Start 'Em

Brandon Marshall vs. NYJ
Dealing with a knee injury of his own, Marshall played through pain last week and torched the leaky New England secondary for 143 yards and a TD; he is expected to be available versus the Jets. It was the Week 6 game against New York that seemed to get Marshall headed in the right direction this season as he racked up 109 yard on 6 receptions against CB Darrelle Revis & Co. Since then, he has been quite consistent, evidenced by receiving TDs in three straight games and 4 of his last 5. Marshal is clicking with QB Matt Moore and I expect a few more big plays as the Dolphins close the season out on a high note. In their last eight games, the Jets are 4-4 while Miami is 5-3.

Dwayne Bowe: Orton's main target.

Dwayne Bowe @ Den
If anything, this is a roundabout well-wish for Kyle Orton, who returns to face the team that benched him and subsequently released him less than 6 weeks ago. It makes for a great storyline/Week 17 drama and you know Orton is going to be amped up to try and keep the Broncos out of the playoffs. If he has any chance in doing so, WR Dwayne Bowe needs to come up big. Last week Bowe had his first receiving TD since Week 5 and seems to be in a much better place to produce with Orton under center. CB Champ Bailey held Bowe to 2 catches and 17 yards in their last meeting, but you only have to look back to Week 9 of the 2010 season when Bowe had 13 catches for 186 yards and 2 TDs in Denver to feel pretty good about the matchup. On the season, Denver has served up 24 aerial scores, 8th highest in the NFL.

Malcom Floyd @ Oak
With the Chargers out of the playoff hunt, they have little incentive to rush WR Vincent Jackson (groin) back, and Floyd would be the obvious beneficiary if V-Jax doesn’t play. When healthy in 2011, Floyd has been an excellent fantasy start. Last week he caught 6 passes for 95 yards and a TD on a team-high 13 targets. He’s had at least 95 receiving yards in five of his last seven games and TDs in three of his last four. Only the Viking (33) have allowed more passing TDs than the Raiders (28); as such, there is reason to believe that Floyd will be as solid as any WR2 out there this week. He been streaky in the past, so there is always some risk attached, but with Jackson hobbled Floyd should see plenty of work this week.

Bench 'Em

Jordy Nelson vs. Det
Jordy has been nothing short of awesome this season. After a quiet Week 15 (2 catches, 29 yards), Nelson rebounded with 6 catches for 115 yards and 2 TDs, his 4th 100-yard receiving game of his breakout season. He is now up to up to 1,101 yards (first career 1,000 yard season) and a team-high 12 TDs (including 8 TDs in his last 8 games), on only 59 catches. These numbers are obviously not bench-worthy and no defensive stats from Detroit could change that, but with the Packers having locked up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, Green Bay could give well-deserved rest to many of its top players. He has the ability to do damage in limited action, but if you have another quality option, he may be worth the spot start.

Hakeem Nicks vs. Dal
Nicks did not practice on Thursday as he will try to avoid aggravating his hamstring in advance of the Sunday night battle with Dallas. He tweaked it last week (original injury occurred in Week 8) and was unable to gain any separation, finishing with 1 catch for 20 yards on 7 targets against the Jets. He’s a talented receiver but may be a detriment to your team when playing at less than 100 percent. He dropped several catchable passes this season, including TDs, which could explain his reversion to 6 receiving TDs after racking up 11 in 2010. WR Victor Cruz, who broke the Giants single season receiving yardage record, has also stolen some of Nicks’ thunder. Nicks certainly has the big game potential to bounce back and the Cowboys can’t contain him, but his ailment can.

Nate Washington @ Hou
Washington has been on a roll and needs only 69 yards on Sunday for the first 1,000-yard receiving season of his career. He has 17 receptions for 263 yards and 2 TDs in his last three games, while showing good chemistry with Matt Hasselbeck. I’d probably roll the dice on him this week, but it is worth noting that in 7 of his 15 starts he’s had 4 catches or less with 0 TDs, so it is not like he is automatic to produce. Furthermore, the matchup is less than ideal. The Texans have allowed an average of just 184 passing yards per game, tied for the second best (Cleveland) mark in the NFL; they have allowed only 16 TD passes (t-4th) this season.

Happy New Year!

Quarterbacks