Week 14 Fantasy Football Projections

Every week of the NFL season, EA SPORTS runs Madden NFL 19 game simulations of each matchup in an attempt to predict the outcome. This year, we’re analyzing some of the player-specific statistical information the game simulations spit out to help inform fantasy football lineup decisions. As you’ll discover below, some of these projections end up being spot on, and some, well, not so much. But with Week 14 the beginning of the fantasy playoffs in most leagues, the projections mean even more than ever. And remember, we’re here to have fun so before you get triggered by a crazy stat line keep that in mind. Let’s get to those important Week 14 projections.

QB – Drew Brees at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Madden 19 Projection for Week 14

Fantasy Points: 20.8

Pass Yds: 320

Pass TDs: 2

INTs: 0

Rush Yds: 0

Believe it or not, but Drew Brees is the No. 2 overall quarterback in fantasy football this season, even with three single-digit weeks. Averaging 22.3 fantasy points per game with an impressive 30:3 touchdown to interception ratio, he’s coming off one of his poorer performances of the year in terms of fantasy scoring. Brees struggled against the Cowboys last week, with just 7.28 points in a low-scoring game. Week 14 provides an ideal scenario for the veteran to bounce-back as the Saints face the Swiss-cheese secondary of the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay is allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this year and has surrendered an NFL-worst 28 passing touchdowns to the position. You can count on Brees as your QB1 in what’s likely a win-or-go-home week in the fantasy playoffs. He should easily live up to, and possibly out-produce, his Madden 19 projection against the Bucs.

HB – Todd Gurley at Chicago Bears

Madden 19 Projection for Week 14

Fantasy Points: 23.4

Rush Att: 21

Rush Yds: 109

Rush TDs: 1

Rec: 4

Rec Yds: 65

Rec TDs: 0

Ahead of Week 14, only two NFL running backs have broken the 1,000-yard rushing mark: Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott. Gurley is the No. 1 running back in fantasy this season with 19 total touchdowns, 15 rushing and four receiving, and over 1,600 scrimmage yards. He’s coming off yet another monster game in which he dropped 132 rushing yards, 33 receiving yards, and two touchdowns against the Lions. This week, Gurley face the Chicago Bears, a defense that is the third-best in the NFL in terms of limiting opposing fantasy running backs. Chicago has given up just three rushing touchdowns to backs all year, fewest of all 32 teams in the league. But Gurley and his Rams offense have proven that they remain one of the few matchup-proof teams around. It is a road game in chilly Chicago for the warm-blooded Rams, but Gurley will still put up plenty of fantasy points.

WR – Adam Thielen at Seattle Seahawks

Madden 19 Projection for Week 14

Fantasy Points: 17.1

Rec: 7

Rec Yds: 111

Rec TDs: 1

Adam Thielen’s record-setting yardage pace has slowed in recent weeks. He’s produced just a single game over 100 yards over the last month and has combined for a total of 116 yards in the other three. However, his fantasy owners can hang their hat on the fact that he has only one game without a touchdown dating back to Week 3. He’s still seeing a ton of targets with 12, nine, and 10 in his last three contests and Week 14 is an ideal matchup for him to reach that 100-yard milestone again. The Seattle Seahawks have allowed over 800 receiving yards to opposing wideouts over the last month, a bottom-five number among all defenses. As long as Thielen sees his normal workload, he remains a threat to be a top-10 fantasy receiver this week and throughout the fantasy playoffs. 

TE – Austin Hooper at Green Bay Packers

Madden 19 Projection for Week 14

Fantasy Points: 20.2

Rec: 5

Rec Yds: 82

Rec TDs: 2

Apparently, 520 yards and four touchdowns through 13 weeks is enough for Austin Hooper to rank as a top-10 fantasy tight end in 2018. It’s more about the hateful status quo of the tight end position in fantasy football than an affront to Hooper’s talent, though. The Stanford product sees a healthy number of targets each game, averaging over seven per game over his last four, with 73 total targets on the season. Plus, Hooper’s nine targets inside the 10-yard line leads Atlanta. His only double-digit fantasy weeks all season are the four that he’s found the end zone in. That, by definition, makes him a touchdown-dependent fantasy player. Madden 19 is projecting two touchdowns for Hooper this week against a Packers defense that has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to the position. Technically Hooper is and should produce like a fantasy TE1 in what’s slated to be a high-scoring game, but it’s unlikely that he scores 20 standard points on the heels of his first multi-touchdown game of the year.

DEF – Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders

Madden 19 Projection for Week 14

Fantasy Points: 16

Sacks: 3

INTs: 1

Fumbles Recovered: 2

Points Allowed: 6

On the season, the Steelers D/ST is a top-12 unit in fantasy football. But the defense has been on a skid lately, with just three total fantasy points in their last two contests against the Broncos and Chargers. In the four games prior to the cold spell, Pittsburgh was averaging 8.5 fantasy points per week. But a visit to Oakland is a perfect spot for the Steelers to rebound as the Raiders are averaging 18.4 points on offense per game, a bottom-four mark in the entire NFL. It doesn’t get much better than this if you’re streaming the position this week, except for the one negative that it’s a road game.

–Matt Franciscovich (Follow Matt on Twitter @MattFranchise)

Madden NFL 19 is now available on Xbox One, PlayStation, and PC. Stay in the conversation by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and EA Forums. Sign up for the Newsletter today to receive updates on Madden, and other EA news, products, and events, all season long.