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Who should I start or sit for fantasy football in Week 14 of the 2025 season? Andrew's potential fantasy football busts to avoid in Week 14 fantasy football lineups.
It's crunch time - and not the kind that Cap'n Horatio promotes.
For the majority of fantasy football leagues, Week 14 marks the final week of the regular season. Suppose you've already been eliminated. Well, hey, thanks for sticking around and reading. For everyone else, roster decisions could be the difference between a playoff spot and joining the eliminated group.
Below, we sort through the stats and find 10 fantasy football busts, or players who may disappoint, for Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season. Good luck, RotoBallers!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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A.J. Brown (WR, PHI) at Los Angeles Chargers (MNF)
The A.J. Brown we know and love (and drafted) is back! However, how much of his recent explosion was matchup-dependent?
Hurts to Brown for the second time today
CHIvsPHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/2xekVeVriz— NFL (@NFL) November 28, 2025
34% of Brown's yards and 32% of his receptions this season came in the last two games. The Dallas Cowboys give up the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers (and remain there when adjusted for schedule). The Chicago Bears aren't far behind, sliding in with the eighth-most points allowed.
The Los Angeles Chargers are the polar opposite. They've been the second-best secondary against wide receivers this year, and fourth over the last four weeks. That includes the sixth-fewest catches, third-fewest yards, and, most importantly, just six touchdowns - tied for the second-fewest.
The hope is that the Eagles' offense has been fixed and Brown is back to being a lineup lock. If he puts together a third-straight 100-yard game, then we can take that to be the truth. The sportsbooks aren't convinced, giving him a line of 62.5 yards (give or take, depending on the book).
Terry McLaurin (WR, WAS) at Minnesota
Props to Terry McLaurin for dismantling the Denver defense to the tune of seven receptions, 96 yards, and a score in his return from a lengthy absence. The Broncos' secondary is one of the toughest in the league to score on, but there are a few more difficult matchups.
One of those is the Minnesota Vikings, who have been the only team to date to shut down Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The Vikings were very much in "don't let JSN get going" mode. Sometimes that just opened up stuff for other guys. But it's stuff that defenses may live with, especially if there's no YAC and it's not an explosive. (Kupp gets 6 yards here on 1st down.) https://t.co/z7enywrLJB pic.twitter.com/13NirnNGKU
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) December 4, 2025
104 catches on the season is tied for the fewest to opposing wide receivers. They also surrender the fewest fantasy points per game. That coincides with the pass defense as a whole. 178.4 yards allowed per game is good for fifth-fewest in the league.
As for recent production? Well, zero wide receivers have scored a touchdown in the last four weeks. Zay Flowers had 75 yards in Week 10. No other wideout - which includes the rest of the Ravens and all of the Packers, Bears, and Seahawks - topped 50 yards. The lone receiving touchdown in that window went to Mark Andrews.
Drake London (WR, ATL) vs. Seattle
Drake London (knee) could return to the Atlanta lineup at the most inopportune time. In the end, fantasy managers will still be excited to have one of their top draft picks back. However, it'll be without Michael Penix Jr. for the first time, and against one of the best defenses in football.
Seattle's run defense is widely regarded as the unit's strong suit, but the pass defense is no slouch. Over the last four games, the top two wide receivers for opposing teams are averaging a 45% catch rate.
| Wide Receiver | Catch Rate vs. Seattle |
| Justin Jefferson | 2-6 (33%) |
| Jordan Addison | 5-10 (50%) |
| Chimere Dike | 5-7 (71.4%) |
| Xavier Restrepo | 2-6 (33%) |
| Puka Nacua | 7-8 (87.5%) |
| Davante Adams | 1-8 (12.5%) |
| Marvin Harrison Jr. | 3-12 (25%) |
| Michael Wilson | 4-7 (57.1%) |
Kirk Cousins currently has a 63.9 completion percentage, behind names like Tyler Shough, Aaron Rodgers, Jake Browning, and Geno Smith. That's boosted by the "easy" completions that Cousins is taking, mostly the dump-offs and screens to Bijan Robinson. No wide receiver has more than three catches in any of Cousins' three starts.
London, should he play, is coming off a PCL sprain, the same injury that hampered Brock Bowers for an extended period of time. Not all sprains are the same, and not all players recover the same. It's just something to keep in mind.
With the wide receiver landscape being what it is (aka not great), fantasy managers are likely to slide London back in starting lineups if he is active, but he is one of the riskiest plays of Week 14.
D.K. Metcalf (WR, PIT) at Baltimore
Sometimes, a disappointing player comes along with a great matchup, and you think to yourself, "Is this the week that they finally break out of their slump?"
So, this selection was a toss-up between D.K. Metcalf and Justin Jefferson. Over the last five games, Jefferson is WR42 in PPR points per game (9.3). Metcalf is even worse, slotting in at WR58 with 7.9 points per game.
The Vikings have an implied point total of 22, compared to 19 for the Steelers. The Commanders (Minnesota's opponent) is the sixth-worst defense against fantasy football wide receivers, compared to the Ravens, who are 10th. So, that's how we land on Metcalf. Jefferson has slightly better odds of rebounding.
Metcalf isn't getting downfield targets. His average depth of target (9.9 yards) ranks 67th among wideouts. That won't change as long as Rodgers is nursing a fractured wrist on his non-throwing hand. The game plan starts with the run game and ends with quick passes to avoid opposing pass rushes.
Also of note, last season's second regular-season meeting between the Ravens and Steelers was the first time one of the teams surpassed 20 points since 2020. These AFC North rivals have a history of low-scoring affairs.
Rome Odunze (WR, CHI) at Green Bay
Take a peek at the Bears' schedule for the next three weeks: at Green Bay, Cleveland, and Green Bay again. There are a lot of cold temperatures in the forecast, and that climate suits what Ben Johnson wants to do.
We saw it in the upset win over Philadelphia. Not including rushes by Caleb Williams, the Bears called 42 run plays to 36 pass attempts.
#Bears Week 13 RB Usage
- D’Andre Swift: 53% snaps, 18 caries, 22 routes, 2 targets (138 yds, TD)
- Kyle Monangai: 45% snaps, 22 carries, 12 routes, 1 target (130 yds, TD)— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) November 28, 2025
Rome Odunze isn't the game plan like he was at the beginning of the season. He was the WR3 (!) before Chicago's Week 5 bye. He's dropped all the way to WR23, with just two double-digit scores since.
The Bears have gotten rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III more involved, somewhat at Odunze's expense. While Odunze has still led Bears' pass-catchers in targets over the last three games, the rookies combined for nine, ten, and 12 targets. For a team that prefers to run the football, that's a lot of the pie taken away. Odunze's fantasy points have, unsurprisingly, dropped further to 5.7 per game in that span.
The matchup isn't great, either. The Packers have tightened things up in their secondary and have allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points to the position over the last four games.
Caleb Williams (QB, CHI) at Green Bay
For many of the same reasons as Odunze, Williams is on bust alert this weekend. If Chicago continues to run with great success, there's little reason to throw the football.
Williams is also coming off back-to-back subpar performances away from Soldier Field. He was below 200 passing yards against Minnesota and Philadelphia - two defenses weaker against opposing quarterbacks than Green Bay - and just one score total, en route to 10.3 and 10.5 fantasy points.
Overall, his yardage home/road splits are almost even. However, he has 11 touchdowns and one interception in five home games, and 10 touchdowns and four picks in seven road games.
Again, this is William's toughest fantasy matchup to date (but that will change next week against Cleveland). The Packers are sixth-best against opposing quarterbacks.
Ashton Jeanty (RB, LV) vs. Denver
A top-5 defense against a bottom-5 offense? You knew a Raider was going to find his way into the column.
Surprisingly, one of Ashton Jeanty's four rushing touchdowns this season came against Denver. Those were the only points Las Vegas scored. The Raiders have an implied point total of 16.5 against Denver this time around. Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time believing they'll exceed that mark. They've done it just once in their last six games.
So, no, I don't think Jeanty scores against the Broncos again. With his modest rushing efficiency (3.5 yards per carry) against a unit that ranks fifth in the league in rushing yards allowed (93.1), it's up to his receiving production again to salvage his fantasy score.
That's been the case since the Raiders' bye week. Jeanty's averaging 5.6 receptions for 33 yards over the last five games. There's one game that sticks out like a sore thumb. I'll let you guess which one.
Yep, it's the other Denver game. Jeanty caught three passes for three yards in that contest. That's because the Broncos surrender the fewest catches and the sixth-fewest receiving yards to running backs.
Woody Marks (RB, HOU) at Kansas City
Running backs need two things to be successful: Opportunities and efficiency. Right now, Marks has about 0.5 of those things.
Let's start with efficiency, because that one is obvious. Marks averaged 17.6 carries over the last three games. His best fantasy output was 7.9 PPR points. The rookie is gaining 3.6 yards per attempt. Behind the same offensive line, the aging-out veteran Nick Chubb is averaging 4.1 yards.
Okay - so where does this half come into this? The opportunities seem great!
Yes, Marks is getting the bulk of the carries, but he's disappeared in the passing game. He has one target in each of the last three games for a total of five yards. Houston is averaging 0.6 rushing touchdowns per game. On paper, the opportunities are there, but the high-value touches are not.
Toss in the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs are the sixth-best defense against fantasy football running backs, and you should want little to do with Marks in Week 14.
Quinshon Judkins (RB, CLE) vs. Tennessee
This is one of those matchups where the color-coordinated matchup rating on your fantasy football platform doesn't necessarily match what's projected on the field. The Tennessee Titans are weak against running backs for the whole season, but the unit has actually allowed the third-fewest points per game over the last four weeks.
That largely coincided with the return of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and his running mate T'Vondre Sweat. The Titans surrendered 24 non-PPR points to opposing running backs in the first eight weeks of the season - one of the worst marks in the league. That number is down to 11 in the last four games. Kimani Vidal, Woody Marks, and Travis Etienne Jr. all totaled 51 yards or fewer. Kenneth Walker III is the lone success story, with 13 PPR points.
Quinshon Judkins will continue to be a volume play with Shedeur Sanders under center. The efficiency hasn't been there, however. Week 13 was his first game averaging over four yards per carry since Week 5, and it came against the depleted San Fransico front seven.
Fantasy managers could be left hoping for a short touchdown run. There won't be many opportunities if the oddsmakers are correct. The game has an over/under of 33.5 points. There isn't another game in the 30s this week.
Oronde Gadsden II (TE, LAC) vs. Philadelphia (MNF)
Let's run through some scenarios for Monday Night Football.
Scenario #1: Quarterback Justin Herbert (hand) is inactive due to his recent surgery on his non-throwing hand. Trey Lance is under center. Are there any Los Angeles pass-catchers that you'd be excited about starting against a good Philadelphia secondary? If anyone, it wouldn't be Oronde Gasden II.
A look at the cast/brace on Justin Herbert’s left hand at practice today. pic.twitter.com/r08MC7Lez6
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) December 4, 2025
Scenario #2: Herbert is in the starting lineup, but the coaching staff wants to protect him a little bit more. That means Gadsden is blocking more often, if he's even on the field. Tucker Fisk, the better blocking tight end, played nearly 40% of the offensive snaps on Sunday. Herbert needed extra protection even before his injury, with starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt sidelined for the rest of the season.
Neither scenario is ideal for Gadsden. Toss in the fact that Philadelphia is the fourth-best defense against fantasy football tight ends this season, and fantasy managers should opt for a streaming tight end over the rookie.
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