Close Calls: Week 11's Toughest Lineup Decisions

"Pressure, pushin' down on me, pressin' down on you, no man ask for."

Deep, ain't it? Wrote it myself. It's totally not the lyrics for a song from 1981 by David Bowie and Queen.

OK, so maybe it is—but it certainly applies to many fantasy football managers this time of year. For a lot of teams sitting at 6-4, 5-5, or 4-6, the next four weeks of the fantasy regular season will determine whether they move on or the campaign ends when the regular season does. In some respects, the playoffs have already started. The next loss could be the one that sinks the team for good.

Every point matters now more than ever. Every lineup decision is critical. And the tough calls between closely-ranked players are both more maddening than ever and more important than ever.

That's where Close Calls at Footballguys comes in.

Every week, we're going to look at some of the closest calls of the week. Make the case for both players. And then offer up this analyst's take on which player is the correct play.

For the sake of this exercise, we'll only consider quarterbacks and tight ends outside the top 10, running backs outside the top 20, and wide receivers outside the top 30 in Footballguys' Weekly Rankings. If your team is loaded with must-start stars, it must be nice.

Hoo-freaking-ray for you. We should have a party. With a cake.

Close Call: Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh (QB16) vs. Jordan Love, Green Bay (QB18)

The Case for Wilson: Since taking over for Justin Fields at quarterback, Wilson has unlocked a new dimension of the Steelers offense. Last week was Wilson's worst game as a Steeler in terms of yardage (195) and completion percentage, but he made up for that by tossing three touchdown passes.

This week, Wilson and the Steelers battle their arch-rivals for supremacy in the AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens have been quite the Jekyll-and-Hyde defense this season—while no team in the NFL has surrendered fewer rushing yards per game, no team has allowed more passing yards—almost 295 per game.

The Case for Love: Last week's bye came at the perfect time for Love—after missing time earlier in the season with an MCL sprain, he picked up a groin injury a few weeks ago. Now that he's had an extra week to get right, Love is off the injury report and fully healthy again.

Granted, the Bears aren't a great fantasy matchup for quarterbacks—no team has allowed fewer fantasy points per game to the position this season. But Love has shown both this year and last that when he's healthy and has his full complement of wide receivers, he can light up any defense in the league. He also has over 22 fantasy points in each of his last two meetings with the Bears.

The Verdict: Wilson. It's possible that Love will buck the bad matchup and post a decent stat line this week. But the Ravens have been roasted through the air by just about every quarterback they have faced this season. Wilson has his best game of the season in arguably the best matchup of Week 11.

Close Call: Rico Dowdle, Dallas (RB22) vs. Nick Chubb, Cleveland (RB24)

The Case for Dowdle: Last week's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was admittedly a disaster all the way around. But the week before, Dowdle amassed 107 total yards as the Cowboys lead back, and while speaking to reporters, head coach Mike McCarthy made it clear that for the rest of the season, the Dak Prescott-less Cowboys will lean on Dowdle and the ground game.

"Definitely, you have to get him the ball," McCarthy told reporters about Dowdle. "That's my focus to continue to get him opportunities. He's the lead back."

It's about the only thing passing for good news in Dallas offensively right now.

The Case for Chubb: To say that Chubb hasn't looked like himself lately is an understatement—in three games, he has averaged less than three yards per carry. But as Marcas Grant wrote at NFL.com, this week's date with the Saints could be a "get right" moment.

"If there's a week for the veteran back to look more like his old self, it's against the New Orleans Saints," he said. "Just four teams have allowed more rushing yards than the Saints this season, and only three have given up more rushing scores. With the Saints offense being decidedly lackluster this season, game script shouldn't be an issue."

The Verdict: Chubb. As bad as Chubb and the Cleveland offense have been of late, it's just impossible to put any faith in Dowdle and the Cowboys after what we saw last week. Throw in a matchup with a Texans team that is allowing the fifth-fewest PPR points per game to running backs, and Dowdle's a pass if you can help it.