Week 17 marks the end of most fantasy football seasons as championship games were played this week. A fantasy season brings many ups and downs, though none hit harder than in a championship game. Let’s look at players who may have won or lost your league in week 17.
Boom
Tee Higgins CIN WR 34.6 Points
Even though his counterpart Ja’Marr Chase is having a historic season where he could achieve the triple crown, Tee Higgins has had a very respectable season despite battling some injuries along the way.
Week 17 marked his best game of the year by far. In a huge game to keep their minuscule playoff hopes alive, Higgins did his part in the Bengals OT win against the Broncos.
Higgins caught 11 of 12 targets for 131 yards and 3 TDs. His 34.6 Points lead all WRs for the week and was sure to be a big part of some winning championship teams.
Baker Mayfield TB QB 34.56 Points
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had an up-and-down year, but Baker Mayfield has been on fire all season. As the consensus 158th pick (fantasy pros), Mayfield was often drafted to be a backup QB or picked up off the waiver wire. Those who ended up with him, are certainly thankful.
In Championship week, Mayfield completed 84.4% of his passes for 359 yards and FIVE touchdowns. Of course, his starting receivers Mike Evans and Jalen McMillian were huge benefactors, each catching 2 TDs.
Mayfield proved that he’s worth every bit of the offseason contract he was awarded in the offseason and surely won’t be falling to pick #158 in fantasy drafts in 2025.
Ladd McConkey LAC WR 25.4 Points
Ladd McConkey came on huge in the second half of the season – emerging as WR1 for Justin Herbert and the LA Chargers. During fantasy drafts, McConkey was lost in the mix of several mediocre receivers (Johnston, Palmer, Chark) on a run-first team.
Throughout the season, it became clear who was WR1. McConkey has scored double-digit fantasy points in 6 straight games, with none bigger than his week 17 performance.
He hauled in 8 of 10 targets for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns. As a player who was drafted so late, but was so productive down the stretch – McConkey has surely brought some fantasy championships home to happy owners.
Bust
Houston Texans Offense
The Texans‘ offense drew a tough matchup on Christmas Day when they faced the vastly improved Baltimore Ravens defense. The Texans’ offense lead by 2023 OROY CJ Stroud managed ZERO points, which put many fantasy teams in a tough position for the remainder of week 17.
Stroud threw for 185 yards and 1 interception as he totaled just 6.1 points. Of course, his offensive weapons didn’t fare any better. Go-to wide receiver Nico Collins caught 3 passes for 59 yards which was far off the 4 straight double-digit fantasy games in the weeks leading into week 17.
Joe Mixon had been outstanding as the Texans leaned heavily on his rushing attack throughout the season averaging 16.9 fantasy points per game. Against Baltimore, he was held to 26 yards on 9 carries. He added 2 catches for 13 yards but still only totaled 4.9 points on the day.
Houston’s heavily regarded and promising offense did nothing but disappoint during fantasy football championship week.
Davante Adams NYJ WR 7.2 Points
Since coming over from the Raiders mid-season, Adams has only picked up more and more steam and became a fantasy force in the second half of the season. After the Jets bye, Adams has scored 5 TDs in 4 games and achieved double-digit fantasy points each week.
That all came to a screeching halt in championship week. Adam’s played hurt and caught 5 passes for only 47 yards and broke his TD streak – failing to find the end zone.
If you rode Adams’ late-season hot streak – I hope you had enough points elsewhere to help you through your championship. Odds are, Davante Adams cost you your game this week.
Hunter Henry NE TE 0 Points
Hunter Henry is in no way a fantasy football superstar, but in week 17 he wasn’t asked to be. Anyone starting him this week in contention for a championship was relying on other strengths and counting on Henry for his consistency.
With Tight Ends like David Njoku, Cade Otton, Dallas Goedert, and Evan Engram out, Hunter Henry was believed to be a more than capable starter in their place. Typically a model of consistency, Henry came up far short for managers in pursuit of a championship this week.
Henry was targeted only twice and collected none of them. His complete stinker of ZERO points surely didn’t help anyone this week. Hopefully, your team was strong enough not to need any of his 7.4 points per game this week.
How did you fare?
Did any of these players make or break your championship game? If none of these, who was it? Please let us know on X, either on the main account @BlitzSM_ or my own @JLSports24.
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