Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Week 16 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2023 Edition

Quarterback

MVP: Josh Allen (Bills) 

A pair of rushing TD's on only 5 carries made up for a pretty pedestrian passing line (237 YDS/1 TD/1 INT) against an awful Chargers defense and powered Allen to this honor. He'll have revenge on his mind this Sunday against a Patriots defense that kind of embarrassed him in their prior meeting this season. 

Honorable Mentions: Justin Fields (Bears), Jalen Hurts (Eagles), Jordan Love (Packers)

LVP: Brock Purdy (49ers)

For the 2nd straight week, an MVP campaign died in primetime as Purdy had the worst game of his young career-chucking 4 INT's and throwing for 255 scoreless YDS against the Ravens before backup Sam Darnold took over for the final 8 minutes of the game. Purdy will close out the 2023 fantasy football season against the Commanders league-worst pass defense. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Jared Goff (Lions), Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins), Gardner Minshew (Colts)

Running Back

MVP: Breece Hall (Jets)

What a day for the Breece Hall stockholders that stuck with him through his largely underwhelming sophomore season. The Trevor Siemian-led Jets offense relied almost exclusively Hall on to lead them to a narrow victory over the Commanders as he handled a massive workload (20 carries, 12 receptions) and turned into 191 scrimmage YDS and a pair of rushing TD's. After this huge explosion, Hall should come crashing back to earth in whiplash-inducing fashion when he goes up against the Browns elite defense in Week 17.  

Honorable Mentions: Christian McCaffery (49ers), Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions), Derrick Henry (Titans)

LVP: Travis Etienne (Jaguars)

A strong Bucs rush defense and huge early deficit rendered Etienne effectively useless in a deflating blowout loss for the reeling Jaguars as he finished the game with just 9 touches (6 carries, 3 receptions) for 31 YDS. Regardless of whether it's Trevor Lawrence or C.J. Beathard playing QB this week for the Jags, Etienne should be much more involved versus a Panthers D that is much stronger against the pass than they are against the run. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Tony Pollard (Cowboys), James Cook (Bills), De'Von Achane (Dolphins)

Wide Receiver

MVP: Amari Cooper (Browns)

Cooper's run of strong play with Joe Flacco under center reached its eye-popping apex in Week 16 as he not only had the best game of his career, but the best receiving performance in Browns history with his 11 REC/265 YD/2 TD eruption versus an overmatched Texans secondary. He also managed to elevate his fantasy day even further by converting a 2-PT CNV. He'll probably end up going for about 200+ less YDS against a tough Jets secondary on Thursday night.  

Honorable Mentions: George Pickens (Steelers), Puka Nacua (Rams), Mike Evans (Buccaneers)

LVP: Davante Adams (Raiders)

Aidan O'Connell failed to complete a pass after the 1st quarter and Jakobi Meyers ended up with over 2/3 of the receiving YDS, so unsurprisingly it was a really quiet day at the office for Adams as he managed just 1 catch for 4 YDS on 6 targets. Adams' fantasy managers will cross their fingers for a nice conclusion to his understandably erratic 2023 campaign when he takes on the Colts on Sunday.  

Dishonorable Mentions: D.J. Moore (Bears), DeAndre Hopkins (Titans), Stefon Diggs (Bills)

Tight End 

MVP: George Kittle (49ers)

Kittle was one of the few 49ers that had a good showing against the Ravens last night as he picked up 7 receptions for 126 YDS in their humbling blowout loss at home. If Kittle is equally involved in the passing game this week against the Commanders, he could be in-line for an even more monstrous performance.

Honorable Mentions: David Njoku (Browns), Cole Kmet (Bears), Chigoziem Okonkwo (Titans)

LVP: Dalton Kincaid (Bills)

While Kincaid didn't put up back-to-back goose eggs, his 1 reception/7 YD performance versus the Chargers horrendous pass D still qualifies as a massive letdown for the people that were expecting him to right the ship in a big way following his dud against the Cowboys in Week 15. Kincaid will be a really shaky starting option against the Patriots this week. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Sam LaPorta (Lions), Darren Waller (Giants), Pat Friermuth (Steelers)

Defense/Special Teams

MVP: Ravens

Anybody that was brave enough to play the Ravens D/ST versus the 49ers got massively rewarded. While the 17 points allowed prevented it from being one of the best fantasy outings of the year by any team, putting up 5 INT's and 4 sacks against an offense that had looked basically unstoppable over the previous 6 games is an incredible accomplishment that deserves to be widely celebrated. The Ravens will hope to make it back-to-back strong showings against elite offenses when they take on the Dolphins in Week 17. 

Honorable Mentions: Steelers, Jets, Browns

LVP: Packers

The Fire Joe Barry crew just might get what they want in the near future after the Packers embattled DC allowed Bryce Young-who is in the midst of one of the worst rookie seasons we've seen from a top QB prospect in recent memory-to put up 30 points and register his 1st 300-YD passing performance on his group. They also mustered just 2 sacks and 0 takeaways as the Packers just barely hung onto win against the (now) 2-13 Panthers. Despite heading into a matchup with noted gunslinger Nick Mullens-who has chucked 6 picks in his 2 starts this season, the Packers will be an easy drop this week.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Cowboys, Saints, Bengals

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