Drew Lock :  In just his second career start, Drew Lock threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns (and added 15 yards rushing) in a big win over Houston. This is the same Houston team that shut down a guy named Brady last week (yes, fairly weak Brady Bunch reference there forgive me).  While I am not rushing out to get Lock a yellow jacket from Canton, I will point out that with a Week 15 shootout on tap with the Chiefs and a Week 16 tilt against the hapless Lions, Lock could well be a sneaky play if you were relying someone like Nick Foles , Sam Darnold or Kyle Allen .  Think about it.      

Adrian Peterson All Day did his thing again Sunday rushing for 76 yards and a touchdown.  Last week AD tallied 99 yards and a touchdown.  With the knee injury to Derrius Guice , there should be more carries and more stats for AD in the coming weeks.  [Note: as of this writing there is no news on how severe of an injury Guice suffered, but even if it is relatively minor as everyone hopes, why would Washington risk running Guice back out there in a lost season?].  With games against the Eagles who are coming off a short week and then the Giants, AD could be a difference maker in the playoffs.  Add the future Hall of Famer now.   

Alvin Kamara :  Lost in all the points scored in the SF-NO game is the lack of production from Alvin Kamara .  Despite his team putting up 46 points, Kamara was held to 25 yards rushing on 13 carries and just 18 receiving yards.  If you own him, you likely have to run him out there.  However, think very carefully about it.  Kamara has ZERO 100 yard rushing games and only TWO touchdowns all year.  Only two!  To make matters worse, Kamara has topped 20 PPR fantasy points only three times in 13 games.  Bottom line here – while they have many very good real life NFL talented players, the only fantasy football sure thing on the Saints is Michael Thomas .       

DeAndre Washington :  Washington did a very nice job subbing in for the injured Josh Jacobs .  Washington rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown and added six grabs for 43 yards.  That amounts to over 20 PPR points.  Not too shabby.  With Josh Jacobs nursing a fracture shoulder plate and Jacksonville next on the slate, Washington is a must add in all formats.  All!  [Note – like with Derrius Guice , you hope Jacobs is going to be ok but have to wonder why Oakland would risk further injury to the rookie with their record sitting at 6-7 and their playoff chances quite slim]. 

Peyton Barber :  Last week, we wrote: “Tampa Bay went conservative Sunday giving the ball to Peyton Barber to do the scoring.  Barber rushed 17 times for 44 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the win.  Ronald Jones on the other hand carried only six times for eight yards.  I also seriously considered Barber in the Dynasty playoffs and once again the usage and success level dissuaded me.  Peyton has gained 50 or more yards from scrimmage exactly once all year.  Once!  While the Bucs schedule is better than the Niners, you have to think Coach Arians and his “no risk it, no biscuit” strategy will revert to chucking the rock downfield down the stretch, leaving Barber to return to his low- level fantasy performances.  Pass.”  Well, Barber came back down to earth with 11 carries for just 34 yards Sunday as Jameis dominated the fantasy stage with a monster 456 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.  At bottom, these are the “Chuck the Rock Bucs” and will continue to be just that.   

Final Note:  I really wanted to write something pithy and witty about the Cowboys here but that performance Thursday night was just so sad that it doesn’t even warrant cyber-ink being spilled.  Hopefully the mini-bye will allow Kellen Moore to call a better game, Jason Garrett to make better decisions in critical moments, the defense to not be so predictable and the team to raise the energy level.  In the end, it still looks like there will be an early January playoff game in Dallas.  I just hope that they take their game up about 12 notches before that day arrives.  I can hope right?