Fantasy football playoffs are pure chaos. The perfect mix of glory, comedy, and tragedy. You’ve got heroic three-touchdown performances by guys like Christian McCaffrey and Sam LaPorta. Classic “rug pull” games like 1.5 points from Taysom Hill. And, unfortunately, devastating injuries can strike at the exact worst time like Keaton Mitchell. 

Let’s take a look around the NFL games from Week 15 and discuss a few of our key takeaways and hot takes as we advance through fantasy playoffs in search of that coveted championship trophy!

 

Fantasy Football Playoff Heroes

We have to take a quick moment to recognize the heroes of this week who carried us aloft to victory and, hopefully, will continue to do so until the trophy is secured. There were a few notable ones at each position:

RB - Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

CMC should be at least part owner of the Arizona Cardinals now after scoring three TDs on him for the SECOND TIME. He did so with 187 yards from scrimmage.

WR - Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings

Addison not only scored twice but he did so catching all six of his passes for 111 yards. A couple of other WRs had two touchdowns like Tee Higgins, Deebo Samuel, Curtis Samuel, and, of course, Tre Tucker, but they did so on less than 60 yards from scrimmage.

TE - Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

CMC wasn’t the only three-TD performance of the week. LaPorta also scored three times on an efficient five catches on six targets for 56 yards.

QB - Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

We actually have multiple quarterbacks throw for four touchdowns this week. But only one of them threw for five and cracked 30 fantasy points. Monster day for Jared Goff en route to the win.

Honorable Mentions: James Cook, Terry McLaurin, Jaylen Waddle, Baker Mayfield, Brock Purdy, Aidan O’Connell

Fantasy Playoff Zeros

Of course, we also have to acknowledge those who let us down in the biggest week of the year (so far). We’ll try to avoid folks who suffered injury if possible:

RB - Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

In half-PPR formats, he actually scored negative points. And he technically didn’t have the worst day (that belonged to D’Onta Foreman at -0.6). But Bijan was started in 97% of Yahoo leagues compared to only 12% for Foreman so he gets the nod.

WR - Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens

A lot of the disappointment at WR was due to injury. But in Flowers’s case, he was healthy and ran all 32 routes. The wind and game script simply held him to one catch for seven yards. That’s rough for a player rostered in 90% of leagues.

TE - Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills

Kincaid got a couple looks early that both hit his hands and then the ground. The broadcast pointed out that he switched from rain gloves to different gloves but, at that point, the game was locked up and they had committed to running the ball. Zero points.

QB - Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

This one hurts. Coming into this one, Dak had thrown at least two touchdown passes in every game since their bye week. That’s seven straight. So of course when it matters most he scores zero TDs and finishes with 7.06 fantasy points. You don’t expect the QB3 in fantasy to let you down like that.

Honorable Mentions: Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Breece Hall, Najee Harris, DeAndre Hopkins, Brandon Aiyuk, Garrett Wilson, Taysom Hill, Travis Kelce, Sam Howell, Justin Fields

Week 16 Hot Takes

Darren Waller The Late Season Savior

This season has been the perfect microcosm of Darren Waller’s career. For the first seven weeks, he was the focal point of his offense and was a top-five tight end in targets. In Week 5 he had a signature double-digit target game that we’ve come to know him for. Then, as we’ve also come to know him for, he suffered an injury in Week 8. Now he has returned in Week 15, just in time for fantasy playoffs. 

Even on a limited snap share of only 42%, he reeled in four catches on six targets. His next two games are against the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams who are both bottom-five defenses against the tight end. Given his upside and those matchups, he should not be sitting on waivers in any leagues.

Ravens Running Back Curse

In 2021, the Ravens lost Justice Hill to an Achilles tear in the summer. Then JK Dobbins tore his ACL, LCL, meniscus, and hamstring in a preseason game. And then in practice Week 2, Gus Edwards ALSO tore his ACL. Those injuries carried over into 2022 with both players missing almost half the season. Gus Edwards also suffered a hamstring injury shortly after returning and Justice Hill missed two games with a hamstring issue as well. But it didn’t stop there. This season, Justice Hill missed a game dealing with turf toe but that has been the least of their concerns. 

Star running back JK Dobbins suffered an Achilles tear in the first game of the year, ending his season once again. And just this past week, breakout rookie Keaton Mitchell reported suffering a multiple ligament tear to his knee that will end his season as well. The Ravens clinched a playoff spot with their win this week so perhaps they should just put Gus Edwards and Justice Hill in bubble wrap until then.

Derrick Henry and Bill Belichick Hinting It Might Be The End

As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end”. And with sports careers especially, those good things can often be short-lived. As every season winds down, we hear the rumors both from the media or players and coaches themselves. The hints have already begun but a couple of staples in this league recently personally acknowledged those possibilities, making them more real than ever. 

After a tough game that saw his team eliminated from playoff contention where he had only 10 total yards on 20 touches, Derrick Henry acknowledged the possibility that his time in Tennessee may be over saying he “had that feeling” and that he had been there his whole career and “wanted to go out strong, which that isn’t the case”. Bill Belichick has generally been his usually cagey self when asked about his future, saying they were getting ready for the Broncos, but he did let it slip that he’s talked to the team about the rumors surrounding his job status and that they “have open conversations about it”. That makes the possibility more real than it has ever been.