NFL Week 16 primer
Fantasy,
Week 15 of the NFL served up more cold-weather games but scoring was much higher than it was in Week 14, when so many fantasy studs suddenly turned in bad performances. We were still limited to three quarterbacks throwing for more than 300 yards and nine without a single touchdown pass.
Austin Hooper, Luke Willson, Hunter Henry, Erik Swoope, Charles Clay, Garrett Celek and Dion Sims were the only tight ends with a touchdown catch — and yet none was a fantasy starter in most leagues. Remember that in your fantasy draft next summer before the run on tight ends begins.
VALUABLE SECOND FIDDLES
Fantasy playoffs are underway, and when the cold weather comes, it’s always good to own running backs. When the passing stats fall — and they have for the last two weeks — the running game comes to the rescue because it’s much easier to hand off than hit a moving target.
Colder weather always drives passing stats down. However, owning the primary back is no guarantee of fantasy points. uMike Gillislee, Buffalo
Bills. LeSean McCoy is a top back with 1,462 total yards and 13 touchdowns. But he has seen Gillislee run in seven touchdowns this year, including one Sunday against the Cleveland Browns and two in Week 13 at the Oakland Raiders. Gillislee has scored five times over the last six games. uDerrick Henry, Tennessee
Titans. DeMarco Murray has 1,585 yards and 12 touchdowns. But he has been capped at 21 carries for the last six games, with Henry pitching in eight to 12 carries a week. That saves Murray from excessive wear but has allowed Henry to gain about 50 yards in each of the last three games and score twice Sunday in
Kansas City. uRobert Turbin, Indian
apolis Colts. Frank Gore’s career as the primary back for the Colts is winding down. He even ran for 101 yards in Minnesota. But Gore has just four rushing touchdowns this season — to go with four more scores as a receiver. Turbin has been a true touchdown hawk since he has been limited to 38 carries and yet has six scores, including two against the Vikings.
uTim Hightower, New Or
leans Saints. Mark Ingram has disappointed with 1,137 total yards and four touchdowns despite being selected as a starting back for fantasy teams. Ingram managed 92 total yards in the win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, but Hightower added 48 yards and scored twice.
Another problem with Week 15 running backs was that entering Monday night’s game, the Saints’ Travaris Cadet was the only running back to catch a touchdown pass. There have been 77 such positional scores this year and typically five or six per week. The previous low was three in both Weeks 6 and 8 — when a total of eight teams were out on byes. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson injured his knee in Week 2 and missed 12 games. His only full game was the opener when he ran for 31 yards on 19 carries at the Titans. He was held to only 19 yards on 12 runs by the Green Bay Packers the following week before tearing his right meniscus.
Peterson returned earlier than expected when he was active for Week 15. He ended with six runs for 22 yards and caught one pass for 1 yard while the Vikings were dominated by the Colts. This week he’ll face the same Packers from Week 2, only this time he’ll be in their stadium.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Fantasy owners who have Murray, Marcus Mariota, Delanie Walker and Rishard Mathews caught a break with the Titans’ Week 16 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars fired coach Gus Bradley after they blew a 12-point lead in the second half and lost 21-20 to the Houston Texans. The Titans beat the Jaguars 36-22 in Week 8, which led to the replace- ment of their offensive coordinator. Blake Bortles passed for a season-high 337 yards and three touchdowns in that game but has declined since, managing to complete 12 of 28 passes for 92 yards and one interception in Houston.
The Titans defense should be a fantasy must-start this week.
QB CHANGES
This late into the season, offenses should be well-established and the chance for any notable depth chart changes are slim. Even more so for the most important position — quarterback.
And yet the NFL still brings the surprises.
uChicago Bears: The 3-11 cellar-dwellers of the NFC North already churned through starting quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer. Matt Barkley was the warm body they never intended to rely on. But the little-used fourth-year player passed for 316 yards and three scores in his 2016 debut in Week 12 vs. the Titans.
After two less-stellar outings that included beating the San Francisco 49ers with little more than Jordan Howard’s rushing, Barkley faced the visiting Packers in a game played in 9 degree weather. And all he did was throw for 362 yards and two touchdowns. Barkley finished second to Drew Brees among fantasy quarterbacks in Week 15.
uMiami Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill disappointed with only 19 passing scores over his 13 games this season. He was lost with a sprained knee in Week 14, and Matt Moore was pressed into starting after seeing minimal action for the last five years.
Moore passed for 236 yards and four touchdowns in a win against the New York Jets — one more score than Tannehill produced in any game this year.
Moore not only found tight end Dion Sims for two scores, he also connected with Jarvis Landry for 108 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown catch. And Kenny Stills caught one pass that went for a 52-yard score.
One game in, and the dink-anddunk of Tannehill gave way to two 50+-yard touchdown passes from Moore.
uTexans: While they are tied for the AFC South lead with the Titans, their success has been in spite of their lack of passing offense. Brock Osweiler has been a bitter disappointment after signing a four-year, $72 million contract, but he continued to play if only because $37 million was guaranteed.
Osweiler averaged about 205 yards, one touchdown and one interception per week. Against the Jaguars on Sunday, he was finally benched in the second quarter after passing for 48 yards and throwing two interceptions on consecutive series while trailing 13-0 against a visiting 2-11 team.
Third-year backup Tom Savage played for less than three full quarters yet completed 23 of 36 passes for 260 yards and led the Texans on a fourth-quarter drive for the winning touchdown with under three minutes left.
Savage connected with DeAndre Hopkins for 87 yards on eight receptions. It was Hopkins’ highest yardage total since Week 2.
Unsurprisingly, the Texans announced Monday that Savage will take over as the starter Saturday when they face the visiting Cincinnati Bengals in a must-win game.