Some of you have fantasy championships still looming for Week 17. Whether that remains in your settings next year will come down to personal preference. Realize there will always be players like this year’s Colts and Patriots, who will wind up sitting the season’s final week. Do you want your championship determined when some of the league’s best players are forced to rest? Teams in the fantasy championship probably got here by having one or more of these players. Is it fair for them to compete when Andrew Luck and Tom Brady are unavailable? Well, that’s all up for great and interesting debate. It sure is fun to have these discussions, and if you can corner this writer sometime, these topics are always on the table and endlessly enjoyable.
The Bengals beat the Broncos 37-28 last Monday night, in a game that toppled millions of fantasy football championships. For the final contest of Week 16, it featured two teams of several elite fantasy players, with many bizarre unexpected outcomes. Who can forget the zero-catch day that ended A.J. Green’s fantasy season, along with so many would-be championship hopes? Would you have put money on Green, Julius Thomas, and Mohamed Sanu combining to catch three passes for 49 yards? How could it have been expected for Andy Dalton to throw for 146 yards and beat Peyton Manning and his four interceptions? And what might be the most astonishing, Eli Manning (27.3 standard points) wound up outperforming his brother (12.4) and Aaron Rodgers (14.7) on the fantasy field for the second straight week. That Odell Beckham Jr. sure changed everything pretty quickly in New York.
Oh well, don’t let it get to ya. Life comes first, and we play this game to have fun with our friends. Remember that. As in poker, a 3-8 off suit still wins some days. You did all you could, and you’ve learned from it. You’ll do even better next time, and that title belt is waiting right around the corner. Next year starts Monday, when the trade offers will begin flying yet again. All the best to you and yours in 2015.
Now for the stats and deets that matter most for your fantasy football team. Be wise with all your start and sit lineup decisions.
[table id=LastMinuteLineupAdvice-2014-wk17 /]
Stats and data courtesy of pro-football-reference.com, footballguys, espn, spotrac.com, and profootballfocus.com.
