Yahoo Sports Week 14 Fantasy Wrap: The Todd Gurley train comes to a crashing halt
Los Angeles Rams vs. Chicago Bears
Todd Gurley entered averaging 137.4 yards from scrimmage with 19 total touchdowns. Then, he saved his worst game of the season for opening week of the fantasy playoffs as he was held to just 58 scoreless yards Sunday night in Chicago. The only other game all season he didn’t reach the end zone was in Week 12 when he was dealing with a sprained ankle.
The Bears, however, who entered with the top-ranked run and pass defense in DVOA, shut down Gurley completely (2.5 YPC), cruelly eliminating many of the owners he brought this far in the process (hopefully his first 12 games were so epically good you had a bye this week).
Jared Goff had his second straight poor game, as he and Mitchell Trubisky combined for a 1:7 TD:INT ratio while getting an ugly 3.9 YPA. Jordan Howard reached 100 rushing yards for the first time all season and was the lone player in this game not to disappoint fantasy owners. Brandin Cooks, Josh Reynolds, Trey Burton and Anthony Miller combined for just 80 receiving yards.
The Rams scored six points with their previous season-low being 23. Expect a huge bounce back when the team hosts the injury-depleted Eagles in Week 15 on Sunday night. You’ll want all the Rams you can possibly fit in your fantasy lineup.
Carolina Panthers vs. Cleveland Browns
Baker Mayfield has gotten 10.0 YPA over the last four contests, while Cam Newton failed to record a touchdown for the first game all season. This came one week after getting picked off four times and with whispers of him dealing with a more serious injury…Christian McCaffrey added two more rushing scores (and had another called back by penalty) and is the NFL leader in receptions since Week 6…Rashard Higgins had a brutal drop on a would-be touchdown and also lost a fumble, while this Mayfield-to-Jarvis Landry connection was a thing of beauty.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Green Bay Packers
New coach Joe Philbin ran out of challenges 83 seconds into the game and opened by feeding Jamaal Williams the ball. The Mike McCarthy dead cat bounce was too strong though, as the Packers covered easily while pleasing Davante Adams and Aaron Jones owners…It had been more than a year since Julio Jones’ last multi-TD game but it marked the Falcons’ fifth straight loss. Tevin Coleman will be tough to trust in Week 15 despite the prime home matchup against the Cardinals.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Tyreek Hill saw a league-high 14 targets against the tough Baltimore secondary in an entertaining matchup, highlighted by this huge fourth down conversion…Here’s Patrick Mahomes throwing a no-look pass…Get your popcorn ready for Thursday night when the Chiefs host the Chargers…Gus Edwards is tough to get too excited about in fantasy since he’s completely ignored in the passing game and contending with Lamar Jackson for rushing scores. Kenneth Dixon is the long-term hold in this backfield…Damien Williams scored two touchdowns, but Spencer Ware mostly held his ground as the team’s lead back.
New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins
Tom Brady and Ryan Tannehill combined for a 6:0 TD:INT ratio, but this game will be remembered for how it ended. Kenyan Drake took a lateral to the house for the winning TD as time expired…Rob Gronkowski had an otherwise good game (recording his first red-zone catch of the season!), but the lasting memory will be his futile attempt at tackling at the end. Brady and the Pats have now dropped five of their last six games in Miami…Sony Michel somehow turned 20 carries into minimal fantasy value, while Kenny Stills blew up (leading the NFL in WOPR in Week 14), and Brandon Bolden had the ultimate revenge game. Bolden entered with just one carry all season but turned two rushes into 60 yards and two scores in exactly zero fantasy lineups.
New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In a game with this week’s highest over/under, the Saints entered halftime with three rushing yards while Drew Brees and Jameis Winston finished with a combined 6.0 YPA. The weather wasn’t ideal, but wind had died down, so sloppy play was mostly to blame. I liked Chris Godwin in this matchup, and if you told me he’d get 10 targets and lead the NFL in air yards (173) in Week 14, I’d have really loved him. The result was one catch for 13 scoreless yards, and it’s not like Adam Humphries (5.3 YPT) ate in his place either…After scoring 15 touchdowns over his first 10 games, Alvin Kamara has none over his last three.
New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins
No longer held back by Odell Beckham Jr., Eli Manning got 9.0 YPA with a 3:0 TD:INT ratio, as he continues to play far better on the road this season. Manning did take a couple of bad sacks, including during a curious shotgun call on 2nd-and-goal from close, and he’ll obviously welcome OBJ back against a beatable Titans secondary next week if he’s ready…The Giants had more points (34) than Mark Sanchez had passing yards (30) at halftime, leading to Josh Johnson replacing him and somehow finishing as fantasy’s QB2 during the morning slate…Saquon Barkley didn’t have to do much in the second half yet totaled 197 yards on just 18 touches, including this sick 78-yarder he took to the house.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans
Andrew Luck threw for 399 yards with 199 going to T.Y. Hilton, who dominated while playing through an injury. The Colts ended the Texans’ nine-game winning streak one week after getting shutout…Eric Ebron is locked in as a top-three tight end down the stretch, while Deshaun Watson’s now averaged just 209.7 passing yards over the last eight games…DeAndre Hopkins scored but was held to a season-low 36 yards on 10 targets. Indy continues to keep perimeter receivers in check (they entered allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to outside WRs over the last month).
New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills
Sam Darnold played fairly well during his first action in more than a month given the difficult matchup, while Josh Allen still managed a decent fantasy day despite throwing zero touchdowns with three turnovers. The rookie QB now has twice as many 100-yard rushing games over the last two weeks as Kareem Hunt, David Johnson and Alvin Kamara have mustered all season…Isaiah McKenzie ran more from the slot than Zay Jones’ fantasy owners wanted, as Jones disappointed despite getting nine targets.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Sandwiched between primetime games in Pittsburgh and Kansas City, the Chargers avoided a loss during Sunday’s trap game but didn’t come close to covering the big spread. Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson rushed for just 78 yards on 22 carries at home against a bad Cincy run defense…Philip Rivers’ multiple TD pass streak ended at 13 games, while Jeff Driskel didn’t turn the ball over in an admirable effort…Keenan Allen has followed up a seven-game scoreless span by reaching pay-dirt in five straight contests. He will be another must-start in Week 15’s shootout in Kansas City.
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys
Amari Cooper was the story of the day, securing 10-of-13 targets for 217 yards and three touchdowns, including the winning catch in overtime. He’s seen a huge increase in target share and air yards percentage since joining Dallas and is shooting up draft boards next year, when he’ll rightfully cost an early round pick. Cooper is 24 years old, and the Cowboys are thrilled they traded for him.
Dak Prescott completed the most passes (42) in a game in Dallas franchise history, while Ezekiel Elliott totaled 192 yards. Blake Jarwin also put his name on the map on a team searching for an answer at tight end…Alshon Jeffery finally reemerged, scoring for the first time in six games, while Prescott badly overthrew a wide open Michael Gallup on a would-be 80-yard touchdown (Dallas Goedert also had a 75-yard TD catch called back on a soft offensive pass interference penalty).
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders
Ben Roethlisberger returned to lead a late TD drive after missing most of the second half with a rib injury but still dropped to 0-4 during his career in Oakland. Derek Carr got 9.7 YPA against a tough secondary with few offensive weapons, has now gone eight straight games without a pick, and threw this dime Sunday…Jaylen Samuels caught all seven of his targets, while Antonio Brown was quiet. AB’s fantasy owners hope Roethlisberger’s injury isn’t serious, as the receiver has never caught a TD from any other quarterback…JuJu Smith-Schuster was the youngest player in the league last year, is on pace to record 112 catches this season, and hauled in this unreal touchdown grab Sunday.
Denver Broncos vs. San Francisco 49ers
One week after throwing for 414 yards in Seattle, Nick Mullens ripped off 332 yards (10.1 YPA) against a Denver secondary that entered ranked second in pass defense DVOA. George Kittle had the most receiving yards by any player at half since 1991, including matching his jersey with this 85-yard touchdown (although he was held catchless in the second half). What a monster. Kittle will be worth a third-round pick in fantasy drafts next year, if not higher.
Phillip Lindsay entered with a historically good YPC but was held to just 2.1, while Courtland Sutton flopped in an expanded role with Emmanuel Sanders out thanks in no small part to a horrific performance from Case Keenum…Dante Pettis has scored four touchdowns over the last three games and will help form an intriguing group in SF next season along with Kittle, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jerick McKinnon, Matt Breida and Marquise Goodwin (although they hurt their chances of getting the No. 1 pick in the draft with Sunday’s win).
Detroit Lions vs. Arizona Cardinals
Matthew Stafford got 4.4 YPA without a TD, Kenny Golladay managed just five receiving yards, and LeGarrette Blount was held to 2.8 YPC without a score and lost a fumble, yet the Lions won by 14 points on the road…Golladay’s absolute nightmare stretch continues throughout the fantasy playoffs, as he gets Tre’Davious White and Xavier Rhodes the next two weeks…Josh Rosen looked discouragingly bad again, while David Johnson finished with negative 13 air yards. He is fittingly limping to the finish line to cap a disastrous last 15 months.
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