Week 16 NFL Matchups Analysis: Start/Sit for Fantasy Championships (Part 2)

Welcome to Week 16 of NFL and fantasy football action, RotoBallers. It's time to get focused for your championship week.

Each week of the NFL season, we've broken down all of the NFL matchups and provided you with fantasy football advice and lineup recommendations based on matchups that we love, matchups that we hate, and some high-risk/high-reward players, as well.

Below, you will find our Week 16 NFL matchups & fantasy football start/sit analysis, which should help you prepare your lineups to win your playoff matchups this week. It’s essential to analyze the weekly NFL matchups to find lineup sleepers and gems, while also avoiding those players who might turn out to be busts.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) rankings
• Quarterback (QB) rankings
• Tight end (TE) rankings
• Defense (D/ST) rankings
• Kicker (K) rankings
• FLEX rankings
• Dynasty rankings

To read about the rest of this week’s NFL matchups, check out Start/Sit &  Matchups Analysis for Games 1-8 and our Week 16 Standard and PPR Rankings. And of course you can always stop by the RotoBaller chat rooms for any live advice you may need.

The season is winding down.  Some of you are in your championships already.  Some of you may still be playing your way in.  Some of you may have set up a BCS-style algorithm to pick your champion.  I won't judge.  The point is, you know what you have to do.  It all comes down to this.  Buckle up, kids.

Vikings @ Dolphins: Sunday, 12/21 1:00 PM Eastern

Matchups we Love:

Dolphins D/ST: The Vikings offense is far from impressive, and even though Miami's hit a rough patch recently, they've played the AFC's top two seeds (New England and Denver), and another playoff team besides (Baltimore.)  If you're streaming, they aren't a bad option.

Lamar Miller: A matchup against the soft Vikings (24th against the run) gives Miller RB2/FLEX consideration this week.

Matchups we Hate:

Minnesota: Any time I recommend a D/ST, it's because I wouldn't touch the offense playing against it with a ten-foot pole.  Minnesota is no exception.

Mike Wallace: The Vikings are good against the pass, and Wallace is fairly TD-dependent WR option.  There surely are some lower-risk players available to you.

Falcons @ Saints: Sunday 12/21 1:00 PM Eastern

Matchups we Love:

Matt Ryan: He's on a hot streak recently, and the Saints secondary has been suspect all season.  The game could be a shootout, and that will benefit Ryan owners immensely.

Roddy White: As of now, we're assuming Julio Jones is still out due to injury, and that increases White's upside.  If Jones is out, White is a confident WR2.

Drew Brees: Brees is having somewhat of a renaissance late in the season, throwing 12 TDs in the last four games.  He looks like he's back to being the Brees we knew and loved.

Jimmy Graham: You know you have to start him if you have him, despite his uncharacteristic recent late-season lull.

Mark Ingram: Ingram is taking over the Saints backfield, and he gets the lion's share of goal-line touches.  Slot him in at RB2/FLEX if you have him.

Matchups we Hate:

Other Running Backs: The Falcons running game is miserable, and the Saints rotate backs too often for any of them to be fantasy-viable in a game of this magnitude.

Patriots @ Jets: Sunday 12/21 1:00 PM Eastern

Matchups we Love:

Tom Brady: The Jets are awful, and Brady is in peak Brady form, and this is really starting to cause me pain, so I'm ending this sentence.

Rob Gronkowski: Gronk is exactly as Gronk-like as everyone thought he could be, and against New York, it should mean a big fantasy day.

Julian Edelman: Edelman has seen exactly as many targets as Jordy Nelson has on the season, and while he's no Jordy, he should be in your lineup this week.

Matchups we Hate:

Patriots RBs: As usual, we have no idea who is going to get which carries or when.  Don't do this to yourself in the championships.

All Jets: The Patriots defense is stepping up, and watching the Jets try to execute an offense is like watching a dog with a bucket on its head.  There's a lot of confusion and panicked running around, but ultimately nothing is accomplished.

Giants @ Rams: Sunday, 12/21 4:05 PM Eastern

Matchups we Love:

Odell Beckham Jr.: There's almost nobody playing wide receiver better than Odell Beckham Jr. right now.  He has six touchdowns in the last four games, has topped 130 yards in three of those four (and was held to "merely" 90 yards in the fourth game), and  he faces a Rams defense that ranks 19th against the pass.  Don't you dare sit him.

Matchups we Hate:

Anyone else in this game: The Rams D has allowed 12 points in the last three games, but Beckham is likely to put a stop to that all on his lonesome.  The rest of the Giants are out.  The Rams lack anyone who's even fantasy acceptable, let alone fantasy relevant.

Colts @ Cowboys: Sunday, 12/21 4:25 PM Eastern

Matchups we Love:

Andrew Luck: The Cowboys defense has regressed back into mediocrity, and Andrew Luck is still the highest-scoring player in fantasy football.  He's unbenchable.

TY Hilton: Hilton's hamstring MRI came back clean, which is good news for owners hoping that the Colts star continues his breakout campaign.

DeMarco Murray (if he plays): Quick rule of thumb: don't bench anyone who's number one at his position.

Dez Bryant: His three-touchdown explosion last week nearly knocked me out of the playoffs, so I can confidently say that you should start him.

Matchups we Hate:

Trent Richardson: Richardson is now being outperformed by Boom Herron, so that's a thing.

Other Matchups:

Boom Herron: He's turned in respectable yardage outings, but touchdowns still elude him.  If he can find the end zone this week, he's got decent upside.

Bills @ Raiders: Sunday, 12/21 4:25 PM Eastern

Matchups we Love:

Bills D/ST: The Bills defense is one of the top fantasy squads in the league, and they're playing Oakland.  It should be fun if you managed to land them.

Matchups we Hate:

Everybody: I imagine that the Bills offense will eke out enough points to make Oakland's defense irrelevant, but not quite enough to make any Bills relevant.  The Raiders, of course, shouldn't be anywhere near a championship lineup.

Seahawks @ Cardinals: Sunday, 12/21 8:30 PM Eastern

Matchups we Love:

Marshawn Lynch: Lynch never seems to go away, and in his last outing he ran for 82 yards against the vaunted Cardinals defense.  He's too good not to play this week.

Russell Wilson: His rushing is invaluable to his fantasy production, adding heft to otherwise mediocre performances.  He played a similar game against the Cardinals in Week 11.

Seattle D/ST: The Cardinals have been forced to start Ryan Linsley Lindseley Lindley at quarterback this week.  Had to triple-check on that one there.  The Seahawks are probably gonna be fine this week.

Matchups we Hate:

Arizona: The Cardinals have been forced to start Ryan Lindley at quarterback.  This offense is dead.

Broncos @ Bengals: Monday, 12/22 8:30 PM Eastern

Matchups we Love:

Peyton Manning: Have the last few weeks been rough on Peyton?  Undeniably.  Is he still Peyton Manning?  Absolutely.  Should you ever, ever bench him for any reason?  No, never, not in a million years.

C.J. Anderson: Anderson has been the back we all thought Montee Ball could be at the beginning of the season, posting four 20-point games in his last six.

Demaryius Thomas: He's the guy Peyton Manning throws to the most.  You want that guy in your lineup.

Emmanuel Sanders: He's been falling off since the Broncos have relied more on the run, but the upside is too good to keep out of your lineup.  Keep him in the WR2 spot where you've had him in all year.

Jeremy Hill: Hill is taking over the Bengals backfield, and on a cold night with primetime Andy Dalton behind center, expect him to get looks early and often.

A.J. Green: Not even primetime Andy Dalton can stop A.J.  He should squeeze out respectability from this game, if nothing else.

Julius Thomas: If he's playing, you have to start him.  You know what he's capable of.