1. Arian Foster — Foster has been a beast of burden this season, but he had a season-low 14 carries last week, rushing for 38 yards and a TD as the Texans built a comfortable lead and coasted to an easy win against the Titans. It’s unlikely Foster and the Texans will be able to do any coasting Monday night in New England. At 11-1, Houston is looking to secure home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, and the 9-3 Patriots are among the teams within striking distance. But with Foster already having logged 283 carries this season, it’s possible that the Texans will try to ease off on the throttle a bit to keep their franchise back fresh, rather than giving him 24 or more carries for a ninth time this season. The long-awaited return of Ben Tate from a hamstring injury gives the Texans two decent backups to help spell Foster (Justin Forsett being the other). Still, it’s not hard to imagine Foster clocking in with 27 or 28 carries to help the Texans avoid getting into a shootout with the Patriots, which would no doubt please his fantasy owners.

2. Drew Brees — I don’t know about you, but I would NOT want to be facing Brees in a fantasy game this week. The quarterback had his 54-game TD streak snapped last week in the Saints’ 23-13 loss to their bitter archrivals, the Falcons, and Brees threw a career-high five interceptions. The last time he threw more than two interceptions in a game was last season in an October loss to the Buccaneers. Brees went berserk the following week, throwing for 325 yards and five TDs (and no interceptions) in a 62-7 thrashing of the Colts. Brees is no doubt anxious to get the taste of humiliation out of his mouth after last week’s humbling performance, and he’ll get his chance Sunday afternoon in New Jersey when the Saints take on the Giants, who rank 22nd against the pass.

3. Bryce Brown — The rookie makes the “most intriguing” list for a second consecutive week, and how could he not? Brown has been sensational the past two weeks, and the RB situation in Philadelphia now promises to be a compelling story line during the offseason. Eagles starter LeSean McCoy, no slouch himself, is still recovering from a concussion. His status for this weekend remains unclear, although there is little incentive for the team to rush him back into action. Brown followed up a 178-yard, two-TD rushing performance against Carolina with a 169-yard, two-TD rushing game against Dallas last week. He also fumbled three times in those two games, but nobody is complaining … yet. Brown will face his most difficult test to date when the Eagles visit the Buccaneers this weekend. Tampa Bay has the NFL’s top-rated run defense and is allowing a league-low 3.4 yards per carry.