Buffalo Bills fantasy football preview, Week 13: LeSean McCoy a worthy gamble

The Buffalo Bills travel south this weekend to face off against the Miami Dolphins in balmy South Florida. With game-time weather conditions projected to be hot, humid, and volatile, this game could turn into a slogfest fairly quickly. A thunderstorm and 88-degree weather isn’t exactly what most people think of when they envision a December football game, but that’s what we may have on tap this weekend.

With that in mind, it should be the team that controls the line of scrimmage and runs the ball most effectively who comes out on top. If that’s the line of thinking the coaching staffs follow, then we can expect each team’s stable of running backs to have healthy workloads. However, the Bills drafted a quarterback specifically for his ability to make throws in adverse conditions, so while the running game should be a central focus, the Bills’ aerial attack can’t be dismissed.

Here are our Bills fantasy football picks for the weekend.

QB Josh Allen

I’m sure you’ve heard once or twice that the big-armed rookie from Wyoming has very large hands—which, theoretically, should allow him to maintain his accuracy and zip on throws in poor weather conditions. The problem, of course, has been Allen’s accuracy in normal weather, as the rookie has shown much of the scattershot passing that plagued him throughout his college career. What should work in Allen’s favor this week is that he’s playing against a secondary that is 21st in the league in passing yards allowed per game (258.2 yards). If Allen can continue to have success off of play-action calls, he could find some space to throw whether the weather is poor or not.

RB LeSean McCoy

It’s obviously a better bet to go with Buffalo’s lead back than his handcuff, Chris Ivory, although if the field turns into mush early on, the game conditions may suit Ivory’s straight-forward rushing style a bit better. A straight-ahead or elusive style may not matter, as the Dolphins have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to running backs on the season—and they have struggled in particular to cover quick backs in the passing game. Tarik Cohen, James White, and Dion Lewis all scored at least 19 points against the Dolphins due in part to strong receiving performances. McCoy is still excellent in space, and if the Bills look to use him more as a receiver on Sunday, he could be primed for an explosive outing.

WR Robert Foster

I wrote about my love for Foster as a boom-or-bust pickup earlier in the week, and I’m doubling down on it here. The undrafted rookie out of Alabama has 28.2 fantasy points over the last two weeks in half-PPR formats. He has 5 catches for 199 yards and 1 touchdown over that span. As a big-play threat, he is the literal definition of a boom-or-bust prospect—his production hinges solely on his ability to beat a defense deep. However, Allen seems to trust him, and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has shown no fear in allowing Foster to run deep routes this season. Foster will have the chance to cash in some big plays on Sunday.