With an appropriately hyped-up faceoff tonight in Cleveland that could decide some of your fantasy weeks--not to mention Baltimore's playoff hopes--let's look at the most notable fantasy impacts of each Sunday team:
Bears vs. Texans -- Can't say enough about David Montgomery--one of FF4W's biggest RB bargains this summer based on a ridiculous RB-25 ADP. He'll be the 8th or 9th highest scoring RB entering Week 15, on the doorstep of #6. And Buddy Howell went toe-to-toe with Duke Johnson, who lost his second fumble of the season and is simply no threat to the middling David Johnson whenever David returns.
Bengals vs. Cowboys -- A broken offense and a post-prime RB are a bad combination. Trayveon Williams deserves more touches over Gio Bernard going forward, and I'd be shocked if Gio starts another game. And Zeke Elliott failed to impress in a plus matchup It's fair to wonder if he's no longer a top-25 option.
Dolphins vs. Chiefs -- I've repeatedly questioned why Miami keeps starting Tua Tagovailoa, but he deserves massive credit (and I deserve discredit) for hanging tough despite playing with a 4th-string RB and too many unproven wideouts. Mike Gesicki is clearly his preferred receiver, while rookie Lynn Bowden took advantage of teammate injuries, and will create a Week 15 fantasy mess if DeVante Parker is good to go. And for only the second time in his career, Patrick Mahomes had 2+ picks and 2+ sacks. So credit Miami's D for putting up a fight. Travis Kelce and his near-record TE season is the big story. He's somehow been even better than his lofty preseason expectations.
Giants vs. Cardinals -- Daniel Jones is making the case for worst 1st-string QB in the NFL. And Kyler Murray continues his pullback after enjoying a record-setting pace as recently November.
Buccaneers vs. Vikings -- Tom Brady made a lot of poor throws. Again. But as discussed last week, he's hitting a soft-defense schedule at the perfect time. And Scotty Miller deserves more looks, and on most other teams he'd be starting. Finally, Irv Smith enjoyed his fourth double-digit effort in his past six games and deserves to be the #4 target in this offense.
Panthers vs. Broncos -- I've been warning readers to sell CMC high as soon as he got hurt. With today's loss, Carolina is more or less officially out of playoff contention, and there's no reason to bring CMC back. Mike Davis is the RB1/2 savvy managers locked down months ago. And Tim Patrick did it again, and now has 10 double-digit performances in his last 12 games.
Jaguars vs. Titans -- Gardner Minshew is better than Mike Glennon, plain and simple. Assuming Minshew starts Week 15, it'll be bad news for Collin Johnson, who had developed a good rapport with Glennon. And I was a week early praising Geoff Swaim as a terrific TE streamer. Yesterday he proved his worth and could continue to be a red-zone threat down the stretch.
Raiders vs. Colts -- Few knew if Josh Jacobs would play, and by the end it didn't really matter. He's been sub-4.0 YPC in eight games this year and has averaged two receptions in his last six. He remains a weekly threat to score, but isn't elite enough this year to be a consistent RB2 when he doesn't. And with three straight big games, T.Y. Hilton looks like his 2018 self.
Seahawks vs. Jets -- Tyler Lockett has now cracked 13 points only once in the last seven games--after exceeding it in his first three games. In fact, 41% of his points came from only two contests. And I was arong about Breshad Perriman, though he did lead the Jets in targets. The Rams DST is up next, which will make about 8% of fantasy managers very happy.
Lions vs. Packers -- I pushed the forgotten Danny Amendola as an unlikely streamer, and he came through. The bigger story was the return of D'Andre Swift, who manufactured sufficient production despite running poorly. And bigger than that, Matthew Stafford left with a rib injury; if Chase Daniel is forced to start next week, everyone but Swift takes a hit. And Robert Tonyan now has a touchdown in four straight, catching 19 of 20 passes. It doesn't get much better than that.
Eagles vs. Saints -- A remarkable win for a Philly team that's seemingly given up on their franchise QB, and whose former #1 wideout (Alshon Jeffery) and perennial #1 tight end (Zach Ertz) have sharply regressed. All credit goes to Jalen Hurts for stepping into a difficult situation and capitalizing. His passes weren't always on target, but his TD connection with Jeffery was perfect, and his running is elite. With a little development (and assuming he permanently displaces Carson Went), Hurts could be on the QB1 radar next summer. As for New Orleans, Jared Cook is back on track and has now reached 10+ points six times.
Chargers vs. Falcons -- Neither team seemed to want to win this one. Austin Ekeler keeps showing why he's as automatic an RB1 as nearly any back out there; he's been targeted 34 times in his first three games back. And my repeated warnings about Todd Gurley this season don't need to be repeated anymore. It's been obvious for months that his TD-dependent production wasn't sustainable. He was droppable two weeks ago, last week, and today.
49ers vs. Washington -- Raheem Mostert earned 16 touches, but a potential concussion sent him to the sidelines, where he missed out on a goal-line opportunity that Jeff Wilson converted. When healthy, he's still the most complete and talented back on this roster. And Washington's defense won this game. Their offense has been in shambles since Antonio Gibson's injury. Despite Alex Smith's heroic return to football, he remains a sub-par starter. If his injury forces Dwayne Haskins into a start, perhaps it'll be good news for Terry McLauren; two of his three 100+ yard efforts this season came with Haskins under center.
Bills vs. Steelers -- A huge win for a team with a real shot at a 2 seed, thanks to Pittsburgh's difficult remaining schedule against the Colts and Browns. Josh Allen was pretty bad (no thanks to a tough Steeler D) and still netted 18.3 fantasy points. Thanks to a relatively tame RB tandem, Allen has one of the highest floors of any QB. And what an atrocious loss for the Steelers, who have gone from 11-0 and 11-2 with the Colts and Browns on the horizon. They could potentially fall to a 5 seed if Cleveland wins out. They're now 11th in points scored--the worst mark of any team that's started 11-0. Most notably, James Conner was irrelevant and didn't earn a single reception (or even a target) for only the third time in three seasons. For his career, he has 19 TDs in 28 September/October games and only six TDs in 20 November/December games. He's also averaging 14.7 touches per game in September/October and only 11.0 in November/December. It's very fair to wonder if he'll be the bellcow next year.