th in opponent rushing yards per game (133.9). With Jonathan Taylor ruled out, Moss is set up for another large workload in an opportune matchup. He’s primed for a huge performance in Week 14.

WR: Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders

While it hasn’t translated to elite fantasy production, Davante Adams has had elite usage since interim head coach Antonio Pierce took over and named rookie signal-caller Aidan O’Connell the team’s starting quarterback.

Adams has seen no less than seven targets in O’Connell’s past four starts, reaching 13 targets in two consecutive outings. Adams has recorded at least 73 receiving yards in his past three games and now faces a Vikings defense that ranks 28th in receptions allowed to opposing wide receivers per NFL Fantasy. According to Player Profiler, Adams ranks first in the NFL in air yards share (46.1 percent) and second in red zone targets (18).

The shaky quarterback play for the Raiders has impacted Adams’ fantasy output this season. But, he is still one of the best receivers in the NFL and capable of carrying an offense on any given Sunday. This week, Adams will parlay his otherworldly talent with his remarkable usage to give fantasy managers the huge performance they’ve been waiting for at a crucial point in the season.

TE: George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

George Kittle continues to find ways to be a high-end TE1 in fantasy football despite being the fourth option in his offense at times and inconsistent usage. Kittle has had two games this season where he’s turned four targets into 20-plus PPR fantasy points. That type of efficiency is almost impossible to replicate consistently, but it signifies how Kittle continues to get away with it.

Kittle ranks ninth amongst tight ends in targets (67) but third in receiving yards (735) and third in touchdowns (five), which highlights his efficiency and ability to carve out fantasy-relevant performances with a minimal workload. Through 12 games, the Seahawks have allowed the seventh-most receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends (60.2).

While Kittle may not always be involved in the team’s passing attack, he is a near-every-down player who has a 96.4 percent route participation rate, which ranks fourth amongst tight ends per Player Profiler.

With the 49ers being favored by nearly two touchdowns in Week 14, it could be another week where Kittle isn’t heavily involved in the team’s offensive game plan. However, Kittle continues to prove he can give fantasy managers massive performances with less than a handful of targets.