Week 16 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for New England Patriots vs Buffalo Bills Saturday NFL Game

Now that we're into the fantasy football championship week, every single lineup decision you make is absolutely crucial. And since we're done with bye weeks for the year, there are also a huge number of plays to consider at every position. Some matchups carry more weight than others for fantasy production, and this one is no exception.

With that in mind, here is some start 'em, sit 'em advice for Saturday's matchup between the New England Patriots vs Buffalo Bills.

Who to Start for Fantasy Football?

Start James White, RB, New England Patriots: Week 15 was a Sony Michel week, but that was no surprise with the Patriots coming in as heavy favorites. This week things should tip back in James White's favor in a closer matchup. The previous two games (both losses) saw White rack up a combined 18 targets and 20 rushes, scoring a total of 50.1 PPR fantasy points. He also saw 10 targets (his second-highest total of the year) and scored 13.8 PPR points against the Bills in their first meeting this year.

Start Cole Beasley, WR, Buffalo Bills: The last time Cole Beasley played the Patriots he saw a season-high 13 targets, catching seven of them for 75 yards. His volume has fallen off some since then, but he's still had at least six targets in each of the last four, averaging 14.8 PPR points on 7.3 targets per game during that time. Efficiency is hard to come by against the Patriots, but Beasley's receiving volume gives him a great floor as a Week 16 fantasy sleeper in PPR leagues.

Sit Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots: Tom Brady has been far from an every-week lock as a fantasy starter this year, and he's easy to bench in a matchup against the Bills. Buffalo has surrendered the second-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing QBs, and Brady is 17th among QBs with 16.5 per game on the year. He scored just 3.7 against the Bills in Week 4.

Sit Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills: You don't want to trust the QB on the other side of this game, either. Josh Allen is averaging a more encouraging 19.1 fantasy points per game on the year, but he had 8.7 the first time he played the Patriots, though he did miss some time due to a concussion. Still, New England has allowed a league-low 9.3 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, and checks in as the NFL's top pass D by Football Outsiders' DVOA metric. Additionally, the Patriots have contained rushing QBs well, holding Lamar Jackson to 61 rushing yards (compared to his season-average of 78.8) in Week 9. Allen's usually-solid floor isn't likely to hold up in this spot.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.