Start 'Em & Sit 'Em is the ultimate look at the weekly NFL matchups and how they'll affect your fantasy football team. Sleeper alert features an under-the-radar player who could produce good numbers. Owners beware features a regular fantasy starter who could fail to meet expectations based on the strength of his opponent. All starts and sits are based on standard scoring leagues. Obvious fantasy starters like Aaron Rodgers and LeSean McCoy will not be featured. For your final lineup decisions, check our lineup rankings.
Byes: Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle, St. Louis
Start 'Em
I still have a soft spot for Miller, but that's not reason enough to make him the start of the week ... playing against the Raiders is, however. Their defense has been bad against the run, allowing an average of almost 23 fantasy points per game to the position. It's also fun to start a guy playing in one of our games across the pond, right?
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Ryan Mathews (knee) and Danny Woodhead (leg) are both out of action, so Brown is going to be the bell cow in San Diego's backfield this week and beyond. And with a matchup against the Jaguars up next, he's a solid option in fantasy land. After three weeks, Jacksonville has given up more fantasy points to backs than any team.
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Six teams are on a bye, so owners will be leaning on new faces at running back. One of those runners is Thomas, who has flex-starter appeal in Dallas. The Cowboys defense has allowed 17-plus fantasy points to backs in two of its first three games. What's more, Thomas has three scores in his last two games vs. the 'Boys.
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Owners who have Jackson or C.J. Spiller have to like this week's matchup in Houston. The Texans have struggled to stop the run in 2014, allowing 20-plus fantasy points to opposing runners in two of their first three games of 2014. Jackson has also found the end zone four times in his last five road contests against AFC opponents.
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Asiata isn't the most explosive runner, but he's still a viable flex starter when the matchup is favorable. That's the case this week, as the Vikings host Atlanta in an NFC battle. After three weeks, the Falcons have allowed the third-most fantasy points (36.60 PPG) to opposing running backs. Asiata is still a free agent in a lot of leagues.
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Sit' Em
Bush is coming off a nice performance, posting 15.90 fantasy points. But this week, he'll have a much tougher task against the Jets. After three weeks, the Men in Green have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points (6.70 PPG) to running backs in 2014. Bush has also scored just three times in his last 12 road games.
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We all know that Patriots coach Bill Belichick hates our fantasy teams, thus his confusing rotation of runners. That makes Ridley a real risk on Monday night. Oh, and here's a little nugget on the L.S.U. product ... he has averaged 48 rushing yards and scored just one touchdown in his last six road games against AFC teams.
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The Jets backfield is a true committee, as Chris Ivory and Johnson are sharing the workload almost down the middle. Furthermore, Ivory has been the better of the two backs so far. With an upcoming matchup against the Lions, who have allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points to backs, CJ2K is better left on the fantasy bench.
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The Vikings have a middle-of-the-road defense against running backs, but this has more to do with Jackson than the matchup. In his last seven road games against NFC teams, he has averaged 51 rushing yards and scored one touchdown. He's also losing backfield touches to Jacquizz Rodgers, among other running backs.
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Sproles was one of the hottest running backs in fantasy football in the first two weeks of the season, but he cooled off in Week 3 with a mere three fantasy points. Sproles hasn't scored a touchdown in his last six road games against the NFC, so this weekend's clash in San Francisco doesn't bode well for a big statistical output.
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Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Have a burning question on anything fantasy related? Tweet it to _**@MichaelFabiano**_ or send a question via **Facebook**!
