Week 14 in the NFL is a special league for every fan who plays Fantasy Football. Why is that? Well, week 14 is the start of the Fantasy Football playoffs. This weekend’s game had quite possibly the best game of the year with the Baltimore Ravens taking down the Cleveland Browns on Monday night. Let’s take a look at some of the positives and negatives of this week.

Best Overall Players: 

Adam: Aaron Rodgers GB QB

After a rough game where we almost saw the Eagles upset the Packers, Aaron Rodgers knew that he needed to have good performances for the rest of the year to solidify wins. Rodgers did just that against the Lions this past Sunday as he passed for 290 yards and 3 touchdowns while adding on 6 carries for 13 yards and a rushing touchdown to cap off a 30 point fantasy performance. If Rodgers and the Packers can keep winning, expect Rodgers to be a great starting option at the quarterback position for fantasy owners.

Mac: Derrick Henry TEN RB

After a shockingly underwhelming performance against the Cleveland Browns, Henry showed up to play ball this week. In a matchup with Jacksonville Jaguars, Henry continued his dominion over their inner division rivals. He has always played well against the Jaguars and has had some of the best games of his career against them. This Sunday, Henry ran for 215 yards on 26 carries including 2 rushing touchdowns. He also helped his team out through the air catching 2 passes for 7 yards. Henry scored fantasy owners 36.2 points which is this week’s top performance amongst the whole league.

Louis: Miles Sanders PHI RB

After 3 weeks of underperforming, Miles Sanders finally woke up and decided to play good football. He ran all over the best run defense in the NFL, the Saints. Sanders ran for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 14 carries, averaging 8.2 yards per carry which totaled 29.6 fantasy points. The Eagles seemed to rally behind starting rookie QB Jalen Hurts in a big upset win and Sanders played a big role in the victory. Although the Eagle’s playoff hopes are slim, at least they seem to have found the QB for the future.

Underrated Players of the Week:

Adam: Kareem Hunt CLE RB

Wow! I would have never expected Kareem Hunt to make it onto another fantasy football list because of him being a back-up, but oh my did he have an amazing performance this week. In a shootout loss to the Ravens on Monday night, Hunt had 6 carries for 33 yards and a rushing touchdown as well as 6 catches for 77 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown for a total of just over 29 fantasy points. With the Browns becoming a very solidified team as of late, expect Hunt to give that late push that fantasy owners need to get to the next round of the playoffs.

Mac: Allen Robinson II CHI WR

Although the Bears have had two different starting quarterbacks throughout the season, Allen’s production has not changed whatsoever. He will likely leave this offseason ending his time with the Bears, but he should be proud of what he has done with them. He’s always been a bright light in a damping Bears offense that is seeing less and less productive as the years go on. Robinson has only busted in one of his games this season and that definitely did not come this week. In one of the last fighting efforts for a playoff push, Robinson came through and delivered big time. Robinson caught 9 of the 13 passes thrown to him in a Bears blowout win over the Texans. On the passes caught, Robinson went for 123 yards a touchdown which totaled his fantasy points for the week at 27.3. This is a performance that NFL teams should keep in mind as Robinson has expressed he wants out of Chicago and it’s time for an actual contender to snag him up now while he is in his prime. 

Louis: Calvin Ridley ATL WR

This year, Calvin Ridley has seemed to take on the WR1 role for the Falcons and he is not disappointing. In a loss against the Chargers, Ridley had 124 yards and 1 touchdown to end up with 26.4 fantasy points on the day. With Julio Jones being injured most of the season, Ridley has been the go-to guy for the Falcons offense. He is the number 12 fantasy WR so far this year and averages 18.4 points per game. Atlanta has a very tough schedule ahead as they have to face the Buccaneers defense and the Chiefs defense, both of which are some of the best in the NFL. With those tough matchups coming up, don’t be surprised if Ridley underperforms in the upcoming games.  

Boom of the Week:

Adam: Austin Ekeler LAC RB

Finally, after Ekeler came off of a terrible hamstring injury that forced him to sit out 6 games, he finally came back with a great performance for fantasy owners this week. In a win over the Chargers, Ekeler had 15 carries for 79 yards and no touchdowns but added 9 catches for 67 receiving yards. If Ekeler can find the end-zone just once and put up that stat line, expect big things from him going into your next fantasy playoff round.

Mac: Mike Davis CAR RB

After Christian McCaffrey went down with another injury shortly after returning from one that occurred earlier in the season, Davis took the reins of the running back position once again. Davis continues to prove that he can be a key part of an offense as a seasoned veteran and could possibly help a Super Bowl contender much more than people realize. Davis ran the ball 11 times this week for 51 yards and 2 scores while adding 5 passes and 42 yards through the air. He racked up a total of 26.3 fantasy points this week and adds to what has been a career year for him. 

Louis: Cardinals D/ST

In a must-win game against an underrated Giants team, the Cardinals’ defense won the game for them. The defense forced 3 turnovers and only allowed 7 points. Arizona absolutely smothered Daniel Jones and made him uncomfortable in the pocket all day, which was a big reason in their victory. The Cardinals have some favorable  matchups in the upcoming weeks, but don’t expect their defense to perform that well every week.

Bust of the Week:

Adam: Justin Jefferson MIN WR

Minnesota Vikings star rookie wideout Justin Jefferson has been nothing but amazing this year, but this past Sunday against Tampa Bay was different. In a game the Vikings needed to win, Jefferson only had 4 catches for 39 receiving yards and no touchdowns for a grand total of 9.9 fantasy points. I would keep Jefferson in your starting rotation, but if he begins to slip again, I would bench him.

Mac: James Conner PIT RB 

James Connor has had quite the impactful last two weeks. As a former cancer survivor, Steeler fans feared that having Conner test positive for Covid could be very dangerous for the young running back. Thankfully, Conner beat Covid and returned to the field in a prime-time matchup versus the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, the Steelers offensive line has taken a toll this year as many of their starters and backups have fallen to injuries. Conner only ran 18 yards on 10 carries. A total score of 1.8 points was awarded to his fantasy owners which is likely just a fluke game for Conner. 

Louis: Ezekiel Elliot DAL RB

Ezekiel Elliot has been one of the most frustrating players for fantasy owners this season. Although everyone expected his production to skyrocket after the Dak Prescott injury, it did just about the opposite. It is crystal clear now that Dak was the glue holding the team together. Even though the Cowboys won today, they have been disappointing as a whole this season. Zeke only rushed for 48 yards in a blowout win against the Bengals without their starting QB. On top of that, he only earned fantasy owners 7.9 points. It is time to start benching Zeke in fantasy.

Players to Start:

Adam: Robert Tonyan GB TE

If a guy is ranked top 5 at his position in fantasy football and he is only 73% rostered, I would pick him up as soon as possible. This is the reality though for Packer’s tight end Robert Tonyan as he has been lighting up the fantasy boards as of late. In an NFC North clinching win over the Lions, Tonyan hauled in 5 catches for 36 yards and a touchdown. If Tonyan can keep this up, he will be a force in your late fantasy playoff push.

Mac: Brandon Aiyuk SF WR

Aiyuk has really been under the radar this year for me. I’ve noticed as the weeks have gone by, Aiyuk has started to play like a true WR1 and has now kept a consistent level. If you require a flex for your final playoff games, look no further as Aiyuk is a great option. The Washington Football Team has had a great defense this year, but Aiyuk exposed some of its weak spots. Aiyuk caught 10 passes for 119 yards which gave fantasy owners 21.9 points. Aiyuk has a matchup with the horrendous Dallas Cowboys defense this week and will likely put up big points. 

Louis: Rams D/ST

This could not be a better matchup for the number one fantasy defense, the Rams. They play the worst fantasy offense in the league, the Jets, at home. After an impressive 20 point fantasy performance on Thursday night, the Rams are being put in a great position to repeat that same performance again. The Rams defense has had three touchdowns in the last three games and has been nothing short of incredible.

Players to Bench:

Adam: Baltimore D/ST

With almost every game these past 3 weeks being a shootout for the Ravens, their defense is not holding up well. With giving up 42 points to the Browns, the Ravens defense had a great total of -4 fantasy points. With easy opponents ahead though, if they can get the ball rolling again, they could be looking at making it on the players to start the list very soon.

Mac: Michael Thomas NO WR

The quarterback situation is the real reason why Thomas is in this spot. Taysom Hill is now the starting quarterback for the Saints but it is unclear if head coach Sean Payton will choose to start him this week after the Saints fumbled the bag versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Coach Payton may choose to go with Jameis Winston, but we do not know what kind of connection Thomas and Winston have. This could be a boom or bust type of week for Thomas as he and the Saints take on the Kansas City Chiefs. If the Saints want to remain the one seed in the NFC this is a must-win game as the Packers now tie the Saints with a 10-3 record. 

Louis: Clyde Edwards-Helaire KC RB

Clyde Edwards-Helaire has slowed down as the season has progressed. He had a great game against the Raiders and has been quiet since then. He averaged two yards per carry last week against the Dolphins and only had 32 yards. In his next game, he faces the best rush defense in the NFL, the Saints. Edwards-Helaire will not do much to impact the game and will be pretty quiet especially in fantasy. Bench him.