Some fantasy leagues wrapped up their playoffs when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football Monday night. Though eDraft will cover the rest of the regular season like the last 15 weeks to cater to those leagues that are still in play, we will also reflect on what has been a couple crazy weeks of fantasy football.
Here are your studs for fantasy football leading up to what is championship week for the leagues that are still in play. Maybe you will find a gem or two here. We start with the quarterbacks.
Peyton Manning, Quarterback, Denver Broncos
Four-Week Total: 1,239 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions (93.16 points)
Just par for the course for this future Hall-of-Fame quarterback. Manning has gone up against a really good fantasy defense in the Tennessee Titans over the past four weeks and came away with nearly 400 passing yards and four scores in that one. He has also gone up against two average fantasy defenses in the form of the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots in this four-game stretch, combining for seven touchdowns and three interceptions in those two outings.
The interesting dynamic here is that Manning struggled against a San Diego Chargers defense that has given up the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season. He tallied less than 300 passing yards with two touchdowns and a score, finishing as the 15th-ranked fantasy quarterback for Week 15.
Manning now needs 665 passing yards to break NFL's single-season passing mark and four more touchdowns to break the single-season passing touchdown mark. He will take on a Houston Texans defense that has yielded the seventh-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in Week 16 before traveling to Oakland in order to take on a Raiders defense that ranks 25th in the NFL in that category.
Alex Smith, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs
Four-Week Total: 1,011 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and two interceptions (89.14 points)
There were some of us who projected Smith to be a bottom-tier QB1 option in his first season with Kansas City. None of us could possibly envision how he has performed in fantasy football, especially over the course of the last four weeks. He's the No. 2 fantasy quarterback over that span, and put up a top-10 overall fantasy performance this season for a quarterback in Week 15 against the Oakland Raiders.
The veteran is now the eighth-ranked fantasy quarterback and has a chance to finish in the top five with strong outings in the final two weeks of the season. Kansas City will go up against an Indianapolis Colts defense that ranks in the bottom 12 of the NFL against fantasy quarterbacks this week before taking on the San Diego Chargers, who rank 26th against fantasy quarterbacks in Week 17.
Ryan Tannehill, Quarterback, Miami Dolphins
Four-Week Total: 1,153 passing yards, 113 rushing yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions (87.42 points)
All those Dolphins "fans" who were ready to throw Tannehill to the wolves after early-season struggles are about as quiet as a Lane Kiffin family member at a USC pep rally. The second-year quarterback struggled through the first seven games of the season, throwing 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. It is his performance since the entire Jonathan Martin / Richie Incognito situation went down. Tannehill has led the Dolphins to a 5-2 record, throwing 12 touchdowns compared to five interceptions in the seven games since. Over the course of the last four weeks, the Texas A&M product is the fourth-ranked fantasy quarterback behind Manning, Smith and Tom Brady. That's mighty impressive.
As the No. 13 fantasy quarterback through 15 weeks, Tannehill has an opportunity to finish the season as a QB1 option. He will line up against a Buffalo Bills defense that is in the top 11 of the NFL against fantasy quarterbacks before taking on a 22nd-ranked New York Jets defense in Week 17.
Other Notables
Tom Brady, New England Patriots: 1,497 yards, nine touchdowns, three interceptions and two lost fumbles (87.98 points)
Josh McCown, Chicago Bears: (*) 1,055 yards, nine touchdowns, one interception and one forced fumble (80.20 points)
* Was "benched" in favor of Jay Cutler for Week 15. Statistics represent just three games.