NFL Fantasy Football Reactions: Week 15

Week 15. The fantasy football playoffs! Aside from those who earned a bye week, many of us were watching our fantasy fortunes swing on a minute-by-minute basis. But even for those who were already eliminated from the playoffs, it was an exciting afternoon of football. Everyone who watched today's games were winners.

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 16 NFL bets https://www.rotowire.com/betting/nfl/odds/week-16. Let's take a look at the Sunday afternoon action. 

Sunday Takeaways

• Full disclosure. I told many people to fade Zay Jones this week. He's a player I rostered in most of my leagues this year. I targeted him as a late-round selection in most August drafts. But going into this game, I assumed he would see at least half of his snaps against Trevon Diggs. I also thought the Dallas pass rush would cause Trevor Lawrence to struggle. Jones did very little until late in the third quarter. A busted coverage led to a 59-yard touchdown. And then the Jaguars were chasing points, and three of his six receptions resulted in him scoring touchdowns. After having one game with more than 20 fantasy points through week 10, Jones now has three such games over the last four weeks. Of course, the game he missed that threshold, he caught two passes for 16 yards against the Lions. It's going to test my resolve when I tell people to consider fading him next week against the Jets. I just don't see him beating either of those cornerbacks with any consistent success. But at this point, I think I'll simply tell fantasy managers to trust their gut on him because it's hard to argue with results. 
• Those who were using Kansas City players this week may have been a little bit nervous before the game against the Texans. If this game played to the projected point spread, it's possible that the passing attack wouldn't have to do much. Fortunately, the Texans kept this game within one score throughout overtime. Although none of the Chiefs offensive players went off, all of the key regulars posted very solid performances. Patrick Mahomes led the charge with three combined touchdowns and over 300 passing yards. And Jerick McKinnon continues to do damage as a receiver. However, those who took a risk and started Kadarius Toney were left disappointed when he recorded just a five-yard reception. The Chiefs will finish up the fantasy playoffs with home matchups against the Seahawks and Broncos. They should have little trouble piling up the fantasy points against Seattle. However, a divisional rematch against Denver could make things a bit interesting. Regardless, I'm expecting the key players to keep producing all the way to the finish line. 
• Hopefully, not too many people started Chris Moore and Jeff Driskel over typically reliable fantasy options. Moore didn't do poorly with four catches for 42 yards, And in very deep leagues, he made sense as a PPR option. Driskel ended up being a minor part of the Houston game plan. He passed for eight yards and rushed for an additional eight. Specifically in Yahoo leagues, Driskel was eligible as a tight end. We've been down this road quite a bit with Taysom Hill. Despite the occasional ceiling game, there are plenty of games when these players score very little. If he's projected to split work again next week, fantasy managers may only want to start him against the most marginal of tight-end options.
• CeeDee Lamb had his third 100-yard performance over his last six games. Unfortunately, none of the three touchdown passes thrown by Dak Prescott went his way. A pair of those scoring strikes went to Noah Brown and the third to secondary tight end Peyton Hendershot. Although his cornerback matchup isn't great next week against the Eagles, his ability to work out of the slot gives him potential for a big game in a likely shootout. And then he has an exceptional matchup against the Titans in week 17. He could be a big factor in many teams' ability to advance through the playoffs. 
• James Conner did it again. For the fourth time in five games, he posted at least 18 PPR points.  He continues to see elite usage as both a runner and receiver. And obviously, he continues to remain a major factor at the goal line. His upcoming matchups against the Buccaneers and Falcons aren't ideal, but there's no reason to consider him anything other than a top-12 running back option at this point. 
• Fantasy managers who were able to ignore the questionable tag and start Rhamondre Stevenson were rewarded with an amazing fantasy performance. He averaged over nine yards per carry, resulting in 172 yards and a touchdown. But now that we know he's healthy, he'll obviously be an auto start in the remaining weeks. 
• Drake London was a target hog and it led him having to a strong fantasy game. Desmond Ridder completed just 13 passes for 97 yards against the Saints. However, seven of those catches and 70 yards went to London, who was targeted 11 times. It may not be easy to make broad assumptions over the next couple weeks, but it's reasonable to think that London should be in play as a top-40 wide receiver option these next couple weeks. 
• It was mostly good fantasy news with the Eagles. If nothing else, the passing attack came through. Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith each posted outstanding yardage numbers. Although there wasn't a single TD pass thrown in the game, Hurts did run for three scores. The odd man out was Miles Sanders. With the Eagles embracing a pass-first approach, he rushed 11 times for 42 yards. There's a decent chance that the Eagles will be in a shootout next week against a depleted Dallas secondary. And he'll close out the fantasy playoffs with a neutral home matchup against the Saints. There's no reason to get cute with your Eagles when setting lineups going forward. Each has solid floor and excellent ceiling potential every week.
• Jared Goff came into this week's game on a hot streak. He had seven touchdown passes over his past three games. However, those contests were all at home. On the road, he's been a completely different player this year. Fortunately, the Jets scored a late touchdown to take a lead on the   Lions. That allowed Goff to take advantage of a busted coverage that allowed Brock Wright to catch a 51-yard touchdown pass. That was the only scoring strike Goff threw. And it also allowed him to get over 200 passing yards. In six road games this year, he has a total of three touchdown passes. Next week he'll play at Carolina before a home contest against the Bears. Fantasy managers may have a tough decision to make if they are uncomfortable starting Goff while knowing this season-long road trend. 
• In the first half, Tom Brady looked like he had figured out all of the issues of the Buccaneers offense. He led them to a 17-3 lead against the Bengals. Chris Godwin and Mike Evans were both having productive performances. And then the second half arrived. Fortunately, Brady had done enough to get it done for fantasy by that point. But between interceptions and fumbles, the wheels came completely off. He connected on a garbage-time touchdown to Russell Gage, which helped him end his day with over 300 yards passing and three touchdowns. The Buccaneers have favorable matchups against the Cardinals and the Panthers upcoming. And if they can reclaim the magic they had in the first half of this week's game, they could end up with a strong finish. But to expect them to have high-level performance will require something they haven't had most of the season. That something is consistency. 
• When superstar players face a Bill Belichick defense, there often is a wide range of outcomes. Sometimes he's able to effectively take away a team's top option. At other times, the superstar player carves up the New England defense. In this case, Davante Adams was on the wrong side of the equation. He caught less than half of his nine targets for just 28 yards.  There's not much more to read into it. Fantasy managers who survived this weak performance will have no issue going back to him as a high-end option next week and beyond.
• David Montgomery has played very well while Khalil Herbert has been on the injured reserve. However, Herbert may return to action in Week 16. Before assuming that Montgomery will lose significant work upon Herbert's return, that may not be the case. Herbert was playing just over 20 snaps per game before the injury. While he was out, other backup running backs were taking almost the same number of snaps. So the bottom line is that Montgomery could continue to see over 45 snaps per game, which would allow him to retain his typical fantasy value. 
• Derrick Henry is definitely in a difficult situation. Sure, he's been the entire Titans offense for quite some time. With the complete lack of weaponry in the passing game  along with all of the injuries at offensive line, he has a lot to overcome. Regardless, his usage as a receiver helped him get over 100 yards on the day. And he was also able to find the end zone. It'll be interesting to see what he does next week. He faces a Houston defense that he's gone well over 200 yards against in each of his last few meetings against them. It seems like we should safely be able to bet against that happening again. But there's no reason he shouldn't flirt with 100 yards yet again. 
• For the fourth time in his last five games, Juwan Johnson had at least 42 yards and a touchdown. But he saved his best effort of the season for the fantasy playoffs. Despite being targeted just six times, He piled up 67 yards and two touchdowns. The only game he hasn't performed well in the recent past was when he played 24 snaps against a 49ers defense that is relentless against tight ends. His role in the offense has been fairly stable for the majority of the season. I have no reservations about starting him with the fantasy season on the line. 
• Although they won, it was a disappointing fantasy day for the Chargers' passing game weapons. Tennessee is decimated both at pass rush and in the secondary. This should have been an easy match up. In addition, Tennessee stifles any team that tries to run, which encourages teams to pass on them. However, Tennessee did everything in its power to send as much pressure as possible. To a degree, it worked. Herbert did go over 300 yards but threw a pair of interceptions. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams combined for 12 catches and 153 yards, but that didn't seem impressive at all given the matchup. But with upcoming matchups against the Colts and the Rams, all of the passing-game weapons should have high scoring floors to close out the season. 
• Joe Burrow looked as if he was on his way to having a terrible game against the Buccaneers. He had failed to generate a touchdown in the first half. And the offense had little success stringing together first downs. However, they greatly benefited by a barrage of Tampa Bay turnovers in the second half. That provided them with short fields on numerous occasions. So on a day that Burrow threw for just 200 yards, he ended up with four touchdown passes, which resulted in a strong fantasy day. It would seem that this game was more of an anomaly than anything else. There's no reason they have concerns about Burrow in these next couple weeks.
• After not recording a catch last week and failing to hit 30 yards in four of his last five games, I found it nearly impossible to recommend DJ Moore as a starting option in fantasy lineups. He did have the 100-yard game with a touchdown a couple weeks ago against Denver, but that seemed mostly like an anomaly. He definitely got it done against the Steelers. He caught five of six targets, turning his chances into 73 yards and a score. When setting your playoff lineups, just understand that more has horrible downside, but he can score 20 fantasy points in a week, even in a difficult matchup. 

Injuries

• Colt McCoy suffered a concussion and Trace McSorley had to finish at QB for the Cardinals.