NFL Fantasy Football Reactions: Week 14

 Obviously, it's been the year of low-scoring games. But at least on Sunday in Week 14, we were able to see a few high scoring contests. In four of the seven games in the early window, we saw at least 50 points with the Eagles and Giants putting up a combined 70. And then in the late window, the Chiefs and Broncos scored 62 points. Unfortunately, it wasn't always the most fun football to watch. But as a fantasy player, I love points, so it was all good. 

I'll always try to give actionable advice at the end of each reaction. In addition to the fantasy takes, hopefully, some of these observations can also give you some ideas if you're thinking about placing some Week 15 NFL bets https://www.rotowire.com/betting/nfl/odds/week-15. Let's take a look at the Sunday afternoon action. 

Sunday Takeaways

• Early in the season, the Ravens took a very cautious approach when JK Dobbins was returning from his 2021 ACL injury. it was clear early on, that he wasn't 100 percent. But after returning from his most recent knee procedure, it seems fair to say that looked as good as ever. He ripped through the Steelers defense for 120 yards and a touchdown. But as it was when he was last healthy in the latter stages of 2020, he split carries with Gus Edwards fairly equally. Dobbins had a 15 to 13 advantage in rushing attempts. But there was no doubt who the leader of this backfield was. Dobbins had a number of chunk runs. He also came through in some situations when Baltimore needed the running back to come up big. Running behind a solid offensive line for a team that's defensive-minded, Dobbins must be considered as a solid weekly fantasy option, and he should be considered in the top-20 running backs each week. 
• Miles Sanders was simply amazing against the Giants. For the second time in three games, he posted at least 155 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. He's had a few games that were great the season, but they were mostly predictable. When Philadelphia faced an exceptional run defense that's weak against the pass, they simply attacked through the air. As a result, Sanders saw less usage. But in games like today, he was a focal point of the offense, even though the Eagles had success through the air as well. 
• Saquon Barkley failed to reach seven PPR points for the second time in four games. He's also been held to 52 or fewer scrimmage yards in three of his last four games. His fantasy value lately has been salvaged by the fact he's been able to score four touchdowns over the last six games. He also has many games in which he was targeted at least five times. But with defenses knowing he's the only player they have to worry about, those defenses planned to take him out. Without a strong passing attack, defenses are happy to make this weekly gamble. With volume and red-zone work still a big part of his game, it's impossible for me to rank him outside of the top-15 running backs each week. And don't forget that his floor is solid- he only has 2 games with fewer than 15 PPR points since week 2. 
• For the rest of the season, Zonovan Knight looks as if he's here to stay as a strong fantasy producer. After posting over 100 scrimmage yards in each of his first two games, he found the end zone and posted 77 total yards against a Buffalo defense that was clearly looking for him. Unfortunately, he may not be in a great position to succeed in 2023. If Breece Hall comes back at full health from his knee injury, it's very difficult to imagine that there will be more than scraps left for any other running back on the team. But that said, Knight should find himself near the top 20 of my running back rankings the rest of the way. 
• Mike Evans simply isn't getting it done as a fantasy option right now. Much of the reason has to do with the fact that he and Tom Brady simply seem to be out of sync. He did have a long TD taken away by penalty against the 49ers. But otherwise he didn't catch his first pass until the game was long out of hand, late in the third quarter. He used garbage time to end up with four catches for 44 yards. After posting double-digit PPR points in five of his first seven games, he has failed to do so in four of his last five contests. During that time, his best output was 10.4 PPR points against Seattle back in week 10. It's very hard to sit a superstar player when fantasy seasons are on the line. Primarily because of his ability, I will be reluctant to place him outside of the top-20 wide receivers in my rankings. However, in terms of starting him, I would probably be wise to consider him a boom-or-bust wide receiver 3. 
• Christian McCaffrey has certainly been the engine of an offense before. With the 49ers playing without Jimmy Garoppolo, he reminded us that he's one of the most explosive playmakers in the NFL. He wasn't needed much in the second half, as the game was well out of hand after the first 30 minutes. But McCaffrey scored a pair of touchdowns while rushing for more than 100 yards. I expect that Kyle Shanahan will have to lean on him the rest of the way. Not that we consider him to be anything different, but McCaffrey has an excellent chance of being a top-3 fantasy player at the most important time of the season. 
• Fantasy managers will certainly take the 400-yard effort from Kirk Cousins. in reality, He was fortunate that the Lions played with a lead throughout the entire contest. With the help of garbage time, he was also able to throw for a late touchdown. Of course, he also had Justin Jefferson, who the Lions were unable to cover, helping Cousins pile up yardage. This was only the second time over his last five games that Cousins threw for multiple touchdowns. In the fantasy playoffs, he has a fairly difficult schedule of opponents. But you know the drill with him anyway.  We never know when the big game is coming, and there's always a potentially bad performance waiting for us.  Based on his schedule, he'll be ranked outside of my top-12 quarterbacks during the fantasy playoffs, but he's obviously a clear starter and leagues that start two quarterbacks.
• It also should be noted that after posting three catches for 14 yards against the Lions in week 3, Jefferson had his highest yardage game of the season. He caught 10 of 14 targets for 213 yards. 
• Evan Engram had the game of his life. He had a career-high in yardage. This was also the first time he scored two touchdowns in a game. The Jaguars were facing a Tennessee defense that stifles the run but are terrible against the pass. Jacksonville went into the game with the proper plan of throwing the ball as the primary means of moving the offense. And even though Christian Kirk is the team's top receiver, Ingram more than doubled Kirk's targets with 15. The touchdowns give him four for the season. And he scored each of those over the last six games. This was also the first time he's topped 30 yards since week 8. At this point, we know there is a very low floor. But he's had enough useful fantasy games that he probably should be considered a weekly starter in the fantasy playoffs for teams that don't have a reliable tight end. 
• After coming into the league in 2020, Jerry Jeudy  had a total of six touchdowns. He added three to that total against the Chiefs. With the Chiefs racing out to a huge lead, this game got weird. I always say that once a team turns off the switch mentally, all types of craziness can happen. I imagine the Chiefs figured they had this game in the bag. Even though he didn't catch a ton of passes, he was money in the red zone. He even converted on a fourth-down when Brett Rypien was at quarterback, which happened after Russell Wilson got knocked out a few plays earlier. 
• JuJu Smith-Schuster was on quite a roll before coming down with a concussion a number of weeks ago. And when he returned, he had a limited snap share in his first game back. In that game, as well as the game in which he was injured, he obviously had poor stat lines. It was against Denver that he looked to resume the role he previously had. He's been a very good option in the short and intermediate areas of the field. And that was where he did most of his work in this game. This was the third time since Week 6 that he's posted at least 20 PPR points. Even though his remaining schedule seems difficult, his role in the offense is one that will be very difficult for opponents to stop. Now that he appears to be fully healthy, he should be considered a lock as a top-30 receiver the rest of the way. 
• DJ Chark had his second straight strong performance in a row. He caught six of seven targets for 94 yards and a touchdown. He got behind the defense for a deep score. Having his speed in the offense gives the Lions a dimension they could have used earlier in the season. Even though rookie Jameson Williams scored as well, Chark was the clear number two option in the passing game. Chark out-targeted the rookie 7-2. I don't expect that this will change during the fantasy playoffs. And although trusting a player whose best attribute is being a deep threat is risky, I won't hesitate to rank him within my top-40 receivers during the fantasy playoffs. 
• I told many fantasy players this week that I didn't trust Sam Darnold to continue last week's success that he had with DJ Moore. Against Denver, Moore went for over 100 yards and a touchdown. They did much of their damage on one deep play. On the play, Patrick Surtain looked very disinterested and almost stunned that the ball was thrown in his direction. Unfortunately, Darnold was unable to utilize his best weapon against Seattle. Moore's goose egg represented the third time this season he's posted fewer than eight yards in a game.  Moore has now recorded fewer than 30 yards and no touchdowns in four of his last five games. I will not consider him as anything more than a desperation flex option. and with the bye weeks over, I can't imagine a situation in which I would confidently put him in a lineup. He's a superstar talent. But he certainly has had some dysfunctional quarterback play during his career. 
• Before leaving the contest late with an ankle injury, Dameon Pierce put together his second strong game in a row. It was impressive because Houston was without both of their starting wide receivers. Basically, Pierce was the only player the Cowboys should have legitimately needed to worry about. It also helped that the Texans kept this game close the entire way. Although he wasn't targeted, he carried the ball 22 times for 78 yards while adding a short touchdown. After an odd stretch in Weeks 11-12 when he was held two fewer than 18 yards in each game, he's now been productive in seven of his last 11 contests. Aside from a potentially difficult matchup against the Titans in week 16, he should continue to be a strong top-20 running back option.
• It wasn't pretty, but it was effective. Ryan Tannehill threw multiple TD passes for the third time in his last five games. He's also thrown for at least 250 yards in four of his last five games. He's done this despite having a very difficult schedule over the past month, at least before this matchup with Jacksonville. This week, Tennessee fell way behind and he needed garbage time to come through. But it all counts for fantasy. Although he's clearly not a top-12 fantasy option at his position, he's a great streaming option. Over the last five games, we've seen teams stack the box to try and stop Derrick Henry. As a result, Tannehill has had lots of single coverage for his receivers. It'll also help if he gets Treylon Burks back next week, as the receiver missed this game due to a concussion. 
• James Cook may be impossible to figure out down the stretch. Over the last four games, his touches went from 11 to four to 20 and back to five. He has at least 86 yards in his two games with high volume. But he's posted less than 20 yards in the two games with minimal usage. At this point, I would say good luck guessing which games are the ones in which he'll be featured. I didn't recommend him to Fantasy managers this week because of that uncertainty. Going forward, I'll just recommend him as a boom-or-bust flex option. 

Injuries

• Deebo Samuel was carted off the field after suffering a knee injury. Before leaving, he did record 64 scrimmage yards and a touchdown, which certainly helped his fantasy managers.
• In a very frustrating development for fantasy managers, Tee Higgins aggravated his hamstring injury during warmups. As a result, he didn't see a single target while spending the day on the sidelines.
• Dameon Pierce was forced from the game against the Cowboys when he injured his ankle. 
• Tyler Boyd dislocated his finger and didn't return to the contest. 
• Russell Wilson suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter against the Chiefs. 
• Corey Davis sustained a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion. 
• After the Broncos offensive coordinator expected to give him more work this week, Mike Boone was carted off the field after sustaining another ankle injury. 
• Tyler Huntley started for an injured Lamar Jackson, but suffered a concussion against the Steelers.