The biggest fantasy stories of the weekend started with Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker II being sidelined, leaving many managers with holes in their backfields. With six teams on a bye, that made life even more miserable for many.
Sunday’s action did have its share of big stat lines, however, even without those two young runners in lineups. But it also had its share of stinkers … including a pair of stud backs who failed to meet expectations.
I’ll try to keep things (mostly) positive in this article, as countless fantasy managers are on the verge of making the playoffs with the help of some surprising (and unsurprising) names. One of the latter was Puka Nacua, who finished with 12 catches, 162 yards, a touchdown, and 41.8 points …and he wasn’t even the highest-scoring fantasy player in that game!
Others, like Tua Tagovailoa, Kyren Williams, Tyreek Hill (finally), and George Kittle, all put up strong totals. That wasn’t the case without everyone we started … more on that below.
With that said, here’s my Fabs’ Five Storylines from Week 14 that stood out the most. For all of the latest news and fantasy advice, be sure to check out Fantasy Dirt five days a week!
Week 14 Fantasy Football Storylines
Josh Allen Shines Bright in Hollywood
Allen was an absolute fantasy monster in Los Angeles, throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another 82 yards and three touchdowns, in a loss to the Rams. All told he finished with 51.9 fantasy points. That’s the most points he’s ever scored in a single game, besting the 40.5 points he scored against the Dolphins in Week 17, 2018. It's also the most points any quarterback has ever scored based on a scoring system that rewards four points for touchdown passes.
Allen’s touchdown passes went to Khalil Shakir (who almost scored a second time), Mack Hollins, and Ty Johnson. Shakir finished with eight targets, five catches, and 106 yards.
All three of Allen’s rushing touchdowns were from one yard out. Speaking of his rushing totals, Allen scored 26.2 points on his rushes alone! That puts him third among running backs going into the Sunday night game, behind Zach Charbonnet and Isaac Guerendo.
Sam Darnold, Vikings Offense Explodes
Here’s something you’d maybe never thought you’d hear … Sam Darnold just led a lot of fantasy managers to the postseason.
The journeyman quarterback has looked great in the Vikings offense, and he saved his best game for a very important fantasy week … the week before the postseason. Darnold threw for 347 yards, five touchdowns and scored a stellar 34.6 fantasy points in a win over the Falcons. It was the best fantasy game of his career.
Darnold’s success trickled down to Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson, who accounted for 265 receiving yards and all five of Darnold’s touchdowns. Addison finished with 39.3 points, while J.J. posted 32.2 points.
It was particularly good to see Jefferson have a huge game, as his totals were not all that great in three of his previous four games. As for Addison, he has now put up 30-plus points in two of his last three games, and he’s seen at least eight targets in three of his last four games. Darnold, Jefferson and Addison will face the Bears next Monday.
The Fantasy Gods Can Be Very, Very Cruel
As if having a bye-mageddon one week before the fantasy playoffs weren’t bad enough, we also saw injuries and bad performances from many of our fantasy heroes. George Pickens was a late scratch against the Browns, while Bucky Irving barely played after a back injury flared up. He finished with five touches and 2.8 points, which hurt countless managers.
Then, there were the stinkers …. and a lot of them.
Alvin Kamara averaged 2.6 yards per rush and scored just 12.9 points against a vulnerable Giants defense. Saquon Barkley did rush for 124 yards against the Panthers, but he didn’t score a touchdown and finished with a disappointing 14.4 points. Zach Charbonnet had more points than Kamara and Barkley combined … in the first half of his contest!
The wide receiver stink bombs started on Thursday night with Jayden Reed’s zero points in Detroit, and they continued on Sunday with stars like A.J. Brown, Mike Evans, DJ Moore, DK Metcalf, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Drake London all finishing with 12 or fewer points.
Brock Bowers, the best tight end in fantasy football, was held to just 8.2 points despite a great matchup in Tampa Bay. What made that even harder to swallow was that his teammate, tight end Michael Mayer, had seven catches for 68 yards and 13.8 fantasy points.
No one said it was easy, folks!
Zach Charbonnet Goes Nuclear In Arizona
The loss of Kenneth Walker II for the week created an opportunity for Charbonnet to shine, and wow, did he ever take advantage.
Charbonnet rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns on his 22 carries and added seven catches for 59 yards as a receiver. In all, the U.CL.A. product led all running backs in fantasy points (38.3) going into the Sunday night game. It was also Charbonnet’s best-ever fantasy performance, besting the 25.7 points he scored against the Dolphins in Week 3.
If Walker is forced to miss another game, Charbs will be a must start.
Isaac Guerendo Finds Gold, Then Gets Hurt
Guerendo was one of my favorite players of the week, and he more than delivered with 17 touches, 128 total yards, two touchdowns and 26.8 points in a win over the Bears. He was dominant on the ground, averaging 5.2 yards per rush, and he continued the trend of Kyle Shanahan running backs who come right in and produce when given the opportunity.
Unfortunately, he was part of another trend too … like both Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason before him, Guerendo hurt his foot late in the game and didn’t return.
With a short turnaround coming on Thursday night against the Rams, Guerendo could be in danger of missing Week 15. As a result, Patrick Taylor Jr. will be a hot name off the waiver wire.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fabs Five Fantasy Storylines: Josh Allen, Sam Darnold Lead Fantasy Football Scorers in Week 14.
