Let's review the best and the worst fantasy performances through Thursday and Sunday's games so far in Week 15's Fantasy Football Wrap Up.
Quarterbacks
Studs
Cam Newton threw for 242 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and ran for 58 yards on 14 carries. Newton capitalized in a great matchup against the Green Bay Packers and finished as the highest scoring QB of the week with 31.5 fantasy points. Eli Manning had himself the second-best game of his fantasy season, scoring 27.4 fantasy points. Manning threw for 434 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception against their NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles and finished as the second-highest scoring QB of the week.
Disappointments
Andy Dalton had a horrible game against the Minnesota Vikings this week where he threw for 113 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception, scoring a total of only 0.5 fantasy points. Philip Rivers' hot streak couldn't have come at a worse time for fantasy owners. He was only able to throw for 227 yards and 1 touchdown against a Chiefs' defense that was giving up an average of 18.2 fantasy points to the position. Rivers threw 3 interceptions in both matchups against the Chiefs this year, and this week he finished with 7.1 fantasy points.
Running Backs
Studs
Todd Gurley continues to produce and has shown no signs of slowing down. Gurley ran for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns on 21 carries and had 3 receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown. Gurley finished the day with 45.0 fantasy points and finished as the highest-scoring running back of the week. When Andy Reid heavily involves Kareem Hunt in the game plan it tends to bode well for the Chiefs offense. Hunt had 155 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries and 51 yards and a touchdown on 7 receptions. Hunt finished the week as the second-highest scoring running back with 39.6 fantasy points.
Disappointments
With Aaron Rodgers back under center, Jamaal Williams' production took a serious hit. Williams only gained 30 yards on 10 carries and scored a mere 3.0 fantasy points. Many owners looking for a running back fill-in turned to Chris Ivory this week who started in place of an injured Leonard Fournette. Ivory sure had his chances but was unable to convert on more than one occasion as he couldn't punch-in not one, but two separate goal-line carries from the 1-yard line. Ivory gained 42 yards on 17 carries and finished the week with 4.2 fantasy points in a blowout win for the Jaguars.
Wide Receivers
Studs
Keelan Cole extended his hot streak to 3 straight games after hauling in 7 receptions for 186 yards and 1 touchdown in a thrashing of the Houston Texans on Sunday. Cole finished as the highest-scoring fantasy wide receiver of the week with 31.6 fantasy points. Sterling Shepard finally was on the same page as his quarterback this week and had a monster game. Shepard totaled 139 yards and 1 touchdown on 11 receptions and finished with 30.9 fantasy points.
Disappointments
Doug Baldwin was only able to haul in 1 of 4 targets for 6 yards and... that's it. Baldwin disappointed fantasy owners in one of the biggest games of the year and finished with 1.6 fantasy points. In the same game between the Seahawks and the Rams, the focus was to run the ball which left Sammy Watkins owners scratching their heads with his output this week. Watkins caught 2 passes for 14 yards and finished with 3.4 fantasy points in a game where the Rams scored 42 points.
Tight Ends
Studs
The highest-scoring tight end from this past week was Rob Gronkowski who had 9 receptions for 168 yards, finishing with 27.8 fantasy points. Gronkowski has now finished as a top-2 tight end in the last three weeks in which he's played, great news for fantasy owners heading into championship week. Greg Olsen finally seems back to normal and torched the Packers defense this week, hauling in 9 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown (first of the year). Olsen helped Carolina eliminate the Packers from playoff contention, and he finished the day with 26.6 fantasy points.
Disappointments
Once bitten, twice shy; this week was tough for streaming the tight end position. Although he had one end zone target, Vernon Davis was again not utilized in the passing game on Sunday and posted a complete dud. Davis caught 2 passes for 18 yards and lost a fumble, finishing with 1.8 fantasy points. Ricky Seals-Jones had an equally disappointing performance, and this was with teammate Jermaine Gresham sidelined due to injury. RSJ finished with 2 catches for 11 yards, scoring a mere 3.1 fantasy points.
Defense & Special Teams
The highest-scoring defense of the week was the Baltimore Ravens Defense who beat up DeShone Kizer. The Ravens recorded 2 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries (one returned for a touchdown) and 2 sacks, scoring a total of 21.0 fantasy points. The second-highest scoring defense this week was the Minnesota Vikings Defense who had 3 sacks and 2 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), finished Sunday with 19.0 fantasy points.
Kickers
The highest scoring kicker of the week was Robbie Gould who kicked field goals from 28, 38, 45, 48, 48 and 50 yards out and converted 1 extra point. Gould finished the week with a ridiculous 24.0 fantasy points. Arizona Cardinals' Phil Dawson kicked field goals from 19, 24, 32, 25, and 40 yards out and finished week 15 as the second-highest scoring kicker with 16.0 fantasy points.
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