An incredible day of football, unless you didn't advance in the playoffs. But even if you fell short, it's hard to deny that Sunday had nine games decided by a touchdown or less. Most of those were decided in the last couple of minutes, including one earth-shattering play in south Florida. It also helped (at least from my perspective, and for those who played it) that my DFS 50/50 Lineup of the Week paid off a third straight time with a top 5% finish.
So let's jump into the Monday rundown: each team's most notable fantasy impact.
Jets -- This was the worst offensive performance of any taem I've seen score 27+ points. Most significantly, with Isaiah Crowell getting knocked out, Elijah McGuire took over the bellcow role, plodding his way to 60 yards on 17 carries, along with 23 yards receiving. The overrated back will assuredly be overvalued next week against Houston.
Bills -- Josh Allen reminded us of his rookie-ness. He turned the ball over three times deep in Buffalo territory. And yet he also rushed for another 101 yards. No 2018 rookie QB has looked this promising this consistently.
Falcons -- Julio Jones is now #4 among PPR fantasy WRs (and #3 in Standard; I'm looking at you, Chris Polen). A reminder that I ranked him ahead of Antonio Brown on my draft board, which it appears no expert among the 130+ compiled on Fantasy Pros did.
Packers -- Anyone else scratching your head when Jamaal Williams earned the start? Justice prevailed in the end, as Aaron Jones re-asserted his dominance. And while Aaron Rodgers didn't dominate (as I thought he would), he netted his second 20+ fantasy point day since Week 6.
Panthers -- At one point in the fourth quarter I Tweeted that Christian McCaffrey had only four touches on 20 offensive plays in the second half, during which time Carolina blew their lead (for good). CMC could have had a much bigger day if the team fed their #1 weapon. And in case anyone's forgotten, I called this guy overrated this summer. Will keep reminding you as a show of humility and past stupidity.
Browns -- I recently lamented that despite being signed to a huge offseason contract, Jarvis Landry had been severely underutilized. Yesterday he earned only five touches. But man, did he make the most of it. If he ever gets the 8+ touches per game he deserves, Landry will be a top-16 WR.
Patriots -- I love exploring stats to see if any of them help us make sense of reality. Yesterday with time running down in the fourth, New England ran it three straight times from inside Miami's 7. This has happened a fair amount. I get it: they were trying to run down the clock. But in past years, Brady would have put the game away with one flick to a teammate. Sure enough, the stats show a dramatic shift. Last year Brady was #1 in fantasy points inside opponents' 5-yard line, and #3 inside the 10. This year he's 17th and 11th, respectively. This run-first approach near the goal line is a big reason why isn't a QB1.
Dolphins -- Incredible. This is a game Miami should have lost, and that final play is one that should have failed for any number of reasons. Ryan Tannehill, Kenyan Drake, and Kenny Stills were three of my biggest Week 14 bargains (see Saturday's column), and all three came through. Drake, in particular, continues to be startable despite rarely earning more than 10 touches.
Ravens -- Kenneth Dixon's revival muddles a backfield that finally seemed to have some clarity. He's good enough to split time with Gus Edwards, making each a risky RB3 next week.
Chiefs -- Kansas City nearly lost this one. Credit the Big Three for playing strong. Aldo credit Spencer Ware, who was no longer on my must-start radar after believing Andy Reid's warning that this would be a committee backfield. Instead, Ware performed like I thought he would last week, and he's a great bet to replicate or exceed these numbers in next week's mammoth matchup against the Chargers.
Saints -- I warned against Drew Brees to anyone who would listen. He'll be in Carolina next week, when he'll once again be a risky QB1.
Buccaneers -- It's the end of the line for Jameis Wintston, at least this season. Surrounded by gobs of receiving talent, he hasn't lived up to experts' hype since replacing Ryan Fitzpatrick for the second time this year. He'll be in Baltimore and then in Dallas the next two games, making him essentially unstartable in most leagues.
Giants -- The Giants crushed Washington in every aspect of the game. And next week's fantasy drafts will bring up an interesting dilemma: Gurley, CMC, or Saquon Barley #1 overall?
Redskins -- In August I warned that Adrian Peterson would get hurt or run out of gas before the season ended. Aside from last week's near-straight-line 90-yard TD run, he's run quite poorly for six straight contests. He'll be in Jacksonville and then in Tennessee weeks 15-16. It should be obvious that he should be benched.
Colts -- T.Y. Hilton has double-digit targets in three straight games after netting less than 10 in five straight. He's hitting his stride at the right time for patient fantasy managers.
Texans -- Obviously a painful loss for a team that could have leapfrogged New England in projected playoff seeding. DeAndre Hopkins -- my preseason #1 fantasy wideout, had his fourth consecutive middling output, due in part to averaging only five receptions per game during that stretch. He'll bust out next week against the Jets.
Bengals -- Joe Mixon got it done, as usual, on a season-high 26 carries and 31 touches. I have no doubt experts will undervalue him next preseason.
Chargers -- I bet on Justin Jackson over Austin Ekeler for the second straight week, and this time I guessed wrong. Next week should be more predictable, with Melvin Gordon potentially returning (easy call there), or Ekeler possibly sidelined with an injury suffered yesterday (all Jackson if Gordon also sits).
Broncos -- Courtland Sutton was out-targeted and out-played by DaeSean Hamilton and Tim Patrick. Shocking to me and to many others. Sutton was supposed to step into the #1 role.
49ers -- George Kittle had 210 yards in the first half. The first half! And nothing in the second. Nothing! But he moves into the #3 spot among fantasy TEs and could make a run at #2 with a strong finish.
Eagles -- Alshon Jeffery ended his five-game scoring drought, while Golden Tate caught only one ball. Not a coincidence.
Cowboys -- One of the top fantasy performances of the decade. To those who've complained about my past hyping of Amari Cooper, I hope you'll reconsider. Amari left a dumpster fire in Oakland and joined a team desperate for a true #1. It's proven to be a perfect fit. As I wrote a couple weeks ago, "there was logic in that seemingly crazy prediction" of ranking him among my preseason top 10 WRs.
Steelers -- An astonishingly awful loss. From a fantasy perspective, Jaylen Samuels' versatility was more valuable than Stevan Ridley's supposed knowledge of Pittsburgh's offense. If James Conner can't go next week, Samuels should earn another 15+ touches.
Raiders -- Jared Cook continues to make me look like an idiot. He's been the only semi-reliable offensive "weapon" in Oakland.
Lions -- Bruce Ellington led all Detroit wideouts in receiving with 17 yards. That's all you need to know.
Cardinals -- David Johnson ran poorly again. He is what I thought he'd be this summer. There were obvious warning signs that his 2016 breakout couldn't be replicated with Sam Bradford or Josh Rosen at the helm.
Rams -- An unmitigated disaster if you've been leaning on the high-flying Rams all year. Then again, if you made it through to the semifinals, they'll bounce back with a vengeance next week against Philly. The most notable fantasy story was Justin Davis out-touching John Kelly 1-0. While it's not much of a sample size, it's worth acknowledging as one of fantasy's biggest handcuff battles heads to Week 15.
Bears -- An unmitigated disaster, except they won. This was a highly unusual case where Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen led all fantasy scorers. Most interestingly, Howard now has 16+ carries in three of four games. He reached that mark only twice in his previous nine games.
So let's jump into the Monday rundown: each team's most notable fantasy impact.
Jets -- This was the worst offensive performance of any taem I've seen score 27+ points. Most significantly, with Isaiah Crowell getting knocked out, Elijah McGuire took over the bellcow role, plodding his way to 60 yards on 17 carries, along with 23 yards receiving. The overrated back will assuredly be overvalued next week against Houston.
Bills -- Josh Allen reminded us of his rookie-ness. He turned the ball over three times deep in Buffalo territory. And yet he also rushed for another 101 yards. No 2018 rookie QB has looked this promising this consistently.
Falcons -- Julio Jones is now #4 among PPR fantasy WRs (and #3 in Standard; I'm looking at you, Chris Polen). A reminder that I ranked him ahead of Antonio Brown on my draft board, which it appears no expert among the 130+ compiled on Fantasy Pros did.
Packers -- Anyone else scratching your head when Jamaal Williams earned the start? Justice prevailed in the end, as Aaron Jones re-asserted his dominance. And while Aaron Rodgers didn't dominate (as I thought he would), he netted his second 20+ fantasy point day since Week 6.
Panthers -- At one point in the fourth quarter I Tweeted that Christian McCaffrey had only four touches on 20 offensive plays in the second half, during which time Carolina blew their lead (for good). CMC could have had a much bigger day if the team fed their #1 weapon. And in case anyone's forgotten, I called this guy overrated this summer. Will keep reminding you as a show of humility and past stupidity.
Browns -- I recently lamented that despite being signed to a huge offseason contract, Jarvis Landry had been severely underutilized. Yesterday he earned only five touches. But man, did he make the most of it. If he ever gets the 8+ touches per game he deserves, Landry will be a top-16 WR.
Patriots -- I love exploring stats to see if any of them help us make sense of reality. Yesterday with time running down in the fourth, New England ran it three straight times from inside Miami's 7. This has happened a fair amount. I get it: they were trying to run down the clock. But in past years, Brady would have put the game away with one flick to a teammate. Sure enough, the stats show a dramatic shift. Last year Brady was #1 in fantasy points inside opponents' 5-yard line, and #3 inside the 10. This year he's 17th and 11th, respectively. This run-first approach near the goal line is a big reason why isn't a QB1.
Dolphins -- Incredible. This is a game Miami should have lost, and that final play is one that should have failed for any number of reasons. Ryan Tannehill, Kenyan Drake, and Kenny Stills were three of my biggest Week 14 bargains (see Saturday's column), and all three came through. Drake, in particular, continues to be startable despite rarely earning more than 10 touches.
Ravens -- Kenneth Dixon's revival muddles a backfield that finally seemed to have some clarity. He's good enough to split time with Gus Edwards, making each a risky RB3 next week.
Chiefs -- Kansas City nearly lost this one. Credit the Big Three for playing strong. Aldo credit Spencer Ware, who was no longer on my must-start radar after believing Andy Reid's warning that this would be a committee backfield. Instead, Ware performed like I thought he would last week, and he's a great bet to replicate or exceed these numbers in next week's mammoth matchup against the Chargers.
Saints -- I warned against Drew Brees to anyone who would listen. He'll be in Carolina next week, when he'll once again be a risky QB1.
Buccaneers -- It's the end of the line for Jameis Wintston, at least this season. Surrounded by gobs of receiving talent, he hasn't lived up to experts' hype since replacing Ryan Fitzpatrick for the second time this year. He'll be in Baltimore and then in Dallas the next two games, making him essentially unstartable in most leagues.
Giants -- The Giants crushed Washington in every aspect of the game. And next week's fantasy drafts will bring up an interesting dilemma: Gurley, CMC, or Saquon Barley #1 overall?
Redskins -- In August I warned that Adrian Peterson would get hurt or run out of gas before the season ended. Aside from last week's near-straight-line 90-yard TD run, he's run quite poorly for six straight contests. He'll be in Jacksonville and then in Tennessee weeks 15-16. It should be obvious that he should be benched.
Colts -- T.Y. Hilton has double-digit targets in three straight games after netting less than 10 in five straight. He's hitting his stride at the right time for patient fantasy managers.
Texans -- Obviously a painful loss for a team that could have leapfrogged New England in projected playoff seeding. DeAndre Hopkins -- my preseason #1 fantasy wideout, had his fourth consecutive middling output, due in part to averaging only five receptions per game during that stretch. He'll bust out next week against the Jets.
Bengals -- Joe Mixon got it done, as usual, on a season-high 26 carries and 31 touches. I have no doubt experts will undervalue him next preseason.
Chargers -- I bet on Justin Jackson over Austin Ekeler for the second straight week, and this time I guessed wrong. Next week should be more predictable, with Melvin Gordon potentially returning (easy call there), or Ekeler possibly sidelined with an injury suffered yesterday (all Jackson if Gordon also sits).
Broncos -- Courtland Sutton was out-targeted and out-played by DaeSean Hamilton and Tim Patrick. Shocking to me and to many others. Sutton was supposed to step into the #1 role.
49ers -- George Kittle had 210 yards in the first half. The first half! And nothing in the second. Nothing! But he moves into the #3 spot among fantasy TEs and could make a run at #2 with a strong finish.
Eagles -- Alshon Jeffery ended his five-game scoring drought, while Golden Tate caught only one ball. Not a coincidence.
Cowboys -- One of the top fantasy performances of the decade. To those who've complained about my past hyping of Amari Cooper, I hope you'll reconsider. Amari left a dumpster fire in Oakland and joined a team desperate for a true #1. It's proven to be a perfect fit. As I wrote a couple weeks ago, "there was logic in that seemingly crazy prediction" of ranking him among my preseason top 10 WRs.
Steelers -- An astonishingly awful loss. From a fantasy perspective, Jaylen Samuels' versatility was more valuable than Stevan Ridley's supposed knowledge of Pittsburgh's offense. If James Conner can't go next week, Samuels should earn another 15+ touches.
Raiders -- Jared Cook continues to make me look like an idiot. He's been the only semi-reliable offensive "weapon" in Oakland.
Lions -- Bruce Ellington led all Detroit wideouts in receiving with 17 yards. That's all you need to know.
Cardinals -- David Johnson ran poorly again. He is what I thought he'd be this summer. There were obvious warning signs that his 2016 breakout couldn't be replicated with Sam Bradford or Josh Rosen at the helm.
Rams -- An unmitigated disaster if you've been leaning on the high-flying Rams all year. Then again, if you made it through to the semifinals, they'll bounce back with a vengeance next week against Philly. The most notable fantasy story was Justin Davis out-touching John Kelly 1-0. While it's not much of a sample size, it's worth acknowledging as one of fantasy's biggest handcuff battles heads to Week 15.
Bears -- An unmitigated disaster, except they won. This was a highly unusual case where Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen led all fantasy scorers. Most interestingly, Howard now has 16+ carries in three of four games. He reached that mark only twice in his previous nine games.