It's crunch time in the fantasy football season.
For many leagues, this is the final week of the regular-season campaign.
By this point, the contenders have been firmly separated from the pretenders and, if you're lucky enough to be in the former category and still in the hunt for the playoffs, you need to nail your lineup every week.
Stats Perform is here to offer a helping hand, with a look at four offensive players and a defense that are excellent bets for success in Week 14 of the NFL season.
Quarterback: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins @ Los Angeles Chargers
It would be understandable to be somewhat deterred by Tagovailoa's four-turnover performance in the Dolphins' defeat to the San Francisco 49ers last week.
But even in one of his worst performances of the season, Tagovailoa still threw two long touchdown passes and, on another day, several of the potential big plays he missed would have resulted in game-shifting completions.
Having faced the NFL's top defense in Week 13, Tagovailoa gets a more favourable opponent in Week 14, with a Chargers defense allowing the eighth-most yards per play (6.59) in the league sure to present plenty of opportunities for him to bounce back.
Running Back: Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens
It's tough to trust the Steelers offense, but things are lining up well for Harris to excel in this AFC North rivalry game.
Harris has at least 86 rushing yards in three of his last four games, which have seen him score three touchdowns.
With Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson injured, a defensive struggle in which the Steelers can lean on the run game appears likely in Pittsburgh, potentially setting Harris up for his best game of the year, if he can shake off an oblique issue.
Wide Receiver: Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders @ Los Angeles Rams
Adams has returned to his Green Bay Packers form as the Raiders have surged back to somewhere near playoff contention.
Since Week 9, Adams leads the NFL in receiving yards per game (132.8) and receiving touchdowns (7).
On Thursday, he faces a Rams defense that is a shadow of its 2021 self without Aaron Donald. Look for his hot streak to continue in primetime.
Tight End: T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions
How about a little tight end revenge game?!
Okay, so Hockenson might not have much against the Lions after they dealt him to a Vikings team destined for the playoffs, but he is in a great spot to do significant damage against his former employers.
Hockenson has averaged eight targets per game since his Vikings debut in Week 9. Against a Lions defense allowing 402.2 total yards per game, that kind of target share could result in a huge day for the former first-round pick.
Defense/Special Teams: Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos
The Kansas City defense is vulnerable to the run and last week gave up 431 yards to the Cincinnati Bengals.
But the Broncos' offense is not close to the standard of the Bengals and is averaging just 13.6 points per game. There is no concern for Kansas City's defense here.
Bengals QB Burrow insists injured wrist no longer affecting throws
Joe Burrow insists the wrist injury that ended his 2023 season is not preventing him from making downfield throws after struggling in the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 1 loss.
The Bengals' 2024 campaign got off to a miserable start as they were beaten 16-10 by the New England Patriots, who had the joint-second worst record in the league last year at 4-13.
Burrow threw for 164 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, being sacked three times. He did complete 21 of his 29 attempted passes, but only six of those completed passes travelled more than 10 yards in the air.
Burrow – who was recently surpassed as the NFL's highest-paid player by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott – was repeatedly seen flexing his wrist during the game.
He suffered a wrist ligament injury versus the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 last season, leading him to undergo reconstructive surgery.
However, he is adamant he is no longer feeling the effects of that issue, saying: "It feels better this week than it did last week, than it did the week before, so it's continually getting better.
"That's part of ligament injuries. If you don't move it, you're going to lose it.
"I'm always moving it around, keeping it loose, keeping my mobility the way it's supposed to be, so it's going to continue to happen."
Having sat out the final seven games of 2023 as the Bengals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020, Burrow is simply grateful to be back out on the field.
"It's a luxury right now to be criticised by you guys about how we played on Sunday, because I was sitting in the wings for seven weeks last year," he said. "I'm just excited to be out there."
The Bengals face the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of the AFC Championship games from the 2021 and 2022 seasons on Sunday, before taking on the Washington Commanders in Week 3.
Rooney, Barry, Crouch? Who are the ultimate Premier League 'Barclaysmen'?
The international window is over, as Premier League football returns this weekend, but the two-week break had supporters reminiscing.
From 2004 to 2016, Barclays was the Premier League's sponsor.
And in a trend that has taken over social media, "Barclaysmen" have been picked out as players synonymous with that 12-year period.
Here, we take a deep dive into Opta data to find out which players were the actual hallmarks of the Barclays Premier League.
410 - Gareth Barry led the way with 410 matches played for Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton between 2004 and 2016 – he is, of course, also the Premier League's all-time record holder for appearances too, with a whopping 653 to his name.
James Milner is set to overtake Barry this season, though, and 369 of his 637 matches came in this 12-year span.
178 - Bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old, Wayne Rooney would go on to become one of the greatest goalscorers the division has ever seen.
Starting his career with Everton, Rooney joined Manchester United in 2004, where he won five league titles during the Barclays era.
In that 12-year span, no player scored more goals than the mercurial forward, who netted 178 times, with his former United club-mate Robin van Persie (144) second, ahead of Chelsea's Frank Lampard (132).
Rooney wasn't just a goalscorer. He also provided 88 assists in this era, taking his total goal contributions tally to 266, 54 more than the next-best, Lampard (212).
1,430 - Naturally, being the top goalscorer from 2004 and 2016, Rooney also tops the rankings for the most shots taken during that period, with 1,430.
Rooney's most prolific season came during the 2011-12 campaign, when he netted 27 Premier League goals, but it wasn't enough to stop rivals Manchester City from lifting their first top-flight title since 1968.
Midfielder Lampard (1,118) is next on the list for shots, with Van Persie (963), Jermain Defoe (939) and Steven Gerrard (919) next.
95 - What about creativity?
When it comes to assists, there were no better in this time span than Cesc Fabregas, who laid on 95 goals across spells at Arsenal and Chelsea.
Interestingly, though, Gerrard (767) led the way for chances created, with Lampard (759) also coming in ahead of Fabregas, though it is worth noting the Spaniard spent time away from the Premier League after leaving Arsenal for Barcelona.
43 - When it comes to headed goals, you won't be surprised to see that six-foot-seven-inch Peter Crouch led the way, with 43.
Crouch represented Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Spurs and Stoke during the Barclays era, becoming well-known for his lanky frame and ability in the air.
He 'heads' the list by 12 goals to former Everton forward Tim Cahill, who scored 31 goals with his head despite being three inches under six foot.
30 - Having come close to having the most goals in the Barclays era, Lampard tops the list for the most goals scored from outside the box across its 12-year timeframe.
Known for his incredible knack of being in the right place at the right time, Lampard's ability both in and outside the box made him one of the deadliest midfielders the division has ever seen.
Strikes against Norwich City, Fulham and away at Goodison Park are standouts, with the Englishman often finding the back of the net when pulling back his cultured right foot.
11 - While James Ward-Prowse leads the way for the most free-kick goals scored in the Premier League, Sebastian Larsson might just be the true embodiment of a Barclaysman.
The former Arsenal, Birmingham City and Sunderland midfielder scored 11 direct free-kick goals between 2004-05 and 2015-16, one more than five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Morten Gamst Pederson, who must be another candidate for the ultimate Barclaysman.
That being said, who had the most direct free-kick shots? It wasn't any of the above. Instead, it was Lampard, who tried his luck 173 times, scoring on nine occasions.
486 - Charles N'Zogbia. Remember him?
A star for Wigan Athletic, N'Zogbia completed 486 dribbles during his time in the division. Surprisingly, Glen Johnson, a full-back, was the next best with 481, ahead of Eden Hazard (463).
Remarkably, though, Ronaldo comes in at fifth, and that is despite only playing in five of the Barclays seasons. He completed 449 dribbles in total, an average of 2.7 per game.
1,107 - Jussi Jaaskelainen, the baby-faced Finn, made 1,107 saves in the Barclays era, which puts him ahead of Mark Schwarzer (1,018) and Tim Howard (1,014).
Petr Cech, meanwhile, was the goalkeeper to keep the most clean sheets (178).
48 - Now time for the unlucky statistics during the Barclays era. During his spells with Arsenal and Man United, no one struck the woodwork more than Robin van Persie.
Despite netting 144 goals in his 280 Premier League appearances, ranking 14th on the all-time list, the Dutchman could have been among the top 10 scorers to play in the division had it not been for the crossbar and posts.
Van Persie also squandered the most big chances (80), though Sergio Aguero (78) was hot on his heels.
910- Out on his own by three, former Aston Villa, Man City and QPR defender Richard Dunne is the unfortunate man to have scored the most own goals between 2001-02 and 2012-13, with 10.
Across his time in the Premier League, the Republic of Ireland did manage to score more goals at the right end, finishing his career in 2015 with 11 top-flight strikes.
Ronaldo: 'You cannot rebuild Man United without knowledge'
Cristiano Ronaldo believes Manchester United "cannot rebuild without knowledge" as he urged Erik ten Hag to take advice from assistant coach - and former Red Devils striker - Ruud van Nistelrooy.
United opened the Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Fulham, but then suffered back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool.
It is the second time under Ten Hag the Red Devils have lost as many as two of their first three league games in a season (also 2022-23); as many times as in their previous 29 campaigns combined.
United have also scored three goals fewer than their xG suggests they should have so far this term (two goals, 5.2 xG), the biggest such difference for any team in the Premier League.
Ten Hag was recently joined in the dugout by compatriot Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 in 219 appearances at Old Trafford between 2001 and 2006.
And Ronaldo - the scorer of 145 in 346 games across his two spells - thinks the Red Devils will benefit from the wisdom of people with prior experience and knowledge of the club.
"[As the] Man United manager; you cannot say that you're not going to fight to win the Premier League or Champions League," he told former team-mate Rio Ferdinand on FiveUK.
"You've to say: 'maybe we've not got the potential, but we're going to try'. You have to try!
"If Ten Hag listens to Ruud van Nistelrooy, maybe he can help. He knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there [like] Rio, Roy Keane, [Paul] Scholes, Gary Neville, Alex Ferguson. You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge."
United return to action this weekend away at pointless Southampton, against whom they are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League visits since a 1-0 defeat in August 2003.
The Red Devils have also lost just one of their last 30 Premier League matches against promoted sides, winning 15 of their last 17 such games.
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