Fantasy Football: Week 14 Sunday Superlatives
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The 14th Sunday of the NFL season once again affirmed that the Ravens (11-2) are the best team in the NFL after defeating the Buffalo Bills. The electrifying likely league MVP Lamar Jackson became only the second quarterback to amass 1,000 rushing yards and only needs 22 more to break Michael Vick’s record of 1,039 set back in 2006.
We also witnessed San Francisco (11-2) regain the top spot in the NFC with a wild 48-46 road win over the Saints while the New England Patriots saw their 21-game home winning streak stopped by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Drew Brees and Jameis Winston posted the most fantasy points among all quarterbacks, Michael Thomas, Austin Ekeler, Aaron Jones and Derrick Henry were exceptional, while the Jets and Dolphins combined for the most field goals in a single game in NFL history (10).
Let's take a look back at the week that was.
Surprise of the Week
Emmanuel Sanders, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Sanders, who had posted fewer than 6.3 PPR fantasy football points in four consecutive games before Sunday, was sensational in Week 14 against the Saints posting 34.45 points. The veteran wideout, caught seven passes for 157 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing a 35-yard touchdown on a trick play to RB Raheem Mostert. This performance was easily the biggest surprise of the week, not only considering Sanders' recent outings, but also the fact that he was able to do it against an excellent New Orleans secondary. Sanders will face a 24th-ranked Falcons pass defense in Week 15 in a game the experts out in Vegas envision as a high scoring affair with a 47-point implied total.
Top Quarterback
Drew Brees, QB, Saints
Brees shocked the fantasy world on Sunday by throwing five touchdown passes while also adding one on the ground against the league’s best defense. The 49ers came into the game only surrendering 150.8 passing yards, so Brees’ performance was simply amazing. The veteran quarterback who posted a league-best 43.55 fantasy points should have every opportunity to carry owners in the second week of the fantasy playoffs in a home Monday night matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. The boys out in Vegas have installed the Saints as 9-point home favorites against a defense that was just torched by Jameis Winston and Tampa Bay for 38 points.
Top Running Back
Aaron Jones, RB, Packers
Jones was dominant rushing for 134 yards and a score while adding six receptions for 58 yards against the Redskins. His 31.2 PPR fantasy points were a relief to fantasy owners after posting fewer than 7.1 points in three of his previous four games heading into Sunday. Jones projects to have a high ceiling in Week 15 against a Chicago defense that just allowed Ezekiel Elliott to post 23.3 PPR fantasy points last Thursday night.
Top Wide Receiver
Michael Thomas, WR, Saints
The veteran wideout, who should be considered in MVP honors, was outstanding once again on Sunday against the 49ers. Thomas hauled in 11 of 15 targets for 134 yards and a touchdown against the league’s top-ranked pass defense. The fourth-year star now has a league-leading 121 receptions and only needs 23 more to break Colts WR Marvin Harrison’s single-season record of 143 set back in 2002. Fantasy owners should be giddy to fire up the best position player in fantasy football, not named Christian McCaffrey, in Week 15 against a Colts secondary that has surrendered nine passing touchdowns to opposing wideouts in the last four games.
Biggest Busts
Davante Adams, WR, Packers
Many fantasy owners were expecting the star wide receiver to post a big stat line against Washington after having posted 18-plus PPR fantasy points in three consecutive games. However, the typically reliable stud wideout was quiet in Week 14, only catching four of six targets for 41 yards. His 8.8 points were the lowest since back in Week 1 against the Bears when he only posted 7.6. Adams, owned in 99% of leagues, will hope to bounce back next Sunday when the Packers face a Bears' defense that has allowed 764 yards passing and five touchdowns to Giants QB Daniel Jones, Lions QB David Blough, and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott over the last three weeks.
Tom Brady, QB, Patriots
The veteran signal-caller, owned in 99% of leagues, threw for his fewest yards (169) on the season in Sunday's 23-16 loss to the Chiefs. Brady, who has now thrown for one or fewer touchdowns in four of his last five games, may also have emerged from the loss with an elbow injury. Fantasy owners may want to be careful starting the Hall of Fame-bound quarterback in Week 15 in what may look like a favorable matchup on the road against Cincinnati. However, be aware that the Bengals surprisingly have not allowed an opposing quarterback to top 239 yards passing or throw a touchdown pass in three straight games.
Sony Michel, RB, Patriots
Michel, who is owned in 96% of leagues, was dreadful on Sunday, posting nine total yards on six touches. The second-year back saved his worst rushing performance of the season (8 yards) for the first week of the fantasy playoffs and burned any owner who showed faith in starting him. Losing carries to fellow backs Rex Burkhead, James White and Brandon Bolden make it difficult for fantasy owners to trust employing him in Week 15 against the Bengals or Week 16 against the Bills.
Burned by Injury
Derrius Guice, RB, Redskins
The second-year back was superb last week, scoring 29.7 fantasy points against Carolina. Guice, who missed eight games earlier this season after knee surgery, was forced out Sunday against Green Bay suffering what is feared to be an MCL sprain. The talented young back who only posted 4.2 points in Week 14 likely won't have any value to owners for the duration of the fantasy playoffs.
Mark Andrews, TE, Ravens
Andrews entered Week 14 as the third-best fantasy tight end, but disappointed owners immensely when he made just one catch for 14 yards before leaving with a deep thigh bruise. The emerging tight end's availability is in doubt against the Jets since the two teams play on the short week Thursday night.
Rashaad Penny, RB, Seahawks
Penny, who had rushed for 203 yards and scored three total touchdowns in his last two games, burned fantasy owners when he was forced to leave the Sunday night game against the Rams with just 2.6 fantasy points with an ACL sprain. All indications are the bulk of the work in the Seattle backfield will fall back into the hands of Chris Carson for the foreseeable future.
DeVante Parker, WR, Dolphins
Parker was among the hottest wide receivers in the NFL over the last three weeks, collecting 20 receptions for 385 yards and two touchdowns entering Week 14. However, on Sunday against the Jets, the fifth-year wideout crushed owners with just 4.8 PPR fantasy points before leaving the game with a concussion.
Stop & Take Notice
Jameis Winston, QB, Buccaneers
Winston was phenomenal on Sunday against the Colts throwing for a season-high 456 yards and four touchdowns while also adding another one on the ground. Fantasy owners will be hoping the veteran signal-caller can maintain his recent success of multiple touchdown passes in five of his last seven games when Tampa Bay heads to Detroit to face the 30th-ranked pass defense.
Derrick Henry, RB, Titans
As we continue to highlight, Henry is one of the best second-half fantasy players over the past several seasons, and that trend continued again on Sunday. The fantasy star was dominant once again, providing his fourth consecutive game with 100-plus rushing yards. The fourth-year star running back has now scored seven rushing touchdowns in his last four games and should be started with confidence with a plus-matchup against a struggling Texans run defense that has allowed eight total touchdowns to opposing running backs in the last four games.
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