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Your Week 14 Bootleg Discounts
Last bye week means interesting substitutes.
John Laghezza
December 07, 2025
Welcome to Fantasy Temu—home of your bootleg bye-week 1v1 replacements while you try not to bang your head on a wall because you have to sit Christian McCaffrey with the fantasy playoffs on the line. While this fantasy advice is free, we have no control over you excitedly buying a player’s jersey that blows your holiday budget. Ask cooterdoodle.
Drake Maye Off? Can I interest you in a Tyler Shough instead?
Even though my rants started back in Week 10 after the Saints’ statement win in Carolina, who am I kidding? I was never popular enough to will the Tyler Shough hype train out of the fantasy station alone. Fast forward a few short weeks, and social media’s getting on board with the second-rounder out of Louisville boasting the league’s third-best completion rate in that same timeframe.
Don’t take my word for it, check the interweb if confirmation bias is more your thing. Sure, Shough hasn’t thrown the touchdowns needed to truly boost fantasy finishes, but he’s excellent at protecting the ball and even added a half dozen rushes per game to the arsenal since coming off the bye.
Tampa’s also a massive pass funnel plus an 8.0-point favorite on a fast track—the setup could be much worse. TB’s also mega chalk in Survivor tournies … what could go wrong?
Missing Christian McCaffrey? What luck, I found an extra Chris Rodriguez Jr. in the back room!
May not be much to look at, but I reckon it’ll get the job done. Hard to back their RBs when Washington’s horrendous defense keeps sucking all the fantasy oxygen out of the room. I get it. Meanwhile the offense keeps improving, even ever so slowly. Would you believe me if I told you the Commies were tied for second in offensive EPA/play and top 10 in yardage over the last month? Yea, me neither … (well, it’s true)
Unfortunately, leaky defenses oftentimes create precisely the type of negative game scripts banishing Chris Rodriguez Jr. to the sideline—but not this Sunday. In the most classic case of movable forces meeting stoppable objects, Washington hosts J.J McCarthy, aka the worst NFL quarterback this side of the Mississippi. Something’s gotta give…
If the sportsbooks’ spreads prove prescient, a one-score game could mean the lion’s share of touches for C-Rod, who’s easily the most talented runner, leading the WAS backfield since his Week 9 return in EPA/attempt, yards/carry, success and explosive rush rates—plus, all the high-value goal-to-go work.
No Tetairoa McMillan? No problem! Check out the new John Metchie III that just got delivered!
Need some receiving ability? You see, what you got here is some type of missing gasket. I can fix her, but it’ll take a while. In the meantime, why don’t you check out the latest model of John Metchie III? Sure, he plays for the stinky Jets in the newly cast shadow of WR1 Adonai Mitchell, but hear me out.
Since embarking on Gang Green’s Tyrod Taylor era two weeks ago, Metchie’s checking every box you could ask from a fill-in: plays in 2-WR sets, works from the slot and earns targets. In fact, Metchie earned one fewer target than the entire Jets’ pass-catching room with the exception of Mitchell with Tyrod under center.
No question Miami’s played better recently, leading the NFL in defensive scoring over the last month. Sorry to say, I’m not buying one iota of it. For starters, the Dolphins lost multiple CBs earlier this season, and now their entire cohort of safeties is on the injury report. They’ve also shifted heavily into more preventive, two-high safety schematics of late—leaving space underneath and resulting in nearly 9 receptions a game to the slot for a month.
It may not be pretty, but Metchie leads NYJ in receiving points Sunday.
George Kittle gone fishing? Hook yourself some Colston Loveland!
Sometimes when the fantasy gods slam a door, they’ll show some decency and leave a window cracked open. That’s exactly how I feel about turning to rookie Colston Loveland in a time of desperate need. Sure, he’s the TE24 in fantasy points per game, which sounds somewhat terrible when said like that.
Lucky for us, second-half rookie bumps exist for a reason, and there might not be a better candidate to stream than Loveland with WR Rome Odunze shelved due to a fractured foot. Not only did the 2025 10th overall pick earn at least 4 targets in seven games straight, he’s developing into a zone-beating option (1.99 yards/route)—which could come in handy versus Green Bay’s particular coverage style.
GOOD LUCK!
Being a Commish is Thankless—But No Longer
If you're reading this newsletter, you likely have a Commissioner in your life. Maybe several. MAYBE IT'S YOU!! Either way, we all know it's a thankless job—constant emails and texts about rules, plus an endless stream of issues: "can we redo that pick, my computer froze" ... "I didn't mean to drop Bucky Irving!" ... "When is the trade deadline?!" ... "How many teams make the playoffs?"—it's nightmare fuel.
As mentioned—thankless—UNTIL NOW
You have one mission today — get your commissioner PAID! Mike's Hard Lemonade wants to help you do it. For the first time ever, Mike's is offering a straight-up endorsement deal to one lucky Fantasy Commissioner as part of the Mike's Fantasy Endorsement Deal contest! Registration ends on Dec. 9, so do it now, PLEASE, before you forget. The winner gets:
a $25,000 "contract"
and a bunch of other cool swag, clout and aura!
Go to MikesFantasyEndorsementDeal.com NOW. Be part of history. And maybe you'll—how did that happen?!—end up with the No. 1 pick next year!
NO PURCH. NEC. U.S./D.C. Nominator, 21+; Nominee, 25+. Obtain consent of Nominee. Ends 12/9. Winner (Nominee) not hired as product endorser. Void where prohibited. Rules @ https://www.mikesfantasyendorsementdeal.com. Sponsor: Mark Anthony Brands Inc., Chicago, IL. MIKE’S IS HARD. SO IS PRISON. DON’T DRIVE DRUNK® PREMIUM MALT BEVERAGE WITH FLAVORS. All registered trademarks used under license by Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co., Chicago, IL
Fantasy
Editors’ Picks
Want to take a break from holiday shopping? The Xfinity Start/Sit Tool, latest Expert Rankings and Xfinity Best Projections will fill up your fantasy basket with these gifts and more:
 | Has Emeka Egbuka’s quiet run of late made him a sneaky play? Chris Allen examines the best matchups to target with the fantasy playoffs on the line. |
 | Do you dare sit Jalen Hurts on Monday night? This was written pre-storm but Coach Gene Clemons and John Laghezza look at the QB4 in fantasy as well as other players they’re starting and sitting this week. |
 | Can you feel that Josh Allen is back? Cooterdoodle takes it to Eleven with Scared Money, featuring a Stranger Things theme. |
Fantasy
Week 14 Cheat Sheet: Lamar Jackson Conundrum
The last three weeks have been rough for Lamar Jackson, as he’s scored in single digits every week. It has some fantasy managers with their seasons on the line pondering the question: Can you sit Lamar Jackson? Chris Allen provides some context for that potentially season-defining decision in the Week 14 Cheat Sheet:
“It’s no stretch to say that this is the worst span of Jackson’s career. His passing success rates over his last four games (43.3%, 40.0%, 41.7% and 40.0%) rank inside the Bottom 30 of his 96 starts since 2019. But you don’t need nerd stats to see something is off about the two-time MVP winner. You can see it while watching him live. His 29.3 rushing yards per game are a career-low mark. But maybe with his back against the wall, and against a defense that just gave up the sixth-most rushing yards of any team all season, Jackson and the Ravens can get their sights set back on the playoffs.”
The Cheat Sheet is packed full of useful information that you’ll need before setting your lineup, like Chris’ weekly look at the weather. Go figure, with the middle of the country and the Northeast frozen over, the places with weather concerns are in Florida. Also, don’t miss out on Ian’s 10 Things to Know that’s also a fountain of great info. Anyway, we’re on to the Cheat Sheet. ⬇️
Fantasy
Jayden Daniels is Back! Faith in 5
If Joe Burrow showed us anything on Thanksgiving, it’s that a long layoff doesn’t mean that a QB can’t come out firing. Even if he starts off a little slowly. With that, we turn our attention to Jayden Daniels.
Last we saw him was Week 9, when he was taken off the field with his arm dangling after he dislocated his elbow. Now fully healed a little more than a month later, he’ll be back under center for the Commanders as they travel to Minnesota for a date with the Vikings. Jorge Martin offers the fantasy outlook for his return.
Fantasy
Stash Ollie Gordon for the Fantasy Playoffs
We’re in the endgame now. No, we’re not talking about the biggest-grossing movie of all time that gave Matthew a star turn. If you haven’t heard already, it’s make-or-break time for the playoffs. Buckle up, people!
That means setting up your roster for all possibilities for the next four weeks, especially for those Draconian leagues that don’t allow transactions in the playoffs. Shame on you. With that, snapping up handcuff running backs has to be done post haste, and De’Von Achane’s backup needs attention, as Jake Trowbridge offers up:
“Ollie Gordon has a clear leg up on Jaylen Wright as the handcuff and should step into a pseudo-lead role if Achane misses any time. But even if the Miami backfield’s health bar remains bright green, Gordon could still be a desperation flex play. He’s put up two double-digit fantasy performances (and a third if we’re allowed to round up) on the back of some touchdowns. That’s important because the Dolphins have a stretch of excellent matchups to close out the fantasy season, including a date with a Bengals defense that gives fantasy points away like food court samples.”
Jake offers plenty of options for players who could be useful during the fantasy playoffs—don’t miss our Smash Starts article, either. ⤵️
Fantasy
Around the Watercooler
Lock in, people! Get that playoff mindset ready. BTW, here are a few more nuggets to help you with last-minute lineup tinkering.
👀 Don’t miss the live start/sit show at 10 a.m. ET. Chris Allen will be on and will be ready to answer weather-impact questions!
🤕 The real impact of NFL injuries on fantasy football. Talk Data to me.
🍑 Is the juice worth the squeeze? DeVonta Smith sure thinks so.
🥩 Do you have a bad beat story? Please share.
🦵🏽 This Brandon Aubrey factoid makes us sad. Don’t let Ian see it.
🚑️ Let’s ride Jordan Love. It’s that time of year.
🔮 Need a DST? This one can stay with you a while.
🤯 Chase Brown is going big this week. Be bold.
🚀 Are the Raiders headed for a reset? Doesn’t look promising.
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