A Wild MNF Swings Fantasy Football Championship Matchups
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by BetMGM, the Lions-49ers MNF barnburner swung matchups, key utilization takeaways, and more.
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by BetMGM:
I might have spoke too quickly yesterday when I said you most likely already knew the outcome of your championship fate.
What I failed to account for at the time, however, was the giant cajones on Dan Campbell.
Sure, he told us that the Lions would be going all out despite it being a meaningless game, but I didn’t actually think they’d go pedal to the metal for 60 minutes.
And yet that’s exactly what happened.
The result was a back-and-forth shootout that surely flipped countless fantasy matchups.
Jahmyr Gibbs (163 total yards), Jameson Williams (5-77), Sam LaPorta (6-64), and Amon-Ra St. Brown (8-60) all scored TDs.
On the other side, Brock Purdy (377 yards and 4 total TDs) went nuts and rookie Ricky Pearsall bookended his wild year with a breakout game (8-141-1).
Whether you took home the ‘ship or are ready to draft again in 2025, thank you for reading this year.
If you are sick enough to still be playing in Week 18, we got you covered with the usual Tuesday goods.
Enjoy your New Year’s Eve …
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What else is in today’s newsletter?
- Dwain’s Utilization Report: Washington’s WR2 has emerged
- Watercooler: Ready to play Guillotine Leagues in the NFL Playoffs?
- Ian Hartitz’s Sheesh Report from Week 17
Week 18 Utilization Report
Welcome to the Utilization Report, where Dwain McFarland highlights his top fantasy football takeaways heading into Week 18.
Olamide Zaccheaus emerges as the WR2 in Washington.
Since the season-ending injury to Noah Brown (kidney) in Week 13, Zaccheaus has stepped into a more prominent role for the Commanders. He reached a season-high 81% route participation in Week 17 against the Falcons with playoff seeding on the line and notched an 8.9 Utilization Score with 23.3 fantasy points.
Over the last two weeks, Zaccheaus has notched the highest Utilization Score (8.2) of any Commanders. With opponents looking to limit Terry McLaurin, Zaccheaus has garnered a team-leading 25% target share and 29% end-zone target share. Over that stretch, he has averaged a whopping 23.7 fantasy points.
McLaurin remains the clear-cut WR1 in Washington, but Zaccheaus could continue to make noise in the NFL Playoffs, with teams likely to continue focusing on McLaurin.
We have only a two-week sample, but the comps for Zaccheaus in his new role are impressive.
- Average fantasy points: 15.1
- WR1 to WR12: 20%
- WR13 to WR24: 39%
- WR24 to WR36: 27%
- WR37 to WR48: 15%
Zaccheaus UPGRADES to WR3 status but has a legit shot at WR2 production, making him an interesting option in playoff contests like the Chopionship and Guilloteenie.
Has the light turned on for Xavier Worthy?
With Malik Nabers (WR11), BrIan Thomas (WR16), and Ladd McConkey (WR24) putting up strong performances in their rookie seasons, Worthy (WR44) fell out of the limelight after a slow start. However, the Round 1 NFL Draft pick is coming on just in time for the NFL Playoffs—over the last three weeks, he leads the Chiefs wide receiver room with a 27% target share and an impressive 8.3 Utilization Score.
The Chiefs move Worthy all over the formation and emphasize getting the ball into his hands around the line of scrimmage, with 32% of Worthy's targets coming on screens. Whether Worthy can achieve long-term success without being propped up by scheme targets remains to be seen, but Kansas City has pushed Worthy into the Rashee Rice role, which could be highly profitable in playoff contests.
Hollywood Brown has yet to find a full-time role, but he leads the team with 44% targets per route run (TPRR). If Brown finds more playing time, he could make things more volatile for Worthy. However, there is also a chance the Chiefs' offense finally clicks with three legit passing-game weapons, offsetting the target competition. Patrick Mahomes had his best passing performance of the season in Week 17, with 320 yards and 3 TDs against the Steelers.
Worthy UPGRADES to low-end WR2 status and offers WR1 upside.
MORE UTILIZATION REPORT TAKEAWAYS
🏈 Lions & Tigers & Bears ... and Broncos. Oh My.
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The latest fantasy nuggets, silliness, and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds:
🪓 Ready to keep playing fantasy football in the NFL playoffs? Ian and Charch get in some cuts on the CHOPionship.
🤔 Playing your championship in Week 18? Sam Wallace has the waiver wire covered.
🙏 Matthew will forever have Faith in 5.
👀 Two of these are not like the others.
🏈 Coach Gene had so many College Football best bets, he broke down CFB Playoff games and other games featuring Alabama-Michigan and more.
😆 Oh no, Jake Bates. He’ll never live this down.
🥊 Things got heated in the game last night. Feisty scrum.
Week 17 Sheesh Report
by Ian Hartitz
Justin Jefferson is the DPI King
Defensive pass interferences can be finicky and don’t always occur in instances when the targeted receiver would have FOR SURE made the catch.
That said: They are very annoying for fantasy managers to deal with when the result could’ve, should’ve, would’ve been a chunk gain—and maybe even a TD.
Overall, five players gained at least 15 yards courtesy of DPI penalties in Week 17:
- Colts WR Alec Pierce (44)
- Texans WR Robert Woods (20)
- Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte (20)
- Colts WR Michael Pittman (19)
- Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (17)
Jefferson now has a league-high 171 yards drawn on defensive pass interference penalties this season. Sheesh.
Our last category of sheesh centers around determining which QBs perhaps deserve some slack for their on-paper turnovers …
MORE TILTING MOMENTS THAT LEFT YOU SAYING, "SHEESH!"
Welcome back! First off, CeeDee Lamb was the only player among Malik Nabers, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and A.J. Brown who did not go for 150 receiving yards and 2 TDs during his rookie year.
Now, onto today’s question …
Baker Mayfield continues to sling it. He had five touchdown passes on Sunday, bringing him to 39 for the year. He—and Lamar Jackson—will be looking to join the club of active players with a 40+ TD season, joining Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Matthew Stafford, and one other player. Can you name him?
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