Tale of Two Raiders

The playoffs are here! Well, for most of the leagues I’m in, anyway. There are a few where I’m fighting for my playoff life after squeaking in and others where I’m one of the main contenders fighting for a championship. Still others where it did not go so well and I’m out. I have the full array of emotions going on. It’s both the blessing and the curse of being in so many leagues.

We’ve got a lot to talk about and I hope you find some useful nuggets in here. Thursday night got interrupted for me, so I wasn’t able to get the newsletter out until now when I’m already half brain-dead given the late hour. But we must proceed!

I went 1-1 this week. Thursday night I won because I favored the Raiders and my wife was more on the Chargers. That worked out for me but oddly enough, even though the majority of my lineups featured Vegas and their DST, I didn’t cash as much as I would have expected. Not having Aiden O’Connell was a big part of it, as I expected he might score 12 fantasy points, but Adams and Meyers could still have ok games if AOC didn’t. I should have known better.

But, on Monday I have her the option of choosing a single game or doing the whole two-game slate. She chose the whole slate. My headliners were Jordan Love, Saquon Barkley, De’Von Achane, Tyreek Hill, Deandre Hopkins, Jayden Reed, and Tucker Kraft. Her team was led by Tua Tagovailoa, Raheem Mostert, Derrick Henry, Hopkins, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Kraft. I had a good Monday night overall, and even my lineup facing her won money in the tournament we entered. But it wasn’t enough.

Leading up to the final few minutes of the Miami vs. Tennessee game, I was up big time. And then Raheem Mostert decided to score twice. Then Derrick Henry’s touchdown was the dagger that sunk chances of winning. I was up big and lost 132.60 to 131.92 in the final two minutes of Monday night football. The record is 12-7 now, let’s see if she can keep things close!

Thursday Night Fantasy Recap

What the world Vegas?!? You can’t score a single point against the Vikings on Sunday, and with a short week against a divisional opponent in an away game, turn into the Dolphins team that faced the Broncos. Good lord.

Aiden O’Connell and Jakobi Meyers threw at least one touchdown pass. We saw a pick-six and a fumble returned by a big man for a touchdown, plenty of action, and scoring on both sides of the ball. I didn’t know the Raiders would turn into Super Bowl contenders.

I kid, but man where did that come from? O’Connell is still too risky to stream going forward, and I wouldn’t count on this happening again. However, Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers seem to be fantasy-relevant again. Zamir White can work as a spot start if Josh Jacobs misses another game. Michael Mayer is a bit too boom-bust for me, but that’s life as a tight end. Tre Tucker is an interesting dynasty stash if he can secure a role in the future, but I’m not counting on him this year. I hope Hunter Renfrow can find a new home next season because he’s just being underutilized by this system. He and Meyers play similar games, so he’s no longer needed but the man can ball.

Quentin Johnston saved his fantasy day with a late touchdown, but the “second team connection” didn’t pan out all that well. Gerald Everett still looks like a decent option at tight end after leading the team in targets. Don’t count on a broken play every week for Josh Palmer, but it looks like it’s Palmer, Everett, and Ekeler as the top options for the Chargers with Keenan Allen out. QJ just can’t get it going no matter who is hurt or throwing him the ball. How the team will respond after the firing of Brandon Staley is up in the air and I won’t pretend to know what happens. Usually, teams respond well but the Chargers are so beat up it might not matter.

Things to look out for in Week 15

• 🏴‍☠️ Rachaad White is getting absolutely elite usage. Since week 8 he has been the RB3 in half-PPR PPG and the RB5 on the season. He’s a great play in DFS and in season-long leagues against Green Bay, who have given up the seventh most rushing yards and tied for the fourth-most rushing touchdowns given up this season.

• ⛏️ 🔴 I didn’t need to tell you to start Christian McCaffrey, but if you made the playoffs, you’re in for a fun week. He faces the Arizona Cardinals, who have allowed 18 total scores to running backs this season, six of which through the air, 4.5 yards per carry, and the second most points to the position.

• 🎖️ I get it’s a year full of injuries, but even when filtering by points per game, Sam Howell is the QB7 overall. The Rams are tied for the third most rushing touchdowns allowed to quarterbacks (Howell has four rushing scores in the past three games) and have given up the eighth most points to the position in total. They’re middle of the pack against the pass and they haven’t brought much pressure on the season. While Sam Howell is still taking a ton of sacks, they have lessened in number. With an offensive line playing a little better and the lack of pressure from LA, I think Howell is in for a good game.

• 🛩️ Breece Hall has put up ridiculous receiving numbers in the last few weeks. In fact, he leads all running backs in receptions by a wide margin since week 8. How wide? He has caught 39 passes in that span, the back with the second most receptions is Alvin Kamara with 28! That is also more than guys like AJ Brown, DJ Moore, Amon-Ra St.Brown, Mike Evans, and Stefon Diggs. He’ll be needed against Miami this week.

• ⛏️ 🔴 In half-PPR formats, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are the WR12 and WR13 respectively, though Samuel has the edge in fantasy points per game.

• Wan’Dale Robinson put up his best performance of the season against the Packers on Monday night, hauling in six of his seven targets for 79 yards and taking two rushing attempts for 36 yards. The Giants’ receiving corps is impossible to predict, but hopefully, this is the start of something for Robinson.

• 🟣 Give Ty Chandler a shot against the Bengals with Mattison out. Cincy can be beaten on the ground and with yet another starting quarterback for Minnesota, they may choose to lean on the run game.

• 🇺🇸 If Demario Douglas can take the field on Sunday, he’s a viable option for your team if you need a WR start. The rookie out of Liberty was a WR3 in three of his last five games before suffering a concussion and was just outside of WR3 territory on a fourth game.

• 🐆 The good news: Zay Jones has seen 22 targets in his last two games. The bad news: he plays Baltimore this week. He’s the defacto WR2 of the offense and Baltimore gave it up to the Rams last week, so there is hope. Parker Washington is worth a shot as well.

• 🔥 Will Levis has been inconsistent at best but has put together good performances in two of the three Titans wins since he took over as starter. The Titans are favored to win against Houston with C.J. Stroud doubtful to play, putting him in a better spot from the get-go.

• 🧀 Don’t look now but Jayden Reed is the WR27 overall in half-PPR formats. He gets a great matchup this week against Tampa Bay and Christian Watson is likely out (which is a shame because he just found his groove). Reed has scored 10 or more half-PPR points in six of his last eight games (he’s the WR14 in that span).

• 🐶 🟠 David Njoku has had at least six targets in eight straight weeks. He faces the Chicago Bears defense who have given up the ninth most receptions and (tied-ninth) touchdowns to the position.

That’s all for this week! Best of luck in your playoff matchups!