The first week of the fantasy playoffs didn’t disappoint… unless you were the recipient of the second week in a row of multiple touchdown vultures. Kenneth Dixon, Damien Williams, and James Develin are just a few of the relative no-names to score. Week 14 also brought us crazy finishes in Miami, Oakland, and Dallas. Let’s take a quick look at the good and the bad from each game in this week’s main slate.
Jets @ Bills
The Good
Josh Allen’s deficiencies as a passer are extremely evident but his rushing floor is insane. He’s now gone over 100 yards in three straight games.
The Bad
LeSean McCoy left the game in the first quarter after only two rushes. The good news is if he was a starter for your squad you were likely out of the playoffs anyway.
Everything else about these offenses. Avoid these two teams at all costs in Week 15.
Panthers @ Browns
The Good
Christian McCaffrey disappeared in the second half, but owners certainly won’t complain about another 100-yard, two touchdown day. He’s going to be a top-five pick next season.
It’s been a disappointing year overall, but Jarvis Landry did it all for the Browns today.
It didn’t show up much in the stat sheet, but Baker Mayfield was phenomenal again. Check out his touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry if you get a chance.
The Bad
David Njoku continues to tease owners. He’s simply too unreliable to be started with any confidence.
D.J. Moore dropped an easy score. He’s been up and down all season but has a bright future.
Falcons @ Packers
The Good
“Julio Jones will lose you more weeks than he’ll win you” continues to be an all-time bad take. He’s now the first player in NFL history go over 1,400 yards in five straight seasons and has left his three touchdown 2017 in the dust.
Jamaal Williams got the start, tilting fantasy owners everywhere, but Aaron Jones continued to be the lead dog. He’s a locked-in RB1 and league winner.
All Davante Adams does is catch passes and score touchdowns.
The Bad
Both quarterbacks walked away with respectable fantasy lines but neither was all that great, finishing with 6.2 and 6.1 yards per attempt.
I’m not sure any player has cost himself more money this year than Tevin Coleman.
Ravens @ Chiefs
The Good
Patrick Mahomes has been so good we’re disappointed in a two touchdown, 377-yard performance against one of the best defenses in the league. Unless something drastic happens,’ he’s a shoo-in for the MVP.
Another big game for Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. They are locked in at the top of their positions and should both be top 20 picks next season.
The Bad
Lamar Jackson has a good rushing floor but he’s clearly not ready to be an NFL passer.
Kenneth Dixon saw a lot of work (and stole a touchdown), breaking Gus Edwards owners’ hearts everywhere.
Patriots @ Dolphins
The Good
The ending to that game should be listed in the “all-time great” category. A 69-yard touchdown that included three laterals as time expired was simply amazing to watch.
Rob Gronkowski isn’t going to go down quietly. He showed once again he’s one of the best players in the league when healthy.
The Bad
Getting away from fantasy football for a second, is having Gronkowski in as a safety when there’s no chance at a Hail Mary the dumbest coaching move of Bill Belichick’s career?
James Develin vultured yet another Sony Michel touchdown, rendering the latter’s game a complete dud.
Saints @ Buccaneers
The Good
Cameron Brate continues to live up to the post OJ Howard injury hype, hauling in two more scores.
Michael Thomas had a monster PPR day with 11 catches for 98 yards. He’s had some down games of late but he continues to be one of the best in the league.
The Bad
The Saints running backs, and the offense as a whole, looked sluggish all day in a game many expected them to explode.
One catch for 13 yards on 10 targets is an all-time poor performance. Well done, Chris Godwin.
Giants @ Redskins
The Good
Ignore the positional value of the Saquon Barkley pick and appreciate just how special he is. He is a complete monster and a joy to watch.
The Giants showed us that Washington is an offense to target for the fantasy playoffs. Grab the Jaguars and Titans if you can.
The Bad
The Redskins are bad and don’t inspire much hope for better days ahead this season. That’s all there is to be said.
Sterling Shepard saved the day with a touchdown, but only two catches for 17 yards on a day Odell Beckham Jr. was sidelined with an injury is extremely disappointing.
Colts @ Texans
The Good
T.Y. Hilton and Andrew Luck continue to show they’re one of the best QB/WR duos in the league. Luck is a lock for Comeback Player of the Year.
Eric Ebron is a touchdown machine.
The Bad
Marlon Mack’s breakout seems like years ago. He’s a useful back-end RB2 still, but expecting anything more is going to disappoint.
Bengals @ Chargers
The Good
The Bengals offense moved the ball much better than last week with Joe Mixon being the key beneficiary. He’s good enough to overcome a bad offense.
Keenan Allen continues his amazing second-half run. He’s a locked-in WR1.
The Bad
The Justin Jackson hype train comes to a screeching halt. Austin Ekeler did get hurt late in the fourth quarter so it could start back up, but it’s an extremely disappointing performance after how good he looked last week.
Broncos @ 49ers
The Good
George Kittle absolutely exploded for 7 catches, 210 yards, and a touchdown. It could have been even bigger as all his production came in the first half, but nobody is complaining. He’s a top three tight end option.
The Bad
Phillip Lindsay disappointed in a juicy matchup. He continued to get the vast majority of the backfield work and did punch in a cheap goal-line score to salvage the day so there will be greener pastures ahead for the undrafted rookie.
The entire Broncos passing game also was clearly hamstrung with Emmanuel Sanders going down with a torn Achilles earlier this week in practice.
Eagles @ Cowboys
The Good
Amari Cooper’s career resurgence continued with yet another absolutely massive game, going off for 10/217/3 on 13 targets. I didn’t see many people tweeting how stupid the Cowboys are for trading that first round pick while Cooper picked up big gain after big gain.
Ezekiel Elliott continues to be an absolute workhorse. His 12 catches and 40 total touches are insane. His dual-threat ability adds a new element to the already dominant back.
The Bad
Golden Tate surely tricked people after his Week 13 performance and then promptly disappeared in the first week of the playoffs.
Josh Adams led the team in rushes but with the Cowboys holding the ball for almost double the possession time of the Eagles, he just didn’t have many opportunities.
Steelers @ Raiders
The Good
Juju Smith-Schuster exploded for 8/130/2 as he continues his ascension to the top of the Steelers’ depth chart.
I also think Jared Cook is going to disappear and he keeps churning out solid games. Consider me proven wrong.
The Bad
Ben Roethlisberger played well but was somehow too injured to play in the third quarter but fine for the fourth after they had given up the lead? It was a truly bizarre coaching decision that ended up costing the Steelers the game.
All that Jaylen Samuels tight end eligibility drama turned out to be for naught. He ended with 92 yards and a vultured touchdown.
Lions @ Cardinals
The Good
The good? Well… we’ll have to get back to you. If you want a silver lining you can look at David Johnson seeing 10 targets but they only went for a whopping 12 yards. This was a complete disaster of a game from both offenses.
The Bad
Everything. Everything in this game was bad. From a fantasy perspective, Kenny Golladay’s days as a reliable starter seem to be at an end.
—
Be sure to check back in over the next few days for a more in-depth look at all the waiver options and injury notes that came from today’s games.
