Team of the Week
QB: Josh Allen, BUF
The Buffalo snow didn’t come until late in Saturday night’s game, so Allen was able to torch Miami in relatively calm conditions—throwing for 304 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing ten times for 77 yards. Allen will likely be the top quarterback play of Week 16 when the Bills take on the Bears.
RB: Jerick McKinnon, KC
McKinnon’s receiving usage puts him here for the second week in a row, as he caught all eight of his targets for 70 yards and a touchdown to help boost him over 30.0 fantasy points. But the biggest play came on the ground with McKinnon rushing for a game-winning 26-yard touchdown in overtime to beat Houston.
RB: Dalvin Cook, MIN
Cook either seemed to get stuffed or rip off a chunk gain for much of the afternoon on Saturday, and it was the 64-yard touchdown reception (on a screen pass) late in the fourth quarter that kicked the doors open to position him as the overall RB2 heading into Monday night. Next up is a matchup versus a struggling run defense for the Giants.
WR: Zay Jones, JAX
The Cowboys had no answers for Jones yesterday—as the former second-round pick caught six-of-eight targets for 109 yards and three touchdowns to finish with 31.9 fantasy points in the overtime victory. Even in a difficult matchup versus the Jets on Thursday night, Jones will be worth FLEX consideration.
WR: K.J. Osborn, MIN
Osborn was the unsung hero for Minnesota in their historic win over the Colts—setting new highs in targets (16), receptions (ten), and receiving yards (157) while also finding the end zone. After there was talk of Osborn possibly losing snaps to Jalen Reagor, the former Miami standout has responded with a score in back-to-back games.
TE: George Kittle, SF
Kittle only needed five targets to go off last Thursday night—catching four passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns. The numbers were the best of the year for Kittle with 23.3 fantasy points, and fantasy owners will hope the big plays (touchdowns of 28 and 54 yards) continue over the next couple of weeks.
FLEX: Derrick Henry, TEN
Henry totaled 163 yards and a touchdown on 25 touches in a loss to the Chargers, and it’s fair to wonder if more work for the monster runner would have gotten Tennessee back on the winning track. Still, fantasy owners can’t complain, and Henry gets a demolition spot next week against the Texans.
D/ST: Colts
A defense allowing over 500 yards and 39 points in an all-time terrible collapse maybe shouldn’t be here, but fantasy owners that rolled with Indy don’t care because of the damage they did early. Overall, the Colts finished with 18.0 fantasy points thanks to seven sacks, three takeaways, a blocked punt, and two touchdowns.
K: Chase McLaughlin, IND
Part of the reason Indy blew a 33-0 lead on Saturday was that they settled for too many field goals, which helped McLaughlin go for a season-high 21.0 fantasy points by nailing all eight of his kicks (including five field goals).
Surprise of the Week: Rhamondre Stevenson
This is all about the health, as Stevenson was said to be dealing with a high-ankle sprain, but didn’t miss time and rumbled for a career-high 172 rushing yards (plus a score) in the heartbreaking loss. All the more surprising was that Stevenson didn’t even start, but he looked arguably more explosive than usual—rewarding fantasy owners that waited until the late-afternoon slate and started him.
Disappointment of the Week: Jonathan Taylor
Taylor reportedly suffered a high-ankle sprain on his lone touch against Minnesota (a 13-yard reception), and those that made the playoffs with him might have been knocked out because of it. The new head coach for Indy will be key, but Taylor should be a prime bounce-back candidate in 2023 based on his talent.
Rookie of the Week: Tyler Allgeier
Atlanta falling behind early and facing a tough opponent didn’t matter for Allgeier and the running game—as the rookie rushed 17 times for 139 yards and one touchdown to lead all rookies with 22.1 fantasy points. We’ll see if he can keep it going next week for another difficult matchup versus Baltimore.
Week 15 MVP: Josh Allen
“Elite quarterback” could have been the designation here with Allen (35.86 fantasy points) being followed closely by Jalen Hurts (34.7) and Patrick Mahomes (32.74)—putting those with one of the top fantasy passers of 2022 in great position to begin the playoffs. Buffalo’s superstar tops the leaderboard, though, and all three are showing the importance of a top-tier quarterback both from a real-life and fantasy perspective.