Fantasy Playoff Reactions: Round 1
For many fantasy footballers, this is week 1 of the playoffs. Some of you may have had the luxury of sitting back and relaxing as your top 2 team was on a bye, and some of you may have been sweating it out this past weekend watching your lineups. There will also inevitably be another group of people who did not have the week they were hoping for and were bounced from the playoffs. Chin up, fantasy footballers. There is always next year!
As many of you saw, there were some crazy games this week! Tom Brady getting shut out in the second half? The 5-8 Jaguars (now 6-8) upset the 10-3 Cowboys, the Texans went toe-to-toe with the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, and the Vikings erased a 30-point deficit to beat the Colts on Saturday. It was one hell of a week for football. Let’s look at how it played out!
Seahawks vs 49ers
Well, despite their best efforts, no one can beat Brock Purdy and the 49ers right now. They are on a 7-game win streak. That’s nuts. I guess when you have a running back like McCaffrey and a tight end like George Kittle, all you need to do is get it in their hands and they will do the rest. CMC had 108 rush yards, 6 catches for 30 yards, and 2 rushing TDs. A fantastic 25.8 points. George Kittle had to go and do his best to beat CMC, but he was JUST short. 25.3 points for Kittle on 4 catches for 93 yards and 2 TDs. Ultimately, these two won this game. Defense too, but you get my point.
The Seahawks simply did not have enough gas in the tank. You know when Noah Fant is leading them in fantasy points, something went awry. Outside of Geno Smith, that is. Smith had 238 yards and a touchdown but only scored 15.36 fantasy points because of that. Noah Fant had a big day, with 5 catches for 32 yards and a TD. Good for 14.2 points. Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf were held in check. 7 catches for 68 yards for Lockett (13.8 points) and 7 for 55 for D.K. (12.5 points). Not ideal, but not killing your lineups.
Colts vs Vikings
I’m still in disbelief that what occurred in this game occurred. If you haven’t seen it already, did you know the Colts were up 30-0 at halftime? And I bet you saw that the Vikings won this game. If you didn’t watch, you are probably wondering why, or you realized Matt Ryan was the quarterback. That guy LOVES blowing huge leads. Unreal. At the end of the day, for me, I needed Michael Pittman Jr. to have a solid day, and that he did. 19 points off 10 catch for 60 yards (gross) and 2 rushes for 30. Jonathan Taylor went down with a high ankle sprain and didn’t return to the game. I KNOW people got screwed out there because of that. It’s a damn shame. Deon Jackson was his replacement who managed to score 10 points if someone out there was desperate enough to play him? I dunno. Maybe someone was.
The Vikings were scaring a lot of fantasy managers in the first half. Myself included. Dalvin Cook wasn’t producing the numbers he is capable of and Kirk Cousins looked lost. But the surge after halftime is incredible. Cousins turned around and finished with 460 passing yards and 4 TDs. The Minnesota Mount Rushmore scored all of the touchdowns. Jefferson, Cook, Thielen, and Osborn. That was not a comparison to the 4 presidents, FYI. I’ll just rattle off what each player scored and that’ll tell you how the second half went – remember, Vikings scored ZERO in the first half. Here we go. Kirk Cousins had 32.4 points, K.J. Osborn had 31.7, Justin Jefferson had 30.3, Dalvin Cook had 27 and Thielen had 13. What a day for the Vikings pass-catchers. Heck of a win, too.
Ravens vs Browns
Yeah, this one will be short and sweet because there was very little fantasy production. The Ravens’ highest fantasy scorer was J.K. Dobbins with 13.8 points. He’d been solid since his return. This week he had 125 rushing yards. Mark Andrews with a measly 6.1 points gives you yet another crappy week. We need Lamar back. Huntley stunk. Hopefully, the Ravens can get back on track because they’re slowly falling in the AFC. Another week without Lamar could be costly.
Deshaun Watson has singlehandedly ruined both Nick Chubb’s and Amari Cooper’s fantasy value. Nick Chubb hasn’t scored more than 10 points since Watson’s return in week 13. Amari Cooper? ALSO hasn’t had above 10 points since Watson’s return. Not good. Fantasy lineups are relying on that. I am going to imagine, because it happened to me, that teams had both of them and were bounced out of the playoffs this week because of that. It was a solid stack for most of the year. Donovan Peoples-Jones was the most productive Brown with 13 points. I am praying that changes next week.
Dolphins vs Bills
I’m not going to lie, I’m bummed. Miami had the lead in the fourth quarter and had full control of the game. The offense stalled and the Bills took over. Tua looked much sharper in the pocket in my opinion, but the receivers and him were off-base. Drops and a handful of off-target big-time throws. Tua had a decent fantasy day, however. 19 points from his 234 yards and 2 TDs. Tyreek also had yet another solid week with 9 catches for 69 yards and a TD (21 points). Jaylen Waddle returned! We saw his huge 60+ yard TD roll him into a 20-point week. Raheem Mostert racked up 136 rushing yards and accumulated 16.6 points. Solid fantasy day for Miami players.
The Bills got the dub. Gotta hand it to ‘em. They finished the game and won. For me, going into the season, all I wanted to do was at the minimum split with the Bills. Which we did. So them winning doesn’t phase me. Josh Allen showed us why he is Josh Allen. With 304 yards and 4 TDs, he dropped a 35-point bomb in the first round of fantasy playoffs. Dawson Knox is trending toward being a league-winner. 14 points a week ago and 21 this week. He saw 8 targets and caught 6 of them for 98 yards and a TD. James Cook scored 11, Stefon Diggs hit 10 points as did Devin Singletary with 10. Stefon hurt me in a couple of leagues. Hate to see it.
Eagles vs Bears
The Bears have made so much progress. They have a ways to go, but at least their future is bright. Justin Fields is dissecting the field better, making better decisions for the most part, and utilizing his rushing abilities. You love to see it. This week he had 150 passing yards, 2 TDs, and 95 rush yards. A solid 23.5 points for the breakout QB. David Montgomery supported lineups across the fantasy football world. He had 53 rushing yards, 30 receiving yards, and a touchdown on the ground and in the air! Massive 24-point week for the vet.
The Eagles’ offense went crazy, too! Jalen Hurts had a monster day. 315 passing yards, 61 rushing yards, and 3 rushing TDs! Good for 34.7 points! It’s extremely unfortunate he could miss the rest of the fantasy playoffs. A.J. Brown also had a huge day. No touchdown since Jalen took care of those, but he caught 9 passes for 181 yards so it didn’t even matter. It will be interesting to see how A.J. Brown’s fantasy production is with Gardner Minshew under center. DeVonta Smith ended up with 17.6 points from his 5 catches and 126-yard day. As I said, awesome day for the Philly offensive players. But it came at a cost.
Saints vs Falcons
Alas! We finally got to see Desmond Ridder as the starter. It came at the hands of the Mariota injury, which is unfortunate. Nevertheless, we got to see the rookie in action. It wasn’t great, though. That’s a tough game to come in as a rookie and face the division-rival Saints. Only 97 passing yards and a chunk of rush yards. Less than 8 points, oof. Who would’ve thought Tyler Allgeier would be the Falcons’ MVP in fantasy this week? 22 points from the first-year running back. . He had 139 rush yards and a touchdown! Patterson and London each had 12 points, so if you played them, they weren’t hurting your lineup, but they weren’t giving you any sort of advantage either. Better luck next week.
The Saints took care of busy. Was it pretty? No. Was it ugly? Not necessarily. But, they did go home with a W! Juwan Johnson was their MVP. 22.7 points for him this week. Andy Dalton had a favorite target this week, Lol. 4 catches for 67 yards and 2 TDs! Huge day for the 3rd-year man. Rashid Shaheed had another big game. I doubt anyone was playing him? But he scored 18.5 points. Andy Dalton had 151 yards and 2 TDs which is good for 14 points, but Alvin Kamara continues to struggle for fantasy purposes. Only 12 points for the star RB this week. Tough. Chris Olave also had a quiet day with 8 points from his 3 catches and 53 yards. Not ideal.
Lions vs Jets
I thought this would end up much differently than it did. Once Zach Wilson was announced as the starter, I thought Detroit +1 (which was the line I got) was a lock. But this game came down to the end! With 4 minutes left in the game, the Jets took the lead but the Lions went down and scored to secure the win. Zach Wilson had a good day. 317 yards and 2 TDs later he scored 19 points. I’m willing to bet some desperate teams threw him in their lineups. C.J. Uzomah wound up with 18 points because of 2 TDs and Garrett Wilson had 13, which isn’t great, but still helps your team.
The Lions have now won 6 out of the last 7 games. They walked away with the win this week and Amon-Ra St. Brown probably helped get you a win, too. He had 15 points on 7 catches for 76 yards. I wish he was able to find the end zone, and I bet you do too. D’Andre Swift managed to get 12 points, but man it would be nice if he kicked it in gear over the next two weeks. Jamaal Williams was robbed of a touchdown, which would have made it a 10-point week for him. Bummer to see him tail off this week. Would love to see more production from the RBs going forwards. Detroit has put themselves in a position where they may sneak into the playoffs. They will need a strong finish in the final 3 weeks of the season! This is going to be fun, grab the popcorn!
Steelers vs Panthers
Well, Sam Darnold still stinks. 225 yards and a TD. Electric (sarcasm). The ONLY good thing to come from this Panthers offense lately is D.J. Moore’s 18 points in his return from the injury. Gotta love that. D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard STUNK. Foreman had 10 carries for 9 yards. Nine singular yards. That’s terrible. The Panthers pretty much blew their playoff chances with this loss. If they can win w out of their next 3 games, I saw they have a 65% to make the playoffs. The only issue would be having to face two division rivals. Good luck, Panthers fans!
The Steelers’ offense looked competent again! How about that?! Najee Harris looked like his rookie-year self. He had himself a solid game with 86 rushing yards and a TD. Good for 14.6 points. The story of the day was Diontae Johnson getting back on the production train with 20 points on 10 catches for 98 yards. Besides them, no one else was really productive. Jaylen Warren had a nice 11 points, almost 12, but most teams were probably not starting him. Either way, the Steelers keep on fighting for a playoff spot and Tomlin’s personal record of never having a team with under a .500 win percentage.
Cowboys vs Jaguars
This sounds like a spin-off of “Cowboys vs Aliens.” Honestly, one might say it was aliens because Trevor Lawrence is playing out of this world! 4 out of the last 5 games he has had 20+ fantasy points. This week, he had 26 thanks to his 318 yards and 4 TDs. Yes, I said 4 TDs. Love to see it. Zay Jones was the lucky recipient of 3 of those! Zay Jones finished with 6 catches, 109 yards, and the 3 TDs. Huge 34.9-point day for the veteran receiver. Christian Kirk was able to put together a 15-point week with 6 catches for 92 yards and Travis Etienne came in at 12.7 points from 103 rushing yards and 2 catches for 24 yards. Just missed out on that TD. Love to see the Jaguars surging here at the end of the season. They now have a 30% chance to win as it stands. If they win out, they are almost guaranteed to be in.
Dallas lost because Noah Brown was the most fantasy-relevant player. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. Dak had a solid day. 256 yards and 3 TDs. It was the interceptions that were the problem. Would have been close to a 25-point week if it weren’t for those, but he wound up with 20. CeeDee Lamb had a solid day but was unable to find the end zone. 19 points off 7 catches for 126 yards. Tony Pollard led in rushing, again. He had 106 total yards but Zeke robbed the TD from him. 15.1 points for Zeke and 14.6 for Pollard. Dalton Schultz let a lot of people down this week with 3.5 points. I needed him in a big way, unfortunately. Got bounced from those playoffs! After the 4-game win streak, Dallas takes a loss here. With Jalen Hurts injured, the Cowboys should have their eye on 1st-place in the NFC East now.
Chiefs vs Texans
Two weeks in a row I haven’t taken the Texans +. What am I doing? They have nothing to lose. Hell, they’re probably betting on themselves! They took the Chiefs to overtime. Davis Mills threw for 121 yards and 2 TDs. Not much, but good for 19 points after his rushing touchdown. Jordan Akins caught 3 for 22 yards and a TD, giving him 11 fantasy points. And that’s about it for their production. I’m not even sure how this went into overtime. Weird game.
The Chiefs’ players had some solid fantasy scores for what occurred in real life. Jerrick McKinnon had a MONSTER game. That’s two weeks in a row now! He finished with 34 fantasy points thanks to his 122 scrimmage yards and 2 TDs. Also had 8 catches to add on to that score. Travis Kelce may not have found the end zone, but he caught 10 passes for 105 yards. 20.5 points for the vet. Mahomes had a massive day as well. 32 fantasy points from 336 passing yards, 2 TDs in the air, and 1 rushing TD. Love to see it. Also, love to see JuJu back in the high teens. He had 16.8 points off 10 catches for 88 yards. Chiefs got the win and boy was it a sweat.
Cardinals vs Broncos
Before you ask, yes, this game was gross. Hardly saw it on red zone, too. Despite being led by a mixture of Colt McCoy and Trace McSorely, James Conner was able to score 18 points on 63 rush yards, a TD, 3 catches, and 28 receiving yards. Solid day. DeAndre Hopkins put together a 13-point week. He caught 7 passes for 60 yards. Another one of those “didn’t hurt you, but didn’t propel your team” sorta games. Hopefully, he can find the end zone next week. Marquise Brown continues to be irrelevant without Kyler and honestly, you can drop him if you need to.
The Broncos walked away with the win in this game, but man was it boring. They clearly went with the ground-and-pound method as Latavius Murray and Marlon Mack, yes THE Marlon Mack, combined for 200 yards of offense and 2 TDs. Murray had 21 points and Mack had 16. Jerry Jeudy has turned his season around at the end of fantasy season thankfully. He had 14.6 points from 7 catches for 76 yards. No touchdown, but maybe next week. Eric Tomlinson scored a touchdown, but that doesn’t do anyone but him and his family any good. Because I’m sure they were excited for him! Weird win. But a win nonetheless.
Patriots vs Raiders
Ho-ly-smokes. This game was one of the best finishes I have ever seen. I’m sure you have seen it by now but if you haven’t, go look up how the Patriots lost. I have no idea why Jakobi Meyers did that. The impulsive decision, clearly, but man that is tough. Could have just gone to overtime. Mac Jones clearly was not the reason the Patriots were in this game because he had 112 passing yards. Rhamondre Stevenson and his 172 rushing yards would be why they were in this game. He had 24.8 fantasy points this week. A huge week from Rham! And…he was the only fantasy-relevant player. Hate to see it. Horrible game for the Patriots.
The Raiders had a better day. Not only because they won, but Derek Carr had a good game. 231 passing yards and 3 TDs later, Carr scored 19.2 points. Darren Waller made a triumphant return, logging 3 catches for 48 yards and a TD. Josh Jacobs was held in check (for the most part) He logged 93 rushing yards but that was all he really did. A couple of catches but nothing crazy. 13 points for him this week. Mack Hollins had another good week scoring 14 points. He had one of Carr’s TDs and 4 for 40 yards on the day. Raiders get the win and push the Patriots further back in the playoff race.
Chargers vs Titans
Another low-scoring affair in this game. Ryan Tannehill got hurt, but he came back into the game shortly after. Only 165 passing yards for the veteran QB. Not good. Luckily, Derrick Henry was giving his best effort to lead the Titans to a win but ultimately came up short. Henry did score 26 points, however. 104 rushing yards and a touchdown for the ageless running back. Also had 4 catches for 59 yards to go with it. Literally led the team in rushing and receiving. Yikes. The Titans are crumbing right now! They need Treylon Burks back in the offense. Chigoziem Okonkwo can’t do it all!
The Chargers escaped with a win here. A win nonetheless, but it was close. Justin Herbert threw for 313 yards but had no touchdowns. Only 8 points for the social media quarterback. I kid, I kid. But, I am wondering why he wasn’t able to throw a touchdown against a secondary that has been abysmal. I dunno. Seems weird. Keenan Allen had 16.6 points (8 catches for 86 yards), Austin Ekeler had 15 points (54 yards and a TD with some catches), and Mike Williams had 10 points (4 catches for 67 yards). Not a terrible day across the board, but this matchup was so promising for this air-raid offense. Oh well. Either way, Chargers got the dub!
Buccaneers vs Bengals
This game was another completely bonkers one! The Bucs were winning 17-3 going into halftime and then lost 34-23 and the only second-half points the Bucs scored was with 49 seconds left and Russell Gage caught a TD. Super unfortunate for the Bucs’ offense. There was fantasy production, however. Russell Gage had a huge 26-point game. He caught 8 passes for 59 yards and 2 TDs. Love to see that on peoples’ benches. Chris Godwin had 22 points – he caught 8 passes for 83 yards and a TD. Perfect timing for him to show up! Tom Brady had 312 passing yards and 3 TDs, but he threw 2 picks and lost two fumbles, bringing his fantasy score down to 16.5 points. Could have been 24.5 depending on your league settings. Mike Evans had 13 and Leonard Fournette had 11. Not great, but not terrible. Tough day for the Bucs.
I don’t know what happened at halftime if the Bengals drank some of “Michael’s Secret Stuff” from Space Jam or what, but it worked! They came out of halftime and looked like a completely different team. Joe Burrow wound up with 200 yards and 4 TDs (24.8 points). It didn’t come from Joe Mixon or Samaje Perine because they had 45 rushing yards combined. Mixon was able to score 10 points thanks to a handful of catches (5 for 33 yards). Ja’Marr Chase led the skill players in points. He had 19 from 7 catches for 60 yards and a score. Tee Higgins got 16.3 points, he had 5 catches for 33 yards and a score. Tyler Boyd played with an injured finger and still managed to score (14.5 points). Soldi comeback for the Bengals, who have gotten hot at the right time. They are now on a 6-game win streak. Sometimes, it’s about getting hot at the right time.
Giants vs Commanders
I wasn’t able to watch a lot of this game, but from the looks of it, it was really just a Saquon Barkley night. Barkley finished with 23 points (87 yards, a TD, 5 catches for 33 yards) and the next highest scorer for them was Richie James with 8.2 points. Besides Daniel Jones who had 10. Yikes. Not a great week for fantasy purposes when you look at this game, but the Giants walked away with the win.
Even the Commanders were lacking production. Jahan Dotson led the team with 4 catches for 105 yards and a TD (20.5 points). Love to see him back at the top. The beginning of the season was electric! Heinicke finished with 13 from 249 yards and 1 TD. Not the best day. Terry McLaurin, despite the big game against the Giants before the bye week, only had 13 points this week. 6 catches for 70 yards. Brian Robinson continues to impress, logging 89 yards this week. I still can’t over his journey. Shot twice a few months ago and is now running all over NFL defenses. You love to see it.
Rams vs Packers
Ah, yes, a good ole Baker Mayfield stat line – 111 yards and 1 TD. Hilarious. We need Matthew Stafford back pronto! You know when the leading fantasy scorer for a team had 13 points, things did not go well. That was Cam Akers, by the way. Tyler Higbee came in second. He scored 11 points thanks to the touchdown he forgot how to do most of this season. 4 catches for 27 yards and the TD for Higbee. After that, it’s gross. Baker was next with 6 points. Better luck next week, Rams.
The Packers got a much-needed win. A.J. Dillon was on his way to a MONSTER night before he got ruled out with a concussion. He had 22 points before that! The 2 TDs helped get him there. From then on, it was the Aaron Jones show. Jones finished with 90 rushing yards, 4 catches for 36 yards, and a TD. Good for 20 points. I only needed 12 from him, so that worked out! Aaron Rodgers only had 10, from 229 passing yards and 1 TD, but I suppose that was all he had to do. Romeo Doubs finally resurrected, he score 10 points. Hopefully, he can start producing as he did early on in the season before getting hurt.
