Most fantasy leagues I’ve seen or been a part of, finish up championship week on the 2nd to last week of the season. Reason being, teams that have locked up a seed for the playoffs often don’t play their starters so not to risk injury.
There are some leagues out there that went all the way to the end however, and there are also a number of daily fantasy players out there as well. So this week, I’m going to analyze the week slightly different. I will try to report the outcomes of players for both formats of fantasy play. So let’s get right to it!
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Quarterbacks
Studs:
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers – The #1 overall pick from the 2023 NFL draft had his best game of his career thus far leading his team to a 44-38 W in a thrilling shootout with the Falcons, spoiling any hopes Atlanta had to make the playoffs. Young accounted for 5 TDs, the first time doing so in his “young” career. He finished the day with 251 yards passing, 3 TDs, 24 yards rushing and 2 TDs.
For daily fantasy players, Young hit Overs in: Passing TDs, Rushing TDs, Passing Yards, Passing Attempts and Completions.
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos – Denver just needed a win to get in the playoffs. Kansas City had the #1 seed in the AFC locked up so most of the Chief’s starters were sidelined to avoid injury in a meaningless game for them. The two scenarios were a perfect recipe for Nix to have a monster game. The rookie signal-caller passed for 321 yards and 4 TDs, adding 47 yards rushing on 7 carries, beating Kansas City 38-0.
Nix also hit Overs in: Passing TDs, and Passing Yards
Other Passing Yards Overs:
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers – 346
Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons – 312
Other Passing TD Overs:
Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets – 4
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals – 4
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks – 4
Duds:
Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings – In a game against the Detroit Lions, with the division title and #1 seed in the NFC on the line, Darnold was abysmal. In the Vikings ultimate 9-31 loss, Darnold completed just 18 of his 41 attempted passes for only 166 yards and no TDs.
For daily fantasy players, Darnold hit Unders in: Completions, Passing Yards and Passing TDs
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions – This was a game many thought would be a high scoring affair on both sides. It turned out to be very one sided, but neither QB played that well. Goff was efficient, completing 27 of 33 passes for 231 yards but threw 2 INTs and only 1 TD. With the help of the run game, Detroit was able to get the 31-9 victory.
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals – Burrow had an 8 game multiple TD pass streak going, but in this game against a tough Steelers defense, that streak came to an end. Typically if Burrow drops back as many as 46 times, his passing yardage ends up in the 300s or more. The Steelers were willing to give up the short stuff and avoid the big play, so Burrow’s 37 completions only went for 277 yards and was only able to throw 1 TD pass. His attempts and completions went Over, but yards and TDs hit the Under.
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Wide Receivers
Studs:
Drake London, Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons went with their rookie QB Michael Penix Jr for the last few weeks of the season, and he knew who he should target. In a shootout with the Panthers, Penix looked to London a whopping 18 times! London hauled in 10 of those passes for 187 yards and 2 TDs in a disappointing finale loss 38-44.
Daily Fantasy: London hit Overs in Receptions, Receiving Yards and Receiving TDs
Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders – The Raiders were long out of playoff contention and were playing for nothing but pride and film. Meyers, however, was also looking to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career, and did it, hauling in 9 of his 10 targets for 123 yards and 1 TD.
Daily Fantasy: Meyers hit Overs in Receptions, Receiving yards and Receiving TDs
Other Notable Overs:
Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers – Receiving Yards (186), Receptions (13)
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars – Receiving Yards (103)
Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos – Receiving Yards (98)
Duds:
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks – For a guy who finished the season with 100 receptions and 1,130 yard receiving, Smith-Njigba’s 4 receptions for a mere 9 yards was pretty surprising. Needless to say he hit the Under in receiving yards.
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins – He was said to be questionable due to a wrist injury and an illness at the same time. It’s been a disappointing season for Hill and the Dolphins overall. If you were paying a attention to the injury report, you hammered the Under on anything Hill related. He probably should have just sat this one out. Hill ended up catching 2 balls for 20 yards.
Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens – On his lone catch of the afternoon, which went for 12 yards, Flowers was hit hard on his right knee, keeping him out for the remainder of the game. If you had him in a championship line up, that’s tough. If you played him on daily fantasy, hopefully whatever platform you use rescues you on injured players. If you just played the Under for anything Flowers related, nice work!
Running Backs
Studs:
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions – Mr. Gibbs had himself a day. Detroit was playing with the division title on the line and the #1 seed up for grabs. While his QB was pedestrian, Gibbs took over, rushing for 139 yards and 3 TDs, obviously hitting the Over in both those categories and leading his team to a 31-9 victory. Gibbs also was the recipient of Jared Goffs lone TD pass, as he added 31 yards receiving to his stat line.
Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons – For the 3rd consecutive week, Robinson scored a pair of TDs. He had his best game of the season both on the field and for fantasy. The Falcons and Panthers got into a shootout, and there wasn’t much defense to be found. Robinson rushed for 170 yards and 2 TDs, both Overs, in their 38-44 loss.
Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens – With a win, Baltimore could claim champions of the AFC North. Henry did his part in the Ravens win over Cleveland by rushing for 138 yards and 2 TDs, both Overs. With that performance, Henry etched his name into some record books. He became the Ravens single season TD leader with 16 and also became the 1st player in NFL history to rush for 1,500+ yards and 15+ TDs in 3 separate seasons.
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts – At one point in the season, I remember wondering if Taylor would even get to 1,000 rushing yards for the season, especially having missed 3 games earlier with an injury. So what did Taylor do? He proceeded to rush for 723 yards in his final 5 games, to finish the season at 1,431 rushing yards. Very impressive! Now that I’m done gushing over Taylor’s finish to the season, Let’s look at this week. Taylor rushed for 177 yards and 1 TD, both Overs.
Other Notable Overs:
De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins – 121 rushing yards
Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 89 rushing yards
Duds:
Brian Robinson Jr., Washington Commanders – Robinson was only given 5 carries to keep from getting an injury in a game that wouldn’t change their playoff seeding. I’m not sure why he even suited up. His 5 carries went for a mere 10 yards. A perfect opportunity to hammer an Under, if you were monitoring the situation and able to find a Robinson offer.
Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers – Not a popular starter on one’s fantasy team, but a player that is used in daily fantasy often. Warren has been pretty productive in his role, and becomes an attractive player to use because his numbers to hit an Over are usually on the lower side. This week however, was not a week to try the Over on Warren, as his 6 carries for 21 yards and 0 receptions both hit the Under.
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Tight Ends
Studs:
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers – With Pittsburgh having a hard time getting any resemblance of a run game going against the Bengals, they turned to the big guy to help them move the ball down field. Freiermuth had the most targets and receptions of the season in this game, catching 8 of his 11 targets for 85 yards and 1 TD, hitting Overs in all 4 of those categories.
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals – McBride hadn’t caught a TD pass all season, until last week. Now, he caught TD passes in back-to-back games. Really playing for nothing but pride and film, McBride hauled in 7 of his 11 targets for 65 yards and 1 TD, hitting Overs in each of those categories as well.
Other Notable Overs:
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints – 80 yards receiving
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals – 68 yards receiving
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions – 63 yards receiving
Duds:
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings – This was the most important game of the season for Minnesota, and they all seemed to get the epps. Hockenson, along with WRs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison all had a number of drops. The three combined only had 6 receptions out of 23 targets. Hockenson himself had 2 of them on 8 targets for 9 yards, clearing the Under easily on receptions and receiving yards.
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers – Kittle had an especially good year in 2024. Fantasy’s TE1 for the entire season good, in fact. With the 9ers out of playoff contention, they gave some other TEs on the team some time on the field, while Kittle did the looking on from the sideline. In the little time Kittle did play, he snatched 2 receptions for 27 yards.
Thanks for checking out this weeks addition of studs and duds! Hope you enjoyed the information! Be sure to look for my article coming soon where I’ll wrap up studs and duds of the entire 2024 season. I always love hearing your feed back, so please feel free to leave a note below!