Wow. A lot to talk through. As always, here's the biggest fantasy impact of each Sunday team, with a focus on the player pressure points identified Saturday:
Bears -- Saturday: "Whether or not Rome Odunze is healthy enough to play, gradually ascending rookie Luther Burden III is the wild card in a receiver corps with no clear leader." Sunday: Odunze sat, and Burden led Chicago in targets, catches, and receiving yards. While DJ Moore got the scores, Burden now appears to have the team's highest WR floor.
Browns -- Saturday: "Shedeur Sanders broke out last weekend versus Tennessee. Can he build on that success, or is he not yet ready for fantasy-relevance against a defense that leads the league with 18 interceptions?" Sunday: Not yet ready.
Bengals -- Saturday: "With Tee Higgins out, it's Andrei Iosivas versus Mitchell Tinsley versus 'neither' in a battle for fantasy streamability." Sunday: "Neither" won hands-down.
Ravens -- Saturday: "A loss and a Pittsburgh win would almost shut down Baltimore's playoff hopes. Although Lamar Jackson hit 20+ fantasy points last week, he looked shaky. Can he be trusted in what should be a soft matchup?" Sunday: He got the win, but that doesn't make things easier for fantasy managers who have to accept that their preseason elite QB probably won't be startable the rest of the season (Patriots, then @Packers, then @Steelers).
Chiefs -- Saturday: "Another 6-7 team with its backs against the wall. Patrick Mahomes is posting the worst QB rating of his career and has been unstartable in fantasy in four of his past five games." Sunday: Mahomes' torn ACL late in the fourth was an exclamation point -- or maybe 50 exclamation points -- on a disastrous season. Mangers leaning on Rashee Rice, Travis Kelce, or any other KC player now have to weigh the downgrade of Gardner Minshew under center.
Chargers -- Saturday: "The backfield reportedly isn't Omarion Hampton's (yet). There's a risk that he and Kimani Vidal will cancel each other out, making both TD-dependent." Sunday: Yep. Talked about this on a recent FF4W podcast episode. RBs who aren't established bell cows are deceptively risky after returning from injuries.
Patriots -- Saturday: Can [Stefon Diggs] step up again and help New England lock down the AFC East title?" Sunday: Buffalo held him in check, and that might have been the difference. More notably, TreVeyon Henderson is locked in at the perfect time (or imperfect if you're facing him next week).
Bills -- Saturday: "Khalil Shakir averaged a 5-51 receiving line in this year's first nine games. In these past four contests he's averaged 3-32. That's the difference between a streamer and a dart throw." Sunday: Shakir led Buffalo receivers with a 5-65 line, bolstering his status as a fringe fantasy starter.
Giants -- Saturday: "Devin Singletary has 14+ touches in his last three games. If he does it again tomorrow, it'll be only the second time in five seasons that he's had 14+ in four straight contests." Sunday: I whiffed on this one, recommending Singletary as a solid streamer. Instead, he took a backseat to Tyrone Tracy, who scored for the first time since mid-October.
Commanders -- Saturday: "Terry McLaurin seems to be one of the riskiest #1 WRs to start in the fantasy playoffs." Sunday: A 51-yard fourth-quarter touchdown turned a four-point day into 15.9. Managers surely will take it. Elsewhere, Jacory Croskey Merritt will once again be a popular waiver add. If Chris Rodriguez returns next week, it could be a hot-hand backfield.
Eagles -- Saturday: "Some managers gave up on AJ Brown after his slow start (and erratic midseason). Now he's the overall WR11, thanks to three consecutive 100+ yard performances. Another strong effort on Sunday could elevate him to WR7." Sunday: 12.1 points on only two targets? Short of expectations, and also partially game-script driven, as Jalen Hurts attempted only 15 passes.
Raiders -- Saturday: "In October I discussed the likelihood of Kenny Pickett getting spot starts down the stretch. As poorly as Geno Smith played, I believe Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers have lower ceilings with Pickett under center." Sunday: Brutal, as expected. It could get even worse next week in Houston.
Jaguars -- Saturday: "I still believe managers shouldn't give up on Brian Thomas Jr. While this might be a lost season, the 2024 first-round pick has plenty of time -- and skill -- to carve out a high-impact career." Sunday: He tied for the team lead with seven targets and racked up 16.6 points. Of course, it helped that Trevor Lawrence had a career day. But it's better than what we've seen most of the year.
Jets -- Saturday: "Is Breece Hall a non-top-20 RB in the fantasy playoffs? Last week he had zero catches for only the fifth time of his career." Sunday: Rock bottom for Hall's 2025 fantasy value, and there's still room to go down.
Texans -- Saturday: "Woody Marks racked up 28 touches last Sunday. But he'll need more receptions to be a reliable starter these final few weeks." Sunday: A huge letdown for managers when Marks exited with an ankle injury. If you're still competing in Week 16, the rookie RB -- if healthy -- has a similarly favorable home matchup against the Raiders. In the meantime, 2024 sixth-rounder Jawhar Jordan is a must-add for the RB-needy among us.
Cardinals -- Saturday: "Can Michael Wilson work his magic yet again?" Sunday: Given the opponent, a very solid outing for Arizona's current #1 WR. Marvin Harrison Jr's stock keeps dropping -- in dynasty as well as re-draft.
Broncos -- Saturday: "After five straight games with 8+ targets, Troy Franklin has a combined seven in his last two outings." Sunday: Denver's entire passing game was on fire, and while Franklin crushed it with 20.5 points, his six targets tied him with Marvin Mims Jr and were only two ahead of Lil'Jordan Humphrey. Franklin isn't yet a safe top-40 WR.
Packers -- Saturday: "Once again, a crowded WR corps featuring the deceptively boom-bust Christian Watson." Sunday: Watson's chest injury early in the third quarter gave fantasy boosts to the other four main WRs. As always, when everyone's healthy on this team, the only fairly safe starter is Josh Jacobs.
Rams -- Saturday: "Will Blake Corum keep going toe-to-toe with Kyren Williams?" Sunday: Absolutely. His rushing line these past three games is an insane 30-280-4. And Davante Adams is now very questionable for Week 16, with Puka Nacua and TE Colby Parkinson likely to earn the biggest bumps if Adams is out.
Lions -- Saturday: "Jameson Wiliams has 16+ fantasy points in five of his last six games. His Week 12 o'fer made a lot of managers anxious. Now it seems like a distant memory." Sunday: Despite Amon-Ra St. Brown's 18 targets, Williams delivered big-time on a healthy nine targets.
Saints -- Saturday: "Can we trust Devin Neal?" Sunday: Barely. If you have him, you're hoping his target share jumps, and it probably should given his generous usage in the passing game earlier this season and in college.
Panthers -- Saturday: "Chuba Hubbard's 19 touches in Carolina's last game seemed to come out of nowhere. Rico Dowdle had 20 in that same contest. Is this a 50-50 backfield?" Sunday: Not yet, though it's notable that Dowdle has exceeded 3.2 yards per carry only once in his last five games.
49ers -- Saturday: "Once again, when will Ricky Pearsall rebound?" Sunday: I highlighted him as my favorite WR streamer this weekend and also recommended him in DFS lineups. His post-injury slump is over.
Titans -- Saturday: "Tony Pollard crushed it last week in Cleveland. A fluke, or is he heating up?" Sunday: Amazing. 31% of his rushing yards and 60% of his rushing TDs this year have come in the past eight days.
Seahawks -- Saturday: "Cooper Kupp hasn't surpassed three catches since Week 5, while Rashid Shaheed finally surpassed two catches in his fifth game for Seattle. Who's the true #2 WR?" Sunday: Both receivers had seven targets. Both had five catches. Shaheed won on yardage. Neither is a top-40 WR.
Colts -- Saturday: "When I typed 'has a grandfather' into Google, the rest of the sentence automatically filled in: '. . . ever played in the NFL.' All eyes are on Philip Rivers." Sunday: His 120 passing yards were his fewest in nearly 16 years. His 4.4 yards per throw was his lowest mark in more than 18 years. Some would say Rivers exceeded basement-level expectations. But fantasy-wise, there is almost no hope for any Indy receiver with Rivers at QB.
Cowboys -- Saturday: "Is there room for Ryan Flournoy if CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are on the field?" Sunday: There was enough room with George Pickens continuing to sputter.
Vikings -- Saturday: "Those who drafted Justin Jefferson could not have imagined benching him for the fantasy playoffs." Sunday: A 2-22 receiving line on eight targets perfectly sums up his current value. In his last six games, Jefferson has compiled a 19-183-0 receiving line on a 42% catch rate. An historic collapse for one of the most reliably elite WRs of the past five years.
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