It seems like every season there is a player that was heavily dropped during the regular season that comes back during the weeks of the fantasy football playoffs with an absolute vengeance. Last year, it was was Derrick Henry and the tear that he went on in weeks 14-16, including that unforgettable 99-yard touchdown run that seemed to take an entire quarter to complete and then forgive my long-term memory, you’ll have to let me know what guy that was in the previous seasons.
This year, it’s Jameis Winston. Yes, Jameis has a 300-yard game in each of his games since week 6 except for one, but having over 450 yards and at least 4 touchdowns in two straight games is fantasy league-altering. Now you’re not dreading putting Jameis in your lineup for the fantasy championship. It’s one of the slots that you’re looking forward to. This is especially true considering that the Bucs match up nicely with the Houston Texans in week 16. The Texans have looked a little better on defense, but they still struggle against opposing quarterbacks and this one falls as a trap game in between matchups against the Tennessee Titans.
Of course it doesn’t help that Chris Godwin and Mike Evans had their seasons cut short but the emergence of Breshad Perriman and Scott Miller should keep things moving in the right direction for Tampa’s offense.
Donkey Teeth is off studying at the bibliotecas of Spain, so I will have the only review of the day. Here is what stood out to me in week 15.
Performance Checks
– Ryan Tannehill was looking like he was going to be a bust in the first half against the Texans. But in true legend fashion, Tannehill made garbage time his time and threw two touchdown passes and also ran one in during the second half. Coming into the week, Tannehill was QB3 in ppg that he has started this year and I don’t see that budging in the wrong direction after Sunday.
– AJ Brown should always be in your lineups if you are an owner. He has become the most trusted Tennessee target. Brown saw 13 targets and caught 8 of them for 114 yards and a touchdown.
– Carlos Hyde has had about the quietest 1,000 yard season that I can remember. Maybe it’s because I live so far from Texas, but either way, Hyde racked up 100 yards and a touchdown. He’s turned his career around after it looked like it was over in Cleveland and Jacksonville.
– Keenan Allen also crossed the 1,000 yard barrier on Sunday and this is his 3rd straight 1,000 yard season. It’s going to take a couple of big games for him to get to the 1,300-1,400 yard prediction that I had during the preseason, but I wouldn’t put it past him to get there.
– I think that I saw that Chris Carson was started in 2/3rds of DraftKings lineups this weekend and he did not disappoint. Despite the backdoor cover from the Panthers, Carson ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Without Penny, Carson is in another good spot on Sunday against the Cardinals who just let Nick Chubb run all over them on Sunday.
– The Panthers get the Colts next week, so if Marlon Mack makes it through tonight healthy, he needs to be in your lineup.
– Sony Michel went for 89 yards on the ground and had 1 catch for 14 yards but it was Rex Burkhead finding the endzone on the ground for the Patriots.
– Joe Mixon is being renamed Joe Mission because he is on one. He was force fed on his way to 136 yards on the ground, because what else are the Bengals going to do?
– Aaron Jones was under 4 yards per carry against the Bears on Sunday, but it doesn’t really matter when you punch in your 13th and 14th touchdowns of the year on the ground. His draft price is probably going to be a little inflated in 2020, but we’ll see next summer.
– Another big game for Anthony Miller and my best ball squads couldn’t be happier. He finishes up the fantasy football season against Kansas City and I would recommend fitting him in your lineup, weather pending.
– Outside of a big pile of snow and the dominance of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, there’s not much to talk about from the Kansas City game. Darwin Thompson led the backfield in carries so he might be worth a week 16 flier in deep leagues.
– If you made it through the Dalvin Cook injury, you’d be wise to pick up Mike Boone who scored 2 touchdowns on 56 yards.
– It was a total trap game for the 49ers and Julio Jones took advantage catching 13 balls for 139 yards and two touchdowns including the game winner.
– Raheem Mostert did, in fact, lead the 49ers backfield on Sunday and had over 50 yards on the ground and a touchdown. You could have done worse for your flex.
– It’s hard to believe how good of a game that Miles Sanders had after his showing against the Giants in week 14. I’m back in, I’m inspired, I’m once again in love with all things Miles Sanders.
– Kareem Hunt has also been a solid flex play. No endzone work on Sunday, but he caught 8 balls for 62 yards and had 14 yards on the ground and that was good for 15 PPR points.
– No rush to pick up Damiere Byrd. This game was probably an outlier for him.
– Leonard Fournette – 15 carries for 42 yards. 5 catches for 31 yards. If he wasn’t catching passes, we’d be talking about a big time bust.
– In a fitting farewell to the Black Hole, the Raiders let one of the worst teams in the NFL come from behind to beat them. But, Josh Jacobs muscled his way to over 100 all-purpose yards and Darren Waller did the same through the air.
– Before clicking on the box score and seeing that the Vikings scored 39 points, one might figure that either Stefon Diggs or Adam Thielen had a big day, but unfortunately, that was not the case. Thielen caught 3 balls for 27 yards and Diggs caught 4 for 76 yards.
– Melvin Gordon had an ugly day, putting 2 fumbles into the Viking’s hands. Ekeler also had a quiet day on the ground but he did catch 5 passes for 62 yards.