Miami Dolphins fantasy football start and sit for week 13
The Miami Dolphins will face the Bills who have an above average defense, and this is not a favorable matchup for fantasy football owners with the playoffs in sight.
Fantasy football leagues are beginning their preparations for the playoffs right around the corner. Depending on how your league is set, most will begin their playoffs next week while the rest are likely to begin two weeks from now. Throughout the season, and most seasons for that matter, the Miami Dolphins haven’t brung a ton of fantasy value.
While last week Miami played against a favorable Colts defense, they draw a much tougher matchup on Sunday against a Bills defense that has been pretty good most weeks. Because there are no elite fantasy players on Miami’s roster, and Buffalo has a solid defense, this is not a good game for fantasy owners. Unless you are really thin at key positions or involved in deeper leagues, it’s probably best to avoid this game altogether.
As I projected last week, Tannehill played admirably, and with a couple of touchdown passes, put in a decent fantasy performance. Miami will be at home this week, where they typically play much better, but I don’t see Tannehill having a similar game this time around.
Buffalo is second in the league in total yards allowed, and first in pass defense with 193.7 yards per game. There’s not a lot to be optimistic about in regards to Miami’s pass offense this week. While I’d bet that Tannehill puts together at least one good drive that nets him a touchdown pass, his ceiling for the week is mediocre at best while his floor is very low.
Bye weeks are finished for every team so it’s best to just ride with the quarterback you’ve been going with all along, and if you prefer to stream at the position again this week, there are better options that remain available.
Sit
Running Backs
Can anyone figure out this Dolphins backfield? Kenyan Drake rushed the ball just 8 times against Indy, which has become a common theme, but he did add a touchdown run to go with his 32 yards on the ground. In addition, Drake was heavily involved in the passing game, with 5 receptions for 64 yards, and another score.
Drake, in fact, was targeted more than anybody from Ryan Tannehill, and given the injuries to Miami’s wide receivers, that’s probably going to continue for the remainder of the season. For that reason alone, he becomes a worthy start in PPR leagues for sure. There’s a strong chance that he was dropped in your league so go pick him up if you can. He’s been boom-or-bust all season long with more bust performances, but with Tannehill back, and few options at receiver, Drake should provide consistent numbers for owners throughout the fantasy playoffs.
Drake may continue to not see as many carries as owners would like, and that’s because of Frank Gore. Fantasy owners and Dolphins fans may have not wanted to admit it in the beginning, but the truth is that even at age 35, Gore is the better runner. Drake has the breakaway capability, but Gore provides the consistency necessary to move the chains.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t result in much fantasy production outside the deepest of leagues. Buffalo is a little more vulnerable in their run defense compared to the pass, but they still remain in the middle of the pack against rushers. Gore is an easy sit as a result, and should only be used in 14-team or deeper leagues at this moment.
Kenyan Drake – Start
Frank Gore – Sit
Wide Receivers
Even with all of the injuries at the position, no Dolphins wide receiver holds any fantasy value, particularly in this tough matchup.
Sit All
Tight Ends
Please see wide receivers, and every previous start/sit suggestion from this season.
Sit All
Defense
Miami’s defense relies heavily on creating turnovers. They did a pretty good of that against Indianapolis with 3 turnovers overall, two of which came off of terrific Xavien Howard interceptions. Seriously, pay the man already.
While they do a good job of creating turnovers, they still give up a ton of yards, particularly against good offenses. Last Sunday was no exception, and while they finished with 3 turnovers, they also allowed 455 yards of offense. The good news this week, however, is that Buffalo is not a good offense. Not yet anyway.
The Bills are trending in the right direction on this side of the ball, but with a rookie quarterback, and a lack of playmakers, they aren’t going to have it figured out this year. Miami should find success in creating turnovers and sacks in front of a home crowd, and because of that, the defense finds themselves as a popular stream for the week.
Start