The Buffalo Bills have had quite the Week 12 shake up and now that the game against the Jets is on Monday night, running back Fred Jackson is expected to play and fantasy football owners should look at starting him along with Sammy Watkins, as those two players have the chance to step up for Kyle Orton as they host New York by way of Detroit.
Jackson comes into the week as questionable and that comes after dealing with a groin injury and as long as he doesn't suffer any setbacks, he should be on the field Monday night. Jackson missed time earlier in the season with the injury and he could lose carries even if he plays to Bryce Brown and Anthony Dixon. According to Pro Football Talk, head coach Doug Marrone said that Jackson was likely to play on Monday against the Jets and he will be the third down back for the Bills offense.
Jackson was able to practice on Friday and while he is questionable for the game, he is expected to get work out of the backfield. Jackson has played in eight games this season and when he is healthy he is the top back among the rotation for Doug Marrone and the offense. CJ Spiller went down with a serious injury and now he is out for the season and after that Jackson was out for a bit and now he has returned. Dixon and Brown have been solid coming in for the Bills and now they likely will lose some touches if he stays healthy moving forward.
Jackson has 249 yards on the ground this season along with 37 catches for 300 yards and he will be looking to make an impact against the Jets. Expect Jackson to be limited even if he plays and that could mean even work with Brown and Dixon. Last game Jackson had three carries for 10 yards and four catches for 39 yards and this season he has had at least three catches in every game he has played this season.
The Bills are right in the thick of the playoff race and they are 1.5 games behind in the AFC East and they have a divisional game with the Jets ahead of their matchup with the Browns. The game against Cleveland may also have to get moved after the Jets game was shifted to Detroit following some record surprise snow in Buffalo last week that basically shut down the region.
Last game Dixon rushed for 35 yards on 10 carries in the loss to the Dolphins and he also added two catches in that game. Brown started and Dixon came in off the bench and he has 278 yards rushing this season in 10 games played. Brown started for Jackson in the game against the Dolphins and he had six rushes for 14 yards in the matchup and he also had seven catches for 57 yards. Sammy Watkins is listed as probable for this game and he is one of the best options to start for this matchup, as he has 45 catches for 649 yards this season.
