NFL Fantasy Football Reactions: Week 16

Happy Holidays to all! For those who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas! In terms of football, Saturday was all about the weather. Seven of the eight games in the early window were played in freezing temperatures. The games in Chicago and Cleveland also featured high winds. Despite the weather impacting games, game script helped turn the Bengals at Patriots and Lions at Panthers into higher scoring games than we may have expected.

I'll always try to give actionable advice at the end of each reaction. In addition to the fantasy takes, hopefully, some of these observations can also give you some ideas if you're thinking about placing some Week 17 NFL bets https://www.rotowire.com/betting/nfl/odds/week-17. Let's take a look at the Sunday afternoon action. 

Saturday Takeaways

• Brock Purdy is no fool. For the second straight week, he's made it a priority to get George Kittle the football. Even though Kittle's been an inconsistent fantasy option, he's now scored twice while posting at least 93 yards in each of those two games. We may finally see the version of Kittle we've wanted to see since his breakout a few years ago.
• It wasn't the usual 200 yards and two touchdowns he gets against Houston. However, Derrick Henry did just fine this week against the Texans. After a stretch of four games in which he averaged less than 50 rushing yards, Henry has now gone over the 100-yard mark in each of his last three games. He'll close out the fantasy season next week with a matchup against the Cowboys. If MLB Leighton Vander Esch (neck)  misses another game, that could help propel Henry to another strong performance.
• It was probably the worst possible time for Justin Fields to lay an egg. Although this game was clearly impacted by winds over 20 mph along with negative wind chills, the Buffalo defense simply did a great job of keeping the quarterback from having clear lanes to run. As a passer, Fields wasn't that bad. But the fact that he ran just seven times for 11 yards kept him from posting an acceptable scoring floor. This was the first time since Week 7 that he failed to post 25 fantasy points. Fantasy managers who need him next week should have no issues going back to him. He scored 43 fantasy points against his Week 17 opponent, the Detroit defense, back in Week 10, so he'll be an elite play. 
•  Both Devin Singletary and James Cook had great performances against the Bears.  I wouldn't put too much stock into those performances. The Chicago defense has been awful against the run throughout the second half of the season. This was Singletary's best fantasy performance since Week 3. Meanwhile, Cook now has at least 11.9 PPR  points in three of his last four contests. However, he has seven or fewer touches in five of his last eight games. That could make him a risky fantasy option against Cincinnati's tough run defense next week. Singletary, though, should remain a solid floor play in fantasy championship week.
• The windiest game of the week was in Cleveland. The most impressive performance from a fantasy perspective in that game came from Amari Cooper. In a game that saw 23 completions and less than 230 passing yards from both teams combined, Cooper was easily the most productive receiver on the field. Even though his six catches for 72 yards was impressive, he was an eyelash away from a much bigger day. On a play that he was wide open in the end zone while preparing himself to catch the ball, he slipped just enough to lose his balance and drop the pass. Ironically, in the worst possible weather conditions, he easily had his best fantasy performance in four games with Deshaun Watson at QB. Due to the state of the Cleveland passing attack, Cooper should be considered a top-36 wide receiver next week against the Commanders. 
• Fantasy managers haven't gotten the best from Geno Smith in the fantasy playoffs. For the second game in a row, he threw just a single TD pass. He came into those two games having thrown multiple touchdowns in his previous seven contests. Last week's performance can easily be blamed on his matchup against the 49ers. And this week's game certainly wasn't helped by the weather conditions in Kansas City. This game had single-digit wind chills and moderate winds. It's unlikely that Smith finishes the fantasy playoffs on a high note. He'll be facing the Jets and their elite secondary next week. 
• For the first time this season, Jared Goff threw more than one touchdown in a road game. He definitely benefited from garbage time. Carolina took control of this game early and was up 24-7 at halftime. That allowed Goff to throw 42 passes. As a result, he ended up with over 350 yards and three touchdowns. Those who had to start him should clearly be excited for that great performance while those who faced him will lament the fact that Goff came through despite a weak performance. He'll be home against the Bears next week. Goff has been amazing when playing at home. When setting my weekly rankings, he'll likely end up as a top-10 quarterback option. 
• D'Onta Foreman came through with a dominating fantasy performance against the Lions. But it didn't necessarily look that way in the early stages of the game. On the first drive, Chuba Hubbard ran for almost 70 yards. And then Raheem Blackshear punched in the short touchdown run. It was looking like Foreman was set to be a backup in this contest. Things changed quickly. He ended up dominating carries with 21. And although Hubbard had a great game with 125 yards, Foreman had 165 yards and scored a rushing TD . He doesn't appear to have a great matchup against the Buccaneers next week. However, Vita Vea  has missed each of the last two games for Tampa Bay, and if he misses again, that would significantly increase Foreman's chances of coming up big.
• How bad is the Minnesota pass defense? Daniel Jones threw for 334 yards. Richie James, Isaiah Hodgins and Darius Slayton each recorded at least 79 receiving yards. Even though some of that came while the Giants were trying to rally late, they had little trouble moving the ball through the air during the entire game. The big takeaway is that if the Packers are still playing hard next week, they'll be facing this Minnesota defense. That could lead to a massive game for Aaron Rodgers and his receivers. 
• T.J. Hockenson has been a strong floor play at tight end since joining the Vikings. He's posted double-digit PPR  points in five of his last eight games. He's also scored at least 6.3 PPR points in each of those eight contests. He definitely had his best game as a member of the Vikings against the Giants. He was targeted a ridiculous 16 times, going over 100 yards with two touchdowns. Although his matchup against Green Bay isn't anything special, there's no question that he'll remain one of the very few tight ends who can be trusted without question in lineups. 
• Rhamondre Stevenson has been money this year. Aside from the Arizona game a couple weeks ago when he was injured and played 13 snaps, he had scored at least 12.9 PPR  points in his prior 11 games. He certainly didn't have a favorable matchup against the Bengals. Since Cincinnati had gotten D.J. Reader back from injury, their run defense has been problematic for opponents. Usually with Stevenson, even if the Patriots fall behind, he can easily get it done as a receiver. Nothing went his way this week. He had 13 carries for 30 yards While his two receptions resulted in just three additional yards. It was definitely a case of him saving his worst for last. Even though he'll face the tough run defense of the Dolphins next week, there's no reason to think that he won't get back on track with another strong performance during fantasy championship week. 
• Better late than never. Drake London now has at least 70 yards in each game of the fantasy playoffs. Obviously, that's coincided with Desmond Ridder taking over at quarterback. Much like last week, London was the only receiver to post significant yardage for Atlanta. He's looking like an excellent play next week when he faces an Arizona defense that has  been dreadful in the secondary, and they haven't gotten a consistent pass rush, which certainly will help Ridder.
• Jahan Dotson is a star. Although for fantasy, that may not be fully realized until they upgrade their quarterback situation. Regardless, Dotson scored against the 49ers, and now he's found the end zone in three straight games. He's also posted at least 54 yards in each of those games. If anyone is thinking about starting him as a WR3 in 12-team leagues, you won't hear me give an ounce of pushback on that.
• Although he made some mistakes that hurt the Eagles, Gardner Minshew was a fine fantasy option for those who needed him this week. Going into the game, I said that he'd account for at least two TDs and 230 yards, based on the situation he's in and the talent around him, Mission accomplished. There should be no reason to avoid him if needing to use him in Week 17 against the Saints.

Injuries

• Jamaal Williams suffered an apparent leg injury late in the third quarter and didn't return. 
• Hunter Henry  sustained a knee injury  and was unable to return to action.