Santa has two gifts for you in your fantasy football adventure, a ticket to your championship game or pile of coal. Let’s hope you got the right one. Let’s take a look at my Week 16 takeaways and look ahead to Week 17.
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Browns at Texans
Joe Flacco, Razzball favorite, continues to deliver results and finishes as QB2 this week. Flacco completed 27/42 for 368 for three touchdowns and two interceptions. Nine pass catchers tallied one reception, but Amari Cooper was next level on Sunday. Cooper caught 11 passes for an NFL season-high 265 receiving yards and two TDs on 15 targets. Cooper was the clear WR1 this week and has built chemistry with Flacco. David Njoku caught six passes for 44 yards and one score.
C.J. Stroud was out again and Houston played two QBs in this game with lackluster results. Dalton Shultz was the lone bright spot, caught eight passes for 61 yards on 11 targets. Nico Collins caught a touchdown to save his day.
Takeaway:
- The Browns host the NY Jets on a short turnaround for Thursday Night Football. Despite the Jets’ having a stout defense which ranks as best against QBs and WRs, I would let it ride with Flacco, Cooper and Njoku. Since Flacco became the starter in Week 13, Cooper has scored the fourth most points for a WR and Njoku has scored the second most points for a TE.
- Houston will have a rematch against the Titans who are most vulnerable to WRs while keeping RBs in check, while allowing the fewest points to TEs. Depending on Stroud’s health, Collins may be the only safe option for the Texans.
Packers at Panthers
In a tough matchup on paper against the Panthers 30th-ranked QB defense, Jordan Love was solid with 219 passing yards and two touchdowns. Aaron Jones led the Packers rushing attack with 21 carries for 127 yards and caught one pass with eight yards. Romeo Doubs caught four passes for 79 yards and one TD. TE Tucker Kraft caught four passes for 60 yards. The popular waiver wire pickup of Week 16, Dontayvion Wicks caught two passes for 29 yards and one TD.
Bryce Young had his best game of the season, going 23/36 for 312 yards and two touchdowns. DJ Chark Jr caught six balls for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Adam Thielen posted six passes for 94 yards. Chuba Hubbard rushed 16 times for 43 yards and one score.
Takeaway:
- Green Bay travels to Minnesota in NFC North showdown on Sunday Night Football. The Vikings allow under 20 points per game, which ranks top 10 in the NFL. However, they allow 10th-most points to WRs. Depending which WR is healthy, I would recommend one of the Packers WRs. The million-dollar question is which one and your guess is as good as mine! A healthy Aaron Jones is a must start for this Packer team despite the Viks allowing the 11th fewest points to RBs this season.
- The Panthers head to Jacksonville who are allowing fantasy points in bunches to QBs (third-most) and WRs (eighth-most). This is smash matchup for Young and Thielen but I wouldn’t rely on them in your championship game.
Lions at Vikings
Detroit won their first NFC North title in 30 years due to finding their running game led by Jahmyr Gibbs 15 attempts for 80 yards with two rushing touchdowns and securing four passes for 20 yards. Gibbs finished Week 16 as RB2. David Montgomery rushed 17 times for 55 yards with one score adding two passes for 14 yards. Amon-Ra St Brown led all Lions pass catchers with 12 receptions for 106 yards with one TD on 14 targets.
Justin Jefferson paced Minnesota with six passes for 141 yards and one touchdown on 10 targets. Jefferson has topped 140 receiving yards in four of eight games played this season. T.J. Hockenson left the game with a knee injury, finishing with four receptions for 58 yards on four targets. Hock entered this game as the TE1 in many leagues despite catching passes from multiple QBs all season. Pour one out to Hock shareholders if he misses next week. Jordan Addison also sustained an ankle injury and could miss next week’s game.
Takeaway:
- Up next for the Lions is a potential playoff matchup with the Cowboys on Saturday. Regardless the matchup, Gibbs, Montgomery, St Brown and LaPorta are must starts for your Championship game.
- Due to injuries to the Viks offense, Jefferson is the only viable starting option on this squad against the Packers.
Cardinals at Bears
Justin Fields excelled in a plus matchup passing for 170 yards with one touchdown and interception, while rushing for 97 yards with a rushing score. It was Khalil Herbert and not Roschon Johnson who led the Bears running back room with 20 carries for 112 yards and one score. I think many missed on this timeshare. Cole Kmet secured four passes for 107 yards and was only TE to go over 100 yards in Week 16. Kmet left the game with a knee injury and his status up in the air.
To the chagrin of fantasy experts, Kyler Murray finished as QB9 in Week 16 completed 24/36 for 230 yards with two touchdowns while adding 32 rushing yards. James Connor led the backfield, rushing 12 times for 45 yards and led the pass catchers, posting five grabs for 67 yards with one TD. Trey McBride drew eight targets securing six passes for only 31 yards.
Takeaway:
- Chicago hosts Atlanta next week, which makes Justin Fields are very intriguing play as the Falcons allow the seventh most rushing yards to QBs. Overall, it’s a neutral matchup for QBs against Atlanta but I like his chances to have a good game. TE’s score at the 10th highest rate, which pushes Kmet in the top 10 discussion for TEs in Week 17 if he plays. Atlanta allows the fourth-fewest fantasy points to WRs which makes me nervous about DJ Moore.
- Kyler Muray is a must-start against Philadelphia who allows the second most points to QBs this season. Murray’s favorite target McBride is also a must start about Connor could be in a rough game as the Eagles allow the second-fewest points to RBs.
Commanders at Jets
Merry Christmas Breece Hall! Hall was RB1 in Week 16 after rushing 20 times for 95 yards with two touchdowns and posting 12 receptions for 96 yards on an NFL RB season-high 16 targets. Hall’s 16 targets were the most since Austin Ekeler’s 16 in 2022 season and only six RBs have had more targets in a game in NFL history. Hall is the only player to record at least 90 rushing yards and 90 receiving yards in the same game this season and is one of three RBs (Saquon Barkley and Todd Gurley) to accomplish the feat in two different games since the 2017 season. Garrett Wilson chipped in nine grabs for 76 yards.
The Commanders played two QBs again in consecutive weeks. Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed 10 times for 58 yards and two scores. Terry McLaurin caught three passes for 50 yards and Logan Thomas caught the lone passing TD.
Takeaway:
- New York travel to Cleveland for Thursday Night Football and I am not sure which Jets offense we’re going to see as this bunch has been the definition of boom or bust. If you roll with them, good luck!
- The Commanders travel to San Francisco for Week 17 and I do not recommend anyone as an option.
Notables:
- Derrick Henry rushed for 88 yards with a rushing touchdown and threw a 12-yard touchdown. Henry becomes the second RB in NFL history to rush and throw a touchdown in the same game on three occasions. LaDainian Tomlinson did so five times.
- Highly recommended TE streamer, Chigoziem Okonkwo came up clutch with six catches for 63 yard and one TD. He’s got another great matchup against Houston.
- Bijan Robinson received the green-light on Christmas Eve, rushing 12 times for 72 yards while catching seven passes for 50 yards on a team-high 10 targets. Robinson missed receiving score due to not getting his feet in bounds. Falcons won this game. Imagine that.
- Kyle Pitts caught a TD and posted 49 receiving yards. That made someone’s week.
- Evan Engram caught a TE-high 10 passes for 95 yards. Calvin Ridley totaled six receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
- Trevor Lawrence sustained a shoulder injury which will hinder their receiving outlook for Week 17.
- Mike Evans secured two more TDs and led the Bucs with seven catches for 88 yards. Evans leads the NFL with 13 receiving touchdowns.
- Rachaad White posted 77 all-purpose yards with one rushing score. White has scored a TD in seven of his last eight games and has scored double-digit fantasy points in every game since Week 7.
- CeeDee Lamb paced all Cowboy skill players, tallying six grabs for 118 yards and one score on 10 targets.
🚨 Red Zone TD Scoring Percentage Update 🚨
- San Francisco leads the NFL with 69%. Rounding out the top 10 is Buffalo (67%), Miami (65%), Arizona (65%), Washington (64%), Detroit (64%), Cincinnati (61%), LA Chargers (63%), Philadelphia (61%), Baltimore (61%), and LA Rams (59%).
- The bottom five teams in Red Zone TD Scoring Percentages are the NY Jets (35%), NY Giants (44%), Tennessee (45%), Seattle (48%), and Pittsburgh (48%).
Thanks for your time checking out my Week 16 takeaways. While you are here, check out more fantasy goodness at Razzball. Follow me on Twitter/X @Jefferson__21. Like and subscribe for more fantasy football content at YouTube @RazzballFantasy.
