Week 12 brings the most excitement to football fans. There are no teams on bye. And there are games on Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday. Eight teams will have already played by the time this has been published. However, Sunday is when this week’s fantasy matchups will be won and lost.

With just two weeks to go until the fantasy playoffs, every start/sit decision will be crucial to make that final push. Therefore this week I highlighted six crucial fantasy football WR/CB matchups to know.

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WR/CB Matchups: Week 12

Advantageous Wide Receiver Matchups

Tutu Atwell (LAR) vs. Marco Wilson (ARI)

Atwell has been extremely quiet in recent weeks. However, with Cooper Kupp currently questionable to play on Sunday due to an injury sustained last week, Atwell might be back in favor and receive a larger role in this offense. Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay said Kupp will play, but things could change between now and Sunday.

But when Kupp was out for the first four weeks of the season, Atwell was a very usable WR3 asset for fantasy managers.

This week, he has the best WR/CB matchup of anyone playing in Week 12. He is up against Wilson, who gives up 0.45 fantasy points per route run against him. According to FantasyPoints Data, this is the most of any cornerback in Week 12. With the Arizona Cardinals giving up 29.5 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, expect Atwell to put up flex-worthy fantasy numbers this week even if Kupp is in the lineup. If Kupp is out, there is an upside available for Atwell this week.

Michael Pittman Jr. (IND) vs. Carlton Davis (TB)

Pittman comes into Week 12 fresh off his bye. He is currently the WR16 in fantasy football and this week, he has a dream matchup against Davis and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Davis has been absolutely terrible in the past few weeks. So much so his fantasy points allowed for routes run against him have risen from 0.19 to 0.37 in the past month. Davis allows the fifth-most fantasy points per route run against him among all cornerbacks featured in Week 12.

This matchup gives Pittman WR1 upside this week. Expect Pittman to be knocking on the door of the top 12 at the position come 7 p.m. Sunday evening. Start him with the most supreme confidence because Todd Bowles and his prevent defense are nowhere near what it used to be a couple of seasons ago.

Nico Collins (HOU) vs. Montaric Brown (JAC)

Collins, due to ongoing injury concerns, has taken a back seat to the rookie sensation Tank Dell in recent weeks. However, Collins has a truly incredible matchup to exploit this week in the shape of Brown and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars are giving up 29.3 fantasy points per game to wide receivers entering Week 12. And Brown is a large reason for that number. His 0.36 fantasy points allowed per route run against him makes him the 6th-ranked cornerback for most allowed among all cornerbacks in Week 12.

Collins has been under the radar in recent weeks. However, in this divisional matchup, expect him to return potential WR2 numbers as part of this explosive offense.

Challenging Wide Receiver Matchups

Diontae Johnson (PIT) vs. DJ Turner II (CIN)

Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada finally paid the price for running the most stagnant offense in the NFL over the past three seasons. While that is initially good news for Johnson and the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, this week’s matchup couldn’t have come at a worse possible time.

Johnson is up against the Turner and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12. Turner currently allows only 0.13 fantasy points per route run against him. This is the third-lowest of any cornerback playing in Week 12. Johnson is potentially in sit territory this week with quarterback Kenny Pickett struggling to get vertical in the offense. Johnson has also seen fewer and fewer targets every week and then has to deal with this matchup. He projects to be a low-end WR3, possibly WR4 this week. If fantasy managers have better options, they should explore them instead of playing Johnson.

Quentin Johnston (LAC) vs. Brandon Stephens (BAL)

Johnston has continued to be a disappointment for fantasy managers so far this season. While some still try to persist with him due to the lack of healthy options on the Los Angeles Chargers, fantasy managers should certainly look elsewhere this week for production.

Johnston has a horrendous matchup against Stephens and the Baltimore Ravens, who come into the weekend as the third-stingiest team in terms of fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. The Ravens allow just 22.8 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, with only the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets having better defenses against them this season.

To add to this, Stephens only allows 0.22 fantasy points per route run against him. With this matchup and stout defense to contend with, Johnston is a sit in all fantasy football formats for fantasy managers this week.

Christian Kirk (JAC) vs. Tavierre Thomas (HOU)

Kirk has been impressive for most of the season for the Jaguars. However, this is one of those matchups where I predict Calvin Ridley will receive more of the targets than Kirk.

The Houston Texans are only allowing 25.3 fantasy points per game to wide receivers. And Thomas has shone in recent weeks in coverage. Thomas is only allowing 0.19 fantasy points per route run against him. He is also only getting targeted on only 12.7% of routes run against him.

While Kirk is still a start option for fantasy managers this week, his upside is severely capped due to this matchup. I would expect Ridley to prevail as the leading receiver this week due to a slightly better matchup against Derek Stingley. Therefore, I project Kirk to be a low-end WR2, possibly WR3 this week. Fantasy managers could and should still possibly start Kirk this week. However, just be aware that a high ceiling week is possibly not within his grasp and he will have to rely on volume.

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Adam Murfet is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Murf, check out his archive and follow him @Murf_NFL.