FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

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Prediction: SEA 23, BUF 20 (Line: SEA by 5.5)

Players Updated: Sidney Rice, Scott Chandler

Players to Watch: Marshawn Lynch, C.J. Spiller

The 8-5 Seahawks are on a two game winning streak and are in the thick of trying to secure at least a wild card bid to the playoffs. They are only 2-5 away from home though and the 5-8 Bills are 3-3 when at home. The Seahawks turn inexplicably bad on the road offensively and lost to the Cardinals, Rams, 49ers, Lions and Dolphins away from Seattle but at least was able to win in Chicago two weeks ago.

Pregame Notes: The Seahawks are only a game and a half behind the 49ers with a matchup against them at home next week. The final week is also in Seattle against the Rams so a win here in their final road game coupled with a win in the finale should secure a wild card and if they can beat the 49ers - they might win the division since the 49ers are playing in New England this week. It could be easy to look past this game for next week but the Bills offense struggles to post 20+ points in any matchup and won't be much better against the Seahawks defense.

The Seahawks have been getting two scores from Russell Wilson for the last six weeks but his passing yardage is rarely much more than a very average 200 yards thanks to a great ground game. The Bills have one of the worst rushing defenses in the league anyway so there's no reason to expect a passing explosion from Wilson here or in either of the final weeks against very good defenses. The Bills are allowing just one passing score to visitors this year because they are so bad against the run.

Marshawn Lynch comes off a three touchdown game against the Cardinals that gained 128 yards on only 11 carries. He's racked up nine rushing touchdowns so far and topped 100 rush yards in eight games. He's tended to be less prolific on the road but the Bills have already allowed nine scores to running backs in in just the last five home games. Robert Turbin finally had a decent workload when he ran for 108 yards on 20 carries during the ravaging of the Cardinals last week. He still has never scored this year and normally only gets a few relief runs.

The receivers are still mostly mediocre in their production and last week Anthony McCoy led the team with 105 receiving yards even though the tight end rarely has more than one catch per game and Zach Miller ended up with the touchdown pass. Golden Tate and Sidney Rice both only matter when the defenses can stop Lynch which is unlikely this week. Both receivers have six scores on the year and yet no 100 yard games.

Next week is the most important game for the Seahawks playoff aspirations but they have to win here for that to matter. Expect a heavy dose of Lynch this week and a close win thanks to rushing and defense. The Seattle secondary is going to be less effective this week thanks to suspensions though the Bills passing offense has hardly been taking advantage of anyone this year.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Russell Wilson, SEA	STL	30	0	0	0	0	200	1	1
Wilson only passed for 160 yards and no scores in St. Louis for his worst fantasy game of the year. The Seahawks just want to win this and then not get anyone hurt so figure on Wilson only as an average play this week and really any week. He had four scores last week but only 171 yards. He ran for three touchdown in Buffalo but he had never scored on the ground before and only passed for 205 and one score.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Brady Quinn, SEA	STL	0	0	0	0	0	180	0	2
Quinn has been shut out in four of his five starts, including 126 and zero against the Broncos. And you want to play him here why?

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Marshawn Lynch, SEA	STL	120	1	1	10	0	0	0	0
Lynch already ran for 20-118 and one score in St. Louis and he's on a four game scoring streak currently. They gave him 26 runs last week versus the 49ers and are resting him in practices. Lynch is an obvious safe start this week but if the Seahawks get a big lead, they'll be more inclined to rest Lynch.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Sidney Rice, SEA	STL	0	0	4	50	0	0	0	0
Rice is the preferred target for Wilson but is still banged up and only posted 4-41 in the last meeting with the Rams. Not a great start this week.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Golden Tate, SEA	STL	0	0	4	40	0	0	0	0
Tate is far too inconsistent to merit any fantasy consideration.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Zach Miller, SEA	STL	0	0	3	30	1	0	0	0
Miller scored in two of the last three and the Rams are good against wideouts. It makes Miller a little more interesting for a TD but his yardage is never much anyway.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Steven Hauschka, SEA	STL	2	2	3	3
Hauschka has been golden in recent home games.

Pregame Notes: If there is any good news about the Bills - and there really isn't - it is that yet another injury to Fred Jackson has left C.J. Spiller as the last man standing who will get to carry a load described as "as much as he can stand". This makes sense given that Spiller has been the best weapon for the team all year despite his spotty playing time that included only seven runs last week in the home loss to the Rams.

Fred Jackson has been lost for the rest of the year because of a sprained MCL and that may be a curtain call for the 32-year old back who struggled to stay healthy this season. Tashard Choice will move up the depth chart but even HC Chan Gailey said that Choice was "not a great back" and would not step into the Jackson role. This will be Spiller's team for the final three weeks though he faces tough defenses in the Seahawks and Dolphins.

Ryan Fitzpatrick has been much less effective this year, particularly after the initial four games when he had logged 12 touchdown passes. Since then he's only managed nine scores over nine games and been blanked four different times. To his advantage, the Seahawks will be without suspended cornerback Brandon Browner and Marcus Trufant has a bad hamstring that could impact his playing status. CB Richard Sherman has his appeal slated to be heard on Friday so when he misses time is not yet certain. This will impact the ability to defend the pass for the Seahawks but Fitzpatrick has thrown only four touchdowns over the last four games and only once topped 180 yards in that time.

Stevie Johnson is playing with a hamstring injury but remains the primary target and only Bills receiver with any fantasy value. He's scored five times this year but only once totaled over 85 yards. He has the lone 100 yard game of any Buffalo wideout. The impact of the secondary suspension and injuries for the Seahawks could make this a better game for Johnson but it certainly didn't matter last week to Larry Fitzgerald.

Bottom line here is that the Bills struggle to post more than 14 points whenever facing a decent defense and the Seahawks are still a top unit. They are less formidable in road games but the Bills have been bad everywhere.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB C.J. Spiller, BUF	NYJ	120	1	4	30	0	0	0	0
Spiller has hit triple-digit yardage the last four times he's received double-digit touches. No reason for the Bills to use anyone else, so Spiller can continue to lay the groundwork for next season's top 10 fantasy ranking.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Stevie Johnson, BUF	NYJ	0	0	6	70	1	0	0	0
Johnson is 65 yards shy of a third straight 1,000-yard season; there's your motivation.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR T.J. Graham, BUF	NYJ	0	0	3	40	0	0	0	0
Graham is Plan B in the Buffalo passing game, for those times when Stevie Johnson isn't open.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Lee Smith, BUF	NYJ	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
With Scott Chandler out, Smith takes over the Bills' primary tight end duties. He's more of a blocker than a pass-catcher, so keep those expectations low.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Rian Lindell, BUF	NYJ	1	1	2	2
With Buffalo's offense struggling to break 20, you can do better for a fantasy kicker.

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