🔥Monday Morning Fantasy Football Recap

If your fantasy football playoff appearance hung in the balance of players in the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills game on Sunday, congratulations on your playoff berth! In a game where Josh Allen became the first NFL player to both throw and rush for three touchdowns in one game, the Bills somehow lost to the Rams 44-42 in the highest-scoring NFL game this season.

For fantasy football, Josh Allen outscored every other quarterback by more than 17 points. Puka Nacua caught everything in sight on his way to 12 catches, 162 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns. Khalil Shakir and Cooper Kupp were both top-10 wide receivers. Kyren Williams ran for two scores and was the RB4 on the day. Even Ty Johnson was a top-15 running back on Sunday and he didn’t tally a single rushing yard.

Amari Cooper broke out with the Bills for 95 receiving yards. Matthew Staff threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns. It seems as though only the Defense/Special Teams were left out of the party.

But the Rams and Bills were not the only teams producing big numbers on Sunday. Read on for more information below.

The Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter will hit your inboxes four days a week this season and each Monday I will bring you the highlights, lowlights, injury reports, and Monday Night Football look-ahead all here in one place.

First up are the top fantasy football headlines from a wild Week 14.

💪 Sam Darnold Officially A League-Winner

Even before Sam Darnold threw for five touchdowns and 347 passing yards against Atlanta on Sunday, he was the QB9 on the season in fantasy points per game. After 34.5 points in Week 14, Darnold is now the QB7 on the season with 19.3 fantasy points per game.

His performance carving up the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday was nothing short of masterful and rewarded any fantasy managers who started him with a performance sure to help guarantee a victory in the most important week of the fantasy regular season. Darnold now has 11 touchdowns in his last four games and has not thrown an interception since November 10th. He was leading the league in interceptions at that time, but has cleaned up the mistakes and has made himself and the offensive skill players around him fantasy superstars.

🏈 Two Backup Running Backs Lead Fantasy Teams Into Playoffs

Two of the hottest waiver wire pickups of the past week were Issac Guerendo of the San Francisco 49ers and Zach Charbonnet of the Seattle Seahawks. Both of their incumbent running backs missed Week 14 with injuries, so they were called upon to handle workhorse duties, and they did not misunderstand the assignment.

Zach Charbonnet led all running backs in fantasy points on Sunday, putting up 134 rushing yards, 59 receiving yards, and two rushing touchdowns to go over 34 points in half-PPR scoring. Not far behind was Guerendo (second among all running backs) with 78 rushing yards, 50 receiving yards, and two rushing scores of his own. In a season where running back production (especially from first-round backs) was so volatile, perhaps it’s fitting that the two best running backs in the pivotal Week 14 were players widely available on the waiver wire when this past week began.

5️⃣ Vikings Wide Receivers Combine for Five Touchdowns

Sam Darnold can’t throw five touchdowns without taking some people up with him, and it just so turns out those people were his top two wide receivers. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison delivered monster performances at just the right time, with both ranking in the top three receivers on Sunday.

Justin Jefferson scored for the first time since Week 7 and compiled 132 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Jordan Addison said “Hold my beer” and put up 133 yards and three receiving touchdowns on the hapless Atlanta Falcons’ secondary. With these performances, Jefferson ends the fantasy regular season as the WR5 in half-PPR fantasy points per game while Addison ends as WR13. I would say “Wait until these two actually have a good quarterback!” but with Kevin O’Connell at the helm, they may have found one in Sam Darnold.

🔥 Jauan Jennings Stays Red Hot

Despite all the injuries, inconsistencies, and inefficiencies coming out of San Francisco this season, Jauan Jennings has remained a constant over the back half of the season and he dominated again on Sunday afternoon. Against the Chicago Bears, Jennings caught seven of eight targets for 90 yards and two touchdowns. That allowed him to rise up to WR4 on the week. Jennings has at least seven catches for 90 yards in three of his last five games and has seen fewer than seven targets just once in that span. Keeping up with this theme of league-winners, Jennings has to be added to that list considering he was selected after WR100 in drafts this year.

🐦 Trey McBride Catches Seven Passes, Sets Unfortunate Record

Cardinals’ tight end Trey McBride continued his torrid pace of catches and targets on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. He finished the day with 14 targets, seven receptions, and 70 yards. But it’s another stat that has unfortunately put Trey McBride in the record books this season. He continued his streak of no touchdowns through his 13th game and now has the most receptions in any 12-game span without a score since at least 1970.

McBride has 41 targets in his last three games and is the featured player in the Arizona offense right now. But he simply can’t find the end zone in 2024.

Bucky Irving clearly was still dealing with hip and back issues throughout the Buccaneers’ game on Sunday and was limited to just five touches for 18 total yards. Rachaad White stepped into the bell-cow role again against Las Vegas and it remains to be seen if the issues plaguing Irving will keep him out or limited for any extended period of time.

Isaac Guerendo left the blowout win over the Chicago Bears with what is being called a foot sprain. While Head Coach Kyle Shanahan was noncommital with the media about the injury, Guerendo said after the game that it was “just precautionary” and that he “feels great.” With Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason already on IR, the 49ers are in desperate need of Guerendo to stay healthy and his status is currently to be determined for Thursday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams.

Jonathan Brooks went down with a right knee non-contact injury and was forced to leave the game against the Philadelphia Eagles. It was the same knee that had an ACL tear last year and caused him to miss 11 weeks this season as a rookie. No official word has come out on the severity yet, as tests will confirm the diagnosis early this week.

Derek Carr exited the Week 14 game against the New York Giants and it was determined he was being evaluated for a hand injury and a concussion at the same time. Not long after, reports started to emerge that Carr had indeed suffered a fractured wrist on his left (non-throwing) hand. With the Saints’ season all but over at 5-8, this is likely the last we have seen of Carr in 2024 if that diagnosis is confirmed.

Aidan O’Connell was the victim of a late hit in the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday that caused a significant leg injury. He was forced to leave the game in an air cast and head coach Antonio Pierce said the injury “doesn’t look good.” Early speculation on video was a patella fracture, but tests this week will confirm the diagnosis. Desmond Ridder now steps up as the Raiders’ quarterback with O’Connell and Gardner Minshew likely done for the year.

Will Dissly hurt his shoulder on the final play of the first half in Sunday Night Football and was deemed questionable the rest of the night, but did not return. In his place, Stone Smartt caught three passes, but it may be a day or two before we know the severity of Dissly’s injury. He was on the sidelines in the second half in full pads but could not contribute during the last 30 minutes. He is a name to be monitored early in the week.

Monday Night Football Play on Bleacher Nation Fantasy.

Rushing Yards: Chase Brown OVER Rico Dowdle (+8 yards)

It’s no secret that Chase Brown has become a bell-cow running back for the Cincinnati Bengals. He has at least 15 touches in five of his last six games and has more than 70 rushing yards in three of his last four contests. Why do I like him more than Rico Dowdle who just torched the New York Giants for 112 rushing yards last week? Simply put, Dallas is an atrocious rush defense.

The Cowboys allow 147.6 rushing yards per game (second only to Carolina), and they have allowed 5.7 yards per rush attempt in their last three games. Knowing that Chase Brown routinely plays more than 85% of snaps for the Bengals, we know he will get the majority of the carries, and the chance to fly past what Rico Dowdle can do.

Dowdle’s 112 rush yards in Week 13 were 25 more than he has had at any point this season, so he isn’t likely to repeat that number. Brown, on the other hand, could get fed 20+ times in this game and has a very good chance to outrush Dowdle.

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There are also more articles on 4for4.com discussing all things Week 14 in the NFL. Check back throughout the week for much more.