Fantasy Football: The Things I Learned – Week 14, 2017

By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
Follow @walterfootball for updates.

Below, check out my fantasy-centered recaps of key players from this week’s contests. For instance, did a player come back to earth after an aberrant breakout, or were they simply affected by something like game flow?

49ers 26, Texans 16
Tom Savage took a hard hit and was concussed early in this game, and after a drive while concussed, T.J. Yates came in for relief and put up strong numbers thanks to DeAndre Hopkins, while completing 14-of-26 for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns went to Hopkins, who caught 11-of-16 targets for 149 yards and the touchdowns. Hopkins was nothing short of spectacular, making catches most receivers make in their dreams.

Jimmy Garoppolo completed 20-of-33 passes for 334 yards, a touchdown and an interception. It was another solid outing, but not a big fantasy one. Those should be on the way, but he’ll likely need some more play-makers in the receiving game to really flourish.

Marquise Goodwin had another strong game with Garoppolo behind center, as he caught 6-of-12 targets for 106 yards. He had a bad drop early and took a while to get going, but he did start rocking in the second half. He’s the no-doubt top target for the strong-armed Garoppolo and gets a great matchup at home against the Titans next week.

Carlos Hyde rushed 14 times for 78 yards and a touchdown, which is good, but he only had one target, which he couldn’t catch. He was putting up good fantasy numbers through the air, but now with Garoppolo, he’s seen those numbers fall. And he also lost rushing attempts to Matt Breida again, as Breida had 12 carries to Hyde’s 14, but Breida only finished with 27 yards rushing.

Panthers 31, Vikings 24
Case Keenum completed 27-of-44 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while losing a fumbel and adding 40 yards on the ground. It’ll work for fantasy, but there will be talk of Teddy Bridgewater replacing Keenum after the loss. I doubt Minnesota will, but it is a possibility.

Adam Thielen again came up big, catching 6-of-13 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. He did drop a touchdown, but for fantasy, we can’t complain too much with another strong game. He’ll get a possibly depleted Bengals defense next week and then a Green Bay defense in Week 16 that he already caught nine passes for 96 yards against.

Cam Newton completed 13-of-25 passes for 137 yards and one touchdown, plus picked up 70 rushing yards on 11 rushing attempts. His 62-yard run and 18-yard touchdown pass to Devin Funchess were his two highlights, and both were big for his team in a close game, but he now has three games in a row with under 183 yards passing. However, he does get two good matchups at home against Green Bay and Tampa Bay, two weak pass defenses.

Jonathan Stewart rushed 16 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns. One was a well-blocked 60-yard break to the end zone, and the other two were goal-line products. Those three touchdowns equal the total rushing touchdowns the Vikings have allowed to running backs all season.

Lions 24, Buccaneers 21
Jameis Winston completed 26-of-38 passes for 285 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, plus lost a fumble. He may still be hurting, but whatever the excuse, he’s not playing well right now.

Doug Martin got the start because he is the starter! Peyton Barber should have been the starter, as Martin has been awful and Barber has shown to be better. That happened once again this week, as Martin rushed 10 times for 26 yards and a goal-line touchdown and caught 2-of-3 targets for 24 yards. Martin then lost a fumble and was benched for Barber, who finished off the day rushing 12 times for 58 yards and catching his lone target for five yards. Martin got a touchdown and more fantasy points, but Barber showed more on each touch and he should maybe get the starts going forward. Unfortunately, he faces the Falcons and Panthers to finish the season.

Matthew Stafford completed 36-of-44 passes for 381 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The completion percentage and yardage were both elite, but the one touchdown to two interceptions killed his fantasy day.

Theo Riddick led the way in fantasy for the Lions, as he rushed 10 times for 29 yards and two touchdowns, adding six receptions on 10 targets for another 64 yards. This came with Ameer Abdullah being a healthy scratch. It looked like the scratch was to help see more of Tion Green as the lead back, but Green rushed the ball just five times for 15 yards. The schedule isn’t great with Chicago and Cincinnati on the schedule, but it’s not awful either and Riddick could be the lead back to finish off the season.

Eric Ebron caught 10-of-11 targets for 94 yards, setting career highs in yardage and receptions. He also lost a fumble, which was mostly his own fault. I don’t think we can count on this game elevating Ebron too much, as he had just 32 receptions coming into this matchup.

Cowboys 30, Giants 10
Eli Manning completed 31-of-46 passes for 228 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Nothing much changed after his Week 13 benching. His interceptions came late on desperation heaves, but overall, he remained mediocre and isn’t elevating his offense.

Wayne Gallman rushed 12 times for 59 yards and caught 7-of-9 passes for 40 yards, while Orleans Darkwa rushed 10 times for 29 yards, catching 2-of-3 targets for 15 yards. The Giants likely want to see what the rookie Gallman can do in a lost season, and so far, he’s shown enough to continue splitting work with Darkwa and apparently has taken over the receiving work as well.

Dak Prescott completed 20-of-30 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns. This was what I expected from him after Ezekiel Elliott went down, but hopefully, Prescott has broken out of his slump, especially with his offensive line getting better. This was Prescott’s career high in passing yards, and we likely will see another strong yardage game against the Raiders’ poor pass defense.

Rod Smith rushed six times for 47 yards and a touchdown, adding five receptions for 115 yards and another touchdown. Both of his touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, while Alfred Morris saw 19 carries for 62 yards and caught all three of his targets for 23 yards. Smith’s numbers are great, but Morris is the lead back here without much of a doubt and we can’t expect an 81-yard receiving touchdown from Smith ever again.

Chiefs 26, Raiders 15
Derek Carr completed 24-of-41 passes for 211 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, and in this case, the numbers do reflect his poor play against a weak Kansas City pass defense. The Raiders’ franchise quarterback is bringing the franchise down at the moment.

Marshawn Lynch rushed seven times for 61 yards and a touchdown, plus caught 1-of-2 targets for three yards. He lost more to game-script than Kansas City’s defense, but it still feels like he should have doubled his touches in this one.

Amari Cooper aggravated his ankle injury early and was taken out. That helped Michael Crabtree to 13 targets, but with Carr not on target, Mr. Crabs ended up with seven receptions for just 60 yards.

Alex Smith completed 20-of-34 passes for 268 yards, no touchdowns and one interception, adding 24 yards on five carries. This game was frustrating to watch if you had Smith or Travis Kelce on your teams, as they had multiple touchdown opportunities close to the goal line, but couldn’t get it right.

Someone who did get it right was Kareem Hunt, who rushed 25 times for 116 yards and a touchdown, plus caught 3-of-3 targets for 22 yards. He had been seeing a decreased workload of late, with an average of 12 touches in his last two games. It was a good game by Hunt and a much-needed one for his team in a tight race to the playoffs. He gets two more home games against the Chargers and Dolphins, two promising matchups.

Packers 27, Browns 21
DeShone Kizer completed 20-28 passes for 214 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, which was easily his best game as a passer, but once again, he turned the ball over in crunch-time. He also only added two carries for seven yards, which is his worst rushing day for a full game this year. This is around his ceiling right now, as the Packers’ pass defense is in shambles.

Josh Gordon caught 3-of-6 targets for 69 yards and a touchdown, with all of his receptions coming in the first half. It was a nice game, and one he will continue to build on, but in this offense, he’ll likely need a wider lead in targets, like he had last week, to be as consistent as we want.

Corey Coleman caught 5-of-6 targets for 62 yards and a touchdown, which matched him for the target lead with Gordon. Gordon’s presence helped Coleman, but again, for fantasy, it would be nice if one receiver would assert himself as the lead target, especially in a Kizer-led offense. With Baltimore and Chicago up next, the passing game’s upside takes a hit.

Just when it looks like Brett Hundley couldn’t lead a team to a Sizzler, he goes and has another three-touchdown game after putting up under 100 yards passing and no touchdowns last week in a good matchup with the Bucs. Hundley completed 35-of-46 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns while adding 31 yards rushing on seven rushing attempts. He’s, of course, inconsistent, and we’re in the fantasy playoffs, but it was a game that helped his whole offense. Of course, if Aaron Rodgers can return next week, he would get the nod over Hundley.

Jamaal Williams rushed 15 times for 49 yards and a touchdown while catching all seven of his targets for 69 yards and a touchdown. It was especially nice to see him used so well in the passing game. I don’t know if we can expect the same targets with Rodgers, if he returns, but it was good that Williams showed his ability, which he will need against the Panthers and Vikings, two stingy run defenses.

Bears 33, Bengals 7
Andy Dalton completed 14-of-29 passes for 141 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Bears controlled this game thoroughly, as they ran the ball with ease over the Burfict-less Bengals and shut down the passing game. Overall it was complete domination, as the stats show.

Giovani Bernard rushed 11 times for 62 yards and caught 6-of-8 targets for 68 yards in relief for Joe Mixon. He led the team in rushing yards, receptions and receiving yards, which tells you something about this game, but also about Bernard’s ability to shine, even when getting dominated.

Mitchell Trubisky completed 25-of-32 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown, plus carried the ball twice for five yards and another touchdown. With the rushing game clicking, Trubisky was able to target Kendall Wright relentlessly, hitting him for 10 completions on 11 targets and spread the ball around well after that. Trubisky has a future it seems, but still little upside in fantasy for this season.

Jordan Howard rushed 23 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns, plus caught 1-of-2 targets for eight yards, while Tarik Cohen rushed 12 times for 80 yards and caught his two targets for five yards. The Bears could do no wrong on the ground and exposed the Bengals’ run defense without Vontaze Burfict available due to a brain injury.

Bills 13, Colts 7
I’m sure you all saw the weather in this one, so the stats and usage, and everything, can pretty much be tossed out the window. Playing in the middle of a blizzard pushed both teams to rely heavily on their run game, as the Colts ran the ball 46 times to 22 pass attempts and the Bills ran it 51 times to just 16 pass attempts.

Frank Gore was the workhorse for the Colts, rushing 36 times for 130 yards and catching one pass for 10 yards, while LeSean McCoy led the way for the Bills, rushing 32 times for 156 yards and one touchdown, a 21-yarder, which also was the game-winner. In the end, McCoy was the reason the Bills won.

Jaguars 30, Seahawks 24
Russell Wilson completed 17-of-31 passes for 271 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 50 yards rushing on five carries. Those 50 yards were the difference between his 21.8 fantasy points and 16.8. Even with the three interceptions, he is currently the fourth-best fantasy quarterback this week, and he continues to put up numbers despite tough matchups and a bad offensive line.

All three of Seattle’s top receivers, Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett and Paul Richardson, score touchdowns, and they also all topped 72 yards receiving. Amazingly, the Jaguars had allowed three touchdowns to wide receivers for the whole season coming into this week.

Blake Bortles completed 18-of-27 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns, and continues to show that he’s not as awful as he was last season. He’s now topped 18 fantasy points in his last three games and has topped 16 in six of his last seven. He gets Houston at home and San Francisco on the road to finish out the fantasy season, and both matchups look good for him.

Rookie Dede Westbrook led the way for the receivers, catching 5-of-8 targets for 81 yards and a touchdown, his first of his career. He should continue to be a start with two strong matchups on the docket.

Eagles 43, Rams 35
Jared Goff completed 16-of-26 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns and one lost fumble. It wasn’t his best game, but he also played well enough for his team to score 35 points against a good Philadelphia defense.

Todd Gurley rushed 13 times for 96 yards and two scores, adding three receptions for 39 additional yards. It was a great game for Gurley against arguably the best run defense in the league. His workload was diminished due to his team trailing, but he still managed to put up a big game.

Wentz had completed 23-of-41 passes for 291 yards, four touchdowns and an interception before leaving the game with a knee injury. The initial diagnosis is not a good one, as the team is concerned he tore his ACL. They’ll need an MRI to determine the exact problem, but right now, it doesn’t look good.

Jay Ajayi rushed 15 times for 78 yards and saw his workload increase after LeGarrette Blount couldn’t do anything early on, rushing seven times for 12 yards. Expect Ajayi to see an increased role moving forward, especially if Wentz is done for the season.

Chargers 30, Redskins 13
Kirk Cousins completed 15-of-27 passes for 151 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Redskins’ offense has hit the skids with their offensive line woes, and they can’t seem to dig themselves out of it, especially against a strong defense on the road.

Philip Rivers completed 18-of-31 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns, and was pulled early in the fourth quarter due to the blowout. He has been on fire of late and should continue his strong play against a poor Kansas City pass defense next week.

Hunter Henry caught 4-of-6 targets for 50 yards and a touchdown, and has now put up three strong games in a row. His inconsistent usage for much of the season seems like extreme stupidity by the coaching staff.

Tyrell Williams caught 4-of-4 targets for 132 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was a 75-yarder, and if he could see more targets, he would be a monster, but as it is, he remains boom-or-bust while Keenan Allen is hogging targets.

Cardinals 12, Titans 7
Marcus Mariota completed 16-of-31 passes for 159 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s become unusable in fantasy and is hurting the fantasy players on his team, as nobody topped 56 yards.

Blaine Gabbert completed 17-of-26 passes for 178 yards. He had no touchdowns or interceptions, and for the most part, was not good against a weak pass defense. His struggles hurt the offensive players all around, as no receiver topped 44 yards, despite a great matchup.

Kerwynn Williams rushed 20 times for 73 yards and caught one pass for 15 yards. His volume was better than last week, and he should remain a decent flex play against Washington.

Broncos 23, Jets 0
Josh McCown lost a fumble and completed 6-of-12 passes for 46 yards and an interception before leaving the game with a back injury. He was hurt earlier in the game, but toughed it out until he took another hit, this one breaking his hand. Bryce Petty replaced him and completed 2-of-9 passes for 12 yards. It was a beatdown to say the least, as the Jets managed just 100 total yards and 2.1 yards per play. Load up on the Saints’ D/ST with Petty likely getting the start next week.

Trevor Siemian completed 19-of-31 passes for 200 yards with one touchdown and rushed three times for 13 yards. It wasn’t a “set the world on fire” type of game, but it got the job done against a poor Jets defense and an offense that had just five first downs.

Demaryius Thomas caught 8-of-12 targets for 93 yards and a touchdown, which was a nice bounce-back performance after just 45 yards and no touchdowns in his previous two games. He’ll get another strong draw at Indianapolis next week.

Thomas was the only real fantasy play in this game other than Denver’s D/ST, but C.J. Anderson remained the starting running back with 24 touches to Devontae Booker’s 11 touches.

Steelers 39, Ravens 38
Joe Flacco completed 20-of-35 passes for 269 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. When he wasn’t pressured, Flacco was delivering some good throws, but Baltimore isn’t built for big passing games and neither is Flacco.

Alex Collins was the star for the Ravens, as he rushed 18 times for 120 yards and one touchdown, plus caught 2-of-2 targets for 46 yards. He lost out to Javorius Allen on a goal-line touchdown, but he ran with great elusiveness and strength. The loss of Ryan Shazier for Pittsburgh was evident, but Collins looked great.

Ben Roethlisberger set a Steelers record with 66 pass attempts and 44 completions, and he now is the only quarterback to throw for 500 yards in a game three times, as he compiled 506 yards and two touchdowns. He looked off on many throws, but his deep ball to Antonio Brown was on target all night and was the reason they came from behind to win.

Le’Veon Bell only rushed 13 times for 48 yards, but scored two touchdowns on the ground and caught 9-of-10 targets for 77 yards and another touchdown. He now has two receiving touchdowns in each of his last two games after getting none previously, and he’s caught a whopping 35 passes in his last four games.

Antonio Brown didn’t get into the end zone this week, but he did catch 11-of-18 targets for 213 yards. He now has seven games in his career over 182 yards receiving.

For more thoughts, check out Walt’s updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.