With week 9 of the NFL regular season coming to a close, the regular season is officially halfway done. With the end of the NFL regular season also comes the end of NFL Fantasy Football, and, more importantly, fantasy playoffs. Whether your league’s playoffs start week 13, 14, 15, or even 16, in order to get to the playoffs, you need to know which players to start and which players to sit. Week 10 could make or break your playoff run, so make sure that you know what you are doing. Note: These rankings are based off of ESPN’s default scoring system and may not be helpful to people in PPR leagues. All statistics are from ESPN’s official website.

Quarterbacks:

Start:

Start of the Week: Dak Prescott/Tony Romo vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Whether it’s Prescott or Romo starting against the Steelers on Sunday, either one should earn a spot on your roster as your quarterback. The Steelers have allowed almost 7.5 yards per reception this season. This vulnerable defense will allow Dez Bryant, Ezekiel Elliott, and Prescott/Romo to have a big day for fantasy this week.

Jameis Winston vs. Chicago Bears

Winston proved in his rookie year that he was a worthy starter, and this year may even prove to be a top notch quarterback as well. Going up against a Bears defense that is ranked in the bottom five, expect Winston to have a great game.

Carson Palmer vs. San Francisco 49ers

Palmer has been a bit underwhelming over the past few weeks, but this will be his week. The 49ers allow plentiful yards to receivers this year, almost reaching 8 yards per carry. Palmer will show everybody that he is worth a spot on a starting lineup.

Sit:

Sit of the Week: Kirk Cousins vs. Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings have been a surprise to almost everybody this year, and their incredible season thus far is mostly due to their astounding defense. The Vikings have averaged an interception per game. Don’t expect this game to be any different, and look for Cousins to score low numbers this week.

Blake Bortles vs. Houston Texans

Over the course of this season, Bortles has proved to be a “boom-or-bust” player, meaning that he will have a great game one week and a terrible performance the next. This week will most likely be one of the “bust” weeks,  due to the fact that Houston’s defensive line will tear Bortles to bits. Their defense have averaged almost 3 sacks per game, and against the Jaguars not-so-great offensive line, the Texans will get to the quarterback with ease on most plays.

Ryan Tannehill vs. San Diego Chargers

With the new addition of defensive end Joey Bosa from Ohio State University, the Chargers defense have become a force to be reckoned with, averaging an interception per game. Tannehill, being a quarterback that is considered to be less than average in the NFL, will be shut down by the Chargers strong defense. Don’t expect big numbers out of Tannehill this week.

Running Backs

Starts:

Start of the Week: Jay Ajayi vs. San Diego Chargers

Ajayi has surprised nearly everybody this year, overshadowing Arian Foster and even possibly contributing to his retirement. Through Ajayi’s incredible talent and the Chargers poor run defense, expect Ajayi to “charge” through San Diego’s defense (I’m sorry).

Melvin Gordon vs. Miami Dolphins

Gordon has been another breakout player this year, from splitting time with Danny Woodhead last year to becoming a top player in the NFL. Also, with Miami’s sub-par defense, Gordon should run across the field with ease.

Giovani Bernard/Jeremy Hill vs. New York Giants

Although these two running backs have recently been splitting time fairly evenly, either should earn a spot on your starting offense. The matchup is very favorable for the Bengals’ run game, so make room for Bernard or Hill this week however you can.

Sits:

Sit of the Week: Matt Jones vs. Minnesota Vikings

Furthering my point about Kirk Cousins, the Vikings defense will most likely shut down the entire Redskins offense. Matt Jones should not be expected to do anything extraordinary as he did in some of the previous weeks, but, possibly coming back off of an injury to a top defense, most other running backs may as well start for your team.

LeGarrette Blount vs. Seattle Seahawks

Over the course of this season, Blount has been better than most people expected. This is most likely due to the absence of Tom Brady for the first four weeks and Rob Gronkowski’s lingering injury during the beginning of the season. Although Blount has been performing well alongside of Brady and Gronkowski, note that Dion Lewis has a good chance of returning this season. Last season, Lewis tore his ACL in the early postseason, but before that injury, Lewis was a monster for fantasy points. He will further deplete the potential points of Blount, so don’t expect much out of Blount this week.

Wide Receivers

Start:

Start of the Week: Dez Bryant vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Although Bryant’s performance last week was less than stellar, he had just come off of a back injury that was probably still hindering his performance. However, after two weeks of recovery, Dez will most likely not be held back any longer, especially against a vulnerable defense to wide receivers.

Alshon Jeffery vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jeffery has had a decent fantasy season thus far, averaging about 8 points per game. However, this week he is going up against a poor defense that has allowed wide receivers some of the most yards in the league, at an average of about 8.5 yards per reception. This game should reassure fantasy owners that Alshon was not a wasted pick.

Sit

Sit of the Week: Brandin Cooks vs. Denver Broncos

Cooks has shown everybody that he is a force to be reckoned with in an NFL Fantasy Football league, averaging about 11.5 points per game. Over the past few weeks, though, his numbers have slumped, and facing a tough Broncos defense, Cooks’ trend should continue through Week 10.

Corey Coleman vs. Baltimore Ravens

Finally coming back from a terrible hand injury, Coleman is back to save my fantasy team and the Browns! That’s what most people thought before last week, when he scored a meager 4 points. Also, this week he will be pitted against a defense that has only allowed about one receiving touchdown per game. Don’t expect this touchdown or major yards to go to the Browns secondary wide receiver.

Tight Ends

Start:

Start of the Week: C.J. Fiedorowicz

Most people don’t know who Fiedorowicz is. This is exactly the reason why I have put him on my list. If your tight end is not a must-start player, pick up Fiedorowicz as your new starter. This Texan’s tight end has put up about 9 points on average per game over the last 5 games, and his production should not see a downtick anytime soon. Get this man on your team if you can, which shouldn’t be a problem seeing that he is owned in only 11.6% of ESPN Fantasy Football Leagues.

Sit:

Sit of the Week: Kyle Rudolph vs. Washington Redskins

Rudolph has proved that he deserves to be a starting tight end in most leagues through his impressive scores over the last few weeks. Don’t be blindly led by these numbers. The Redskins have only allowed one touchdown reception per game to wide receivers and tight ends on average. Unless Rudolph is the one receiving the touchdown pass of this game, he will put up low single-digit numbers. Look for another option this week.