MJD, Julio lead Week 14 fantasy heroes

The fantasy playoffs began on Thursday night with the Steelers’ lukewarm 14-3 win over the Browns. First-round matchups will come to a finish with the Rams and Seahawks squaring off on Monday night.

You can still watch Lynch, Jackson, Lloyd and the Seattle defense.

That’s about as hard as I can sell that game.

So, let’s spin to the positive side of things. I’m in the giving holiday spirit, as evidenced by the length of this list. It’s time to dole out the game balls for Sunday’s games.

Maurice Jones-Drew delivered for fantasy owners, including his own squads, during the first week of these playoffs with a monster game. The Jaguars fell behind early, but rallied to obliterate the Buccaneers with 41 unanswered points. That is not a misprint.

Jones-Drew carried the squad on his back, producing 136 yards on 33 touches with four touchdowns. He logged 27 carries for 85 yards and two touchdowns, adding six receptions for 51 yards and a pair of scores. Since the Jaguars’ Week 9 Bye, Jones-Drew has averaged 149 total yards per game and scored seven of his 10 touchdowns.

Vying with MJD for fantasy MVP honors in Week 14 was Mark Sanchez, who tallied four touchdowns for the second time in three games. Sanchez completed 13 of his 21 pass attempts for 181 yards (his third consecutive game with fewer than 200 passing yards) with two touchdowns. He also plunged into the end zone for two rushing touchdowns.

Following a tepid run through the first 12 weeks of the NFL season, Shonn Greene has summoned his inner Marshawn Lynch and gone into “Beast Mode.” Greene produced a fantastic follow-up to his Week 13 breakthrough with 187 total yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs. He logged a season-high 24 carries for 129 yards while adding three receptions for 58 yards. Something to consider as we draw toward the end of the season is that Greene has caught three passes in three consecutive games.

Fantasy owners salivated at the prospects of a huge day from Joe Flacco with Indianapolis on the schedule. He didn’t obliterate the scoreboard, but he did produce a start-worthy performance with 227 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception. It was just Flacco’s second game with two passing touchdowns since Week 3.

Torrey Smith caught five passes for 48 yards, including Flacco’s first touchdown pass of the day. It was his third touchdown reception in the past six weeks. Smith has been limited to 48 or fewer receiving yards in four of the past five weeks.

Ray Rice took advantage of another big spot for fantasy owners with 149 total yards (103 rushing) and a touchdown against the Colts. He needs to average 126 total yards per game in the final three games of the season to reach 2,000 for the year.

Matt Ryan delivered a huge effort in a must-win game for the Falcons on the road in Carolina on Sunday. Ryan completed 22-of-38 attempts for 320 yards and matched his season-high with four touchdown passes. It was his fourth multi-touchdown effort in his past six starts. Ryan started the season slowly for fantasy owners, but he’s suddenly sitting on 3,474 passing yards and 23 touchdowns with three games remaining (home games against Jacksonville and Tampa Bay and a road tilt in New Orleans).

Julio Jones drew my ire in Week 13 for his failure to corral the last-second heave from Ryan that would have sent the Houston game into overtime. He didn’t play a perfect game on Sunday, but try to argue with his 75-yard catch and sprint to the end zone. Jones made the most of his limited reception count with 104 receiving yards on three receptions and two touchdowns.

Roddy White continued his late-season surge by producing his third consecutive game with a touchdown reception. He caught seven passes for 84 yards. In the past four weeks, White has amassed 31 receptions for 402 yards. He needs 35 yards against the Jaguars to reach 1,000 for the season.

Cam Newton came out of the gate firing against the Falcons, but eventually succumbed to several bad decisions that cost his squad the game. Newton passed for 276 yards (19-for-39) with two touchdowns, two interceptions and 36 rushing yards. He’s rushed for at least 35 yards in 10 games this season (554 total) and has now thrown for 3,573 yards.

Steve Smith earned his first 100-yard game since Week 8 against the Falcons. Smith caught six passes for 125 yards, though he was held without a touchdown reception for the fourth time in five games.

Greg Olsen finally returned to the end zone for the first time since Week 8. Olsen caught two passes for 53 yards, including a 44-yard catch and sprint to daylight.

DeAngelo Williams was probably riding the virtual pine against the stout Atlanta run defense, but he did offer trusting (desperate?) owners a 74-yard touchdown sprint. Williams’ 87 rushing yards (seven carries) gave him just his third performance with more than 80 rushing yards this season.

“Sexy” Rex Grossman and the Redskins gave the Patriots all they could handle on Sunday. Grossman passed for 252 yards and logged his third two-touchdown performance in the past four weeks. He did turn the ball over twice, but I’ll take the points.

It took some gadgetry to make it happen, but Santana Moss found the end zone for the first time since Week 4 against the Patriots. He finished the game with three receptions for 81 yards.

Jabar Gaffney was held without a catch in Week 13. He rebounded with a fantastic six-reception, 92-yard effort against the Patriots and scored his fourth touchdown of the season.

You’ll never trust Mike Shanahan completely, but he’s certainly taunted you with his trust in rookie Roy Helu down the stretch. Helu established new career marks with 27 carries and 126 yards against the Patriots. He caught two passes for six yards. It was Helu’s third consecutive 100-yard performance and the third straight game in which he’d logged at least 27 touches.

I’ve seen a lot of footage of Tom Brady’s spirited discussion on the sidelines in the past 12 hours. Why is that a story? Anyway, Brady passed for 357 yards with three touchdowns and his first interception since Week 9. He’s now thrown 33 touchdowns against 11 interceptions and has thrown for 4,273 yards. With Denver, Miami and Buffalo left on the slate, 5,000 yards is within sight.

What else can I say about “Big” Rob Gronkowski? It doesn’t matter how you try to cover him, the man is going to find the end zone. Gronkowski caught six passes for 160 yards, including another two touchdown receptions. In the past six weeks, Gronkowski has scored 11 touchdowns (one rushing), and this effort pushed him past 1,000 receiving yards for the season (1,088).

Wes Welker caught seven passes for 86 yards and scored his ninth touchdown of the season against the Redskins. Following a five-game run of uneven performances and low yardage output, Welker has rebounded with a huge three-week run (26 receptions for 311 yards and three touchdowns). His seventh reception on Sunday was his 100th of the year.

Drew Brees quietly piled up yards and completions in Sunday’s game against the Titans, but fantasy owners were nervous until he finally connected with Marques Colston for the first of two touchdown connections. Brees passed for 337 yards (36-of-47) with two touchdowns, his eighth game with at least 322 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Colston ended his five-game scoring drought with two touchdown receptions as part of his seven-reception, 105-yard day. He’d finished three of his previous five games with fewer than 60 receiving yards.

Jake Locker relieved the injured Matt Hasselbeck and nearly stunned the Saints on Sunday. He completed 13-of-29 passes for 282 yards with a touchdown while adding six carries for 36 yards and a touchdown. In limited action this season, Locker has generated four touchdowns (three passing) and has not committed a turnover. He may get a start in Week 15 against the Colts.

Nate Washington shook off two quiet weeks with a huge performance in support of Locker. Five of his six receptions came off of the arm of Locker for a total of 117 yards, including two 40-yard receptions. One of those 40-yard receptions was, of course, a touchdown grab. Washington has recorded two 100-yard games in his past four starts.

LeSean McCoy didn’t post a huge yardage total, but he found the end zone twice in the Eagles’ 26-10 win over the Dolphins. McCoy carried the ball 27 times for 38 yards and added three receptions for 33 yards. Ponder the fact that McCoy also had an 11-yard run in that game. He produced 27 rushing yards on 26 carries.

Similarly, DeSean Jackson didn’t post a big effort, but he found the end zone for the first time since Week 5. Jackson caught four passes for 59 yards, including his 34-yard touchdown grab. Owners who trusted Jackson in their WR3 slot were rewarded with the big play.

Reggie Bush continued his strong run in fantasyland with 130 total yards against the Eagles. Bush has recorded at least 96 total yards or a touchdown in seven consecutive games.

T.J. Yates was on the board as a “Ninja” special for Week 14 (I even read a W.B. Yeats poem), and he delivered with his last-second touchdown strike to Kevin Walter. Yates passed for 300 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He added 36 rushing yards and lost a fumble. Yates is a sneaky play in Week 15 with a home date against the Panthers.

Owen Daniels caught seven passes for 100 yards. It was a nice departure from his four-game run of performances with fewer than 40 receiving yards. Unfortunately, Daniels still hasn’t scored since Week 4.

Kevin Walter caught six passes for 76 yards, including the game-winning touchdown in the closing moments of the thrilling comeback victory over Cincinnati. Walter scored for the first time since Week 5 and halted a stretch of four games in which he recorded 15 or fewer receiving yards.

Joe Webb nearly orchestrated a comeback against the Lions, but fell just short on the final play of the game (though a facemask should have been called). Webb passed for 84 yards (12-of-23) with a touchdown and rumbled for 109 yards and a touchdown. He also lost two points for the lost fumble on the final play.

Percy Harvin has suddenly become an unstoppable force. He did not post a touchdown reception in the Vikings’ first nine games. Harvin now owns a four-game scoring streak after catching 10 passes for 69 yards with a touchdown against the Lions. The third-year receiver/returner added 40 rushing yards on four attempts. In the past five weeks, Harvin has amassed 38 receptions for 445 yards.

Toby Gerhart posted his second straight 90-yard performance in Sunday’s loss to the Lions. He did catch a touchdown pass and finished the game with three catches for 19 yards. Gerhart has averaged 101.7 total yards as the starter in place of Adrian Peterson.

Matthew Stafford completed 20-of-29 attempts for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Brandon Pettigrew (six receptions for 57 yards) and Titus Young (four receptions for 87 yards) for early touchdown strikes and then seemingly put things on cruise control. It was Stafford’s ninth game with at least two touchdown passes this season. He’s yet to be shut out this season.

If we leave things in the fantasy realm, then Marion Barber warrants applause as a hero. If we expand the conversion, things turn in a hurry. Barber ran for 108 yards on 27 carries and scored the lone Chicago touchdown. He added two receptions for 32 yards and lost a fumble.

Tim Tebow completed 21-of-40 attempts to establish a new career-high mark of 236 passing yards with one touchdown, one interception, a lost fumble and 49 rushing yards. Once again, owners were gritting their teeth and biting their nails heading into the fourth quarter. Once again, Tebow delivered numbers in the fourth quarter.

Demaryius Thomas dropped an early opportunity from Tebow on a post route, but he redeemed himself late. Thomas caught seven passes for 78 yards and scored for the second straight week. He stood alone in the end zone while anxiously awaiting Tebow’s throw.

John Skelton came on in relief of Kevin Kolb and rallied the Cardinals to a thrilling home win over the 49ers. Skelton completed 19-of-28 attempts for 282 yards with three touchdowns while rushing for 25 yards. Sure, he also turned the ball over thrice, but that hardly negates his huge effort in the upset victory.

Larry Fitzgerald was a difficult start for fantasy owners because of his recent spate of middling efforts. Trusting owners were rewarded with a seven-reception, 149-yard performance that included a 46-yard touchdown reception. Fitzgerald reached the 1,000-yard mark for the sixth time in his career.

Philip Rivers was efficient once again (his fumble in at his own goal line notwithstanding) for the Chargers in a blowout win over the Bills. Rivers passed for 240 yards with three touchdowns, his fifth game with multiple touchdown passes in the past six weeks. He faces a difficult challenge in Week 15 against the Ravens at home.

Antonio Gates put forth another big effort for owners in Week 14 against Buffalo. Gates caught seven passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns. He’s recorded at least four receptions and 49 receiving yards in each of his nine appearances this season.

Ryan Mathews has emerged as a fantastic option down the stretch. He recorded his third consecutive 100-yard game in Sunday’s win over the Bills. He amassed 148 total yards on 26 touches.

Stevie Johnson didn’t find the end zone, but he did establish a new season-high mark with 116 yards on four receptions. OK, that’s a reach. Let’s get back to the big games.

Aaron Rodgers passed for 281 yards with two touchdowns and a rare interception against the Raiders (It should have been caught by Finley). He’s thrown multiple touchdown passes in every game this season (39 overall).

Ryan Grant made a huge impact in limited touches against the Raiders in Week 14. He ripped off a 47-yard touchdown run early in the blowout victory and finished the game with 85 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. He added a single reception for 13 yards. Grant will be on the board as a solid RB2 play against the Chiefs.

Jordy Nelson caught three passes for 81 yards with a touchdown, his tenth of the season.

Michael Bush didn’t have a chance to impact the game, but he did produce a solid effort for fantasy owners. Bush scored a touchdown, his seventh of the season, and amassed 97 total yards (78 rushing) in defeat.

Tony Romo went down in defeat on Sunday night to the Giants. Kickers! He still led many fantasy owners into the next round of the playoffs with his 321-yard, four-touchdown effort. Romo has thrown multiple touchdown passes in five of his past six starts.

Laurent Robinson was left on many fantasy benches because of fears about Miles Austin’s return to the field. Robinson led the Cowboys with four receptions for 137 yards and scored his eighth touchdown of the season.

Miles Austin rewarded trusting fantasy owners with a solid four-reception, 63-yard performance that included a touchdown.

Felix Jones took on a huge workload in DeMarco Murray’s absence, producing 137 total yards on 22 touches. He lost a fumble, but exhibited good burst and an ability to take on a heavy workload. Check the waiver wire to see if Jones was released in your league following his injury.

Dez Bryant was targeted only twice in the Cowboys’ narrow loss to New York, but he made the second look count. Bryant logged a 50-yard touchdown reception from Tony Romo in the fourth quarter.

Finally, I give a nod to the victorious Giants and the prolific passing display put on by Eli Manning. Manning completed 27-of-47 passing attempts for 400 yards with two touchdowns Mario Manningham and Jake Ballard were the recipients of his touchdown strikes. Hakeem Nicks led the team with seven receptions for 154 yards.

Manning has thrown for at least 400 yards on three occasions (4,105 yards for the season) and has logged 10 multi-touchdown performances.

Brandon Jacobs ran wild in place of the team-sanctioned Ahmad Bradshaw. Jacobs carried the ball 19 times for a season-high 101 yards and scored twice. He’s rushed for touchdowns in three consecutive games (four during the streak and seven overall).

Fantasy Football News and Notes | Week 14 Studs and Duds Gallery