Takeaways from Week 14 as told by the tweets of the Fantasy Stronghold.
Rejoice for I bring glad tidings of Kareem Hunt fantasy points! The embattled Chiefs running back found the end zone for the first time since Week 3 and posted 100 rushing yards for the first time since Week 5. Huzzah! Hopefully this signals a Kareem Hunt resurgence which would come at the perfect time for fantasy managers in the playoffs. Add to it that the next two weeks feature games against the Chargers and Dolphins -- two fairly pliable run defenses. Giddy up.
Josh Gordon is all the way back, y'all. Sure, he took advantage of a Packers secondary that has struggled for much of the year but it's also two consecutive weeks that Gordon has put together a good stat line. There's little doubt that he has returned to claim the throne as the Browns' WR1 and will hold on to it for the remainder of the season. He should be at least a flex every week going forward.
We spend a lot of time worrying about wide receiver/cornerback matchups. Maybe too much time, sometimes. There comes a point when it's about believing in a player to be successful against other very good players. Admittedly, I wasn't sure if Devin Funchess could exploit the Vikings defense ... but you learn new things all of the time. There's no doubt that Funchess is owning the Panthers' WR1 role right now and after Sunday's performance should earn a weekly place in your lineup.
When we found out that the Colts and Bills were going to play a game on a field that resembled the surface of the planet Hoth, there were plenty of mild fantasy freakouts on Twitter. We now have definitive proof that you don't need to freak out about LeSean McCoy in those conditions. This isn't the kind of information that you'll get to use regularly. But I have a hunch that this won't be the last snow game we see in Buffalo. Just a guess.
Necessity forced the Packers to turn to Jamaal Williams. Reality will keep him in the job. The rookie has looked increasingly more comfortable as he's had more opportunity and is starting to make people forget about Ty Montgomery and Aaron Jones. Okay, maybe not. But Williams has still been pretty good. Even with Jones back in action, it's obvious who Green Bay's new workhorse is going to be.
The Raiders offense was a mess on Sunday. Facing one of the leakier defenses in the league, Oakland didn't offer much in the way of offensive production. Crabtree, in particular, was quite underwhelming. The Chiefs were without corner Marcus Peters and Amari Cooper left the game with an injury. Nonetheless, Crabtree could only muster 60 receiving yards on 13 targets. Things were a little better for Marshawn Lynch who scored a touchdown to go along with his 64 scrimmage yards. Still, it's been a frustrating fantasy year for most of the guys in silver and black.
I've been banging this drum for about a week now and I'll keep on banging it. While I was concerned about his Week 14 matchup, Bortles has continued to show that maybe -- just maybe -- he's starting to become a different quarterback. The Jags quarterback has delivered 16 or more fantasy points in six of his last seven games and has done it primarily by taking care of the football. Over his last seven contests, Bortles has just three interceptions compared to eight touchdown tosses. With the Texans and 49ers up next, the fantasy hero you never knew you needed might just reside in Duval County, Florida.
While Bortles is ascending, Marcus Mariota continues his freefall into fantasy oblivion. After throwing another two picks on Sunday, the Titans quarterback has 14 interceptions and just 10 touchdown passes this year. There are plenty of theories as to why Mariota seems to have regressed this year but the fact remains the same ... he's been ungood. If you survived starting him this week, congratulations. Now don't do it again.
Sometimes this game just doesn't make sense.
Wait...what?"
- C.J. Anderson has 48 yards on 22 carries.
- Frank Gore had 36 carries. In one game.
- Jonathan Stewart notched his first career three-touchdown game.
- Jordy Nelson's 33 receiving yards were the most he's had in a game since Week 9.
- Kareem Hunt had 25 carries, the most in a game since Week 8.
- Jets quarterbacks threw for a combined 60 yards. Jacoby Brissett had 69 passing yards in a blizzard.
- Keenan Allen has 547 receiving yards in his past four games. That alone would make him 38th among WRs in receiving yards.
- Samaje Perine caught four passes. For seven yards.
- Defenses that scored as many or fewer points than you this week (heading into SNF): Giants. That's it. Good job, everyone else.
- TE Watch: The luminaries that landed in the top 10 among tight ends this week (entering SNF) -- Trey Burton, Jared Cook, Garrett Celek, Adam Shaheen, and Rhett Ellison.
And one for the road ...
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com and a man who is still laughing about "The Disaster Artist" and even more motivated to watch "The Room" for the fifth time. Tweet him to say "oh, hai" or ask fantasy questions on Twitter @MarcasG. If you read all of that, congrats. He also dishes out (get it?) fantasy advice -- and life shenanigans -- on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (marcasg9)
