Cam Newton has been dominant all season and into the playoffs
The high stakes of yesterday’s games brought out the best performances from two of the best teams in the NFL. In the AFC, we saw a strength on strength battle, as New England’s efficient passing offense was slowed down by the NFL’s best defense in Denver. In the NFC, we saw a battle of styles, as Carolina’s top rushing attack and loaded defense overwhelmed Arizona’s top-rated passing offense. Either way, the two games provided great viewing and a handful of outstanding individual performances. So with a Denver/Carolina Super Bowl only two short weeks away, here are five things we learned in the Conference Championships:
Cam Newton was the best player on the field Sunday
Yesterday, the likely NFL MVP showed everyone why he is the best player in the league right now and carried his team to a Super Bowl berth. Carolina QB Cam Newton had a marvelous game on Sunday, leading his team in every way imaginable to a huge 49-15 blowout of the Arizona Cardinals. Newton finished the game going 19-of-28 for 335 with two touchdowns and one interception through the air while adding 10 carries for 47 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. Yesterday’s game was the latest installment in a season where Newton has evolved into an elite NFL and fantasy quarterback. This evolution is reflected in Newton’s fantasy numbers from this season, as he led all players with 389.1 points (Tom Brady was second with 343.7, a whopping 45 point difference). Now, in two weeks, the Carolina QB will face his biggest test of the year. Even after (likely) winning the MVP and leading his team to the NFC Championship, he’ll face the league’s best defense, one that just gave Brady trouble all day Sunday, on the biggest stage imaginable.
Manning vs. Brady XVII went to the underdog
The most hyped matchup of the weekend was the latest battle between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, with the winner heading to Super Bowl 50. After a season of injuries and poor play from Manning, almost everyone thought Brady would ride off with yet another win and another Super Bowl appearance. However, that was not the case, as Manning slightly outplayed Brady on Sunday and led his Denver team to a big 20-18 AFC Championship win. Compared to his latest performances, Manning had a great game on Sunday, going 17-of-32 for 176 yards and two touchdowns. On the flip side of the battle, Brady struggled throughout the game, mainly due to the outstanding performance by the Denver defense. Brady finished Sunday going 27-of-56 for 310 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions while battling constant pressure. The bright spot of his performance was on the last drive, where Brady converted two fourth-downs to bring the game to 18-20, only to fail on the two-point conversion for the tie.
If this was indeed the last Manning vs. Brady battle, it was a great one to finish the rivalry, with the game close throughout and the decisive play coming in the game’s final seconds. Now it will be up to Manning to finish the job in Super Bowl 50.
David Johnson will be a top fantasy running back in 2016
Even on a rough day, in a blowout loss on Sunday, there was a huge bright spot for the Arizona Cardinals. Their rookie running back, David Johnson, had the best game for an offense that struggled to find any openings in the Carolina defense. Johnson led the Cardinals in both rushing and receiving on Sunday, as he got 15 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown while adding nine catches for 68 yards. While this was not an outstanding performance by any measure, it was the best for his team against an elite defense. This bodes well for the Johnson’s future, as he proved in the second half of the season, and in the playoffs, that he can handle the bulk of the carries while adding major value in the passing game. His recent performances bring back memories of a younger Matt Forte, who is a dangerous dual-threat, doing his damage on the ground and through the air. This is exciting news when looking ahead to the 2016 fantasy season as Johnson will likely be ranked in the top 10 for running backs next season. Even with his team out of the championship race, it is likely Johnson was on plenty of winning fantasy rosters this season. Plus, he’ll definitely be a valuable pickup to any fantasy team next season, especially those in PPR formats.
Sunday was a slow day for top WR’s
On a championship Sunday that was seemingly dominated by top defenses, not much room was left for big games by top wide receivers. Some of the league’s best wide-outs took the field on Sunday and all of them submitted sub-par performances. The AFC Championship saw Julian Edelman (seven catches for 53 yards), Demaryius Thomas (2 and 12), and Emmanuel Sanders (5 and 62) all but shut down in what turned out to be a defensive battle. The NFC game saw a similar outcome, with Larry Fitzgerald (4 and 30); Michael Floyd (3 and 37) and Ted Ginn Jr. (2 and 52) also kept quiet. The biggest receiving output by a receiver was submitted by Carolina’s Corey Brown, who hauled in four catches for 113 yards and a touchdown. However, even Brown’s big day was boosted by an 86-yard catch and run touchdown in the first quarter. Overall, Championship Sunday was a disappointing day for top receivers, especially for those who plugged anyone but Brown into their DFS lineup.
Top TE’s picked up the WR’s slack
While the league’s top wide receivers were kept quiet on Sunday, the NFL’s top tight ends picked up the slack and carried their teams. For the Patriots, Rob Gronkowski had a huge day (per usual) in leading his team in receiving. Gronk caught eight passes for 144 yards and a touchdown, including two fourth-down passes from Brady with seconds on the clock to try and tie the game. Also in the AFC, Denver’s Owen Daniels didn’t have a huge day in yardage but caught two of the most important passes for his team as he finished with two catches for 33 yards and two touchdowns. In the NFC, Carolina’s top target yet again was Greg Olsen, who finished with six catches for 113 yards. Overall, on a day when top wide-outs were shut down, the tight ends picked up the slack in a big way. This was a fitting end in a season when a number of fantasy tight ends broke out and provided huge value to their teams. Looking ahead to next season, Gronk and Olsen will lead the way for fantasy TE’s, but there is, unlike in years past, value to be found at the position outside the top two.
Brad Behrens is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Brad, check out his archive or follow him @_BradBehrens.
