The Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys matchup on Monday Night is all that is left in Week 14. Hopefully, some big performances out of some superstar players helped clinch a playoff berth this week. As always, there were eye-catching performances around the NFL with many takeaways to discuss ahead of next week. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from Week 14 as we prepare for the fantasy football playoffs.
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Week 14 Takeaways
High Scoring Days Clinch Playoff Berths
It was a good week to own both Josh Allen and Puka Nacua as they combined for 93.68 points on Sunday. Allen broke the record for the most points scored in a game with his 3 passing and 3 rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, some guys stepped up with monster performances from Jordan Addison, Zach Charbonnet, and Sam Darnold being borderline starters heading into the week. Addison is proving to be a consistent contributor weekly with his increase in volume.
We saw Tyreek Hill have his second straight big performance with 10 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown in the win. The Dolphins have started to implement both Hill and Jaylen Waddle back into the passing game increasing their stock ahead of the playoffs. The 49ers players broke out when we needed them most with 20+ point outings from Jauan Jennings, Isaac Guerendo, Brock Purdy, and George Kittle. The 49ers have favorable matchups against the Rams and Dolphins ahead providing the perfect opportunity to build on this performance. Below are the top ten scorers from Sunday’s action
- Josh Allen QB (BUF) 51.88 Points
- Puka Nacua WR (LAR) 41.80 Points
- Jordan Addison WR (MIN) 39.30 Points
- Zach Charbonnet RB (SEA) 38.30 Points
- Sam Darnold QB (MIN) 34.58 Points
- Justin Jefferson WR (MIN) 32.20 Points
- Tyreek Hill WR (MIA) 28.10 Points
- Jauan Jennings WR (SF) 28.00 Points
- Isaac Guerendo RB (SF) 26.80 Points
- Davante Adams WR (NYJ) 25.90 Points
Players Building Trust
Adam Thielen is the first name that is skyrocketing up our rest of-the-season rankings with his recent play. Thielen has increased his snap share, and yardage totals now in three straight weeks. Thielen finished with 9 catches for 102 yards on 11 targets against one of the league’s best secondaries. He has been the go-to target in the last two weeks and is now averaging over 14 points a game in his career with Bryce Young. Thielen is a low-end WR2 and has a nice matchup next week against the Cowboys.
It is hard to keep Khalil Shakir out of your starting lineups as he only has gone below 10 points twice this season. Shakir has been a model of consistency but had no performances over 20 points until Sunday. He finished with 5 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown while his average depth of target was the highest it has been all season. Shakir is a flex play but has one of the safest floors in fantasy football with his current role in the Bills offense. If he continues to get involved more downfield, he will be in line for more 20+ point games.
Jerry Jeudy is another player who is making it very difficult to keep him out of our starting lineup. After his monster 40-point outing last week against the Broncos, he followed it up with 5 catches for 64 yards and a touchdown finishing with 17.4 points. In the last three weeks, Jeudy has led the team in target share and first read share establishing himself as Jameis Winston’s go-to guy. Jeudy has favorable matchups the rest of the way against the Chiefs, Bengals, and Dolphins making him a WR2 for the rest of the season.
Players Losing Trust
D’Andre Swift has failed to score over 10 points now in four of his last five games. He finished with 38 rushing yards and 5 points against San Francisco this week marking his third straight game under 40 rushing yards. He currently ranks 30th among running backs in yards per touch while ranking 32nd in EPA.
DK Metcalf since Week 4 only has three outings over 10 points and has only found the end zone once during that stretch. We have seen JSN become the primary underneath threat on the Seahawks offense with Metcalf being the deep threat. Metcalf ranks 6th in the NFL in air yards share while ranking 2nd in deep targets, these have not translated into fantasy points due to Metcalf having a 71% catchable target rate.
Running Back Notes
After the injury to Breece Hall, Braelon Allen was expected to take a big role with Isaiah Davis sprinkling in some snaps. Instead, we got a true backfield split between the rookie running backs with Braelon Allen finishing with 31 snaps while operating as the early down back and Isaiah Davis with 30 snaps as the third down back. Davis had the bigger day of the pair finishing with 15.7 points on 13 touches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Allen on the other hand had 12.1 points on 15 touches for 81 yards. If Breece Hall misses another game next week I think Davis is the more valuable back in PPR leagues while Allen holds more value in Half PPR and standard formats.
Isiah Pacheco took on a bigger role this week leading the backfield in snaps and touches in his second week off of injured reserve. Pacheco operated as the primary early down back finishing with 14 carries for 55 yards and 2 catches for 6 yards on 4 targets in the win. Kareem Hunt finished with 6 total touches while Samaje Perine had 2 touches. While Hunt’s role in the offense took a significant drop off, Perine still played all but one-third down snap. Pacheco has a tough playoff schedule ahead and should be viewed more as an RB2 compared to the RB1 he was to start the season.
The Chargers went with a true backfield split between Gus Edwards and Kimani Vidal this week. After operating as the primary third-down back last week, Edwards was demoted to only playing on early downs. Kimani Vidal took all of the third-down and two-minute drill snaps this week. Edwards finished the game with 10 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown while Vidal finished with 8 carries for 34 yards and 1 target. The Chargers have one of the lowest running back target rates in the NFL which limits Vidal’s upside. I do not think either running back can be trusted in your starting lineup.
Sincere McCormick was expected to take on a larger role after his impressive performance against the Chiefs last week. McCormick against the Bucs finished with 15 carries for 78 yards with 2 catches for 11 yards on 3 targets in an increased role. He operated as the primary back on early downs while Ameer Abdullah played only on passing downs for the Raiders. McCormick now has two straight games over 60 rushing yards and 5 yards per carry making it a safe assumption that he will be the lead back the rest of the season. He is going to be a hot commodity on the waiver wire this week.
Without their starting running backs, Zach Charbonnet and Isaac Guerendo slotted into lead-back roles in their offenses. Charbonnet played 46 of 61 snaps with Kenny McIntosh operating as the change of pace back. If Kenneth Walker is out again, expect Charbonnet to be in for a good week against Green Bay. Guerendo played 31 of 45 snaps over the first eight drives, running 12 times while Taylor only ran once. After the injury, Patrick Taylor played most of the snaps, although Ke’shawn Vaughn took three in the last four minutes. Expect whoever is in the backfield for the 49ers to have a 75% or more snap share every week.
Pass Catcher Notes
Without George Pickens, I was intrigued to see if any other Steelers receivers would step up. We saw an increase in snaps from Scott Miller and Mike Williams in the win with them both catching three passes for 38 and 36 yards. Calvin Austin was quiet with only 1 catch for 4 yards on 4 targets. Pat Freiermuth had the best day of the bunch finishing with 3 catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Overall, my biggest takeaway is that the only two Steelers’ pass catchers worth rostering are George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth.
Romeo Doubs was inactive for the second straight week due to a concussion which led to an increased role for Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks. Watson and Wicks led the Packers receiving room in snaps played while also having the most routes run. Jayden Reed did not see an increase in his usage and finished with 0 points. With the inconsistencies for each player, The Packers’ wide receivers should be avoided in starting lineups for the rest of the season.
Breakout Performances
Each Week I like to highlight three players whose stock is rising after a breakout performance. Zach Charbonnet is our first player with his 134 rushing yards and 59 receiving yards with 2 touchdowns filling in for the injured Kenneth Walker. Charbonnet could be in for another big week if Walker misses again next week against the Packers. Adam Thielen is our second breakout candidate with his second straight big game. He cooked the Eagles’ secondary with 9 catches for 102 yards and deserves to be in lineups every week. Finally, Jaylen Waddle deserves a mention with three straight good outings. Yesterday he had 9 catches for 99 yards, and he is starting to become a viable option in starting lineups again.
Injury Notes
Several injuries sustained will cost Jonathan Brooks, Aidan O’Connell, and likely Derek Carr the rest of the season. This downgrades Saints and Raiders players while Chuba Hubbard sees a boost. Meanwhile, Isaac Guerendo left after his breakout performance and mentioned postgame that it was more precautionary due to a short week ahead. Bucky Irving suffered a back injury early on and his status is in jeopardy for Week 15. I would take a look at Sean Tucker on the waiver wire. Will Dissly and Demarcus Robinson suffered shoulder injuries putting both of their statuses in jeopardy this week as well.
Jonathan Brooks (CAR): Out for the Season
Aidan O’Connell (LV): Out for the Season
Will Dissly (LAC): Week to Week
Demarcus Robinson (LAR): Week to Week
Derek Carr (NO): Likely Out for the Season
Isaac Guerendo (SF): Day to Day
Bucky Irving (TB): Week to Week
For all of the Week 14 takeaways in Fantasy Football check out this YouTube Video
