5-8 NFL teams, rejoice. With the Seahawks facing the Chiefs and Jets these next two weeks, three 5-8 squads and the 6-7 Lions almost control their postseason destinies. Much still depends on whether the Giants and/or Commanders go 1-3 or worse in these final four games (my money's still on the Giants continuing their collapse).
This is important for fantasy, because the more teams there are fighting for a playoff spot late in the season, the more likely their "questionable" players will compete. A nagging injury for D'Andre Swift on a 5-10 Lions might keep him on the sidelnes. But on a 7-8 Lions team that's two wins away from a Wild Card berth? There's almost no way Swift is sitting unless he's literally physically unable to play.
So last night mattered across the NFC. It also might open the door to a reduced role for Christian McCaffrey. They won the game they needed to, putting them in the driver's seat for no worse than a 3 seed, and possibly a 2 seed. CMC had 32 touches. He'll likely sit Week 18, and might even be borderline unstartable in Week 17; we'll see what the word is. For now, be ready for anything, because CMC's value to this team . . . well, he's irreplaceable. They traded for him to help them win a Super Bowl, period.
Other fantasy angles from last night: George Kittle was the hero. I didn't see that coming. Jordan Mason got 6.4 fantasy points on two carries, miraculously giving RB-desperate fantasy managers *something* when it looked like he'd get nothing by the two-minute warning. And Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings were unstartable as expected. As heroically as Brock Purdy's played, he can feed about two players per game: CMC plus one receiver. It seems pretty clear-cut, and it's obviously painful for those of you who needed Aiyuk to continue stepping up late in the season.
For Seattle, I suggested Kenneth Walker was a 9+ point option. Nothing special, but with a high enough floor to take seriously if you didn't have two top-20 RBs to plug in. He finished with 11.9 points, with a late 33-yard reception putting him over the top. I haven't liked his fantasy playoff schedule and still don't. But as long as he keeps getting targets, he'll be a 9+ point guy.
Yesterday I also wrote that Geno Smith was a good bet for 16+ points, while D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett Lockett were safe 10+ point options. Smith ended up with 15.3, while Metcalf had 12.5 and Lockett hit 13.8. The DFS lineup I proposed to Pro Football Network readers finished in the money in tournaments because I took a shot on Noah Fant, who entered the night with one of the best TE catch rates in the league. In fairness, I also suggested taking a flier on Danny Gray, but fortunately the rest of the lineup more than made up for that blunder.
The point is, this was a contest that appeared to feature a Seahawks squad with a lot of "solid" fantasy options, and a Niners squad with only one uber-safe option (CMC). And aside from Kittle's blow-up performance, that's largely how it worked out. And on a side note, it's painful to know Kittle's on my fantasy team, but I missed the playoffs. That's a whole new level of disappointment. It's like going to sleep on December 24th and waking up on the 26th.
Now, for the closest-score competition. I'm still sitting on only two wins on the season after picking the Niners 24-22. Many of you did better. Some nearly won. But there was only one victor: Brian Cloutier, who predicted 19-13. Amazingly, Brian also picked the closest score last Thursday. He's the ninth two-time winner this season. And with only a few weeks remaining, he's got a shot at catching three-time winning Gary Beardmore. Congrats Brian!
This is important for fantasy, because the more teams there are fighting for a playoff spot late in the season, the more likely their "questionable" players will compete. A nagging injury for D'Andre Swift on a 5-10 Lions might keep him on the sidelnes. But on a 7-8 Lions team that's two wins away from a Wild Card berth? There's almost no way Swift is sitting unless he's literally physically unable to play.
So last night mattered across the NFC. It also might open the door to a reduced role for Christian McCaffrey. They won the game they needed to, putting them in the driver's seat for no worse than a 3 seed, and possibly a 2 seed. CMC had 32 touches. He'll likely sit Week 18, and might even be borderline unstartable in Week 17; we'll see what the word is. For now, be ready for anything, because CMC's value to this team . . . well, he's irreplaceable. They traded for him to help them win a Super Bowl, period.
Other fantasy angles from last night: George Kittle was the hero. I didn't see that coming. Jordan Mason got 6.4 fantasy points on two carries, miraculously giving RB-desperate fantasy managers *something* when it looked like he'd get nothing by the two-minute warning. And Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings were unstartable as expected. As heroically as Brock Purdy's played, he can feed about two players per game: CMC plus one receiver. It seems pretty clear-cut, and it's obviously painful for those of you who needed Aiyuk to continue stepping up late in the season.
For Seattle, I suggested Kenneth Walker was a 9+ point option. Nothing special, but with a high enough floor to take seriously if you didn't have two top-20 RBs to plug in. He finished with 11.9 points, with a late 33-yard reception putting him over the top. I haven't liked his fantasy playoff schedule and still don't. But as long as he keeps getting targets, he'll be a 9+ point guy.
Yesterday I also wrote that Geno Smith was a good bet for 16+ points, while D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett Lockett were safe 10+ point options. Smith ended up with 15.3, while Metcalf had 12.5 and Lockett hit 13.8. The DFS lineup I proposed to Pro Football Network readers finished in the money in tournaments because I took a shot on Noah Fant, who entered the night with one of the best TE catch rates in the league. In fairness, I also suggested taking a flier on Danny Gray, but fortunately the rest of the lineup more than made up for that blunder.
The point is, this was a contest that appeared to feature a Seahawks squad with a lot of "solid" fantasy options, and a Niners squad with only one uber-safe option (CMC). And aside from Kittle's blow-up performance, that's largely how it worked out. And on a side note, it's painful to know Kittle's on my fantasy team, but I missed the playoffs. That's a whole new level of disappointment. It's like going to sleep on December 24th and waking up on the 26th.
Now, for the closest-score competition. I'm still sitting on only two wins on the season after picking the Niners 24-22. Many of you did better. Some nearly won. But there was only one victor: Brian Cloutier, who predicted 19-13. Amazingly, Brian also picked the closest score last Thursday. He's the ninth two-time winner this season. And with only a few weeks remaining, he's got a shot at catching three-time winning Gary Beardmore. Congrats Brian!