NFL Week 15 Winners, Losers, and Takeaways

By Corbin Young | December 22, 2021

NFL Week 15 Winners, Losers, and Takeaways

Here’s a helpful resource to monitor all the COVID-19 related transactions for each team. Heading into the weekend, we received positive news on players like Darrell Henderson and Odell Beckham Jr. However, we also have several games postponed in the Browns-Raiders, the Eagles-Washington Football Team, and Seahawks-Rams. If it felt like weak offense and more fantasy duds, then, unfortunately, you’re right. We’re keeping the introduction short because it’s a packed week.

Injuries to Monitor:

  • Julio Jones (hamstring) left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury. The Titans ruled him out in the third quarter. Jones only garnered one target with a zero on the day. 
  • Pat Freiermuth (concussion) suffered a concussion against the Titans. It’s concerning because he had a concussion in early December, so that’s the second one in the past couple of weeks. 
  • It looked like D’Onta Foreman suffered an injury based on his reaction after a play, but we haven’t seen an injury update on him. Foreman led the Titans backfield with 108 rushing yards on 22 attempts with 27 receiving yards on two receptions. 
  • Sterling Shepard (Achilles) suffered a torn Achilles on Sunday. They carted Shepard off the field after the non-contact injury. That’s a tough blow for one of the more consistent receivers in the league when healthy. 
  • In an odd and unexpected loss to the Lions, Rondale Moore (ankle) suffered an ankle injury. Without DeAndre Hopkins, Moore hardly factored in fantasy-wise with three receptions for nine receiving yards. 
  • Teddy Bridgewater (head) landed on the field and barely moved. The cart came out for a scary scene, and the team received some encouraging evaluation results at the hospital. Drew Lock filled in, and he connected with Tim Patrick for the only offensive touchdown for the Broncos. There’s a slight downgrade to the pass catchers, but the offense has emphasized the run game over the past few weeks. 
  • Joe Mixon (ankle) looked hobbled on the sideline towards the end of the game. Against a tough Broncos defense, Mixon totaled 60 yards on 18 opportunities. Scoop up Samaje Perine in case Mixon misses time. 
  • Mike Evans (hamstring), Chris Godwin (knee), and Leonard Fournette (hamstring) left Sunday night’s game with injuries and didn’t return. Having three of the Buccaneers’ best offensive players will negatively impact their offense. However, there’s a report that Antonio Brown could return in Week 16, and Ronald Jones looks like the next man up in the backfield. Jones finished with eight carries and 63 rushing yards, plus he added two receptions for eight yards. They go on the road to Carolina and the Jets in Week 16 and 17. 
    • Update: Godwin has a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the regular season. Ian Rapoport mentions Evans appears to have avoided a “serious” injury, and Fournette “could miss time,” which likely means it’s Ronald Jones RB2 season (finally) for the truthers. Look at options like Tyler Johnson and Scotty Miller on Tampa Bay if they provide WR4 type value. 

  • Over the weekend and throughout the early parts of this week on Monday and Tuesday, several fantasy relevant folks landed on the COVID-19 list, including Tyreek Hill and Cole Beasley. Use that earlier link to check on certain players with news coming out multiple times a day. 
  • Antonio Gibson (toe) left briefly on Tuesday’s game. Outside of his touchdown, Gibson struggled with 26 rushing yards. However, we love the passing game involvement for Gibson without J.D. McKissic, as Gibson garnered six of seven targets for 39 receiving yards. 

Week 15 Highlights

What a Thursday Night Matchup

In one of the better games on the Week 15 slate, we witness an AFC West showdown between the Chiefs and the Chargers. After a 14-13 lead by the Chargers heading into the fourth quarter, both offenses scored 29 total points in the fourth to go into overtime. That led to Patrick Mahomes hitting a season-high 410 passing yards, 8.7 yards per attempt, three touchdowns, and one interception. Mahomes tied for the team lead of 32 rushing yards too. 

Mahomes fed Travis Kelce with ten receptions on 13 targets (27.7%) for 191 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score. Tyreek Hill also garnered 13 targets (27.7%) and hauled in 12 receptions for 148 receiving yards and one touchdown. Surprisingly, Hill topped 100 receiving yards for only the third time this season. Kelce also set season highs in all receiving categories. Overall, it’s a sweet start for Kelce and Hill to help fantasy managers in a crucial Week 15 matchup. 

For the Chargers, the mainstays in Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler, and Keenan Allen performed well. However, it’s nowhere near the Chiefs’ studs. Herbert struggled with passing efficiency with 236 passing yards, 6.2 YPA, two touchdowns, and an interception. However, Herbert rushed for 16 yards and scored a rushing touchdown. Allen led the Chargers with six catches, 78 yards, and one touchdown on ten targets (26.3%). 

Although Austin Ekeler shared touches and snaps with Justin Jackson, Ekeler scored the rushing touchdown with 12 carries and 59 rushing yards, yet added four receptions for 23 receiving yards. Jackson looked explosive with 13 carries for 86 rushing yards and broke over a couple of long runs. Scoop up Jackson on waivers in deep-leagues assuming health since he showed the explosiveness in the rushing and receiving game. 

Jonathan Taylor’s Massive Game

Against the Patriots, the Colts led 20-0 heading into the fourth quarter. Jonathan Taylor smashed with 170 rushing yards on 29 attempts and one rushing touchdown highlighted by the 67-yard score. Taylor came through after some folks threw up their hands with the Nyheim Hines touchdown reception. Heading into Week 15, Taylor finished with RB1 games in 11 out of 13 games played (84.6%). If we rewind to Week 11 of 2020, Taylor has 16 of 19 games with RB1 finishes (84.2%). Throughout Taylor’s entire career heading into Week 15, he totaled an RB1 finish in 61% of his games played. Taylor will likely head towards another RB1 finish in the fantasy football playoffs. 

Cooper Kupp Is a League-Winner

Like Jonathan Taylor, Cooper Kupp looks arguably the most consistent player in fantasy football. Kupp finished as a WR1 in 13 out of 15 games (87%) with six performances as WR3 or better. After some early struggles for Matthew Stafford, he looked towards Kupp’s way and fed him a team-leading 13 targets. Kupp scored two touchdowns on nine receptions and 136 receiving yards. Heading into Week 15, Kupp proved he not only garners elite volume, but he’s also an uber-efficient receiver. Kupp ranks 2nd with 78.2 Expected Points Added, 3rd with 3.30 Yards Per Route Run, and 1st with 0.74 fantasy points per target. 

Week 15 Wonders

Pick Up Craig Reynolds

As a consensus-heavy favorite to win, the Cardinals stunk against the Lions. The Cardinals trailed 17-0 in the first half, and the Lions efficiently moved the ball against their defense. That said, the Lions established the run with Craig Reynolds without Jamaal Williams (COVID-19 list) and D’Andre Swift. After asking ourselves – who is Reynolds in Week 14, the Lions trusted him with 26 carries, 112 rushing yards, and one five-yard reception. 

Jermar Jefferson totaled nine rushing yards on five attempts, with Godwin Igwebuike taking two attempts for zero rushing yards. Although Igwebuike caught both targets for 11 receiving yards, he fumbled against the Cardinals. In Week 14, Reynolds totaled 99 yards, with 117 in Week 15. Pick up Craig Reynolds, as he could factor into a juicy matchup against the Falcons in Week 16 if Williams and Swift miss again. 

Unexpected Bills Stars

Without Emmanuel Sanders, Gabriel Davis re-emerged with five receptions on seven targets for 85 receiving yards and two touchdowns. In Week 14, Davis garnered eight targets with back-to-back weeks of having three red-zone looks. Davis boasts a drastic difference in Target Rate at 21.3% (No. 57) compared to a season-long 8.1% (No. 100) target share. That indicates Davis earns targets when on the field. He’s also efficient with 9.9 (No. 16) Yards Per Target and 2.10 (No. 28) Yards Per Route Run. Scoop up Davis in deep leagues with the increased targets and continued efficiency.

On Sunday, the Bills ruled Zack Moss inactive. In one of the most frustrating backfields, Devin Singletary totaled 22 carries for 86 rushing yards and one touchdown. For reference, Singletary notched 29 total carries over the past three games. Singletary caught his only target for a ten-yard reception. Maybe it’s the game script or due to the game plan, but Josh Allen only rushed three times for 24 yards with Matt Breida and Isaiah McKenzie with one carry each. We would love it if the Bills used Singletary more often, like in Week 15, since he possesses a 32.6% (No. 15) Juke Rate and 3.03 (No. 23) Yards Created Per Touch.

Duke Johnson Dominates

Myles Gaskin came off the COVID-19 list and rushed for 54 yards on ten carries. However, former Texans and Browns running back Duke Johnson rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries with two rushing touchdowns. Johnson also caught a 20-yard reception to finish with 127 total yards against the Jets. He played briefly in Week 11 with 18 rushing yards against the Jets. In Week 15 of the 2021 season, Johnson set career-bests in carries, rushing yards, and total yards. 

Tyler Huntley and Mark Andrews Score All The Touchdowns

Unfortunately, the Ravens lost to the Packers 31-30 after deciding to go for the two-point conversion instead of an extra point and head to overtime. Without Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley rushed for 73 yards on 13 attempts and two touchdowns. That’s rushing production similar to Jackson. Huntley also tossed two passing touchdowns with 215 passing yards and both touchdowns going to Mark Andrews. 

Huntley fed Andrews with 13 targets, ten receptions, and 136 receiving yards. Andrews likely provided that week-winning potential in a crucial playoff week. Marquise Brown led the Ravens with 14 targets yet tied Andrews with ten receptions for a measly 43 receiving yards. With this type of fantasy production for Huntley, value him as a weekly streamer if Jackson misses more time. 

Eagles Trio of Studs

With concerns about Jalen Hurts’ ankle injury, he put in a full practice to finish the week. Hurts smashed on the ground with two rushing touchdowns with 38 rushing yards. Meanwhile, Hurts also added 296 passing yards with an efficient 11.4 yards per attempt and one interception. He finished as the QB3 in Week 15 for yet another QB1 performance with 13 games out of 15 total (87%) as a QB1. One of the most consistent fantasy quarterbacks regardless of the real-life expectations. 

Miles Sanders put up an explosive game with 131 rushing yards on 18 carries. Sanders also caught both targets for 15 receiving yards and tied for RB7 in PPR leagues. As expected, the Eagles mixed in another back in Jordan Howard, but he lacks any value in PPR formats with 15 carries for 69 rushing yards. A fan favorite in Dallas Goedert put up back-to-back games with over 100 receiving yards after hauling in seven of nine targets for 135 on Tuesday night. As the TE2 and TE5 over the past two weeks, hopefully, Goedert helped fantasy managers move onto the next round. The trio of Eagles studs came through in a wild week of fantasy football. 

Week 15 Disappointments

The Kansas City Run Game

Unfortunately, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams disappointed fantasy managers in Week 15. Edwards-Helaire finished with nine carries for 32 rushing yards plus two receptions on four targets for 18 receiving yards. Meanwhile, Williams logged five rushing attempts for 12 rushing yards with no catches on his single target. 

When Patrick Mahomes led the team in rushing, that’s concerning for their run game. Although the Chargers have improved with 106.6 rushing yards over the past five games, they typically gave up rushing production to the position. However, in their first eight games, the Chargers allowed 161.6 rushing yards per game as a team. It looked like a friendly matchup on paper, but they leaned on Mahomes and the passing game with his most passing attempts since Week 10. 

Rhamondre Stevenson’s Saturday Game

Without Damien Harris, we expected Rhamondre Stevenson to garner a healthy workload. However, Stevenson only totaled 11 opportunities (ten carries, one target) for 40 total yards. Since the Patriots trailed 20-0 until the fourth quarter, Stevenson lost work due to the game script since they used Brandon Bolden for their hurry-up offense and third downs. 

The Patriots struggled to move the ball on offense through the first three quarters, and thus, most of Mac Jones’ production came in catch-up mode. Without Harris in a friendly matchup, Stevenson serves as an RB2. However, against a Colts defense allowing the 5th-fewest fantasy points, value Stevenson as a touchdown-dependent RB3 if there’s a chance for a negative game script. 

Najee Harris’ Dud Game

In a game where the Steelers totaled 168 yards and barely possessed the ball just under 21 minutes total, Najee Harris struggled against a Titans defense. They allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards heading into Week 15, and Harris hardly had any room to run with 18 rushing yards on 12 carries. Harris caught two of five targets for eight receiving yards, but the efficiency stinks even with the higher volume. He set a new season-low of 20 total yards with 37 as the previous low in Week 12 against the Bengals. 

Regardless, we can’t sit a running back with the highest Opportunity Share at 87.9% and most Weighted Opportunities at 260 heading into Week 15. Overall, Harris isn’t getting help from his offensive line with a 21.6 (No. 50) Run-Blocking Efficiency with a 26.6% (No. 27) Juke Rate and 2.66 (No. 31) Yards Created Per Touch. Hopefully, Harris bounces back against Kansas City if fantasy managers make it to Week 16. 

Corbin Young
Corbin is passionate about fantasy baseball and football. He loves diving into and learning about advanced metrics. Corbin is a Mariners and Seahawks fan living in the Pacific Northwest. Corbin's other hobbies are lifting weights, cooking, and listening to fantasy sports podcasts.
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