Fantasy
12/11/23
6 min read
2023 Fantasy Football: Takeaways From Every Week 14 Game
The article below details one need-to-know takeaway from each NFL Week 14 contest, aimed at providing readers with immediately actionable fantasy football information.
Top 3 Takeaways
Kupp, Robinson, OBJ Primed For Sizable Roles
The Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens veteran wide receivers have found their stride entering the fantasy football playoffs.
Despite visibly limping, Cooper Kupp posted impressive per-route target-earning (29.4 percent) and yardage (3.38) rates against Baltimore. His 25.5 points-per-reception (PPR) points should assuage concerns about his recent ankle sprain.
Demarcus Robinson spent the last three weeks successfully increasing his route participation. No. 3 WR Tutu Atwell was forced from play in Week 14, entering the concussion protocol.
Robinson’s 27.8 percent targets per route run (TPRR), 1.87 yards per route run (YPRR) and 30.0 percent green zone TPRR in the last two weeks land him on the Week 15 flex radar.
Odell Beckham Jr.’s 36.7 percent TPRR and 4.12 YPRR in Weeks 11-14 lead all active Baltimore pass catchers with at least 10 targets during that span. His 22 targets during that span tie Zay Flowers for the team lead.
Beckham Jr. is a WR3/flex option for the fantasy playoffs.
Flacco Upgrades Browns Offense; Engram Fills Kirk’s Void
Cleveland Browns fill-in QB Joe Flacco was named the rest-of-season starter after his Week 14 performance. Flacco is averaging 282.5 yards passing, 2.5 touchdowns passing and one interception. He improves the fantasy-scoring potential for all Cleveland pass catchers.
Jacksonville Jaguars slot WR Christian Kirk landed on injured reserve after suffering a Week 13 core muscle injury. TE Evan Engram has stepped up as an interior seam stretcher, averaging 23.3 percent TPRR, 1.97 YPRR and 27.9 PPR points per game in the past two weeks. That profiles as an elite TE1 for the fantasy football playoffs.
Thinning Defense Pumps Up 49ers' Passing Game
The San Francisco 49ers lost 2022 First-Team All-Pro S Talanoa Hufanga (ACL) and his backup, George Odum (biceps tear), to injured reserve in recent weeks and DT Arik Armstead is sidelined due to foot and knee injuries. The defense was further weakened in Week 14 with No. 1 CB Charvarius Ward straining his groin, DT Javon Hargrave straining his hamstring and LB Oren Burks injuring his knee. LB Dre Greenlaw returned from an in-game hip injury but officials ejected CB Deommodore Lenoir after an on-field scrum. It is unclear if Lenoir will be suspended.
San Francisco’s defensive issues likely will facilitate pass-happy game scripts in the coming weeks, increasing the offense’s fantasy-scoring potential.
Remaining Storylines
Patriots' Elliott Has Top-12 Potential
New England Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott scored 27 PPR points Thursday in place of No. 1 RB Rhamondre Stevenson (high-ankle sprain).
Elliott totaled 140 yards from scrimmage, one touchdown, 22 rushing attempts and seven receptions on eight targets. He also handled 100 percent of backfield passing-down and green zone snaps. As mentioned in our Week 14 Waiver Wire Targets, Elliott has a soft rest-of-season schedule and will push for a top-12 positional ranking in Week 15.
Target Players Facing Buccaneers’ Defense
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ oft-injured defense entered Week 14 allowing 257.9 yards passing per game, the NFL’s fifth-highest average.
The unit helped Atlanta Falcons QB Desmond Ridder produce a career-high 347 yards passing on Sunday, ensuring a mid-to-high QB ranking for the Bucs' Week 15 foe, Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love.
Target Foreman as an RB2 Option
The Chicago Bears exited their Week 13 bye featuring RB D’Onta Foreman as their clear-cut No. 1 RB. Among Chicago running backs, Foreman accounted for 73.3 percent (11) of rushing attempts, 75.0 percent (four) of targets, 37.5 percent of two-minute-drill snaps (three) and 66.7 percent (four) of green zone snaps.
He’s a volume-based RB2 against the Cleveland Browns in Week 15
Browning Is QB1 Streaming Option for Week 15
Cincinnati Bengals backup QB Jake Browning stayed hot in Week 14, totaling 275 yards passing, two touchdowns passing and one interception. He also had three rushing attempts for seven yards and one touchdown.
Browning has scored green zone rushing touchdowns in consecutive weeks, unearthing a positional top-12 ceiling. His 25.2 fantasy points per game in the last two weeks solidifies his status as a QB1 streamer entering Week 15 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Carr Threatens To Derail Olave
New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr totaled just 119 yards passing, two touchdowns and one interception. That performance comes one week after suffering his second concussion and third throwing shoulder injury since September.
Chris Olave (12.8 PPR points) salvaged his day with a seven-yard touchdown. Olave’s Week 15 prospects would significantly improve if backup QB Jameis Winston became the starter.
Injuries Could Make Texans Run-Heavy
Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud (concussion protocol) and WR Nico Collins (calf strain) left Week 14's loss due to injuries. That could signal a high-volume rushing day for Houston’s No. 1 RB Devin Singletary against the Tennessee Titans in Week 15.
Per Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Adam Hutchison’s injury report, quarterbacks average 1.9 weeks missed after a concussion, and wide receivers average 1.8 weeks missed due to calf strains.
In early November, Collins notably suffered a calf strain, potentially elongating his recovery timeline.
Monitor Vikings' Injuries, QB Situation
Minnesota Vikings No. 1 WR Justin Jefferson’s return from his Week 5 hamstring strain was cut short by a chest injury that required a precautionary hospital visit and No. 1 RB Alexander Mattison suffered a likely high-ankle sprain, per DPT Edwin Porras.
Fill-in QB Josh Dobbs averaged just 2.7 yards per passing attempt before backup QB Nick Mullens replaced him. Mullens, TE T.J. Hockenson and RB Ty Chandler will lead the Week 15 offense, although the team is reportedly optimistic about Jefferson’s Week 16 availability.
Pacheco Injury Muddies Chiefs' Backfield
A shoulder injury sidelined Kansas City Chiefs starting RB Isiah Pacheco, resulting in fantasy-unfriendly workload splits for RB Jerick McKinnon (12.7 PPR points) and RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (8.8 PPR points). McKinnon totaled just seven intended touches to Edwards-Helaire’s 15. McKinnon handled 18 of 19 combined passing-down and green zone snaps though, reducing Edwards-Helaire’s opportunities to catch passes and score touchdowns.
Stick DownGrades Chargers' Passing Game
Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert fractured his throwing hand’s index finger late in the first half, elevating backup Easton Stick to the starting role. Stick averaged 7.5 yards per passing attempt but completed just 54.2 percent of his passes. WR Keenan Allen (eight), RB Austin Ekeler (five) and TE Gerald Everett (three) accounted for 19 of Stick’s 21 second-half pass attempts and the latter two players produced sub-2.50-yard average depth or targets (aDot).
Fantasy managers should prudently expect Stick to be the rest-of-season starter, negatively impacting all passing-game components.
Pollard Primed for More Pass-Game Usage
Dallas Cowboys RB Tony Pollard tied his season-high game target total (eight) in Week 14, bringing his average up to 5.8 per game during the past four weeks. Pollard’s graduation from early-season passing-game volatility bodes positively for his three-game stretch against three of the league’s worst running back coverage units — the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions.
