Week 14 of the 2019 NFL season is officially in the books and it was certainly a weekend to remember across the league. With the fantasy football playoffs officially in full swing across almost all leagues, owners relied on their studs to pull them through the first round.
This week’s rundown features multiple players from one game in particular (NO vs SF) that proved to be the equivalent of fantasy gold for those who had a piece of the action. Let’s see who made the cut:
DREW BREES (New Orleans Saints)
We start this week’s rundown with the biggest hard-luck loser of the week. Drew Brees played like a man possessed in Sunday’s marquee match-up with the 49ers, tossing a season-high 5 touchdowns and throwing for well over 300 yards.
The future Hall-of-Famer hooked up with Michael Thomas and Jared Cook all day long, carving up the Niners impressive secondary and giving New Orleans a lead with under a minute left to play in the Superdome. An impressive game winning drive from Jimmy Garoppolo handed the Saints a tough loss, but Brees’ 41 point fantasy performance in this game gave us every reason to believe he’ll be a Top 5 QB play for the remainder of the fantasy playoffs. He’ll get a middle of the road Colts defense at home in Week 15.
JAMEIS WINSTON (Tampa Bay Bucs)
Tampa Bay’s win over the Colts on Sunday was surprising for a multitude of reasons, but the play of Jameis Winston was the most surprising of all.
Indianapolis’ defense hasn’t been anything to write home about in most weeks, but Winston’s’ reputation as one of the most volatile plays in fantasy made this contest a risky one. To his credit, the oft-criticized QB rose to the occasion and threw for 4 TDs and over 400 yards of offense. His 37-point fantasy finish marked his highest of 2019, and it could have been even higher if it wasn’t for the 3 interceptions he threw.
With two soft matchups against the Lions and Texans defenses in Weeks 15/16, Winston has real potential to be a league winner for teams that don’t have a regular Top 5 starter in place. He should be looked at as a high priority streaming candidate heading into round 2 of the playoffs.
RAHEEM MOSTERT (San Francisco 49ers)
He may not have the big money contract or household name appeal of some of the leagues other rushers, but you would be hard-pressed to find a more consistent running back over the past three weeks than Raheem Mostert.
Mostert, who started the season as nothing more than waiver wire fodder in most fantasy leagues, has seized upon the opportunities afforded him by injuries to his backfield mates in San Francisco. With Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman unable to suit up consistently, Mostert has feasted, scoring four touchdowns over his past three games (3 rushing/1 receiving), and rushing for over 250 total yards in that span. His fantasy finishes of (13, 22, 23 points) over the last three weeks place him firmly in the strong RB2 conversation for the remainder of the playoffs.
The fact that he put up over 20 points against both Baltimore and New Orleans should give owners all the confidence they need to believe he can be trusted.
ZACH ERTZ (Philadelphia Eagles)
After starting the season as a complete ghost for fantasy purposes, Zach Ertz has rebounded over the past month+ to look like the locked-in Top 3 tight end he was drafted to be. Philly’s injury woes (particularly at the WR position) have once again made Ertz the number option for Carson Wentz, and that role has paid major dividends for both the Eagles offense and fantasy owners.
Ertz’s target totals have been astronomical over the past month (averaging 10 targets per game), and he’s topped 90 yards receiving in 3 of 4 of those contests, scoring 3 touchdowns in the process. His two-touchdown performance on Monday Night Football was integral to keeping the team’s season alive. He scored the tying touchdown in regulation AND the game-winning one in overtime to keep Philly’s divisional dreams going for another week.
Ertz has hit his stride at the perfect time, and he’ll have two exploitable match-ups in Weeks 15/16 against Washington/Dallas. Fire him up as a TE1 with confidence in both.
EMMANUEL SANDERS (San Francisco 49ers)
The match-up between the Saints/49ers was too epic to limit the number of standouts from it. While Mostert and Brees have already made the list, we couldn’t leave Sanders’ efforts out of the equation.
For the better part of the past month, he had been an afterthought, limited by a freak rib injury sustained back in Week 10, but Sanders refused to be denied in the Superdome on Sunday. The veteran wide-out flexed his muscles in both the receiving AND passing game against New Orleans, catching 7 balls for 157 yards/TD and throwing a 35-yard touchdown to Raheem Mostert. The receiving score was Sanders’ 5th of 2019 (3rd with San Francisco), and his target total (9) tied his highest since joining the team.
That target share implies that Sanders is finally healthy, and looks to be ready to be re-inserted as Jimmy G’s favorite receiving option in the Bay Area. Sanders will be WR2 in weeks 15/16 against two beatable secondaries (ATL/LAR).
NOAH FANT (Denver Broncos)
In all of the insanity of the NO/SF matchup, it was easy to overlook the Broncos’ shockingly dominant victory over the Houston Texans.
The most impressive thing about Denver’s 38-24 win was that it represented a glimpse in a possible future core of young players for the franchise. Rookie QB Drew Lock threw for over 300 yards and 3 TDs, with Noah Fant posting over 100 yards & a TD on the day. The explosion came out nowhere, but it couldn’t have come at a most opportune time for fantasy purposes.
Fant has two of the easiest matchups possible in Weeks 15/16 (KC/DET), and he looks to have the trust of his quarterback. The rookie TE should be viewed as a top waiver wire add/fringe Top 5 play at his position for the rest of the playoffs.
DARIUS SLAYTON (New York Giants)
Even in a losing effort, a player can be a stand-out. Darius Slayton is no stranger to this rundown, and if he continues to play the way he did on Monday night he’ll have a chance to become a weekly staple in 2020.
With the health of Sterling Shepard constantly in question, Slayton has been a breath of fresh air for the Giants receiving core in 2019. Regardless of whether Daniel Jones or Eli Manning was under center, Slayton has produced. The rookie has 7 touchdowns to his credit in just his first season in the league, and more importantly, he has the trust of his coaches and fellow players, indicated by an average target total of (9) over the past month+ worth of games.
He’ll get an opportunity to build off of his Week 14 success immediately with a matchup against the Dolphins bottom of the barrel defense. Slayton can be started as a top tier FLEX, mid-tier WR2 option in most formats for Week 15.
JOE MIXON (Cincinnati Bengals)
Poor Joe Mixon has been trapped in one of the league’s worst offenses for almost two seasons now. With the teams QB situation in near-constant flux, their star WR (A.J. Green) looking likely to leave in free agency, and a terrible offensive line, it has been anything but smooth sailing for the 2nd year player.
However, there are still moments where Mixon’s pure talent and athleticism are able to help him overcome the situation around him. This was undoubtedly the case in Week 14, as Mixon tore through the Browns defense for over 150 total yards and a TD. This marked two straight games with touchdowns for Mixon, and his yardage total was a season-high.
This success will, unfortunately, prove to be short-lived, as Cincinnati is set to face the Patriots defense in Week 15. Owners can’t sit him because of how much they invested, but it would be wise to look at Mixon as a risky FLEX option at best for the fantasy semi-finals.
MICHAEL THOMAS (New Orleans Saints)
Okay, we’ve got ONE MORE player from the Saints/49ers game that we have to shout-out. Michael Thomas is undoubtedly a top 5 WR in the league today, and he played up to the reputation on Sunday, catching 11 balls on 15 targets for 134 yards & a touchdown. Thomas’ consistency is staggering, he’s gone over the 100 receiving yard threshold in 6 of his last 7 games, and he’s scored a TD in four of them.
His combination of an elite target share (averaging 11 targets per game) and consistent yardage totals make Thomas arguably the best PPR asset in fantasy football today. His role as Drew Brees’ go-to option makes him a no-doubt WR1 on a weekly basis, a label he’ll continue to wear proudly in Weeks 15/16 against IND/TEN. He will be on more than a handful of fantasy championship rosters this year.
MY PRIMARY TAKEAWAY FROM WEEK 14
The Patriots are no longer untouchable.
The Kansas City Chiefs victory over the Patriots this past Sunday wasn’t just another game, it was a telling sign of vulnerability by the NFL’s resident dynasty.
Patrick Mahomes became the first quarterback under the age of 25 to defeat New England in Foxboro since the turn of the new Millennium (2000), and there was nothing that Tom Brady or Bill Belichick could do about it.
Instead of bouncing back at home, New England has now lost two straight against teams with young QB’s (Houston/Kansas City) that they’ve routinely beaten handily in the past. The shine is beginning to dull in New England, the polish is coming off, and cracks are beginning to show in their game.
This isn’t to say that we should ever count Belichick/Brady out, but this year feels different. The Patriots’ reliance on a weak AFC East has started to backfire with the early rise of an exciting young Bills team, and their impressive defense has been unable to cover up a lackluster offense in two straight weeks now.
New England has averaged less than 20 points per game over the past month+ of action, and have barely gotten past teams that are well beneath their quality (DAL/PHI). They will benefit from facing the Dolphins and Bengals in two of their last three games, but their Week 16 game against Buffalo could represent a potential changing of the guard in the division. Buffalo is a team with a young core and money to spend in 2019/2020 free agency that’s coming on strong a year earlier than most expected. They represent a very real threat to New England’s divisional dominance, and they should be taken seriously both this year and beyond.
The Patriots’ remaining schedule should give them enough wiggle room to win the AFC East one more time, but this season has been an eye-opening reminder than even the strongest franchises can have setbacks if they aren’t managed properly.
New England’s questionable handling of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett over the past few years have been put them in a position where they have no concrete plan of succession behind an aging Tom Brady. As their star QB continues to struggle, those missteps look more damning seemingly by the week.
As it currently stands, I think it’s more than reasonable to look at New England as a middle of the pack playoff team in the AFC as we near the end of the 2019 season. For the first time in recent memory, the league’s long-standing dynasty looks one dimensional and vulnerable by comparison to the teams around them.
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