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expected breakouts and duds from stars — win and you’re playing for a title Larry Ogunjobi Color Rush Jersey , lose and it’s on to 2019.Playing games in mid-December also assures that weather will be a factor for some players in a week where matchups favor quarterbacks. Bad weather brings the potential of heavy workloads for several running backs.START: Jared Goff, QB, Rams: Expect a major reversal of Sunday night fortunes for Goff, who gets an Eagles defense that ranks 30th in net passing yards allowed. After throwing four interceptions in last Sunday’s loss at the Bears, Goff will carry many fantasy teams into Week 16 at the expense of Philly’s secondary, which gave up 455 yards to Dak Prescott in the overtime loss at the Cowboys.SIT: Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers: Held to under 200 passing yards in three of his last five games, Rodgers must contend with a stifling Bears defense that is third in the league in fewest fantasy points per game allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Rodgers has just one interception this season, but that could easily change against Chicago, which leads the league with 25 interceptions. Fantasy owners who desire to play a meaningful game next week will help their chances by keeping Rodgers benched.START: Doug Martin, RB, Raiders: While his overall numbers are underwhelming, Martin has scored in each of his past three games and is being fed into the buffet that is the Bengals, who are last in fantasy points per game allowed to opposing running backs. Martin has averaged 18 touches per game in the last two weeks and with the temperature expected to be in the upper-30s on Sunday, he should be able to get a steady dose of carries. He’s a good RB2/flex option whose value will be stronger in non-PPR formats.SIT: Courtland Sutton, WR, Broncos: A huge flop in Week 14, Sutton caught two passes for 14 yards against a weak 49ers pass defense. With Emmanuel Sanders out for the rest of the season, the opportunity for Sutton to assert himself as the team’s featured receiver is still there, but he’s also failed to record more than six targets in all but one game since Denver traded Demaryius Thomas last month. The Browns are 30th in receiving yards allowed yet plugging Sutton into the lineup is a risk not worth taking.START: Josh Reynolds, WR, Rams: Only the Saints allow more fantasy points per game to opposing receivers than the Eagles, which makes Reynolds a great play despite his recent skid. Reynolds has just 55 receiving yards in his last two games but is a must-start against Philadelphia, which is also 31st in receiving yards allowed. Robert Woods will get the bulk of the targets from Goff, yet there will be more than enough opportunities for Reynolds to justify his solid WR2 status.SIT: Marlon Mack https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Rashard-Higgins-Jersey , RB, Colts: Although he scored last week, Mack managed just 33 yards on 14 carries against the Texans and faces stiffer competition in the form of a Cowboys defense that has allowed just one rushing touchdown in their last five games, while not conceding more than 70 yards to a running back in the same span. Mack is far removed from the midseason spurt that vaulted him into RB2 territory and is now more of a last-ditch option whose value declines considerably in PPR formats.START: Baker Mayfield, QB, Browns: While the Broncos’ pass rush can make life miserable for quarterbacks (40 sacks, tied for fourth), they’re also 26th in net passing yards allowed, numbers that play well for Mayfield, who has completed better than 70 percent of his passes in three of his last four games. Denver has allowed an average of 324.5 yards and two touchdown passes in its last six. With Mayfield making a concerted effort to get Jarvis Landry involved, the formula is there for Mayfield to be a sneaky good fantasy option for a team whose normal starter may have an unappealing matchup.SIT: Cameron Brate, TE, Buccaneers: Despite three touchdowns in the last three games, Brate is too red zone dependent to roll the dice on at this late a juncture. The Ravens are third in fewest receiving yards allowed and with Brate a non-factor between the 20s, fantasy owners are best off looking for better streamers at the position.START: D.J. Moore, WR, Panthers: The rookie hasn’t pulled in a touchdown pass in his last three games, but Moore has at least eight targets in each of his last four. In what could be an elimination game for Carolina, look for Cam Newton to call upon Moore frequently against a Saints defense that has given up the most fantasy points to opposing wideouts. Moore also averages 12.5 yards per carry and will be good for a jet sweep or two as well.SIT: Robert Foster, WR, Bills: He’s become an intriguing fantasy option, having caught 13 passes for 330 yards and a touchdown in his last four games while becoming the deep-ball wideout of choice for Josh Allen. Foster sets up to be the type of fantasy player who comes out of nowhere to produce big numbers, but Buffalo faces a Detroit defense that is 12th in receiving yards allowed. Deep leaguers can take the risk, but Foster is too much of a penthouse/outhouse proposition for those in more standard leagues.START: David Johnson, RB, Cardinals: It’s been more than a month since Johnson scored Myles Garrett Color Rush Jersey , but the Falcons and their 26th ranked run defense means taking the plunge on the disappointing Redbird back.SIT: Alshon Jeffrey, WR, Eagles: Yes, Jeffery scored last week, but still hasn’t exceeded better than 50 receiving yards since Week 8. With the Eagles committed to getting rookie TE Dallas Goedert into the flow of the offense, the targets will continue to come in a light drizzle for Jeffery. BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The losses are piling up for the Browns — in the standings, and on the sideline.On Wednesday, two defensive starters were added to the stack.Cleveland placed linebacker Christian Kirksey and cornerback E.J. Gaines on injured reserve, ending their seasons with seven games remaining and putting further strain on a unit lacking quality depth and experience.“Those two guys, they really set a precedent for what we wanted to do as a team, as a defense,” said cornerback T.J. Carrie. “And, of course, they’ll still be here sparingly in and out throughout the week, but it’s a lot different when they were on the field fighting with you, blood, sweat and tears with you, through the trenches.“We’re going to definitely miss that. Those are two players that we can’t replace.”One of the team’s captains, Kirksey injured his left hamstring in the second quarter Sunday as the Browns (2-6-1) lost their fourth straight game, 37-21 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.Gaines sustained his second concussion in three weeks when he took a knee to the helmet while trying to make a tackle in the first quarter.The loss of Kirksey is especially damaging because he’s one of the team’s leaders. The fifth-year pro has played on the weak side and in the middle this season, making 43 tackles and two interceptions.“Kirko is kind of the heart and soul of the defense, heart and soul of the team in the locker room, on the field, just how he goes about his business,” said linebacker Joe Schobert Derrick Kindred Jersey , a 2017 Pro Bowler who returned to practice after missing three games with a hamstring injury. “It’s the next-man-up mentality, but there’s things that you’re going to miss.”Schobert’s return will help ease the loss of Kirksey, and the Browns are expected to have defensive back Damarious Randall for Sunday’s game against Atlanta after he missed last week’s game with a groin injury.Linebacker Jamie Collins (ankle) and rookie cornerback Denzel Ward (hip) were limited in practice, but interim coach Gregg Williams expects both back on the field Thursday.Randall, who has played cornerback and free safety, felt he was healthy enough to play last week, but Williams kept him out so he would have the versatile defensive back for multiple games. Randall’s absence became magnified when Ward and Gaines went down on the Chiefs’ opening drive, forcing Williams to adjust his game plan against the NFL’s most electrifying offense and play seldom-used reserves Denzel Rice and Tavierre Thomas.“It’s very hard,” Carrie said of losing two key players. “It changes the game plan. It changes a lot of things because you can only give practice reps to so many guys, and so you get guys that come in and they’re athletes, but it’s hard when you don’t know the schematics of the little details that we put in for that game.”And, as luck would have it, the banged-up Browns will have to deal with a talented Atlanta team that has overcome its own injury issues and reeled off three straight wins.Needing seasoned secondary help, the Browns claimed Phillip Gaines off waivers from Buffalo and Jermaine Whitehead from Green Bay. To make roster room, Rice was waived.Gaines spent four years with Kansas City before signing with Buffalo. Whitehead played in 19 games with the Packers from 2016-18.Schobert’s return is vital to Cleveland’s defense as he’s the one responsible for calling out Williams’ pre-snap schemes and getting his teammates organized — an on-field coach.After missing three weeks, getting back on the field will be a welcomed change for Schobert, who had played every defensive snap since the start of the 2017 season until he got hurt on Oct. 21 at Tampa Bay.“It is just different. It is weird,” Schobert said of being inactive. “Especially with a hamstring. You just walk around on the sideline feeling good and watching people on the field thinking you can be out there — wishing you could be out there. You just have to kind of suck it up and take it into your own role however you can help a team in that aspect.“That is what I was doing. Just kind of jumped right into more of a coaching aspect, trying to keep myself involved that way. I think it helped.”NOTES: Rookie LT Desmond Harrison was limited in practice after missing last week’s game with an undisclosed illness. Greg Robinson stepped in and played well in his first start for Cleveland. Williams hasn’t decided who he’ll play against the Falcons. “What we will do is every day is an interview and both of them are taking reps,” he said. “By the end of the week, we will make what is best and it is good — the fact that you have depth. Guys can compete and get ready to roll.” … The Browns signed DB Juston Burris to the active roster off the Jets‘ practice squad. A fourth-round pick in 2016, he appeared in 34 games for New York.