The New England Patriots will face the Buffalo Bills in Week 18. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Rhamondre Stevenson.
Is Rhamondre Stevenson Playing in Week 18?
Stevenson is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Patriots’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Rhamondre Stevenson in Week 18?
Rumors swirled pre-game that the Patriots were going to send a message about ball security and bench Stevenson for the Week 17 game with the Chargers.
He then got the first carry of the game and didn’t fumble.
He then accounted for one of the final 19 Patriots rush attempts.
So, no, he technically wasn’t “benched” off the hop, but he was certainly phased out, and this could turn into a difficult situation. Stevenson still has four years left on his deal (two until the team has so much as an out), but we have little proof that he is in good standing or a good fit for this Drake Maye offense — the once versatile threat has failed to catch more than a single pass in three straight (and four of his past five) games.
He lost a fumble in this matchup back in Week 16, but he also ran hard (60 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries). Was last week the sending of a message or a sign of things to come?
The fact that failing to reach 10 touches feels more likely than clearing 15 is reason enough for me to consider just about any reasonable piece on a team fighting for something as a more favorable Flex play than this downward-trending Patriot.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 18 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Rhamondre Stevenson’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Sunday, Stevenson is projected to score 12.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 12.1 rushing attempts for 52 yards and 0.4 touchdowns. It also includes 2.7 receptions for 16 yards and 0 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Bills' Defense
We always thought this would be a rebuilding year for Buffalo's defense, and so far, it's proven to be the case. After finishing as a top-seven defense in each of the last three seasons, the Bills have dropped to 18th this year.
But after a pair of abysmal games defensively against the Rams and Lions, the Bills followed up their Week 16 stifling of the Patriots with an even more dominant performance vs. the Jets in Week 17. Buffalo's 78.4 (C+) grade was its sixth-best of the season.
Removing the Tyrod Taylor-led touchdown drives in garbage time, the Bills had the best Defense+ grade over the first three quarters of any defense in Week 17.
For the season, Buffalo has had a strong run defense (fifth in EPA per rush) but a leaky pass defense (25th in EPA per dropback). Dominating the AFC East cellar-dwellers doesn't prove that the pass defense is fixed, but it's a nice palette cleanser before potential playoff matchups against the likes of Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.
The offense is operating at such a high level that the bar to clear for the Bills' defense is lower than it would be on nearly any other team. Buffalo has met that threshold against lesser competition but will be challenged in the playoffs to help the Josh Allen-Sean McDermott era reach its first Super Bowl.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Rhamondre Stevenson’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:00 AM ET on Sunday, January 5. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 RB PPR Rankings
1) Bijan Robinson | ATL (vs. CAR)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (vs. CLE)
4) Jonathan Taylor | IND (vs. JAX)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (vs. CHI)
6) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. NO)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (at PIT)
8) Aaron Jones | MIN (at DET)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at NYJ)
10) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at LAR)
11) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
12) Breece Hall | NYJ (vs. MIA)
13) Ray Davis | BUF (at NE)
14) D'Andre Swift | CHI (at GB)
15) Rico Dowdle | DAL (vs. WAS)
16) Isaac Guerendo | SF (at ARI)
17) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at LV)
18) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. CIN)
19) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (vs. KC)
20) Joe Mixon | HOU (at TEN)
21) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (at PHI)
22) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. SEA)
24) Tank Bigsby | JAX (at IND)
25) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. CIN)
26) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (at IND)
27) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. BUF)
28) Michael Carter | ARI (vs. SF)
29) Rachaad White | TB (vs. NO)
30) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (at BAL)
31) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at LV)
32) Miles Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
33) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (vs. CAR)
34) Audric Estimé | DEN (vs. KC)
35) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. NYG)
36) Alexander Mattison | LV (vs. LAC)
37) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. BUF)
38) Javonte Williams | DEN (vs. KC)
39) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at ATL)
40) Ty Johnson | BUF (at NE)
41) Devin Singletary | NYG (at PHI)
42) Cam Akers | MIN (at DET)
43) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at NYJ)
44) Roschon Johnson | CHI (at GB)
45) Craig Reynolds | DET (vs. MIN)
46) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at LAR)
47) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at DAL)
48) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. CIN)
49) Braelon Allen | NYJ (vs. MIA)
50) Julius Chestnut | TEN (vs. HOU)
51) Samaje Perine | KC (at DEN)
52) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (at ARI)
53) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. NO)
54) Jamaal Williams | NO (at TB)
55) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (vs. MIA)
56) Chris Brooks | GB (vs. CHI)
57) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (at BAL)
58) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | NO (at TB)
59) Emanuel Wilson | GB (vs. CHI)
60) Mike Boone | CAR (at ATL)
61) Tony Pollard | TEN (vs. HOU)
62) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (vs. SF)
63) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
64) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (at TEN)
65) Rasheen Ali | BAL (vs. CLE)
66) Khalil Herbert | CIN (at PIT)
67) Trey Sermon | IND (vs. JAX)
68) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at LV)
69) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (at ARI)
70) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at TEN)
71) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at NYJ)
72) Carson Steele | KC (at DEN)
73) Sione Vaki | DET (vs. MIN)
74) Hunter Luepke | DAL (vs. WAS)
75) Tyler Goodson | IND (vs. JAX)
76) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (at ARI)
77) Alec Ingold | MIA (at NYJ)
78) C.J. Ham | MIN (at DET)
79) Michael Burton | DEN (vs. KC)
80) D'Ernest Johnson | JAX (at IND)
81) Jeff Wilson Jr. | MIA (at NYJ)
82) Eric Gray | NYG (at PHI)
83) Jermar Jefferson | DET (vs. MIN)
84) Patrick Ricard | BAL (vs. CLE)
85) Joshua Kelley | NYG (at PHI)
86) Ty Chandler | MIN (at DET)
87) Israel Abanikanda | SF (at ARI)
88) Adam Prentice | NO (at TB)
89) Dylan Laube | LV (vs. LAC)
90) JaMycal Hasty | NE (vs. BUF)
91) George Holani | SEA (at LAR)
92) James Cook | BUF (at NE)
Bills at Patriots Trends and Insights
Buffalo Bills
Team: With a week to spare, the Bills set their franchise record for touchdowns scored in a regular season.
QB: Josh Allen completed 77.8% of his third down passes against the Jets on Sunday, a good sign after struggling in such spots over his three games prior (45%).
Offense: Buffalo has cashed in all of their red zone trips into touchdowns in four of their past five games (three-for-three against the Jets on Sunday).
Defense: The Bills allowed just 1.4 points per drive on Sunday. They are 12-1 this season when allowing no more than 3.0 points per drive (season average: 2.05).
Fantasy: James Cook entered 2024 with four rushing touchdowns – he now has three separate three-game stretches this season in which he’s run for four scores.
Betting: Unders are 6-2 in Buffalo’s past road divisional games.
New England Patriots
Team: The Patriots have lost 11 regular season games by 17+ points since Tom Brady left town after 11 such games in the 16 seasons prior.
QB: Drake Maye’s rookie season hasn’t had much in the way of results, but there have been enough glimpses of promise for this fanbase to be excited about the future – he has a higher average QB+ in games 7-10 of his career (76.6) than Justin Herbert did (75.0).
Offense: The Patriots have turned the ball over in eight straight games – they’ve had a streak like that in three straight seasons (from 2014-201, they had two such streaks).
Defense: Over their past four games, New England has allowed opponents to pick up 53.7% of third downs. That’s a high rate as it is, so when you consider that teams are six-of-six on fourth down over that stretch, this is a struggling unit (over this stretch, 24% of third down stops by New England have been erased by a fourth down conversion).
Fantasy: Rhamondre Stevenson had three games in the first month of this season with 80+ rushing yards AND a score – he has three games with EITHER since.
Betting: New England hasn’t covered a long rest spot since Week 14 of 2022 (0-4-1 ATS over that stretch).