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Sports Illustrated
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Michael Fabiano

Wild Card Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Kickers and Team Defenses

Start ‘Em, Sit 'Em is the ultimate look at the best and worst matchups based on a PPR scoring system in fantasy football. This column will not cover the elite players in the NFL like Josh Allen, Austin Ekeler or Tyreek Hill. Instead, I'll look at the players you have questions about who could exceed or fail to meet expectations at each position. For all of your final fantasy lineup decisions, be sure to check out my weekly player rankings which will be updated daily throughout the 2022 NFL season.

Wild Card Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: QUARTERBACKS | RUNNING BACKS | WIDE RECEIVERS | TIGHT ENDS | KICKERS & TEAM DEFENSES

Wild Card Round Start ‘Em: Defenses

Bills D/ST vs. Dolphins (Sun. 1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Dolphins offense is a mess of injuries, as the quarterback situation is questionable and both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle got dinged up in last week’s win over the Jets. In a home game with cold conditions on tap in Buffalo, the Bills defense should post a nice stat line.

More Starts
• 49ers D/ST vs. Seahawks (Sat. 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox) 
• Bengals D/ST vs. Ravens (Sun. 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC)

DFS Bargains
• Buccaneers D/ST vs. Cowboys ($2,600)

Wild Card Round Sit ‘Em: Defenses

Ravens D/ST at Bengals (Sun. 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC): The Ravens D/ST finished in the top 10 at the position in the regular season, but this is a bad week to start it in a bad matchup in Cincinnati. The Bengals offense has averaged 407.9 yards of offense and almost 30 points per game at home, so Baltimore’s D should be faded.

More Sits
• Dolphins D/ST at Bills (Sun. 1 p.m. ET, CBS)
• Giants D/ST at Vikings (Sun. 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox)

DFS Fades
• Cowboys D/ST at Buccaneers ($3,400)

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Wild Card Round Start ‘Em: Kickers

Graham Gano at Vikings (Sun. 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox): Gano scored just 12 points in his last two games combined, but this week’s matchup in Minnesota makes him a solid option. He beat them for 12 points in a Week 16 matchup, and the Vikings surrendered the most points to opposing kickers during the regular season.

More Starts
• Robbie Gould vs. Seahawks (Sat. 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
• Greg Joseph vs. Giants (Sun. 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox)

Wild Card Round Sit ‘Em: Kickers

Jason Myers at 49ers (Sat. 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox): Myers finished the regular year on a high note, scoring a combined 24 fantasy points in his last two games. The Niners also allowed the fewest fantasy points to kickers during the regular season, and Myers averaged just five points in their two meetings. Keep Myers sidelined.


Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late-breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business to help you win a fantasy championship!

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