It was championship weekend, and boy did we get some great performances! With a number of key injuries, many fantasy managers relied on their reserves to fulfill fantasy rosters. While there were a number of games that had huge implications for making NFL playoffs, there were even bigger implications for fantasy owners trying to claim a championship! Lets take a look back at who came through, and fell short.

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Quarterbacks

Studs:

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals – In a game the Bengals absolutely had to win to keep an outside chance of making playoffs, Burrow passed for 412 yards and 3 TDs, including a game winning TD in OT, and added 25 yards rushing and 1 TD, to beat the Broncos 30-24, earning fantasy’s week 17 QB1 honors, for the 3rd time of the 2024 season.

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Mayfield was a very efficient 27 of 32 for 359 yards passing and 5 TDs with 0 INTs in a win against the Carolina Panthers and the Bucs quest for a NFC South division title. Mayfield had his best game of the season both on the field and in fantasy prospective, just in time for fantasy championship week.

Drew Lock, New York Giants – In a surprising win from the NY Giants, losing their spot as the #1 draft pick in the 2025 NFL draft, Lock, the Giants 3rd string QB, passed for 309 yards and 4 TDs and punched a TD in from the goal line to beat the Indianapolis Colts 45-33, ending the Colts chances of a playoff birth.

Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders – Down 7-17 to the Atlanta Falcons at half time, Daniels put the team on his back and refused to lose, leading his team to 17 unanswered points in the 2nd half. If he were a RB, he would have had a nice day with his 127 yards rushing, but he also passed for 227 yards and 3 TDs, including a walk off TD in OT to TE Zach Ertz to secure the 30-24 victory and clinch themselves a playoff spot.

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers – Purdy had far and away his best fantasy day of the season. In their 34-40 loss to the Lions, Purdy completed 27/35 passes for 377 yards and 3 TDs and also rushed for a TD.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens – In a dominant win over the Houston Texans, Jackson’s 87 yards rushing helped him become the NFL’s all-time leader in career rushing yards for a QB with 6,110 and counting. He also passed for 168 yards and 2 TDs and had a rushing TD, to help Baltimore get the win and put them in a position to win the AFC North. Jackson’s 3,955 yards passing and 39 TDs, to only 4 INTs, and 852 yards rushing and 4 TDs puts him in the running for yet another NFL MVP award.

Honorable Mentions:

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs – 29/38 passing for 320 yards and 3 TDs

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions – 26/34 passing for 303 yards and 3 TDs

Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings – 33/43 passing for 377 yards and 3 TDs; 1 INT

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers – 26/38 passing for 281 yards and 3 TDs

Duds:

Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers – Hopefully you had better options this week at QB in your fantasy line up than Love, who just hasn’t lived up to expectations this year. In a game that was for playoff seeding against the Minnesota Vikings, Love and the Packers got off to a very slow start. In fact, Love had no passing yards at half time. They surged for a comeback in the 2nd half, as Love finished the contest with 185 yards passing and 1 TD, but ended up falling short, 25-27.

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Wide Receivers

Studs:

Malik Nabers, New York Giants – Nabers was yet another player to save his best for fantasy’s championship weekend. Facing a Colts defense that had been playing well, He corralled 7 of his 8 targets in for 171 yards and 2 TDs, with a hefty amount of those yards coming after the catch, evading tackle after tackle after tackle and earning WR1 for week 17.

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals – In non-ppr leagues, Higgins had exactly the same amount of fantasy points as Nabers did. Higgins and Burrow mark the 6th QB/WR duo to be at the top of their prospective positions for the week. Higgins himself caught 11 of his 12 targets for 131 yards and 3 TDs, including a walk-off TD reception in OT to get past the Denver Broncos 30-24.

DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles – Smith caught a pair of TDs Sunday, one from two separate back up QBs. 2nd string Kenny Pickett was injured after hitting Smith for a TD in the 2nd quarter. 3rd string QB Tanner McKee filled in and hit Smith for another TD late in the game. Smith finished the contest catching 6 of his 7 targets for a total of 120 receiving yards.

Honorable Mentions:

Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers – 5/6 receptions for 110 yards and 2 TDs

Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos – 8/8 receptions for 103 yards and 2 TDs

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 8/9 receptions for 97 yards and 2TDs

Lad McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers – 8/10 receptions for 94 yards and 2 TDs

Duds:

Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders – Just the opposite of those players we’ve listed who gave their best fantasy day of the season this championship weekend, McLaurin handicapped fantasy owners in their quest to a championship by having his worst statistical output of the season. Blanketed all day by Atlanta’s defensive back, A.J. Terrell, McLaurin was only able to haul in 1 of his 7 targets for a mere 5 yards.

Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers – Reed was fantasy’s WR1 in week 1. He had a very solid fantasy performance against the Vikings in their 1st meeting back in week 4, catching 7 passes for 139 yards and 1 TD. Other than that, Reed has been pretty ordinary this season, especially for being drafted as a WR1 on many fantasy teams. In the Packers’ 2nd bout against Minnesota, he dropped a key pass in the 2nd quarter when Green Bay was attempting to convert on a 4th down. He finally got his lone reception in the 2nd half, that was good for 6 yards.

Running Backs

Studs:

Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts – Taylor scored big fantasy numbers in the Colts’ devastating loss to the now 3 win NY Giants. His 125 yards rushing and 2 TDs were enough to earn RB1 honors for the 2nd consecutive week. He had 343 yards and 5 TDs in the two games combined.

Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens – Only 4 days after obliterating the Pittsburgh defense to the tune of 162 yards rushing on 24 carries, Henry went into Houston adding 27 more rushes to his season total, for 147 more rushing yards and 1 TD. Henry fell off target to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards for the season, but still has had a remarkable season, finishing with 1,953 yards from scrimmage and 16 total TDs for all of his fantasy owners out there. Henry very well might increase his total season stats next week against the Browns, as the Ravens look to win the AFC North with a win.

Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions – As the Lions try to keep pace with the Vikings for the NFC North title, Gibbs went into San Francisco as the sole lead back and rushed for 117 yards and 1 TD, catching all 4 targets for 46 yards receiving as well. The Lions were able to get the W against the 9ers, and will have an epic showdown next Sunday night against the Vikings. Both teams are 14-2, and not only is the division title on the line, but the #1 seed in the NFC as well.

Honorable Mentions:

Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons – 17 carries for 90 yards and 2 TDs

Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 20 carries for 113 yards; 4/4 receptions for 77 yards

Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles – 31 carries for 167 yards

Ameer Abdullah, Las Vegas Raiders – 20 carries for 115 yards; 3/4 receptions for 32 yards

Duds:

James Conner, Arizona Cardinals – Reports say that Conner aggravated a knee injury and exited the game in the 2nd quarter, never to re-enter the contest, which is really too bad. Conner has had a really nice fantasy season, and to finish with 4 yards on 4 carries on championship week was tough for Conner fantasy owners.

Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs – Pacheco never really seemed to get things going again after missing 9 weeks with a broken fibula. Now, he has a rib issue, and although they keep saying he’ll be good for the NFL playoffs, on fantasy championship week, he turned 6 carries into only 18 yards.

To get all the latest gear for these players and more, go check out the NFL Shop now!

Tight Ends

Studs:

Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders – Ertz has had a bit of a resurgence season coming over to the Commanders, in his 12th NFL season, after being with the Cardinals for 3 years. He also, like some previously mentioned, saved his best fantasy game of the 2024 season for championship weekend. In thrilling fashion, Ertz caught a game winning walk-off TD in OT against the Falcons on Sunday Night Football. He finsished the evening with 6/7 reception for 72 yards and 2 TDs.

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals – He finally scored a receiving TD! With 1 final game in the regular NFL season remaining, and the fantasy season finished in most leagues, McBride is 2nd in both receptions (104) and yards (1,081) among TEs, yet his first TD wasn’t scored until this week. He currently ranks 3rd in fantasy points, in non-ppr leagues, and would more than likely be on top had he been scoring a TD here and there throughout the season! McBride also had his best fantasy day of the season this week, by the way.

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs – Kelce didn’t have his best fantasy day of the season this week. Only his 2nd best. With QB Patrick Mahomes seemingly focusing more on his new speedster WRs in Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown, Kelce hasn’t produced much since weeks 8,9 &10. This week, against a tough Pittsburgh defense, Kelce found open pockets throughout the contest, and hauled in 8 of 11 targets for 84 yards and 1 TD.

Honorable Mentions:

Tyler Conklin, New York Jets – 8/8 receptions for 57 yards and 1 TD

Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens – 2/2 receptions for 68 yards and 1 TD

Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions – 6/8 receptions for 64 yards and 1 TD

Duds:

No tight end duds this week. I didn’t feel like any TE with enough expectations had a dud game.

Defense/Special Teams

Studs:

Philadelphia Eagles – There were an unusual amount of fantasy points scored by defenses this week, but none more than the Eagles. They dominated the Dallas Cowboys allowing only 7 points and recorded 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 INTs, one of which was taken back 69 yards for a TD, by C.J. Gardner-Johnson for the first score of the game.

Duds:

Indianapolis Colts – The Colts went up against a 2-13 New York Giants team that has offensively struggled tremendously this season. The Colts had been playing pretty well defensively, so it was projected that the Colts might be a good defense to put in a fantasy line up. Well the Colts actually gave up 45 points, the most the Giants has scored all season by a long ways, and recorded no other defensive statistic.

Thank you for checking out this weeks edition of studs and duds. Although most fantasy leagues finished this week, I will do one more final studs and duds list for the last regular season game in the NFL, for all those who are still going, and for daily fantasy players as well. I’ve really enjoyed putting this article out each week! I will be running a similar version of studs and duds for the playoffs as well, so be sure to check that out also! I love hearing your thoughts and opinions, so please feel free to leave a note below!