The 2022 fantasy football postseason is underway, but things haven’t changed from the regular campaign. Really strange things continue to happen! Like Davis Mills outscoring Tom Brady, Tua Tagovailoa and Geno Smith. And the duo of Latavius Murray and Marlon Mack scoring a combined 37.5 fantasy points for the Broncos in a win over the Cardinals. Anyone start Mack? Anyone? Buehler?
On the bright side, we did see some huge performances from the likes of Derrick Henry, Rhamondre Stevenson and A.J. Brown, while Tyler Allgeier and Raheem Mostert (Saturday) could be emerging for their respective teams at the right time.
With that being said, let’s start our fantasy football whip around Sunday’s action in Jacksonville, where a dynamic duo made waves for fantasy fans in the postseason.
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Trevor Lawrence, Zay Jones connect for three touchdowns. Lawrence has been an early Christmas gift for fantasy fans, scoring 20-plus points in four of his last five games. He came up huge against the Cowboys, beating them for four touchdowns and 26.8 points in a come-from-behind win. It’s the most points Dallas has allowed to an enemy quarterback this season. Lawrence’s favorite target was Zay Jones, who produced six catches, three touchdowns and a career-best 34.9 points. The Jaguars offensive players have a tough matchup against the Jets next, but this duo helped a lot of fantasy managers advance into the second round.
Jerick McKinnon goes wild (again), this time in Houston. McKinnon has been on absolute fire over the last two weeks, scoring a combined 66.6 fantasy points. That includes a 34.2-point performance in Houston, where he posted eight catches and scored two touchdowns, the final one on a game-winning, 26-yard run in overtime. The Chiefs skill players can be difficult to predict, but it’ll be tough to sit McKinnon next week when K.C. hosts the Seattle Seahawks in a smash spot.
Jalen makes it “Hurts” so good, scores three touchdowns. The amazing season from Hurts continued on Sunday afternoon, as the potential fantasy MVP threw for 315 yards, rushed for 61 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns in a win over the Bears. His 34.7 points led all quarterbacks who played on Sunday heading into the Giants-Commanders battle. He has now scored 29-plus points in four straight games, including over 30 in his last three games. Hurts has a huge game next on the schedule against a Dallas defense that just allowed 26.8 to Lawrence.
Who needs wide receivers? Apparently, not Justin Fields. Fields came into this week’s game against the Eagles without Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool or N’Keal Harry, and he lost Equanimeous St. Brown to a concussion. He still had a great stat line, throwing for two touchdowns, rushing for 95 yards and scoring 23.6 points in a 25-20 loss. Fields also reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season, joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson as the lone quarterbacks in NFL history to hit that number. Field faces the Buffalo Bills next, but he’s now matchup-proof.
Alvin Kamara puts up another disappointing fantasy stat line. This weekend’s matchup against the Falcons looked like a smash spot for Kamara, but he was once again far less than stellar in the stat sheets. He did rush for 91 yards, his most since Week 4, but Kamara had just two catches, didn’t score a touchdown and was held to a modest 12.4 points. He has now failed to score more than 12.9 points in each of his six last games, during which time he’s averaged 9.1 points. If you’re still alive in the postseason, Kamara should no longer be seen as more than a low RB2.
Justin Herbert costs many fantasy fans a chance to advance. Herbert was seen as a virtual must start against the Titans, who are among the worst defenses in the league at stopping quarterbacks. Well, Tennessee stopped him. The talented signal-caller failed to throw a touchdown, was intercepted twice, and scored 8.7 points. It was his second-worst stat line of the season and the third worst of his career, and it came at an awful time. To dig the dagger in even deeper, Herbert is the first starting quarterback to not throw for at least one score against the Titans.
Rhamondre Stevenson goes bonkers against the Raiders. Stevenson, who came into the weekend questionable with an injured ankle, lit up the Raiders like a Christmas tree. He rushed for 172 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries, posted an average of 9.1 yards per rush and finished with 24.8 points. His questionable tag in the late window of games might have scared off some managers from starting him, but those who had faith in the Patriots runner were rewarded.
New England puts the fantasy clamps on Davante Adams. What’s the old saying about Bill Belichick stopping his opponent’s top offensive threat? Well, he did just that in a wild loss to the Raiders. Adams did see nine targets, but he hauled in just four of them for 28 yards and finished with 6.8 fantasy points. That’s his second-lowest total of the season, and it was a likely deathblow for fantasy fans. If you were still able to advance, Adams faces Pittsburgh next.
Joe Burrow throws four touchdowns passes vs. Bucs. Burrow had a slow start to this game, failing to score a touchdown in the first half in Tampa Bay. He more than made up for it in the second half, though, tossing four scoring strikes including one to each of his top wideouts (Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd). Burrow’s 24.8 points was his second-highest total in the last four weeks. Things weren’t all good for the Bengals, though, as Joe Mixon was held to 21 rushing yards and 10.4 points. He’s been held to 23 fantasy points in his last two contests.
Notes
- Najee Harris rushed for 86 yards and scored a touchdown in a win over the Panthers, finishing with 14.6 points. Believe it or not, that’s his second-best stat line of the season! He did lose 11 carries and 12 touches to Jaylen Warren, however, and he also didn’t see a single target in the game. In fact, Harris is now on pace for just 39 catches. He had 74 in his rookie season. So, while he has scored a touchdown in four of his last five games, he's still no more than a risk-reward No. 2 back with a low ceiling in PPR leagues.
- The Cowboys might have lost to Jacksonville, but fantasy fans likely won with the help of Ezekiel Elliott. The veteran back rushed for 58 yards and scored a touchdown, totaling 15.1 fantasy points in the contest. He has now scored at least 15.1 points in seven straight games, during which time he’s recorded eight total touchdowns. Elliott isn’t an elite fantasy option at this point in his career, but he’s been a solid No. 2 back. Start him against the Eagles next week.
- Darren Waller returned to action and made an instant impact, scoring one touchdown and 13.8 fantasy points in a bananas win over the Patriots. He was targeted just three times in the game, but fantasy managers should still feel good about Waller in the next two weeks at what is a very thin position. Waller and the Raiders will face the Steelers next week on Christmas Eve.
- Diontae Johnson posted his best stat line of the season, scoring 20 points in a win over the Panthers. He’s been targeted 18 times over the last two games, most of which has come with Mitchell Trubisky under center. If Kenny Pickett (concussion) is unable to return in Week 16 against the Raiders, I like D.J. as a No. 2 wideout or flex starter. He’s clearly Trubisky’s favorite wide receiver.
- Jared Goff’s trend of being great at home and not so great on the road was once again in effect, as he had just one touchdown and 14.1 points in a road win over the Jets. He’s failed to throw for multiple scores in all six starts away from Ford Field, and he’s thrown for no more than 252 yards in those contests. If you’re wondering, Goff and the Lions are on the road against Carolina next.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business to help you win a fantasy championship!
