Lions quarterback Jared Goff can’t be dismissed as a fantasy starter in Week 14 vs. Vikings

Jared Goff has been playing very well lately, and in a critical week on the fantasy football schedule the Lions’ signal caller is a bankable starter.

If you’re a fantasy football manager with something at stake this week, you’re probably not mining too deep for starting options in the final week of the regular season. But the schedule makers clearly dislike fantasy managers, with six teams on a bye in Week 14.

Add in some injuries (Lamar Jackson, even Jimmy Garoppolo), and there may be a chunk of fantasy managers looking for a viable quarteback. With that, I present Jared Goff.

Goff threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns against the Jacksonvill Jaguars in Week 13. He has multiple passing touchdowns in back-to-back games, and he has not thrown an interception in four straight games. The matchup against Jacksonville last week was good, and he delivered.

In Week 14, Goff’s matchup is a notch or two better.

Don’t be afraid to start Jared Goff in fantasy this week

Goff faces the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14. Minnesota enters the week allowing the seventh-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks (Yahoo! scoring). They are allowing the most passing yards per game, and a league-high 8.0 yards per attempt. Four of the last six quarterbacks they’ve faced have topped 325 yards through the air against them, and the last two are Mac Jones and Mike White.

Vikings cornerback Cam Dantzler was designated for return from IR with an ankle injury on Wednesday. So there’s a chance he plays on Sunday, but Dantler’s status isn’t all that consequential to how good the matchup is for Goff.

Sunday’s game is also at home for Goff. The Lions have played a couple tough defenses on the road, to diminish those numbers some, but Goff has multiple passing touchdowns in six of seven home games this season. In the one exception, Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins, he threw for 321 yards.

Relying on Goff in a critical week on the fantasy schedule won’t feel good. But with byes (Justin Fields), bad matchups (Tom Brady, Deshaun Watson), the likelihood of not having to throw much (Dak Prescott) and injuries (Jackson) thinning the upside of the quarterback ranks this week, the Lions’ signal caller is lined up for another good week.

Goff is sitting on a finish as a top-10 fantasy quarterback this week. Fantasy managers that have a need should not look much further for a streamer/fill-in starter.