Week 14 was a mix of blowouts and down-to-the-wire games. Unfortunately, like most weeks this season, injuries played a big part in a lot of Sunday’s outcomes. Today, we are going to touch on all this and more.
Here are my takeaways from Week 14.
King Kamara
King Kamara, we have missed you so.
Our liege, Alvin Kamara, finally returned in Week 14 after missing four games due to a knee injury. Prior to getting injured, he was fifth in receiving yards per game (39), fourth in receiving touchdowns (4), and sixth in targets per game (5.5) among RBs. Basically, Kamara was being his usual “Kamara” self, sitting at RB5 in points per game. The four-game absence felt like a decade, but his return was everything that we could have possibly wanted.
The Jets’ last-ranked rushing defense was not ready for the overwhelming might of King Kamara. He absolutely destroyed the Jets’ defense, rushing a career-high 27 times for 120 yards, a touchdown and finishing as the RB4. He even saw five targets, which is surprising given Taysom Hill‘s propensity for running first and passing second. Kamara was a one-man wrecking crew, seeing an 82 percent opportunity share and a 24 percent target share. This is just an example of the awesomeness fantasy managers have become accustomed to when playing Kamara.
He is without a doubt a top-five running back who will help you win your playoff matchups this year.
The Seattle Slaughter
Holy Moly. The Seattle Seahawks obliterated the Houston Texans in their 33-13 victory on Sunday. This was largely due to the outstanding performances by common and not-so-common fantasy contributors.
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Tyler Lockett showed no mercy on the Texans’ secondary, scorching them for 142 yards, a touchdown and finishing as the WR4. Lockett saw his second-highest target share of the season ( 32%) while having his fifth game this year with over 100 yards. We are used to seeing dominant performances by Lockett this season, as he has finished in the top 12 five times and top 24 six times. Lockett has been lighting it up since Week 11, sitting at the WR9 position in points per game. He should be considered a borderline WR1 for the rest of the season and should be on championship teams.
Now that we have discussed a usual fantasy star, let’s transition to a player who left many of us stunned on Sunday.
After all these years, the Rashaad Penny breakout finally happened, which may have been the biggest surprise of the year. Penny had career-highs in almost every statistical category, rushing 16 times for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns and finishing as the RB2 on the week. He was utilized as a workhorse, playing 58% of snaps and seeing a 59% opportunity share. Alex Collins and Deejay Dallas were non-factors, both combining for 9 rushes for 32 yards.
While Penny had an amazing game, I wouldn’t start viewing him as an RB1 just yet.
It’s possible Penny saw an uptick in usage due to Collins returning after missing a game due to an abdominal injury. It’s unclear if Penny has completely taken over as the RB1 or if this is just a one-week wonder situation. We have also seen Penny struggle with durability in his career, which may play a factor in how he is used the rest of the season. Penny should be treated as a low-end RB2 or high-upside flex option going into the playoffs.
Please fantasy gods, let Rashaad Penny be a thing!
Rising Renfrow
If you had told me Hunter Renfrow would be an elite fantasy option at the beginning of the season, I would have called you a dirty liar. He may not look like most star NFL wide receivers, but he sure as heck is playing like one.
Prior to Week 14, Renfrow was ranked ninth in receptions, seventh in yards after catch and second in catch rate per PlayerProfiler. He has also been the very epitome of consistency, finishing in the top 12 five times this year.
I’ll get this out of the way now, he needs to be in your lineup during the fantasy playoffs no matter what. Renfrow has become a must-start option this season and continued to shine in Week 14.
Renfrow was the lone bright spot on the Raiders during their blowout 48-9 loss. He saw a career-high 14 targets and put up 117 yards and a touchdown, finishing as the WR4. This was his third game in a row with over 100 yards, which makes him the WR3 in points per game during this span. Darren Waller being out due to injury certainly plays a part in Renfrow’s stellar performances, but regardless Renfrow has been putting up solid numbers whether Waller has been in or out of the lineup.
So, in short, continue to play Renfrow and continue to enjoy the fantasy points.
What happened with Washington?
Even though the Washington Football Team has won four out of their last five games, the 27-20 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday was a bit of a disaster for real-life and fantasy purposes.
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Antonio Gibson had a very disappointing outing, only rushing 10 times for 36 yards while adding 2 receptions for 5 yards and finishing as RB43. It was his third-lowest yardage total of the season and his fourth straight week without a rushing touchdown. He also fumbled in the third quarter, which may have played a factor in his usage the rest of the game.
Despite the lackluster performance, I wouldn’t be too worried about him going forward.
He should still be considered a high-upside RB2 going into the playoffs. Since Week 10, Gibson is the RB13 in points per game and is averaging 24 carries and 90 yards a game between Weeks 10-13. Based on this, we can consider Week 14 an outlier and continue to play Gibson with confidence. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the other star player on the Washington Football Team.
Terry Terry, say it ain’t so. Terry McLaurin unfortunately suffered a concussion in the third quarter of Sunday’s game, but he wasn’t doing much prior to that. He saw four targets but had 0 receptions. That made for yet another disappointing week.
In Weeks 12 and 13, he averaged 3 receptions for 37 yards and only averaged 7.2 PPR. To add insult to injury, his status is in doubt for Week 15 against the Eagles. Not to mention, Taylor Heinicke also suffered a knee injury making him questionable for Week 15. It’s going to be difficult to trust McLaurin coming off injury in the playoffs. He should now be viewed as a low-end WR2; hopefully, he regains his true form when fantasy managers need it most.
