Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Week 10 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers

Quarterback
MVP: Kirk Cousins (Redskins)
Kirk Cousins became the latest quarterback to victimize the Saints abysmal defense (20-25/324 YDS/4 TD) without even breaking a sweat. Despite trending upwards with 8 TD's and 1 INT in his last 3 starts, Cousins 2015 season has been full of glorious highs and soul-crushing lows, and that type of erratic play makes him a risky play in weeks where he doesn't have a creampuff matchup.
Honorable Mentions: Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers), Jay Cutler (Bears), Joe Flacco (Ravens)

LVP: Peyton Manning (Broncos)
Peyton Manning may have passed Brett Favre to become the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards during Sunday's game with the Chiefs, but I'm sure he'd like to forget about everything else that happened on the field on November 15th, 2015. Manning played arguably the sloppiest game of his career (5-20/35 YDS/4 INT) and ended up getting pulled for backup Brock Osweiler midway through the 3rd quarter. A slew of both recent and lingering injuries have brought Manning down to earth and forced the future Hall-Of-Famer to finally show his advanced age. Manning's has already been ruled out for Week 11 with a partially torn plantar fascia and unless he's able to make a miraculous turnaround, he won't be viable a fantasy starter whenever he returns.
Dishonorable Mentions: Andy Dalton (Bengals), Drew Brees (Saints), Marcus Mariota (Titans)

Running Back
MVP: Jeremy Langford (Bears)
Even the most optimistic Bears fan couldn't have predicted that Jeremy Langford would play this well in relief of injured superstar running back Matt Forte. Langford did his best Forte impression by crushing the Rams defense in both the rushing and passing game, finishing the afternoon with 182 total yards (73 rushing, 109 receiving) and 2 TD's on 27 touches. As long as Forte is sidelined, Langford's status as a true dual-threat back makes him an excellent RB2 play.
Honorable Mentions: Charcandrick West (Chiefs), Adrian Peterson (Vikings), Matt Jones (Redskins)

LVP: Darren McFadden (Cowboys)
Darren McFadden has been impressive since he surpassed the recently-released Joseph Randle on the depth chart and became the Cowboys starting running back, picking up over 100 yards from scrimmage in all 3 of his starts coming into Week 10. That level of production was nowhere to be found this week as McFadden got stuffed all game long by the Buccaneers middling defense, finishing the day with just 58 total yards (32 rushing, 26 receiving) on 20 touches. Even with this weak performance, McFadden is the undisputed top back on a Cowboys team that is committed to running the football. McFadden should be a borderline RB1 in Week 11 against the Dolphins weak rush defense.
Dishonorable Mentions: DeAngelo Williams (Steelers), Antonio Andrews (Titans), Jeremy Hill (Bengals)

Wide Receiver
MVP: Antonio Brown (Steelers)
Antonio Brown followed up his record-setting day against the Raiders in week 9 with another masterful performance (10 REC, 139 YDS, 2 TD, 1 2-point conversion) against the Browns banged-up secondary in Week 10. Brown's post-bye week schedule is all over the map in terms of matchup difficulty, but he should be locked in as a top-flight WR1 for all of them.
Honorable Mentions: Michael Floyd (Cardinals), Martavis Bryant (Steelers), Brandin Cooks (Saints)

LVP: Dez Bryant (Cowboys)
Dez Bryant took a big step back this week after his impressive performance against the Eagles a week ago. Bryant grossly underperformed against a thoroughly terrible Buccaneers secondary, finishing the day with just 45 yards on 5 catches. Matt Cassel looked Bryant's way early and often-targeting him 12 times on his 29 pass attempts-but Bryant was uncharacteristically sloppy, committing 2 drops and running a ton of poor routes throughout the game. The Cowboys offensive woes should come to an end with Tony Romo returning to the lineup in week 11, but Bryant's lack of burst and inconsistency since returning from his foot injury in week 8 is a bit of a cause for concern. Bryant will be a mid-level WR2 until he returns to full health.
Dishonorable Mentions: A.J. Green (Bengals), Randall Cobb (Packers), Alshon Jeffrey (Bears)

Tight End
MVP: Rob Gronkowski (Patriots)
Shocker of the century: Rob Gronkowski finishes another week at the top of the fantasy tight end rankings. Gronkowski (5 REC/113 YDS/1 TD) was having a relatively quiet game until he snagged a career-long 76-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter that swung the game back into the Patriots direction. Gronkowski continues to play like a man possessed and with Julian Edelman out of the lineup indefinitely with a foot injury, he should be seeing even more targets in the Patriots high-powered offense.
Honorable Mentions: Gary Barnidge (Browns), Jordan Reed (Redskins), Richard Rodgers (Packers)

LVP: Tyler Eifert (Bengals)
Tyler Eifert was one of the primary victims of the horribly inefficient play of Andy Dalton on Monday night, putting up just 26 yards on 3 receptions in the Bengals ugly loss against the Texans. Eifert probably isn't worth starting in Week 11 as he has a brutal matchup against a Cardinals defense that has surrendered the 4th-least fantasy points to tight ends this season.
Dishonorable Mentions: Martellus Bennett (Bears), Travis Kelce (Chiefs), Eric Ebron (Lions)

Defense
MVP: Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs defense took advantage of Peyton Manning's abundance of miscues to have their finest outing of 2015 so far. The Chiefs picked up 5 sacks and INT's and allowed just 13 points to the Broncos in their shocking victory over the current AFC West leaders. The Chiefs are in the midst of a 3-game winning streak and the play of their defense has been one of the catalysts for their recent success. They'll be a great play against the struggling Chargers offense in Week 11.
Honorable Mentions: Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans

LVP: Denver Broncos
It's not completely fair to give the Broncos D this distinction because their poor performance is almost entirely attributed to Peyton Manning turning the ball over or failing to sustain a drive for any substantial length of time on every possession. Regardless of the cause, the Broncos defense fantasy performance (29 points allowed, 2 sacks, 0 takeaways, 0 TD) was still an undeniable disappointment, especially considering how dominant they've been this season. The Broncos defense has a good shot of returning to form in Week 11 against a Bears offense that is dealing with a ton of injuries on their offensive line.
Dishonorable Mentions: St. Louis Rams, Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals  

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