This is a week replete with close calls.

There was the close call where you almost grabbed a spoonful of Aunt Millie's mystery goo instead of Mom's stuffing (Love Millie, but the woman can't cook). There was the close call where you almost went for what may have been a lethal fifth slice of pie (four is enough, bud).

Almost talked to Uncle Carl, too. Dodged one there.

Then there are the close calls that could define the 2024 fantasy football season.

At this point, there is no shortage of fantasy managers who have no margin for error. Lose another game, and that's that—no playoffs. That makes every lineup decision all the more important. And while some calls are obvious, for some the margin between options is razor-thin.

That's where Close Calls here at Footballguys comes in.

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 the Footballguys Weekly Rankings. Help you make sure the coin flip guys turn out tails.

After all, tails never fails.

Close Call: C.J. Stroud, Houston (QB11) vs. Sam Darnold, Minnesota (QB12)

The Case for Stroud: Stroud has admittedly struggled of late—he's 20th among quarterbacks in fantasy points over the past month. But as Tristan Cockroft wrote for ESPN, the Jacksonville Jaguars could be just what the doctor ordered to get Stroud back on track.

"(Robert) Woods and (Tank) Dell are now healthy," he said, "and this is the highest-ceiling matchup remaining on Stroud's schedule. For some history, three of his six best fantasy point totals have come against the Jaguars, and he has averaged 25.0 points against them. The Jaguars have also allowed a league-most seven games of 20-plus points to quarterbacks, including Stroud's season-best 23.50 in Week 4."

The Case for Darnold: There hasn't been a more surprising success story under center this year than Darnold—after 12 weeks he has guided the Vikings to a 9-2 record and ranks 10th in fantasy points among quarterbacks. Darnold told reporters that he has simply tried not to overthink things in 2024.

"I really do think it's as simple as that," Darnold said. "Just not trying to do too much. If I feel like I've got to scramble out of the pocket, and if it's not there, just throw it away. Or, if sometimes I need to take a sack, I'm willing to do that. Continue to play within the system and within the game, and we'll continue to play solid as an offense."

The Call: Stroud. Darnold has played better of late, but Stroud is the better player. And more importantly, he has the better matchup. There isn't a team in the league surrendering more fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this year than the Jaguars—and Houston has to be seething after last week's upset loss to the Titans.

Close Call: Rhamondre Stevenson, New England (RB26) vs. Najee Harris, Pittsburgh (RB27)

The Case for Stevenson: For starters, let's just throw out last week's matchup with the Miami Dolphins, where Stevenson had just 13 yards on eight carries. That was a contest where game script got out of hand in a hurry—down 31-0 to the Dolphins, the ground game went out the window. Stevenson's production went with it.

But in each of the two games preceding last week's loss, Stevenson carried the ball 20 times. The fourth-year veteran has found the end zone six times on the ground this season. Stevenson hasn't been a league-winner, but he's a low-end RB2 for the season who has posted multiple top-10 weekly finishes.

The Case for Harris: Like Stevenson, Harris had something of a down Week 12, managing just 54 total yards in Pittsburgh's surprising loss to the Cleveland Browns. But the bruising tailback had been on a nice rip before that—from Week 6 to Week 11, Harris averaged over 15 PPR points per game.

It's a safe bet that the Steelers want to get the ground game going this week against a Cincinnati run defense allowing just under 130 yards per game. That should mean a healthy dose of both Harris and Jaylen Warren Sunday—especially if the Steelers can get a lead. The potential for a top-15 week is there.

The Verdict: Stevenson. Neither of these guys inspire a ton of confidence from fantasy managers, especially after last week's clunkers. But the Patriots take on a Colts team that has surrendered the fifth-most PPR points per game to running backs in 2024, and the Pats actually have a shot at at least neutral game scripts for much of that game.