When the Raiders travel to face the Rams to open Week 14 on "Thursday Night Football" (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video), they will be trying to keep their red-hot offense running on all cylinders. But even with a couple of "must-starts" on the Vegas sidelines, fantasy football owners will have a tough time with their first start 'em, sit 'em decisions of the week given the relatively poor defenses and low-ceiling fantasy options from this game.
Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams are among the very best at their respective positions and the only obvious plays on Thursday night. Vegas has some other solid offensive options in Derek Carr, Foster Moreau, and Mack Hollins, but consistency is an issue for all.
The Rams are down to backup QBs John Wolford (neck), Bryce Perkins, and now, Baker Mayfield. Cam Akers, Tyler Higbee, and Van Jefferson are the main offensive skill players still standing without injury issues. Defensively, Aaron Donald (ankle) will miss another game, which is a huge break for the Raiders' offensive line.
Here's a fantasy football breakdown of what should be a medium-scoring matchup:
WEEK 14 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Raiders: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Start: QB Derek Carr
Carr is playable in 12-to-14 team leagues depending on the bye-week/injury/matchup situation of your other QBs. However, if you think you'll need a big game for your quarterback, it's tough to expect Carr to have major volume. The Raiders are six-point favorites, so they'll likely have a positive game script and lean on Jacobs and the running game to close out a victory. Around 250 yards and two TDs is probably his absolute ceiling, as he's very Davante Adams-dependent for his production.
MORE TNF: FD lineup | DK lineup | Jacobs update
Start: RB Josh Jacobs
The Rams also have a pretty good run defense, but no Donald alters that, too. Jacobs is up to an NFL-leading 1,303 rushing yards and 10 TDs with his explosive past three weeks. He's been streaky, toggling between cold and hot every three games, but he should be steady and pound out another century and a score.
WEEK 14 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Start: WR Davante Adams
Look at what Adams has done in the past five games: 41 catches on 67 targets for 664 yards and seven TDs. He admitted it took a while to get back on the same page as Carr, but it happened at midseason and it's like he's with Aaron Rodgers all over again. Jalen Ramsey is a fine cornerback, but he'll have trouble slowing down Adams, who has been schemed open well of late by Josh McDaniels.
Start: WR Mack Hollins
Here's a bit of a deep-league dart throw if you're hurting with bye weeks. The Rams' secondary stinks away from Ramsey on the outside, so there's a shot for a big play against a limited pass rush minus Donald.
WEEK 14 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Start: TE Foster Moreau
The Rams are starting to give up massive points to tight ends all of a sudden after being sound in that area earlier this season. See Noah Fant last week. Moreau has heard about the rumblings of a Darren Waller (hamstring) return in Week 15, so he'll be motivated to put up one more nice game.
WEEK 14 DFS: Best stacks | Best values
Start: K Daniel Carlson
Every time you look at this money kicker, you wonder more about why the Vikings gave up on him so early.
WEEK 14 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
Start: Raiders D/ST
Led by Maxx Crosby, the Raiders have enough playmakers to attack a shorthanded offense. The Chiefs and Seahawks were effective streamers against the Rams the past two weeks, and Vegas will it three-for-three.
Rams: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Sit: Any and all QBs
If Matthew Stafford (neck) was playing, he would have been a sit based on the limitations of the receivers. So, this covers our bases with Wolford, Bryce Perkins, Baker Mayfield, Blake Bortles, Marc Bulger, Tony Banks, Chris Miller, Dieter Brock, or Jim Everett.
Start: RB Cam Akers
Akers produced just 60 yards rushing last week, but he also punched in two TDs and was the clear leader in the backfield with 17 carries. Running him often is the best game plan for the Rams
Sit: WR Van Jefferson
Jefferson is the only Rams' wideout to get some consideration here, but you can't trust his volume. Like the rest of L.A.'s receivers, he's both big-play and TD dependent, and every wideout with this QB situation is a losing dice roll. Avoid these craps.
Start: TE Tyler Higbee
Higbee is blocking more, but the Rams should also realize that their receivers mostly stink and the Raiders are vulnerable against tight ends. The matchup is good enough for Higbee to get decent volume and post something like a six-catch, 50-yard night.
Start: K Matt Gay
Don't blame him for not getting more scoring opportunities. He'll come through with a solid floor in this game.
Sit: Rams D/ST
No Donald, no pass rush, no shutdown Ramsey? No thanks.
Raiders vs. Rams: FanDuel single-game lineup
- MVP (1.5X): WR Davante Adams $16,000
- AnyFLEX: RB Josh Jacobs $16,500
- AnyFLEX: RB Cam Akers $12,000
- AnyFLEX: TE Foster Moreau $8,500
- AnyFLEX: WR Tutu Atwell $6,500
Adams and Jacobs are must-plays, and Akers is the best part of the Rams to have here. Moreau is a nice sleeper and Atwell can pay off with just one random big play in garbage time.
Raiders vs. Rams: DraftKings Showdown lineup
- Captain (1.5X): WR Davante Adams $19,200
- FLEX: RB Josh Jacobs $12,400
- FLEX: TE Foster Moreau $6,600
- FLEX: Raiders D/ST $5,200
- FLEX: K Daniel Carlson $4,200
- FLEX: WR Brandon Powell $2,400
Here's the Adams-Jacobs 1-2 punch again with a side of Moreau. The Raiders' defense and kicker are the affordable other Vegas entities. Powell can do a little less than he did against the Seahawks and still provide 4X value.
