| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass-Rush | TD |
| Josh Allen | 359-33 | 4 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 273-21 | 5 |
| Kyler Murray | 406-25 | 4 |
| Jalen Hurts | 338-63 | 4 |
| Lamar Jackson | 243-35 | 4 |
| Running Backs | Yards | TD |
| Tony Pollard | 12-69 6-63 |
2 |
| David Montgomery | 32-146 1-16 |
2 |
| Dalvin Cook | 24-132 5-27 |
1 |
| J.D. McKissic | 13-51 9-56 |
1 |
| Derrick Henry | 24-147 2-5 |
1 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| Calvin Ridley | 10-163 | 1 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 9-169 | 1 |
| Marvin Jones | 10-112 | 1 |
| Stefon Diggs | 11-147 | 0 |
| Zach Pascal | 5-79 | 2 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| Darren Waller | 9-150 | 1 |
| Logan Thomas | 13-101 | 0 |
| Noah Fant | 8-68 | 1 |
| Travis Kelce | 6-51 | 1 |
| Mark Andrews | 5-66 | 1 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Cairo Santos | 3 | 4 |
| Tyler Bass | 6 | 2 |
| Nick Folk | 0 | 4 |
| Sam Ficken | 2 | 3 |
| Greg Zuerlein | 5 | 2 |
| Defense | Sa ck-TO | TD |
| Cowboys | 2-4 | 1 |
| Bills | 3-1 | 1 |
| Colts | 5-2 | 0 |
| Ravens | 5-1 | 0 |
| Seahawks | 4-2 | 0 |
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
QB Nick Mullens – Elbow
RB Raheem Mostert – Ankle
RB Le’Veon Bell – Arm
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Knee
RB James Robinson – Ankle
TE Richard Rodgers – Shin
WR Collin Johnson – Concussion
WR Cordarrelle Patterson – Knee
WR Michael Gallup – Hip
WR Tre’Quan Smith – Ankle
WR Stefon Diggs – Foot
Chasing Ambulances
All fantasy playoffs are raging and this is no time to lose anyone. Heading into Week 16, there will be a few important players to track.
WR Stefon Diggs (BUF) – HC Sean McDermott has not updated Digg’s status after leaving the Thursday night win with a foot injury. Early indications are that the injury is not serious and shouldn’t be an issue this week at the Patriots.
QB Nick Mullens (SF) – Injured his elbow in the loss to the Cowboys and was replaced by C.J. Beathard for the final series. HC Kyle Shanahan hasn’t addressed Mullens injury but was asked about changing quarterbacks anyway. He wouldn’t discuss that with the press which is a sure sign that a change could be made. The 49ers are in a lost season and winning or losing doesn’t matter much. But Mullens threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, so Beathard may see playing time at the Cardinals this week.
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (KC) – The Chiefs’ rookie injured his knee in the win over the Saints and needed to be helped from the field since he couldn’t put any pressure on it. HC Andy Reid said that an X-ray was negative. According to Reid, “Clyde got twisted up into the splits.” His legs were sore and they will continue to evaluate him. Le’Veon Bell would inherit a bigger load if Edwards-Helaire misses time, though even he was banged up at the end of the game as well. The Chiefs host the Falcons and could win that game without their rookie, so practice will be important to see where he stands at the end of the week.
RB Raheem Mostert (SF) – Left the loss to the Cowboys after re-aggravating the same ankle injury that made him miss games earlier in the season. He was already bothered by it last week in practice. If he misses this meaningless game at the Cardinals, Jeff Wilson and Tevin Coleman would see more use.
RB James Robinson (JAC) – Left the loss to the Ravens with an ankle injury and never returned. There was little information from the team about the injury and more should be known by Wednesday. Dare Ogunbowale replaced him in the game but he only ran the ball twice. The Jaguars host the Bears this week and have even less reason to win the game since they now own the No. 1 overall draft pick in April. Ogunbowale would take the start of Robinson cannot play, but he’s been the only consistently productive player for the offense and switching to the second string is unlikely to offer much fantasy value.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
QB Aaron Rodgers (GB) – After far exceeding all expectations this season, right when you needed him most, Rodgers beats the Panthers, barely, with 143 passing yards and one touchdown. He ran in a score to salvage his fantasy value but he’d been a 300-yard, three-touchdown kind of guy this year when he played anything like the No. 25 defense versus quarterbacks.
RB Leonard Fournette (TB) – He replaced Ronald Jones this week, and more importantly, the soon-to-be free agent got a chance to audition for any other team looking at game tape. Fournette ran for only 49 yards on 14 carries but rushed in two touchdowns versus the Falcons that sport a Top-10 defense against running backs. Didn’t hurt his stock but didn’t wow anyone either. This week in Detroit could be big if Jones remains out.
QB Matt Ryan (ATL) – After six straight weeks with moderate yardage and seven touchdowns combined, it seemed safe enough to count Ryan out for the rest of the year. But versus the Buccaneers, he passed for 356 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers. Probably won’t repeat in Kansas City this week, but trap games are happening.
RB Todd Gurley (ATL) – He’s been limited by the chronic knee condition that led to his leaving the Rams. Against the Buccaneers defense, he only ran once for a net one-yard loss and added two catches for 15 years. Gurley’s not going to be any more durable next year.
RB J.K. Dobbins (BAL) – Mark Ingram was a healthy scratch this week and Dobbins went on to score a touchdown in his fourth straight game. He’s still limited to no more than 15 carries per game, but he’s assumed the primary rusher role and should be even better in 2021.
WR Brandon Aiyuk (SF) – The rookie was expected to compliment Deebo Samuel but he’s been mostly injured and Aiyuk has a firm grasp on the No. 1 wideout role with the 49ers. He caught nine passes for 73 yards and a score in Dallas which means in his last seven games, he’s either caught a touchdown or gained 100 yards. For a team that doesn’t pass much.
RB Tony Pollard (DAL) – Ezekiel Elliott was a surprise scratch on Sunday and Pollard took the primary role. He gained 69 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries and added six catches for 63 yards as one of the highest-scoring fantasy running backs for Week 15. That ought to get Ezekiel back in the game.
RB David Johnson (HOU) – Duke Johnson was inactive on Sunday and Johnson had to shoulder the receiving role as well as be the primary rusher. He only ran eight times for 27 yards and they gave Buddy Howell five carries for 22 yards. But Johnson went from never catching a pass since Week 7 to a career-high 11 receptions for 106 yards. Even Duke Johnson only managed six catches for 24 yards when they played the Colts just two weeks back.
RB Sony Michel (NE) – Damien Harris was inactive this week because of his ankle and Michel reclaimed the lead rusher role. He only ran ten times but gained 74 yards with no run more than 17 yards. He’s making a case to stay next year in the convoluted, murky committee that will all but certainly remain.
RB Salvon Ahmed (MIA) – He was questionable to play against the Pats with a shoulder injury that forced him to miss three games. But with Myles Gaskin on the COVID-19 list, Ahmed not only started, he gained 122 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, plus caught a five-yard pass. Matt Breida also added 12 runs for 86 yards, so when Gaskin returns, this will be a very crowded backfield.
RB David Montgomery (CHI) – The Bears rarely allowed Montgomery to run more than 14 times per game and insisted on pretending that Cordarrelle Patterson was a running back. But over the last month, Montgomery has been one of the highest-scoring fantasy backs with at least one or two touchdowns and well over 100 total yards each week. Either HC Matt Nagy figured out what we all knew for two years, or Montgomery’s dramatic upswing has Will Fuller overtones yet to be uncovered. Montgomery went from averaging 52 to 108 rushing yards per game. Don’t question it. He only scored twice in the first nine games and then six more in just the last four.
RB Derrick Henry (TEN) – Already set a personal best with 1,679 rushing yards this year with two games to go. He’d need 161 rushing yards in each game to break 2,000 yards and while facing the Packers and Texans might offer that opportunity, the Titans dialed him back after he gained 147 yards and a score on 24 rushes. They let Darrynton Evans have eight carries to finish out the game. Prudent? Sure. A missed opportunity? Who cares? No one wants to hear the Henry owner complain about anything.
WR DK Metcalf (SEA) – Left the win over the Football Team after grabbing his hamstring but returned and led the team with five catches for 43 yards. He’s only 64 yards away from passing Steve Largent’s team record of 1,287 yards in a season. He trails only DeAndre Hopkins (1,324) and Stefon Diggs (1,314) for the NFL lead.
TE Logan Thomas (WAS) – The sixth-year tight end may be on his fourth NFL team, but looks like he is going to stick. He’s risen to the No. 6 fantasy tight end and just caught 13 passes for 101 yards in the loss to the Seahawks. That’s three more catches in a game than any other Washington player this year.
Los Angeles Rams – Christmas just got a little colder and less merry in Southern California. Feels like they should have to wear a big, red “J” on their jersey for a week. No, wait, make that a giant “J” in Gotham Green.
Huddle player of the week
Jalen Hurts – Nudged out Josh Allen by less than one point as the highest-scoring fantasy player. The Eagles rookie threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns plus ran for 63 yards on 11 rushes with another score. While they lost to the Cardinals, he gets to try it all again in Dallas this weekend. So, this is what the Eagles offense looks like. “No, Carson, no one wants to be a backup quarterback. But some people have no options. People like you, Carson.”
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Ryan Tannehill | 273-21 | 5 | QB | Russell Wilson | 121-52 | 1 |
| RB | Tony Pollard | 32-146 1-16 |
2 | RB | Todd Gurley | 1-(-1) 2-15 |
0 |
| RB | Salvon Ahmed | 23-122 1-5 |
1 | RB | Kenyan Drake | 8-21 2-14 |
0 |
| WR | Zach Pascal | 5-79 | 2 | WR | Amari Cooper | 2-(-7) 2-10 |
0 |
| WR | Kendrick Bourne | 4-86 | 1 | WR | Keenan Allen | 1-(-1) 1-17 |
0 |
| WR | Russell Gage | 5-68 | 1 | WR | Robby Anderson | 1-(-1) 2-21 |
0 |
| TE | Tyler Higbee | 4-67 | 1 | TE | T.J. Hockenson | 2-18 | 0 |
| PK | Cairo Santos | 3 XP 4 FG | PK | Will Lutz | 1 XP | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 178 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 37 | ||||||
Now get back to work…