RADIO
For many, this is likely the last week of the regular season. One last hurrah. One last chance to claim a spot in the final dance. Every point and every position counts. Yes, even kickers. Possibly, especially the kicker.
Now that we're into the month of December it's crucial fantasy managers pay attention to the weather on some of these games. That's more difficult to do at quarterback where you might have Josh Allen playing in terrible conditions. You certainly cannot bench Josh Allen, but Tyler Bass? That becomes a bit more understandable. It's not a must-do, but it is something fantasy managers should put on their radar entering these final weeks of the season. As the weather starts to get nasty, some of the very best kickers this season could be affected.
Tyler Bass, Nick Folk, Justin Tucker, Chris Boswell, Harrison Butker, Evan McPherson and Mason Crosby are just some of the kickers that will have to play against the elements when they're at home. This also goes without saying, but kicking in a dome becomes especially valuable at this time of the season. Every point and every decision matters, so if you've made it this far – congratulations – but it's no time to rest on your laurels. Buckle up because we got four more weeks until championships are handed out!
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Week 14 Kicker Rankings for Fantasy Football
| Tier | Kicker | Opponent | PPG | Over/Under | Confidence |
| 1 | Tyler Bass | @ TB | 8.9 | 53 | 9.9 |
| Matt Gay | @ ARI | 9.4 | 52 | 9.8 | |
| Justin Tucker | @ CLE | 9.5 | 42.5 | 9.8 | |
| Greg Joseph | vs PIT | 9.1 | 45 | 9.7 | |
| Chris Boswell | @ MIN | 9.3 | 45 | 9.6 | |
| Daniel Carlson | @ KC | 9.7 | 52.5 | 9.5 | |
| Greg Zuerlein | @ WAS | 8.4 | 49 | 9.5 | |
| 2 | Ryan Succop | vs BUF | 7.9 | 53 | 9.0 |
| Matt Prater | vs LAR | 8.0 | 52 | 8.9 | |
| Evan McPherson | vs SF | 8.7 | 47.5 | 8.8 | |
| Harrison Butker | vs LVR | 8.2 | 52.5 | 8.6 | |
| Robbie Gould | @ CIN | 8.5 | 47.5 | 8.6 | |
| Dustin Hopkins | vs NYG | 8.2 | 45.5 | 8.5 | |
| 3 | Randy Bullock | vs JAX | 7.9 | 44 | 7.9 |
| Mason Crosby | vs CHI | 7.2 | 44.5 | 7.8 | |
| Brandon McManus | vs DET | 7.1 | 43.5 | 7.7 | |
| Brian Johnson | vs DAL | 7.4 | 49 | 7.5 | |
| 4 | Graham Gano | @ LAC | 8.4 | 45.5 | 6.9 |
| Younghoe Koo | @ CAR | 6.2 | 43.5 | 6.8 | |
| Brett Maher | @ NYJ | 3.3 | 44 | 6.6 | |
| Jason Myers | @ HOU | 4.7 | 43.5 | 6.5 | |
| Chase McLaughlin | vs BAL | 6.3 | 42.5 | 6.4 | |
| 5 | Zane Gonzalez | vs ATL | 8.0 | 43.5 | 5.8 |
| Cairo Santos | @ GB | 5.8 | 44.5 | 5.7 | |
| Matthew Wright | @ TEN | 5.0 | 44 | 5.5 | |
| Riley Patterson | @ DEN | 7.5 | 43.5 | 5.4 | |
| Matt Ammendola | vs NO | 4.1 | 44 | 5.3 | |
| Ka’imi Fairbairn | vs SEA | 3.3 | 43.5 | 5.1 |
Kicker Streamers to Target for Week 14
Dustin Hopkins, Los Angeles Chargers
Hopkins has now played six games as the Chargers' kicker and he's scored seven or more points in five of them. Two of which were double-digit performances. In the lone game where he didn't score seven points, he scored zero and I'm completely willing to treat that game as an outlier for two reasons. The first reason is it helps my argument about him being a worthwhile streamer this week and two – the more important reason –because it was just that, an outlier.
The implied total of 45.5 points isn't great, but as you can see above – this week, it's actually pretty good. There's a good number of games that are expected to be much lower than the one we have here. The other positive for Hopkins is it's a really good matchup. The Chargers are going up against the New York Giants in Week 14. The Giants are currently allowing the ninth-most points to opposing kickers at 9.5 points per game.
The Giants are on the rails and appear to be a team falling apart. Meanwhile, the Chargers are a high-scoring offense who are playing for their playoff lives. Fantasy managers should feel comfortable firing up the Chargers' kicker in this one.
Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos
Selling any Broncos' player not named Javonte Williams today is no doubt going to be a tough sell, but I'm going to try anyway. While the feeling around the league and fantasy circles has been the Broncos' offense has been downright awful, that isn't necessarily the full truth. The truth is they're incredibly inconsistent. They scored just nine points on Monday Night against the Chiefs. To be fair, the Chiefs' defense has been one of the hottest defenses over the last four weeks. However in Week 12, the Broncos scored 28 points in an upset win over the Chargers. In Week 11, they put up just 13 points in a dud of a performance against the Eagles, but in Week 10 they scored 30 in an upset victory over the Cowboys. See what I mean? The offense is not terrible, just terribly inconsistent.
Luckily, the Broncos get the Detroit Lions in Week 14, and if there's any team that can help bring out the Dr. Jekyll, it's the Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell's squad got their first win in Week 13 against the Minnesota Vikings, which means fantasy managers don't need to be as cautious about the Broncos' in this one. I highly doubt the Lions are rattling off two victories in a row. On the flip side, the Broncos are still in the playoff hunt and with an easier game against the Lions on tap, they should come out ready to play. It's a great matchup for McManus too. The Lions are allowing second-most points to opposing kickers on the season at 11 points per game.
Brian Johnson, Washington Football Team
Washington has used several kickers over the course of 2021, but when you add them all up, you get a kicker averaging 8.2 points per game. That's right on the cusp of the top-12, so it's been a valuable position to be in. Over 12 games, the Washington kicker – whoever that has been – has totaled six games of nine or more points and four games where they've broken into double-digits.
In Week 14, they play against the Cowboys in what should be a really good divisional matchup. The implied total is currently set at 49, which is a healthy number indicating to fantasy managers they can expect some points to be scored. This makes sense. Dallas has one of the more explosive offenses in the league and their defense can be a little hit or miss depending on which squad shows up.
They've also been incredibly generous to opposing kickers on the season. Dallas has allowed the fourth-most points to opposing kickers this season, coming in at 10 points per game. If you're looking for a kicker to stream this week, you can do much worse than Johnson in a plus matchup.
Kicker Busts to Avoid for Week 14
Evan McPherson, Cincinnati Bengals
McPherson has been great this season and while I'm not saying you can't start him this week, I would advise lowering your expectations. For starters, Joe Burrow hurt his pinky finger on his throwing hand. Prior to the injury, he was completing 73% of his passes and post-injury that number dropped to 55%. He was using his off-hand to hand the ball off and was clearly in a decent amount of pain. If Burrow isn't 100%, the offense is going to be negatively affected and any decrease in offensive efficiency is going to hurt McPherson. It'll be important for fantasy managers to watch Burrow's practice status throughout the week to get a better idea of how the Bengals' offense may have to adjust.
On top of that concern, the matchup is one of the worst in the league. The 49ers have given up the seventh-fewest points per game to opposing kickers at just 6.3 points per game. McPherson is currently K8 on the season so it's extremely tough to bench him, but fantasy managers would be wise to temper expectations at the very least this week.
Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers
Fantasy managers tend to associate Crosby with the Packers' offense and assume he's got to be a good fantasy kicker, but that isn't the case this season. It wasn't the case last season either. He's currently K18 on the season and his per game average is identical to Brandon McManus and I'm sure there are plenty of feelings about his status as a fantasy kicker.
The Bears are actually a good matchup on paper for opposing kickers, allowing the eighth-most points this season, but the Bears' offense has been putrid. The Packers' defense has been amazing and the Packers' offense is incredibly slow. Add it all up and you have what is likely to be a low-scoring affair. Crosby is actually sixth in the NFL in field goals attempted, but he's just tied for 14th in field goals made.
The implied point total of just 44.5 doesn't give fantasy managers a lot of hope for either team to put up a lot of points on the scoreboard. In seven out of 12 games the Packers have played, Crosby has been under six points in seven of them. With the game in Green Bay, fantasy managers always need to worry about the weather, and this year, Crosby's own effectiveness has come into play. Fantasy managers are better off looking elsewhere.
Randy Bullock, Tennessee Titans
Bullock was one of my favorite kickers to start the season. Through the first eight weeks of the season he was the K5, but everything has gone downhill from there. Derrick Henry got hurt and was lost for the season. A.J. Brown and Julio Jones have both done stints on IR. They signed and released Adrian Peterson. The offense has scored 28 points, 23, 13 and 13 points over the last four games. Absolutely brutal. In those last four games, Bullock has scored a combined 16 points. That includes a game with zero points and another contest with a single point.
Bullock cannot be trusted anymore. If you were riding high on him early in the season, pivoting is a must. The Titans have the Jaguars in Week 14, following their bye week and with the extra time to prepare they should have no problem beating Jacksonville, but this team is looking like a shell of its former self. The Jaguars are a solid matchup, allowing the 12th-most fantasy points to kickers this season, but there isn't a single player on this offense fantasy managers should be starting and that includes Bullock.
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