| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass-Rush | TD |
| Tom Brady | 432-4 | 4 |
| Daniel Jones | 177-91 | 4 |
| Jarrett Stidham | 365-34 | 3 |
| Sam Darnold | 341-20 | 3 |
| Russell Wilson | 222-27 | 3 |
| Running Backs | Rush Receive |
TD |
| Austin Ekeler | 10-122 4-39 |
2 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 19-121 6-72 |
1 |
| D’Andre Swift | 11-78 4-39 |
2 |
| Raheem Mostert | 9-29 8-62 |
1 |
| Travis Etienne | 9-108 3-32 |
1 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| Mike Evans | 10-207 | 3 |
| Davante Adams | 7-153 | 2 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 9-101 1-16 |
1 |
| Amari Cooper | 3-105 | 2 |
| D.J. Moore | 6-117 | 1 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| Dalton Schultz | 7-56 | 2 |
| Trey McBride | 7-78 | 1 |
| Brock Wright | 3-13 | 2 |
| Darren Waller | 3-72 | 1 |
| Colby Parkinson | 5-36 | 1 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Robbie Gould | 4 | 3 |
| Matt Prater | 1 | 4 |
| Mason Crosby | 5 | 2 |
| Jason Myers | 2 | 3 |
| Mike Badgley | 2 | 3 |
| Defense | Sack – TO | TD |
| Packers | 2-4 | 2 |
| Jaguars | 2-1 | 1 |
| Seahawks | 4-3 | 0 |
| Saints | 5-1 | 1 |
| Patriots | 2-2 | 1 |
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
QB Teddy Bridgewater (MIA) – Finger
QB Nick Foles (IND) – Ribs
RB James Conner (ARI) – Shin
WR Skyy Moore (KC) – Hand
WR Dante Pettis (CHI) – Concussion
WR Robbie Anderson (ARI) – Back
WR Jakobi Meyers (NE) – Shoulder
Chasing Ambulances
QB Teddy Bridgewater – It is believed that he broke a finger in his throwing hand when it hit a helmet. He’ll receive X-rays but it is likely to keep him out for the final regular season game. Tua Tagovailoa remains out with his second concussion of the year and Skylar Thompson is in line to start.
QB Nick Foles – Received a hard hit to the midsection and started convulsing on the field, which was made surreal when the tackler, Kayvon Thibodeaux, lay beside him making invisible snow angels. He walked to the sideline but was then brought by cart to the locker room. Sam Ehlinger replaced him and would finish out the final game against the Texans if needed.
RB James Conner – Left for the fourth quarter with a shin injury and did not return. HC Kliff Kingsbury has no updates after the game other than saying, “it didn’t seem to be too bad, but we’ll check him out and see how it goes.” Corey Clement replaced him in the loss to the Falcons.
WR Jakobi Meyers – He aggravated his shoulder injury when he caught a touchdown against the Dolphins. He said that he was fine and barring any surprising news this week, he is expected to play against the Bills this week.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
RB Travis Etienne (JAC) – The Jacksonville running back hadn’t scored since Week 9 but produced over 100 total yards for the last two weeks. Versus the Texans, Etienne ran for 108 yards and a score on just nine carries, and caught three passes for 32 yards. It was a 28-point blowout but Etienne got in his fantasy points early and has been a consistent contributor in the fantasy playoffs.
WR Kadarius Toney (KC) – The mid-season acquisition led the Chiefs with four catches for 71 yards in the win over the Broncos. He was only used for one catch in each of the last two games, but came through in Week 17 against one of the better secondaries.
RB Jerick McKinnon (KC) – He caught five passes for 56 yards versus Denver and scored two more touchdowns. That gives him eight touchdowns over the last five games. The 30-year-old running back is playing on a one-year contract and has become the best weapon of the Chiefs for the last month.
QB Carousel – Here’s an interesting tidbit for those who like to stream quarterbacks or wait late to grab one. Of the 32 NFL quarterbacks that started the Week 1 game for their team, only 18 of them are starting in Week 17 for the same team. And that doesn’t count Carson Wentz who just now returned.
RB Raheem Mostert (MIA) – The Miami running back has been good for around 40 yards in most games, and had a freakish 17-136 stat-line against the Bills in Week 15 while Jeff Wilson was out. Wilson was back and led the backfield with 15 carries for 45 yards in the loss to the Pats, while Mostert ran for 29 yards on nine carries. But – both backs usually catch one or two passes per game. Mostert led the Fins with eight catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. And five of those catches came from Skylar Thompson in the fourth quarter. He’ll likely need to catch more this week with the Jets looking to shut down the wideouts and Thompson potentially starting.
Patriots backfield – Disappointing to fantasy owners to see that Damien Harris returned from his four-week absence with a hip injury and Rhamondre Stevenson was limited to only eight runs for 42 yards while Harris gained 32 yards on nine carries. And Harris caught three passes to only two for Stevenson. Granted, Stevenson is questionable to play every week, wink-wink, and ran for 172 yards two weeks ago.
QB Daniel Jones (NYG) – The Giants’ quarterback started the year with ample rushing stats but scaled that back since midseason. After Week 7, he only scored twice via the run and bounced between 14 and around 40 yards in almost every game. Against the Colts, Jones suddenly ran for as season-high 11 times and gained 91 yards and two touchdowns. He was effective and didn’t let up just because they were crushing the Colts. His two scores came in the third and fourth quarters.
TE Taysom Hill (NO) – Hill has seen an uptick in usage with nine carries for 56 yards and a score in Week 16 at the Browns. On Sunday at the Eagles, Hill had his busiest game of the year with two passes, one catch for nine yards, and a season-high 14 rushes for 46 yards and a touchdown.
QB Jarrett Stidham (LV) – Maybe the 49ers underestimated the Raiders’ new starting quarterback? Everyone I know did, including me. Then again, Stidham’s only playing time was in Week 8 when he threw 13 passes at the Saints. Going against one of the top defenses in the NFL of the 49ers, Stidham passed for 365 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions and sent the game into overtime. He threw the interception which set-up the 49ers eventual winning field goal. But the fair question is if his first ever NFL start results in 365 passing yards, how come Derek Carr hasn’t reached that yardage this year? It cannot be because Stidham had a cakewalk matchup.
RB Kenneth Walker (SEA) – The rookie just ran for 133 yards on 23 carries versus the Jets’ defense. That’s his third 100-yard effort of the season and he already logged nine touchdowns. He’s making a case for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
WR Justin Jefferson (MIN) – He’s still the top fantasy receiver, but an illustration of how things change and evolve came on Sunday. Jefferson recorded nine catches for 184 yards and two scores in Week 1 against the Packers. On Sunday, he was held to one catch for 15 yards on his five targets.
RB Najee Harris (PIT) – After a painfully unproductive first eight games, Harris picked up the pace with five scores and mostly 80+ yard games since midseason. Against the Ravens, he broke the century mark for the first time this season when he ran 22 times for 111 yards and tacked on two catches for 12 yards that included the 10-yard game-winner with 56 seconds left to play.
Huddle player of the week
Mike Evans – Talk about trying to make up for lost time. Evans had been only marginally fantasy relevant for the last seven games when he failed to score and averaged under 50 yards per game. Against the Panthers, he rolled up ten catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns. That was the highest-scoring fantasy player of the week, and it doubled his scores which are still down from last year. Last week, he only caught three passes for 29 yard at the Cardinals.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Jarrett Stidham | 399 | 3 | QB | Trevor Lawrence | 152 | 0 |
| RB | JaMycal Hasty | 56 | 1 | RB | Dalvin Cook | 44 | 0 |
| RB | Raheem Mostert | 91 | 1 | RB | David Montgomery | 36 | 0 |
| WR | Jalen Nailor | 89 | 1 | WR | Justin Jefferson | 15 | 0 |
| WR | Shi Smith | 70 | 1 | WR | Tyler Lockett | 15 | 0 |
| WR | Tyquan Thornton | 60 | 1 | WR | Garrett Wilson | 18 | 0 |
| TE | Brock Wright | 13 | 2 | TE | Evan Engram | 29 | 0 |
| PK | Matt Prater | 1 XP 4 FG | PK | Harrison Butker | 3 XP | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 110 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 22 | ||||||
Now get back to work…