Week 14 Fantasy Football Stars Who Will Struggle: Patrick Mahomes, A.J. Brown, and More

Last week's attempt to find weekly fantasy starters who would struggle to live up to expectations wasn't a great set of predictions:

• Daniel Jones threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. That's fine, but it put him at QB17, and Jones predictably didn't run the ball with his leg injury.
• Rico Dowdle had a decent game, running for 58 yards and catching two passes for 21 more, but it was Chuba Hubbard who had the big day for Carolina, accumulating 83 rushing yards, 41 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. I thought Dowdle would have a modest day because of the matchup, not because Hubbard went crazy.
• I listed both Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel of the Washington Commanders because I wasn't sure either truly counted as a weekly starter. They both had good days, with McLaurin catching seven passes for 96 yards and a touchdown (which came in overtime), and Samuel finishing with five receptions for 64 yards.
• Brock Bowers was the one bright spot while the Raiders got beat 31-14. He caught four passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns.

That's pretty poor; one real win, one in which the other RB did better, and two bad picks. Let's do it again, though, and find a weekly starter at each offensive position who will struggle to reach that top group in Week 14. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's defensive rankings to find the players and teams with the toughest matchups each week!

Quarterback

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans

Mahomes continues his “fantasy redemption” year of sorts, as he is ranked as QB2 behind only Josh Allen. Mahomes is on pace for 4,587 passing yards, 31 passing touchdowns, 493 rushing yards, and five or six rushing touchdowns. The latter two numbers would be career highs, while the passing stats would be his best since 2022.

There's no doubting what Mahomes has done this season (and in his career), but there are a string of tough matchups coming, including games against the Chargers and Broncos in two of the following three after this one. For those who rode Mahomes this far, it might be best to have a strong Plan B in the fantasy playoffs.

The Texans have allowed the fourth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. After holding Jones to modest numbers last week, Houston is now keeping teams under 200 passing yards per game with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 12 games.

Some will stick with Mahomes, and I understand if you do because he has been so good. Things could be tough over the rest of the season, though, so it's best to see if you have another option, both in Week 14 and in the fantasy playoffs.

Running Back

Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons vs. Seattle Seahawks

The options this week were either Robinson against the Seahawks or Jonathan Taylor against the Jaguars; do you want to make the case for benching them? I'm not suggesting that you actually sit either back, but they are the two fantasy stars at the position with tough matchups this week.

We'll focus on Robinson because he has scored far fewer touchdowns and loses some work to Tyler Allgeier, who has stolen a few of those missing scores. Robinson has nearly 1,600 yards and seven touchdowns, topping 100 rushing yards four times and 100 receiving yards twice. He is RB4 in both standard and PPR scoring.

I don't feel good about betting against Robinson, but that's the nature of what we are doing here. The numbers point toward this being a tough day to find production, as the Seahawks have allowed the third-fewest yards per rush attempt and the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs.

Seattle started the year by giving up over 100 receiving yards to the RBs of both the 49ers and the Steelers in Weeks 1 and 2, but only one team has reached 50 yards since, and the Seahawks have allowed just two receiving touchdowns to backs.

You're not going to bench Robinson, and I'm not suggesting you should, but this is a tougher matchup, and he could find it hard to put up big numbers. Modest production is likely, and there's always a chance for a touchdown, but this isn't the week to bet on Robinson hitting it big.

Wide Receiver

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles @ Los Angeles Chargers

Brown has had an inconsistent season, four times topping 100 yards and scoring at least one touchdown but also having four games in which he was below 30 yards and didn't score. He is inside the top 15 fantasy receivers, showing that those big games are carrying him.

Brown is coming off two straight top-10 performances, first catching eight passes for 110 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys in Week 12 then finishing with 10 receptions, 132 yards, and two scores against the Bears on Black Friday. Those games both came with great matchups.

The matchup turns the other way here, though, as the Chargers are giving up the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Though several receivers have topped 90 yards, the only guy to reach 100 against LA was Courtland Sutton in Week 3.

With a player and a passing game that has been inconsistent, I'm not expecting big things against the Chargers. Los Angeles is dealing with injuries on the offensive line, so this could end up being a defensive struggle, and Brown might find it hard to rack up stats.

Tight End

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Denver Broncos

It didn't work last time, so why not go back to the well again??? While Bowers found success against the Chargers, it was only four weeks ago that he was held to one catch (for 31 yards) by the Broncos in an ugly Thursday Night Football game.

Bowers is the best tight end in fantasy at his best. He was injured earlier in the season and missed three games, so he won't be able to fight with Trey McBride for the top spot, but those two will again be drafted as the top two at the position next year far above anyone else.

The Broncos have allowed the third-fewest yards per pass attempt. They are closer to the middle against tight ends, but Bowers often operates more as a wide receiver, moving around the formation. Denver will be keying plenty of resources toward stopping the star tight end, leaving Bowers with a low floor again.

We have recent evidence of Bowers struggling to produce against the Broncos. With the Raiders still inept on offense at times, its unlikely they will find their groove against such a strong defense. This has the makings of another slow day for Vegas and their TE.