| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass-Rush | TD |
| Jameis Winston | 458 – 4 | 4 |
| Lamar Jackson | 212 – 86 | 5 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 279 – 10 | 3 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 340 – 11 | 2 |
| Mitchell Trubisky | 348 – 29 | 1 |
| Running Backs | Yards | TD |
| Kenyan Drake | 146 | 4 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 175 | 2 |
| Miles Sanders | 172 | 2 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 160 | 2 |
| Saquon Barkley | 153 | 2 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| Breshad Perriman | 116 | 3 |
| Julio Jones | 134 | 2 |
| Jamison Crowder | 90 | 2 |
| DeVante Parker | 72 | 2 |
| Terry McLaurin | 130 | 1 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| Ricky-Seals Jones | 29 | 2 |
| Travis Kelce | 142 | 0 |
| George Kittle | 134 | 0 |
| Darren Waller | 122 | 0 |
| Zach Ertz | 61 | 1 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Dan Bailey | 3 | 4 |
| Robbie Gould | 1 | 3 |
| Nick Folk | 4 | 2 |
| Dustin Hopkins | 3 | 2 |
| Harrison Butker | 0 | 3 |
| Defense | Sck-TO | TD |
| Vikings | 2 – 7 | 1 |
| Patriots | 0 – 5 | 1 |
| Eagles | 1 – 1 | 1 |
| Buccaneers | 2 – 3 | 1 |
| Packers | 3 – 3 | 0 |
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
Pretty light but last week removed some important players from this Sunday already.
WR Chris Godwin – Hamstring
WR Scott Miller – Hamstring
RB J.D. McKissic – Neck
RB Dalvin Cook – Shoulder
WR Brandin Cooks – Back
Chasing Ambulances
WR Chris Godwin – The Buccaneers already missed Mike Evans and then Chris Godwin went down untouched and had to be carted to the locker room. While the prognosis isn’t available as of this writing, all such signs usually mean missing a week or more And only next week matters. Breshad Perriman (5-113, 3 TD) was the one to step up with Evans gone.
Scotty Miller also scored in his first game back from injury but then pulled his hamstring. Justin Watson turned in a touchdown in Week 14 replacing Evans for part of the game but was limited to only two catches for 17 yards. If Godwin is still out, Perriman becomes the No. 1 but he won’t surprise anyone after his three scores in Week 15.
Watson would have to play more as the only receiver with any experience left on the roster. The Bucs host the Texans and their weak secondary this week. And Jameis Winston is on a mission to post yardage and scores.
RB Dalvin Cook – He went down yet again with a shoulder injury. He was in obvious pain and seemingly more than the times before. He has to be in doubt for the homestand against the Packers and their weak rushing defense this week. Alexander Mattison would have been the backup, but he was inactive with an ankle injury.
That only leaves Ameer Abdullah (5-25) and Mike Boone (13-56, 2 TD) behind. The Vikes need a run game and whichever back starts will be fantasy relevant against the soft Packers run defense. If Cook or Mattison do not return, then expect the same sort of committee with Abdullah and Boone. Cook was injury-prone for his first two seasons and seemed to finally get over his durability issues. Until you absolutely, positively needed him for one specific game. Oh, Dalvin…
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
RB Christian McCaffrey – He not just the guy with the magic year in most of the league playoffs, and he’s not just the No. 1 fantasy running back but a significant margin. He is also the only Panthers player that ever produced over 2,000 total yards in one season. He’s rushed for 1,307 yards on 265 carries and added 814 yards on 94 receptions. That’s 2,121 yards. He still has two more games.
RB Chris Carson – Already had a strong season but the Seahawks just lost Rashaad Penny last week. That left Carson to run 24 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Panthers. Penny was getting up to 15 carries but C.J. Prosise (5-15) and Travis Homer (2-7) didn’t get in the way as much.
RB Joe Mixon – He rushed for 136 yards on 25 carries and even caught three passes for 30 yards versus the No. 1 defense versus running backs. The Bengals only passed for 151 yards and lost the game badly. But at least Mixon’s late-season push continues. He’ll be interesting in 2020 so long as the offense around him gets an upgrade.
QB Jameis Winston – Fractured thumb be damned. Winston passed for 458 yards and four touchdowns against the Lions were nicely timed for fantasy owners in their playoffs. He leads the NFL with 4,573 passing yards and that is a pace for 5,226 yards. That would rank fourth-best in NFL history. He averages 326 yards per game and his final two games are at home against the Texans and Falcons. He only needs 213 yards per game to become the eighth quarterback to throw for more than 5,000 yards.
WR Anthony Miller – He’s produced marginal stats at best this season but he gained over 100 yards in each of his last two road games and scored these last two weeks. His nine catches for 118 yards and a touchdown this week was a season-best.
WR Davante Adams – The Packers only threw for 203 yards and one score on Sunday, but Adams accounted for 103 yards on seven catches and caught the lone touchdown pass. The Packers have evolved to where there is no fantasy value in any receiver aside from Adams. No matter what happens in the Packers’ passing effort, Adams will produce and no one else will.
TE Travis Kelce – He reeled in 11 catches for 142 yards in the win over the Broncos. He now totals 1,131 yards on the year in the thinnest of fantasy positions. He also just set the record for the only tight end in the history of the NFL to record four straight 1,000 yard seasons.
WR DeVante Parker – He was a flop for his first three seasons. Parker currently totals 59 catches for 954 yards and eight touchdowns and should break 1,000 yards likely this week when they host the Bengals. He just signed a 4-year, $40 million extension. Apparently, he only comes to life when the Dolphins offense becomes completely stripped of all talent. He scored four touchdowns over the last three games.
RB Carlos Hyde – After six years and four different teams, Hyde currently stands at 224 carries for 1,030 yards for the Texans. His first 1,000-yard season. He was only paid $1.8 million this year and is a free agent in 2020. Will the Texans finally draft a talented rookie back or just more of the same by re-signing Hyde?
WR Terry McLaurin – All may not be lost with Dwayne Haskins. The speedy rookie McLaurin just scored for the second week in a row and gained a career-best 130 yards on five catches versus the Eagles.
WR Odell Beckham – He’s nursed a sports hernia all season according to recent reports. And he’s been a disappointment to fantasy owners. He did just catch a season-best eight passes for 66 yards at the Cardinals, in a game where Jarvis Landry was held to only five receptions for 23 yards. He fielded a season-high 13 targets versus eight for Landry.
TE Tyler Higbee – He led the Rams with 12 catches for 111 yards in the loss to the Cowboys. He is in his fourth season and had never gained more than 295 yards in any year. Higbee just turned in his third 100-yard game in a row. He’s suddenly reached the Top-10 for tight ends this season. Gerald Everett is out and had been the lead receiver. Higbee replaced Everett at an opportune time, but he’s been the No. 1 tight end for the last three weeks.
WR Julio Jones – The Falcons star didn’t have to share with Calvin Ridley but was facing the 49ers defense in San Francisco. He ended with 13 catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns including the game-winner. He also became the only wideout with 20 targets in one game this year. Tyler Lockett was the leader with 18 in Week 9.
Huddle player of the week
Kenyan Drake – Someone is going to be a soon-to-be rich free agent in 2020. Drake just ran for 137 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries and added nine yards on one catch in the win over the Browns. He’s everything that you thought David Johnson would be. Timing is everything in the world of expiring rookie contracts.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 312 | 2 | QB | Jimmy Garoppolo | 206 | 1 |
| RB | Miles Sanders | 172 | 2 | RB | Melvin Gordon | 64 | 0 |
| RB | Tony Pollard | 143 | 1 | RB | Dalvin Cook | 43 | 0 |
| WR | Breshad Perriman | 116 | 3 | WR | Emmanuel Sanders | 9 | 0 |
| WR | Jamison Crowder | 90 | 2 | WR | Julian Edelman | 9 | 0 |
| WR | Anthony Miller | 118 | 2 | WR | Robert Woods | 17 | 0 |
| TE | Ricky Seals-Jones | 29 | 2 | TE | Hunter Henry | 29 | 0 |
| PK | Dan Bailey | 3 XP 4 FG | PK | Greg Zuerlein | 1 XP | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 129 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 28 | ||||||
Now get back to work…