Week 15 in the NFL was kind of a dud, with only a few really good games. Bills v Lions and Steelers v Eagles were probably the only 2 games of much interest. But in fantasy, every game had major implications in this critical time of year. Some leagues started playoffs, while in other leagues, this was your last chance to make playoffs. So how did it all turn out? Lets check out the biggest studs and duds of the week!

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Quarterbacks

Studs:

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills – For the 2nd consecutive week, and the 4th time this season, Allen has earned the fantasy QB1 honor for the week, with his 362 yards passing, 2 passing TDs, 68 yards rushing and 2 rushing TDs. Also for the 2nd consecutive week, the Bills were 1 half of the highest scoring game of the week. Last week they suffered a tough 42-44 loss to the LA Rams. This week they rebounded with a 48-42 win over the Detroit Lions. The good news for the Bills is that they showed they can get into a shootout with the best and keep pace. The bad new is that they may need to get into a shootout to get the W, which is perfectly fine with Allen fantasy owners!

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions – Naturally, the QB that was on the other half of the highest scoring game of the week, is on the studs list. In fact, Goff missed the fantasy QB1 status by the smallest of a fraction of a point. Goff doesn’t usually get out of the pocket and run, so the bulk of his damage was done in the air. He threw for an astonishing 494 yards and 5 TDs! That’s tough to take a loss with those kinds of numbers.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens went into MetLife Stadium to play the unformidable New York Giants and dominated, as they should. Jackson had his way passing right away throwing 3 TDs in the 1st half. He finished the day with 290 yards passing and 5 TDs, adding 65 yards rushing on 6 attempts. Jackson’s TD to INT ratio thus far is an impressive 34:3, which is part of the reason he is fantasy’s QB1 for the season, up to this point.

Honorable Mentions:

Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets – 16/30 for 289 yards and 3 TDs; 45 yards rushing

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 22/27 for 288 yards and 4 TDs; 25 yards rushing

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles – 25/32 for 290 yards and 2 TDs; 45 yards rushing and 1 TD

Duds:

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers – The Rams had just given up 42 points to the Bills last week, so the 49ers were thinking they should be able to get the offense going this week, I’m sure. Instead, in a tough divisional loss, the 9ers only scored on 2 field goals, no TDs whatsoever, while Purdy himself only passed for 142 yards and added 1 INT.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins really needed to win out at this point to give themselves a chance at making playoffs. So, at home, against the Texans, Tagovailoa throws 3 INTs and lost a fumble, as the Dolphins fell, 12-20. Those 4 turnovers proved to be the difference in the game. He wasn’t able to do much to make up for it either, only passing for 196 yards and 1 TD.

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals – This is a critical time for fantasy managers, and if you had Murray in your line up, you were left disappointed. His play wasn’t bad…he passed for 224 yards and 0 INTs, but also had no TDs, leaving Murray with a subpar fantasy score. The Cardinals gained a sizeable lead, and leaned on the run to finish out the game, taking away opportunities for Murray to score more fantasy points.

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Wide Receivers

Studs:

Davante Adams, New York Jets – There were a number of big fantasy days for WRs, but none bigger than Adams. He’s had double digit targets in 5 out of the last 6 games, so he was bound to have a break out game. Just in time for Adams fantasy owners! For the 2nd consecutive week, he had 9 receptions, and eclipsed 100 yards receiving, but this week he came up only 2 yards short of 200. He found his way to the end zone twice, and was tackled at the 1 yard line late in the 4th quarter, preventing him from scoring his 3rd TD on the day.

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – With Tampa Bay clinging to a narrow divisional lead, Evans was able to record season highs in both receptions and yards, compiling 9 catches for 159 yards and 2 TDs, helping the Bucs get the W against a very good Charger defense.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions – St. Brown was a part of that shootout between the Lions and Bills, and was a big part of Detroit’s passing attack. QB Jared Goff threw for almost 500 yards, St. Brown accounting for almost 200 of them. He finished the contest with a massive 18 targets, hauling in 14 of them for 193 yards and a 66-yard catch and run TD.

Honorable Mentions:

Brian Thomas Jr, Jacksonville Jaguars – 10 receptions for 105 yards and 2 TDs

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens – 3 receptions for 80 yards and 2 TDs

Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders – 7 receptions for 73 yards and 2 TDs

Duds:

Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers – For the 3rd time in 5 weeks, Samuel hits the duds list. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t think he has enough expectations left for the season to even be eligible for the duds list anymore. This week he only managed to bring in 3 receptions for 16 yards and hasn’t been able gain more than 22 yards in a game for 5 consecutive weeks.

DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks – Metcalf started the season as most figured he would, eclipsing 100 yards receiving in 3 consecutive games, but after the Hawks bye week in week 10, WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba started to take the lead in targets for Seattle. This week, the whole Seahawk passing attack struggled, with Metcalf only contributing 3 receptions for 28 yards.

Marvin Harrison Jr, Arizona Cardinals – I really don’t like putting rookies on the duds list. It’s their first season in professional football, which is longer and more grueling than anything they’ve ever experienced before. But Harrison Jr. was supposed to be the most NFL ready receiver coming out of college this year. Harrison fell victim to a game script against him this week, with the Cardinals gaining a favorable lead early, thus leaning heavily on the RBs to finish out the game, limiting Harrison’s opportunities. None of that really matters to the fantasy owner counting on Harrison, who only got 2 receptions for 32 yards out of him.

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins – Despite the many obstacles Hill has faced this season, he still had scored a TD in 4 of the last 5 games, and had 10 receptions for 115 yards just last week. Along with his QB, Hill really struggled in this one bringing in only 2 of his 7 intended targets for 36 yards.

Running Backs

Studs:

James Conner, Arizona Cardinals – The Cardinals had both their QB (Murray) and #1 WR (Harrison Jr) on duds lists due to a game script that went against them, that moved to the run game because of their big lead on the Patriots. So it would make sense that Conner would find the studs list. He carried the ball 16 times for 110 yards and 2 TDs, and caught all 5 of his targets for an additional 28 yards, earning him fantasy RB1 honors this week.

James Cook, Buffalo Bills – The Bills needed another 40+ point game to get the win this week, but the difference this week was that the Bills were playing from ahead instead of from behind, so they kept the run game intact. Cook was able to break off some big runs, and benefited from the defense keying in on QB Josh Allen scrambling. Cook finished with 105 yards rushing and 2 TDs, and added a 28 yard catch and run reception.

Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions – While trying to keep pace with the Bill, Detroit went to Gibbs in the short passing game. He caught 5 passes out of the backfield for 83 yards and 1 TD. He did have 8 rushing attempts as well, going for 31 yards and a TD. Gibbs should see a volume increase this upcoming week with fellow RB David Montgomery suffering an MCL injury and is probably out for the remainder of the season.

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals – In his second season in the NFL, Brown has been making the most of an opportunity given as lead back for the Bengals, after Zach Moss went down with an injury. This week Cinci pounded the ball on the ground giving Brown 25 rushing attempts for 97 yards and 1 TD, while adding 3 receptions for 16 yards and 1 TD.

Honorable Mentions:

Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans – 5 yards rushing and 1 TD; 6 receptions for 87 yards and 1 TD

Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers – 26 carries for 94 yards and 1 TD; 4/4 receptions for 42 yards

Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings – 18 carries for 86 yards and 1 TD; 2 receptions for 20 yards

Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns – 7 carries for 84 yards and 1 TD; 2 receptions for 20 yards

Duds:

Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers – In the Pennsylvania bowl, Harris had a tough time getting anything going against a really stingy Eagles defense. Harris rushed 6 times for only 14 yards and had 1 reception for 7 yards. Just an all around tough day for this Steeler’s offense.

Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs – After missing 9 games due to injury, it looked as though Pacheco had earned his lead back position again. Now, 3 weeks later, his lack of production (13 carries for 32 yards) had Kareem Hunt getting more touches than Pacheco. Neither back was very productive, and I would imagine Pacheco gets the nod next week, unless he has similarly poor production again.

Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers – Against a Dallas defense that has been gashed by numerous RBs, Hubbard couldn’t get anything going. He only rushed for 32 yards on 10 carries, his lowest rushing total since week 1. He did have 4 receptions, but those only amounted to an additional 17 yards.

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Tight Ends

Studs:

Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions – Yet another offensive player from that Lions/Bills game on a studs list. LaPorta pitched in 7 receptions for 111 yards, which puts him at fantasy TE1 for week 15. LaPorta and St. Brown accounted for 304 of QB Jared Goffs’ 494 yards passing.

Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins – Smith has exploded for fantasy owners over the past 5 weeks with 37 receptions for 393 yards and 5 TDs! This week he hauled in 9 passes for 48 yards and 1 TD.

Duds:

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – QB Baker Mayfield went with heavy doses of Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan targeting them 17 times combined, for 238 yards. Otton was kind of an after thought here, only throwing his way 3 times. He caught 2 of them for 24 yards.

Defense/Special Teams

Studs:

DL Chris Jones anchors the Kansas City defense.

Kansas City Chiefs – The Chief’s defense has been really good this year, holding it all together as the offense went through some struggles. In fantasy, they’ve been pretty average until Sunday against the Browns, where they held them to 7 points, recorded 5 sacks, 4 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries. Causing 6 turnovers should put you in line for the W every time.

Duds:

Detroit Lions – With an onslaught of offense on both sides of this game against the Bills, one DST is bound to end up on the duds list. This Lions defense has been really good all year. Unfortunately they have been just decimated by injuries. I hate putting them here, but in fantasy, giving up 48 points and recording no other statistic, puts you in the negative in fantasy points.

That’s a wrap on another thrilling week of NFL football. Thanks for checking out my weekly edition of studs and duds in the fantasy world. I always enjoy hearing your thoughts and opinions, so feel free to leave a comment below. Good luck with all your fantasy football endeavors!