Fantasy Football Week 14: 5 Biggest Takeaways
Dec 11, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) reacts as he walks back to the sideline after the didn
The five biggest fantasy football takeaways from Week 14 of the 2016 NFL season.
This was just a flat-out ugly week for fantasy football. I understand most weeks that there are players who get injured and/or underperform, but we had it in bunches this week to some key players. Going into Monday Night Football, there are three D/ST’s and two kickers who are in or tied for the top-10 performances of the week according to ESPN standard scoring.
If you won this week, congratulations. If you were on a bye this week, consider yourself lucky. If you have some crucial players going in tonight’s game, throw all expectations out the window. If this week has taught us anything it’s that you can’t trust any player to get you “X” amount of points.
Here are the five biggest fantasy football takeaways from Week 14.
Dec 11, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) fumbles the ball late in the fourth quarter as New York Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins (20) makes the hit at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
5. Undroppable Players Drop the Ball
I’m not going to get into injured players because I’ll get to that later. I’m not going to get into quarterbacks because I’ll get to that later. Even without those two groupings, there are still plenty of players who wrecked fantasy owners week yesterday and as a result, their season too.
Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman was a top-seven running back going into Week 14, but he finished yesterday with only one fantasy point. New Orleans Saints RB1/2 Mark Ingram also just manufactured one fantasy point.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mike Evans was the second-best fantasy wide receiver going into Week 14, and he had just four fantasy points. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant had negative fantasy points in Sunday’s game. Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper had two fantasy points on the week while Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin only had one fantasy point.
Two of the top-three fantasy football tight ends going into Week 14 (Delanie Walker and Jimmy Graham) combined for four fantasy points. These are just a few big name players who didn’t come through for owners in the biggest game of their season but there are plenty more out there.
Ugly, ugly, ugly.
Oct 9, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Buffalo Bills tight end Charles Clay (85) runs upfield after catching a pass in the 1st quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
4. The Fright-End Position
Did you start Charles Clay this week? No? Well don’t feel bad, because I’m not sure many did. In fact, Clay had more fantasy points this week than ownership percentage in ESPN and Yahoo leagues. Yet, he’s a top-three performer at the tight position for Week 14 going into Monday Night Football.
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That seems to be the trend as of late for tight ends in fantasy football. There is no consistency, reliability or predictability. Even when “elite” or good tight ends are in good matchup, they don’t come through. This week was more of the same.
In Week 14, Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham was in a great position to go off against an injury depleted Packers defense. Yet, he only finished with one fantasy point, as did Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed. Tennessee Tians tight end Delanie Walker was in a tough matchup on paper, but the Denver Broncos are nowhere near as tough on opposing tight ends as they are on wide receivers. Still, Walker finished with three points.
There were also plenty of great streaming options out there for Week 14 such as Ladarius Green, Eric Ebron, Cameron Brate, C.J. Fiedorowicz and Coby Fleener. However, none of these tight ends finished with more than four fantasy points.
The last time a tight had a top-three performance in back-to-back weeks was Rob Gronkowski in Weeks 7-8. Baltimore Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta could stop that streak tonight with a great game, but I don’t see that happening. Yet, as we all know, I’ve been wrong before.
3. Le’Veon Has a Day
Don’t worry Rex Ryan, because you’re not alone. Le’Veon Bell ruined a lot of people’s day and season yesterday.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell went absolutely ballistic yesterday as he finished with 298 total yards and three touchdowns. According to NFL.com, the Buffalo Bills as a team finished with 275 total net yards, meaning Bell out-gained the entire Bills team by himself. There are currently four players who have three touchdowns in Week 14. The other three, aside from Bell, are all quarterbacks.
Bell finished the day with 47 standard league fantasy points. If you take the top-two quarterbacks in Week 14 heading into Monday Night Football (Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan) and combine their totals, they still have fewer fantasy points than Bell. Bell scored over 50 points in PPR leagues. If you’re in a league where you get extra points for certain amount of yardage thresholds, he’s pushing 60 points.
It was an unreal performance by an elite running back in an explosive offense. This might be a good opportunity to remind Bell owners that if you haven’t already, make sure you stash DeAngelo Williams on your bench. You don’t want to not have the Steelers starting running back, whoever it is, for the playoffs.
Dec 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) reacts during a NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
2. Quarterbacks Are a Mess
Fantasy owners who didn’t have Derek Carr on their team watched his atrocious fantasy outing on Thursday and giggled to themselves. They probably said things like “Sucks to be you” or “You really started that guy?” Yet, most of them probably finished the week with the same fate as those same Carr owners.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was the second-best fantasy quarterback going into Week 14 and he finished with only four points. This was a week after he finished with just seven fantasy points. Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota was the fourth-best fantasy quarterback and he finished with just six points. Dak Prescott? Six points. Ben Roethlisberger? Two points. Russell Wilson? Four points.
Yeah, it was that kind of week for fantasy quarterbacks.
New York Jets quarterback Bryce Petty had more fantasy points than Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees COMBINED. Before you run off to put in a waiver claim for Petty, I need to remind you he only scored 11 fantasy football points. Chicago Bears quarterback Matt Barkley is currently the 12th-best fantasy quarterback and he only has 12 fantasy points.
It was not a “fantasy” this week for many owners. Instead, the word “nightmare” seems to be more appropriate.
Dec 11, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon (28) is carted off the field in the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
1. Injury Bug Strikes Again
It’s not fun to lose. However, when you end up losing by a few points and one of your starters left the game with an injury, it’s agonizing. Many owners unfortunately found themselves in this situation yesterday.
San Diego Chargers star running back Melvin Gordon has been one of the best value-picks in 2016. He bounced back from a horrible rookie season where he didn’t score a single touchdown. In the first quarter of yesterday’s game, Gordon was carted off with a hip injury and he did not return. Owners were left with a big ol’ goose egg.
New York Jets running back Matt Forte has been a little inconsistent this season, but has done well in certain spots. Yesterday he was playing against the worst run defense in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers. Just like Gordon, he too suffered an injury in the first quarter and did not return. He finished the day with zero fantasy points.
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Donte Moncrief had a touchdown in five-straight games going into yesterday’s game. He was forced from the game agains the Houston Texans and did not return. He had zero fantasy points. In all fairness, he left the game in the fourth quarter, so he did have some opportunities leading up to that point. However, he surely would have had extra targets and opportunities as the Colts attempted to come from behind to win the game.