Popping The Cork

Week 16 was the week of the Equalizer in the NFL. Atlanta ruined the Carolina Panthers’ perfect season just two weeks after being dismantled 38-0 and set off champagne corks across southern Florida. The Redskins clinched the worst division in the NFL with a resounding win over Philadelphia, in Philly, and sealed Chip Kelly’s fate as he was forced to pack his bags and take a $3.4 million check back to the college ranks. Pittsburgh and Seattle showed that they are not unstoppable offensive forces and were huge upset victims at the hands of division foes, which knocked the Steelers out of position to control their own fate and are now big Bills fans going into this Sunday. And finally, the Packers continued to show that they are the worst 10-5 team that we have ever seen after getting punished in the desert by Arizona. One may argue that they would be best served to lose this weekend and hope that they draw Washington in the first round of the playoffs, but I seriously doubt that they can win that game. However, their odds are slightly better than meeting the Vikings for a third time or hosting Seattle.

Never, never, never overthink your playoff week roster decisions. Stick with the players that got you to your fantasy playoffs.

Performances that won/lost games:

• Anyone that benched Julio Jones couldn’t kick themselves hard enough as he made Carolina look like New Orleans last Sunday with a 9/178/1 day. This weekend, he does face New Orleans and may be targeted enough times to have a monster day and break records for the number of catches and yards in the regular season by a wide receiver.
• Rolling the dice and starting RBs Cameron Artis-Payne, Jay Ajayi or Christine Michael proved to be worth only slightly more that leaving a starting position unmanned. I understand that desperation leads to some irrational decisions, but don’t bench someone that you normally start weekly, such as Devonta Freeman, because of a matchup concern. Always get beat with your best hand.
• The Least Valuable Performance from last Sunday came from Ben Roethlisberger. I had him inked in for 30 points and he barely topped 3. He was really a killer for those owners who had him paired with Steelers receiver(s). It was reminiscent of 2014’s Week 16 performance by Andrew Luck versus the Cowboys. There was no reason to expect those performances so you just hope that your opponent suffers the same fate, such as starting Aaron Rodgers as his QB last week.

For those playing this week, many NFL teams are still in play as few have nothing to play for. Washington is one that can be expected to sit many players, at least for the second half if not for the whole game, as they are locked into the fourth playoff position in the NFC. Most other teams still are jockeying for their position, are looking to affect the playoff hopes/location of other teams or just want to finish the season with a win and hopefully use that to gain momentum into next season. As always, leagues running through week 17 should always consider our In-game Player Change option, at least for this week if not for the whole season, to help make line-up changes during the game for players who may only play a quarter or a half. If you are playing this week, you won’t have much competition roaming the waiver wire unless you are playing in a Total Points league. If you do need help, here are a few options to consider aside from players mentioned over the past few weeks such as QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, RB Karlos Williams/Mike Gillislee, WR DeVante Parker or TE Zach Miller:

QB: Sam Bradford (PHL) – the Eagles are a mess and their disastrous season is over, but, with a new coach coming in for next season, some guys will be trying to make a good final impression that carries over to the evaluation period leading into the 2016 season. The Giants defense is worse than Philly’s so I expect a shootout and some good numbers from Bradford. He has back-to-back 300+ yard games and there is no reason to expect less this week.

RB: Pierre Thomas (WASH) – Pierre makes his first appearance this season after finally making a difference coming off the scrap heap. As mentioned above, Washington will be resting starters so they should give Thomas the bulk of the workload out of the backfield, particularly in the passing game. He had 7 catches last week and faces a mediocre Cowboys’ defense this week.

WR: Keshawn Martin (NE) – The Patriots have a Bye locked up but do need to win, or Denver lose, to lock up the number 1 seed. That being said, I expect Martin to get a decent workload versus New England running out their injured WRs; Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. Facing a terrible Dolphins defense, they could get Joey Galloway to suit up and I would consider picking him up and starting him.

TE: Zach Ertz (PHL) – The Giants’ pass defense gets torched by wide receivers and tight ends alike. If Ertz is available and you need tight end help, grab him. He is clearly Sam Bradford’s favorite target and will get a lot of passes thrown his way on Sunday.