Week 17 Recap: League Winners, Biggest Surprises and Mega Duds (12/29 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today: Week 17 Recap – League Winners, Biggest Surprises, and Mega Duds

Released on December 30, 2024

Hosts:

• Adam Aizer
• Dave Richard
• Jamey Eisenberg
• Heath Cummings
• Evan
• Jamie Eisenberg

---

I. Introduction and League Updates

The episode kicks off with the hosts sharing personal updates and brief advertisements for sponsors like Collars & Company and Zycam. Adam Aizer humorously discusses his frequent illnesses and his reliance on Zycam to shorten colds, setting a relatable and light-hearted tone for the show.

II. Hosts' Current Fantasy League Status

Adam Aizer provides an overview of his standing in various leagues, confidently stating, “Full disclosure. I am going to win two of my four finals. I have a chance in another one. Probably going to be a two for two and two day” [04:10].

Heath Cummings shares his struggles, mentioning, “I'm getting my butt whipped in the FFT league by Jack Capitorto. I would need a miracle to come back from that” [04:36]. Despite setbacks, Heath remains optimistic about tied scores in other leagues.

Dave Richard reflects on his performance, acknowledging past missteps: “I’m not sure I gave anyone good advice, especially if you listen to me about Adam Phelan or if you listen to me about Tyreek Hill” [04:41].

III. Week 17 Highlights

A. Winners

• Adam Thielen: Highlighted as a major winner with five catches, 110 yards, and two touchdowns. Dave exclaims, “Dave. Adam Thielen. Hooray” [07:15].

• Devonte Smith: Heath notes, “Devonte Smith wasn’t going to get a ton of targets, but he caught five and put up 110 yards and two touchdowns” [07:15].

• Jalen McMillan: Jamie praises McMillan’s breakout performance with six touchdowns on four touchdowns, emphasizing his explosive potential [14:50].

B. Losers

• Jordan Love: Identified as Dave’s biggest loser with a mediocre performance, averaging 19 fantasy points per game. Dave advises caution, “If you're trying to decide is he one of those low end QB ones that we just settle for on draft day in 2025” [11:00].

• Devonte Adams: Noted by Dave for underperforming with five catches for 47 yards on eight targets [11:00].

• Hunter Henry: Marked as Heath's loser with zero points in the championship [45:32].

C. Surprises

• Marvin Mims: Remarkably low roster percentage (4%) yet scored 30.2 fantasy points with eight catches, 103 yards, and two touchdowns [17:41].

• Amir Abdullah: Jamie shares his surprise at Abdullah's performance before a foot injury, including 20 carries and 115 yards [18:32].

• Malik Neighbors: Dave highlights Neighbors’ best game of the season with 171 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets [20:30].

IV. Player Performance Analysis

A. Top Performers

• Baker Mayfield: Dave commends Mayfield for his incredible fantasy output, “44 points today, 26.3 last week, 36 points at the Chargers” [31:17].

• Tyreek Hill: Heath praises Hill for his consistent performance, “Tyreek Hill is still going to be a factor” [66:52].

• Josh Allen: Heath attributes his success to standout plays, “Keon Coleman caught a touchdown. It was on a crazy throw from Josh Allen” [58:33].

B. Underperformers

• Aaron Rodgers: Criticized by Dave for throwing two interceptions and making poor decisions, leading to a negligible fantasy score [58:33].

• Jordan Addison: Jaded by his quiet performance, despite being a potential breakout player [61:00].

• Devonte Adams: As mentioned earlier, labeled a "mega dud" for his lackluster performance [11:00].

V. League Insights and Strategy

The hosts delve into strategic decisions for upcoming weeks, discussing player starts, potential trades, and draft strategies. Notably, Adam emphasizes the importance of starting reliable players like Baker Mayfield over risky picks.

Dave advises, “I hope you didn't start Dontavian Wicks over Tyreek Hill in any of your leagues” [04:41], underscoring the impact of reliable receivers on league outcomes.

VI. Conclusions and Key Takeaways

As Week 17 wraps up, the hosts summarize the critical lessons:

• Reliability Over Risk: Opt for dependable players like Baker Mayfield and Devonte Smith to secure league wins.

• Monitor Player Health: Injuries significantly affect fantasy outcomes; staying updated is crucial.

• Leverage Breakout Performances: Capitalize on unexpected high performers like Marvin Mims and Malik Neighbors for strategic advantages.

Heath Cummings concludes with optimism about second-tier quarterbacks gaining prominence, “I am loving that second tier of quarterbacks already” [62:41].

Adam Aizer closes with a humorous note on his personal life balancing fantasy football victories and losses, ensuring listeners are entertained while informed.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Adam Aizer [04:10]: “Full disclosure. I am going to win two of my four finals. I have a chance in another one. Probably going to be a two for two and two day.”

• Dave Richard [04:41]: “I’m not sure I gave anyone good advice, especially if you listen to me about Adam Phelan or if you listen to me about Tyreek Hill.”

• Heath Cummings [07:15]: “Devonte Smith wasn’t going to get a ton of targets, but he caught five and put up 110 yards and two touchdowns.”

• Jamie Eisenberg [17:41]: “Devonte Smith, the true third year breakout wide receiver.”

• Dave Richard [11:00]: “If you're trying to decide is he one of those low end QB ones that we just settle for on draft day in 2025.”

• Heath Cummings [66:52]: “Tyreek Hill is still going to be a factor.”

---

This comprehensive recap ensures that both seasoned fantasy football enthusiasts and newcomers are well-informed about Week 17's key developments, player performances, and strategic insights to dominate their leagues heading into the final stretch.

Transcript

[Adam]

Man, I love finding great new clothes and I love finding a great new clothing company. And that would be Collars and Company. You may have seen Collars and Company getting a $1 million investment on Shark Tank. And if you buy [e-mail] you can get 15% off any purchase of $100 or more with the Code Football. Take advantage of that now. Their clothes are so comfortable. I like dressing up, I really do. But I feel like most of my dress clothes, most of most of my dress shirts, they're not that comfortable. They get bunched up under my sweaters. It's really frustrating. So you have to check out Collars and company, makers of the dress collar Polo. These shirts, they're four way stretch, buttery soft polos with firm dress collars on them. So they give you the dress shirt look but extremely comfortable polo feel. And you can wear these with anything under a sweater with a blazer just by themselves. You can wear them to work, you can wear them to play golf. They they're great for a night out. Collars & Co. Also has sweaters, quarter zips. Love the long sleeve button downs. And they have a women's line too. Check that out. Go to collarsandco.com and just start shopping. If you are looking for a performance dress shirt or polo that looks great all day, check out collars and co.com use promo code football for 15% off any purchase of $100 or more. If you're a regular listener to the show, you know that I get sick. Sick a decent amount of times, right? I've got young kids, they go back to school, they bring home a cold and eventually I catch it. And I know I'm not alone. I know a lot of you deal with the same issue here, but now I use Zycam. As soon as I start feeling sick, if I sneeze, if my throat is sore, if I'm sniffling, I go get the Zycam. I always have a Zycam in the house because it shortens the cold. You don't want to deal with a cold for a week. You want this to be over as quickly as possible. So, so that's why I use Zycam. And they've got rapid melts, medicated fruit drops and a bunch of delicious flavors. That's my choice. Nasal swabs and a nasal spray so you can choose from a variety of options. Feel a cold coming on at the first sign. Reach for cold shortening products from Zycam, the number one cold shortening brand. For best results, use at the first sign of a cold and continue to use until symptoms completely subside. Pick up Zycam in the cold and flu aisle or visit Zycam.com to see where to buy online.

[Jamie]

Hey everyone, I want to share a little about our experience hosting on Airbnb. We decided to give it a try as a way to earn some extra income and it's honestly been a great decision. The process was super easy to get started and the flexibility is amazing. We can choose when we want to host, which works around our schedules. One of the best parts about hosting is getting to share our favorite local spots with the guests. Whether it's top restaurants, beautiful beaches, or the best golf courses in town, it's so rewarding when guests enjoy the same places as we do. Hosting has not only helped us earn extra income, but it's allowed us to make the most of our space. If you've got extra space or travel often, hosting might be a great fit for you. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host this is.

[Dave]

Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports.

[Heath]

What a play.

[Evan]

Can you believe this?

[Adam]

No, I can't.

[Dave]

It's time to dominate your fantasy league.

[Adam]

Off to the races and he stays on his feet. This is gonna go the distance.

[Jack]

Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie and Heath.

[Adam]

Welcome to Sunday night's edition of Fantasy Football today presented by BetMGM, the sportsbook. Born in Vegas, week 17 has just two games left as we sit here recording. It is Sunday night and Monday Night Football and for most of you, for many of you anyway, your fantasy matchups are wrapped up. So I hope it has been a great Sunday and a great season for you. If you're playing into week 18, so are we. We've got full content for you in Week 18. If you're not playing in Week 18, every one of our Week 18 shows will have some 2025 content anyway. All right, full disclosure. I am going to win two of my four finals. I have a chance in another one. Probably going to be a two for two and two day. Dave, how do we do?

[Heath]

I'm getting my butt whipped in the FFT league by Jack Capitorto. I would need a miracle to come back from that. My opponent would need a miracle to come back and beat me in my long running keeper league. I am 5050 with Anthony in the Draftathon league. He still has George Kittle and Jake Moody. I still have Drake, London and Jake Bates and we are tied at 119.

[Adam]

Nice. All right, Heath, you got any barn burners?

[Dave]

So I, you know, we're. It's gonna be a fun show and I'm gonna be a positive guy tonight, but I do feel like I should just apologize. Like if you listened to me on the YouTube show today. I'm not sure I gave anyone good advice, especially if you listen to me about Adam Phelan or if you listen to me about Tyreek Hill. I hope you didn't start Dontavian Wicks over Tyreek Hill in any of your leagues.

[Adam]

Awful.

[Dave]

Wasn't. Wasn't a great morning, but it hasn't been a great day either. But no, I've got. I've got my most important league. I am ahead by three with Drake, London and Jesse Bates against Debo Samuel. And my. My second most important league where I'm going, my. My second championship in the last four years. Both of them over the same guy. I am up 58 and he has Brock Purdy and Bijan Robinson. So some nail biters left, but hopefully, hopefully I can win one of them.

[Heath]

And ask for your advice. Normally your advice is golden. And you were not the guy who had the Colts DST at the top of his DST rankings this week. So that would be me. That was a huge whiff. Adam, congratulations to your Giants for a hard fought victory over the Colts. I am sure you are beaming with pride over their third win of the year.

[Dave]

The most important thing, Dave, was we saw that the team has not quit on this. On this, this group. We need to extend the contracts of the general manager, extend the contract of the head coach, and maybe give Drew Locke a shot next year.

[Heath]

He's there, guy. Adam, how happy are you, Drew? You finally found a quarterback. 42.

[Dave]

42 fantasy points.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Adam]

This is the most points the Giants have scored since 2015. And I really think the Colts DST is one of the big storylines from week 17. I mean, people are absolutely furious, myself included. Thankfully, I won. I. I won a league with three zeros in my lineup. That. That is unbelievable. Yeah, I thought so too, but when you.

[Dave]

A lot of you have Baker Mayfield and T. Higgins.

[Adam]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. All right. Anyway, let's get to some winners and losers here. And I asked you guys for winners, losers and surprises. Jamie's going to join us in a little bit. But, Dave, your winner was Adam Thielen. He started in 44% of leagues and he had five catches, 110 yards and two touchdowns. At Tampa Bay, Heath's winner, Devonte smith. Started in 68% of leagues. He had six catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns on seven targets. Dave. Adam Thielen. Hooray.

[Heath]

So Heath was right that he wasn't going to get a ton of targets. He had six targets, he just caught five of them for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Total turnover. Back the clock game for Adam Thielen, who just had great routes and got open against an inferior secondary in Tampa. Was very impressed with how this old man was still putting up big numbers. And we don't know if we're going to see that again from him ever again. So Adam Thielen, if you started him, kudos to you. Absolutely. A guy that helped you win in week 17.

[Adam]

And Devonte Smith also helped people win. I don't know if they were trusting him, but. How many passes did the Eagles throw? About 20. I think it was low.

[Heath]

15 for Pickett and then once he left, Tanner McKee threw four times. Yeah, he completed three of the four, two of them for touchdowns.

[Adam]

Yeah. So what'd you think of that performance, Heath?

[Dave]

I like I said on Express, I think it was a good reminder of just how good devonte Smith is and the risk that you take anytime you sit him. Even if you're worried about the quarterback, even if you're worried about the matchup. Devonte Smith has the ability to go and do that, put up a 30 burger on your bench when you started. Some 30 year old has been with a 40 year old has been quarterback.

[Heath]

Oh, you are sour. Heath Cummings, you are sour. The Eagles. First of all, we went into this game expecting Saquon Barkley to run the ball a ton and he did. He had 31 carries. And if the team's going to run the ball ton, that means they're not going to throw that much. And it, it, this is rare. You rarely see something like this where a team throws 19 times with their backup and third string quarterback and their number two receiver just absolutely feasts on a terrible Dallas defense. It was just, it was one of those things you just shake your head at. You're never going to be able to project that they could play this game nine more times. And in those other nine games, devonte Smith might do nothing and Saquon Barkley would have even more yards and touchdowns on top of it.

[Dave]

I saw this was the 11th game in Adam Thelon's career with exactly six targets.

[Adam]

Really? About that.

[Dave]

His previous high was 15 fantasy points. With that number of targets, he had topped 10 three times.

[Heath]

Right. And that's Another team that didn't throw the ball as much as we thought that they would.

[Adam]

No, I didn't think they were going to throw the ball that much. Oh. Oh, Carolina Panthers. I was thinking no run game. No, I was thinking Tampa Bay. Sorry, I made a mistake. Made a mistake. Dave, you are crushing me. I miss. Sorry. I misspelled.

[Evan]

Sorry.

[Heath]

Sorry.

[Adam]

Anyway, yeah, so I wanted to say something about devontae Smith, just something that Greg Olson said on the broadcast. Duron Bland was covering A.J. brown. He was more or less shadowing A.J. brown. And they had their. Their second cornerback, who is really not their second cornerback because Diggs is out and they were just picking on him with devonte Smith and the guy Andrew Booth. Smith was, was killing him. I. I also want to bring up something because I know I'm going to forget just in case you have a game. You still have something at stake tomorrow night. The Lions do not have anything to play for. So are we. Like, if you have a scenario where you have Goff and Purdy or jma, JMO and who. I don't even know. Yeah, I think you probably have Juwan ahead of him to begin.

[Heath]

What about Jamo or Debo?

[Adam]

Okay. Yeah. Is there any hesitation? Any hesitation? Your part for the. For the Lions.

[Heath]

It depends on how much you believe Dan Campbell, who said all week long that his guys were going to play. And I believe they did that last time. They had a meaningless game. Their guys went out and they played a full.

[Dave]

Yeah. Thomas was reminding me before the show that they did that in San La Porta, got hurt.

[Heath]

That sounds about right.

[Adam]

Still kept their guys in, according to Thomas. Yeah.

[Heath]

Yes.

[Adam]

Yeah. Because it was against Minnesota. All right. So we're not adjusting for that, but it's a. It's a scenario. You should be aware of your losers. Heath, your biggest loser was Jordan love. He scored 15 points. He threw 30 passes. Dave, your biggest loser was Devonte Adams. He had five catches for 47 yards on eight targets. So let's go to Jordan Love. And they losing effort at Minnesota.

[Dave]

Yeah. And I thought, like, when I sent him in as the biggest loser, it was midway through the fourth quarter and the stat line was much worse than it was. He had a 75 yard drive with a touchdown pass. Down two scores in the second, in the second half of the fourth quarter, but still, it was just a mediocre performance in the midst of a mediocre season. In terms of fantasy production, he's going to finish the year averaging like 19 fantasy points per game. And there's Reasons for that part of the time it was because the pass volume was just way too low. Earlier in the year it was because he was throwing two interceptions per game. Maybe the past volume has been low recently because of the interceptions he was throwing earlier in the year. I'm not sure. But I do think that like for now, if you're looking at Jordan Love and you're trying to decide is he one of those low end QB ones that we just settle for on draft day in 2025 or is he someone I'm targeting because I think he could be a top five option? It looks more like the former to me than the latter.

[Heath]

Agreed.

[Adam]

And then I just want to answer this question. Just, you know, I'm sorry for the detour here, but should I start aman Ross St. Brown or should I sit. I'm on Ross St. Brown for Drake London and people.

[Heath]

I'm not ready to say to make that switch.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Heath]

No, I think the only way I would consider it is if St. Brown was hurt and maybe the Lions at that point would say, you know what, we don't need to play him. Why, why would, why would they put somebody out there at less than 100%?

[Adam]

Okay. So Dave Devonte Adams. Terrible game in when it mattered most.

[Heath]

While I was watching the game today, there was a ring on my doorbell and got up to answer the door. So ding dong answered the door. It was devonte Adams and Aaron Rodgers. They said screw you, laughed at me and then they. They ran away. What a terrible game from the Jets. The only guy that could do anything was Garrett Wilson and it took him until the fourth quarter to score. And it took to Rod Taylor for him to score so good. We're gonna see more of them next week. I got a feeling. So gross game, gross matchup, gross results. Especially since the matchup wasn't supposed to be gross. It just ended up being gross for devonte Adams. Everybody had the confidence to start him. Still tied for the team, leading targets with eight. But Rogers just. I. I think it's. I think it's over.

[Adam]

Okay. Hey, we got Jamie here. Jamie Eisenberg. Hello, sir.

[Evan]

Screw you, Tyler Conklin.

[Heath]

See Jamie's on the ding dong.

[Adam]

Why? Screw you, Tyler.

[Evan]

I'm playing in a tight end premium league and he had a big touchdown at the end.

[Adam]

You're playing against Tyler?

[Dave]

Big day.

[Evan]

Yeah. Our big office league.

[Adam]

Oh wow. That's really.

[Heath]

So this big office league you have to start a tight end and it's tight end premium.

[Adam]

That's tough. Yeah.

[Evan]

I'm Playing picked up Tyler Conklin this week.

[Dave]

Yeah, Big, big move. GM of the year.

[Adam]

Jamie, who are your winners and losers? Who's your. Well, your one winner and your one loser?

[Evan]

What I send you. Jalen McMillan.

[Adam]

Jalen McMillan and the Colts DST.

[Evan]

Yeah, screw you, Colts DST. Jalen McMillan. I think the Bucks got an interesting decision to make because if they decide to let Chris Godwin walk, they have their guy as a replacement. And he looks awesome.

[Adam]

Yeah, he's. He's do. He's another guy that's doing a lot on not that many targets. You know, he just keeps scoring. His touchdown rate is. Is. Must be insane over the last four weeks. It's what.

[Evan]

It's six touchdowns, right? Six.

[Adam]

Six touchdowns on four. On 25 targets.

[Evan]

I. I just, like, clearly you're. You're not going to drop Marvin Harrison Behind Jalen McMillan, but just the. The rookie class of wide receivers that we have been blessed with this year of Brian Thomas and malik neighbors and lad McConkey, and hopefully eventually Marvin Harrison becomes one of those guys like we expect and Jalen McMillan, like, this group is awesome.

[Adam]

Yeah. And even Harrison had a good game. You know, he had almost 100 yards yesterday.

[Evan]

Yeah, I'm kidding, obviously, but Grandma was great. Just, Just to see how this, this group could just be ridiculously fantastic.

[Adam]

And the Colts and we haven't seen.

[Evan]

You know, Ricky Pierce hall do anything yet.

[Adam]

By the way, Xavier Worthy came on strong.

[Evan]

Xavier Worthy. Yeah.

[Heath]

By the way, he's the number one receiver for Kansas City.

[Evan]

The Patriots. The Patriots taking Jalen polk over lab McConkey.

[Adam]

I thought about that because they brought that up in the broadcast, and I thought to myself, what kind of year would lad McConkey be having right now if he had been on the Patriots?

[Evan]

Yeah, better than Jalen Polk.

[Adam]

Better.

[Heath]

Definitely better than Jalen Polk.

[Adam]

Yeah. I think made a laconkey. Made to McConkey would be good, but it's going to be made a Travis Hunter very possible. And that's. That's exciting.

[Evan]

If the Patriots do that, they're stupid. Why you got to get an offensive line help for that guy. They're going to throw a lot of money at T. Higgins. Whether he goes there or not remains to be seen. But that's the rumor. They're going to try and get Higgins. I think they're going to be aggressive in free agency. I think you got to draft offensive line.

[Dave]

I think you just trade one for four and Andrew Thomas maybe.

[Evan]

No, the Giants don't need a trade. They'll get they'll get Cam Ward or Sanders at four.

[Adam]

They're not going to have four. They're going to win in Week eight.

[Dave]

They're going to beat the Eagles.

[Evan]

Well, Saquon's playing. So will he.

[Adam]

Very way, very well. May play. He's very close to the rushing record.

[Evan]

Oh, he wants to break the record and break it against the Giants. It's the perfect setup.

[Adam]

You only take him a quarter. What does he need? 80 yards?

[Dave]

Something like that.

[Heath]

101 yards away.

[Adam]

Okay. Only a quarter. Quarter and a half. All right. If you haven't signed up yet for BetMGM, use the bonus code Fantasy and you're going to get up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. So here's how it works. Download the BetMGM app and sign up using the bonus code Fantasy. Deposit at least $10 and place your first wager on any game and you'll receive up to 1500 dollars in bonus bets if your bet loses. Just make sure that you use the bonus code Fantasy when you sign up. Let's do our surprises before we go to break Heath's biggest surprise of Week 17 was Marvin Mims, who is 4% rostered and scored 30.2 fantasy points at Cincinnati. Eight catches, 103 yards and two touchdowns.

[Evan]

See, that's cheating. I thought we were going to just do Sunday because my original one was going to be Kaseki.

[Adam]

You can change it.

[Evan]

Nah.

[Adam]

All right.

[Dave]

Was I cheating or did you just not know the rules?

[Evan]

Probably.

[Heath]

As if there are rules.

[Dave]

Posted Marvin Mims was incredible. Looked like a guy who should maybe run more than 50 of his team's routes or see more than four and a half targets per game on a regular basis. Just absolutely a breakout performance. A couple spectacular touchdown catches. Caught every target that he saw in this game and it's been kind of a theme in the second half of his role slowly growing and they're making more of an involvement to get involved in the backfield as well. I'm. I'm hopeful that maybe Marvin Mims, the true third year breakout wide receiver.

[Adam]

Okay, Jamie's biggest surprise was Amir Abdullah who had who left with a foot injury unfortunately. But he had what he have 100 yards rushing. Why can't I find him? Oh, 20 carries, 115 yards, three catches, 32 yards and he didn't even make it through the fourth quarter. He was having a really good game.

[Evan]

It's not so much that he had a good fantasy game, it's that he was the lead rusher. And this is not something that we've seen from him very much in his career. And the fact that they just said, Madison, basically, you suck. And we're going to go with Amir Abdullah because he's better and more explosive and it worked out for them. And you got an interesting game next week because the Chargers may not have. May not be playing their guys for a full game. I think they will, but still, they may be one of the teams that might sit. And so do they go back to Amir Abdullah as the feature guy if he's healthy?

[Heath]

I. Yeah, as long as he's healthy, I think he's their future guy. 62 of the snaps dominated third downs. Three or four snaps inside the five. Jamie, your baby has grown up.

[Adam]

That's right. You were a big Amir Abdullah guy, wasn't it?

[Evan]

I mean, it only took, you know, between Dobbins and Abdullah, you know, different teams, new, you know, 10 years later, it's finally working out.

[Adam]

Shane Doreen's gonna side with someone next week.

[Evan]

What a callback by.

[Adam]

I gotta say, I think. I think you're absolutely insane if you think they should take alignment over Travis Hunter. I'll be say that, right? Travis Hunter was the best player in high school. He was the best player in college. He's the best player in this draft. The Patriots should trade down and still take Travis Hunter. Bam. Roasted.

[Evan]

Okay, that'll help. That'll help. Drake may stay without getting killed.

[Heath]

Once upon a time, the Bengals had a decision to make like this, and they chose the receiver over the offensive lineman. And they found other offensive linemen. They could not find another receiver like Jamar Chase. And if Travis Hunter can keep playing like he's playing, there's not going to be many guys like him on this planet.

[Adam]

Some good offensive tackles in this draft too, though. So there will be a decision to make. And honestly, the Patriots might win next week. So this, you know, they're going to be playing the Bills who have nothing to play for. So that's, you know, not. Not set in stone that they're going to be drafting number one. Dave, your biggest surprise was Malik Neighbors his best game of the season, 171 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets. Two long touchdowns for him. Big game.

[Heath]

The even bigger surprise was that the Indianapolis Colts defense decided that they didn't want to play past week 18. And all game long, they were just missing tackles or having neighbors slide out of tackles. And it wasn't just neighbors, it was Slayton, too. It was everybody else. The the back seven of that Colts defense sucked. They could not tackle anybody. I'm going to cringe when I look at the missed tackle numbers for Indy's defense tomorrow when I, when I study their stats. But that's absolutely the contributing factor for Malik Neighbors having his best game of the year. How many games this year has he had double digit targets in almost every game? Well, he had eight today.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Heath]

Anyone offer seven? 171.

[Evan]

Well, they're not used to playing with.

[Heath]

The league, the defense they played.

[Dave]

I will say like my, my, my 15 year old now is still not like super. Like he's really into football and he's playing fantasy football, but like his brain understands the basketball strategy a lot better. And so he says, dad, I don't understand. If you were Malik Neighbors and your team had the first pick and you were going to finally get a good quarterback, why would you be making all of these plays? Like, why does he keep catching the ball just like he's making spectacular catches along the sideline? Just drop it.

[Adam]

Yeah. If he were Joel Embiid, he would not have even played at this game.

[Evan]

He, he probably watched the bowl games yesterday, saw one guy quit and saw the other guy stink.

[Adam]

Exactly. Yeah. So Neighbors 76, started huge game for.

[Evan]

Him, catching passes for Kirk Cousins. That's the problem.

[Adam]

I don't know.

[Heath]

Oh, I hope not.

[Adam]

It could be like Russell Wilson. Who knows? All right, we're going to take a break and come back and keep celebrating some victories here on fantasy football today.

[Jimmy]

When you think about businesses that are selling through the roof, like Aloe Allbirds or Skims. Sure, you think about a great product, a cool brand and brilliant marketing. But an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business. Making, selling and for shoppers, buying. Simple. For millions of businesses, that business is Shopify. Nobody does selling better than Shopify, home of the number one checkout on the planet. And the not so secret secret with Shop Pay that boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning way less carts going abandoned and way more sales going. So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell whenever your customers are scrolling or strolling on the web, in your store, in their feed and everywhere in between. Upgrade your business and get the same checkout experience as business powerhouses like Aloe, Allbirds and Skims. Sign up for your $1 per month trial [e-mail] Odysseypodcast all lowercase go to shopify.com Odyssey podcast to upgrade your selling today. Shopify.com Odysseypodcast as we close out the.

[Thomas]

Year, take a moment to reflect on what you've accomplished and how learning a new language can be part of your journey moving forward. The new year is an opportunity for renewal. What better way to kick off 2025 than by committing to learn a new language? With that in mind, there's no better tool than Rosetta Stone, the most trusted language learning program available on desktop and mobile. Rosetta Stone immerses you in the LA so you truly learn to think, speak and understand it naturally. With Rosetta Stone's intuitive approach, there are no English translations, you're fully immersed and the built in Truaxent feature acts like a personal accent coach, giving you real time feedback to make sure you sound just right. Don't put off learning that language. There's no better time than right now to get started. Start the new year off with a resolution you can reach today. Listeners can take advantage of this New Year's special of Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership. Visit rosettastone.com RS10 that's unlimited access to 25 language courses for the rest of your life. Redeem your New year's [e-mail] Rs10 today.

[Jimmy]

When you think about businesses that are selling through the roof like Aloe, Allbirds or Skims. Sure you think about a great product, a cool brand and brilliant marketing. But an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business making, selling and for shoppers, buying. Simple for millions of businesses, that business is Shopify. Nobody does selling better than Shopify, home of the number one checkout on the planet. And the not so secret secret with shop pay that boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning way less carts going abandoned and way more sales going. So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell whenever your customers are scrolling or strolling on the web, in your store, in their feed and everywhere in between. Upgrade your business and get the same checkout experience as business powerhouses like Aloe, Allbirds and Skims. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com Odyssey podcast all lowercase go to shopify.com Odyssey podcast to upgrade your selling today. Shopify.com Odyssey podcast we got Joey Wright.

[Adam]

In the in the crowd. He says after losing in tragic fashion to Jamie. What? Rude. What?

[Dave]

He's not playing Jamie right now?

[Evan]

No.

[Dave]

Oh, okay, good.

[Adam]

Yeah. No, no, no. He lost in tragic fashion to Jamie last year. He has a 57 point lead with Goff and Jameson Williams on his way. Oh, he's Gonna win the Flex.

[Evan]

That's awesome.

[Heath]

That's great.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Dave]

I'm not. Good luck. I hope you pull it off.

[Evan]

You don't think I will? I will gladly watch you accept the trophy for 2024, and then I will take it back from you in 2025.

[Adam]

Oh, he's facing Goff and JMA. Oh, I'm sorry.

[Heath]

Right. But he's got a 57 point.

[Dave]

Like, that's good luck.

[Adam]

You're. Yeah, I. You know, I. I didn't realize that I might win the Flex. Best ball. The 14 team best.

[Evan]

Nice.

[Adam]

I'm in first place going into the week and I'm having a horrible week and I need golf. I need. Sorry, Joey. I need golf to go crazy.

[Heath]

I need jmo. So the things that Adam and I need work against poor Joey here. Point lead. He can give up some numbers.

[Evan]

Yeah.

[Adam]

Yeah. I hope it's four point for passing touchdown. For your sake. News and notes. Kenny Picket left in the third quarter with the ribs injury. They have nothing to play for next week against the Giants.

[Evan]

James, the question is first off, are they going to let Barkley get the record? And if they're going to let Barkley get the record, you got to play the offensive line.

[Adam]

Okay. But they have nothing to play for in the standings.

[Evan]

I. I guess with Minnesota winning. Right. Minnesota would have lost. They still had the chance. The ones.

[Adam]

Okay, so James Connor left in the first quarter. If I'm wrong, please correct me. I don't think the Eagles have anything to play for.

[Evan]

But I think in Minnesota winning, they do not.

[Adam]

Okay. Sorry.

[Heath]

Anywho, that means they're the two.

[Adam]

James Connor left in the first quarter. Kendrick Miller left with a concussion. Taj Spears left with a concussion. Amir Abdullah left with the foot injury. Devon Hn, I don't think he was hurt. I just think they were not using him. They were just kind of running in between the.

[Heath]

Played well into the fourth quarter. But not his normal workload. No.

[Evan]

Yeah.

[Adam]

And they were kind of like. I don't want to say they benched him. I think they strategically, they were going with their bigger guys to run out the clock. Aaron Jones, on the other hand, he said he got stepped on. He was on the sidelines late in the fourth quarter and. Huge game next week. Minnesota at Detroit to decide the NFC North. Jerome Ford left with an ankle injury, but then he came back. But he.

[Heath]

He might, we'll see for one snap in the third quarter and that's it.

[Adam]

He left. After that.

[Heath]

He was done. After that, it was deontay. Foreman and Pierre Strong.

[Adam]

And Pierre Strong got hurt as well. So it could be Deontay Foreman at the Ravens next week. Just. Okay, let's see Aaron Jones. To get an update here on Aaron Jones. Seems like he's okay, but I will find out. No, I didn't say Chase Brown. Sorry about that. I knew I missed something from Saturday. Chase Brown left with an injury as well and could be Khalil.

[Evan]

They're high ankle sprain right now, so we'll see what happens next week.

[Adam]

Yeah, Khalil Herbert could be the guy for you next week against the Steelers. Okay. All right, let's get to the top five at each position. Before we do that, if you have a minute, if you wouldn't mind voting for us, that'd be awesome. I don't know how much longer you'll be listening to this show with week 18 and the holidays approaching, but if you have some time, go to sportspodcastgroup.com, click vote now. Select the fantasy betting and gaming category. Scroll down and select Fantasy Football today. We won this last year. We want to win it again. So it's sportspodcastgroup.com vote for fantasy football today in the best fantasy betting and gaming category. We'd really appreciate it if you're curious about some almost touchdowns. It was almost really a huge day for Amir Abdullah. He had a touchdown catch overturned. Then he came up short again later in the game. So he just had a great game. Bucky Irving didn't score a touchdown. He still scored 23 points, but he had an almost touchdown.

[Evan]

I'm in. I'm in a back and forth game right now where I'm playing against Mike Evans and McMillan. That play killed me. I. Bucky Irving killed me.

[Adam]

Which play?

[Heath]

Oh, the Evans.

[Adam]

Oh, yeah, that's.

[Evan]

Bucky steps out of bounds and then Evans gets a touchdown right away.

[Adam]

That's tough. That's tough. Devonte Smith came up a half yard short of a touchdown.

[Evan]

We made that trade, by the way. Thank you.

[Adam]

Which trade? Oh, the Dynasty trade.

[Evan]

Yeah, Bigsby and Wanda for Buggy. Thank you.

[Adam]

For. You proposed it to me and you didn't like it. You thought you lost it for a while.

[Evan]

Well, that was when Bigsby was on fire.

[Adam]

Yeah. So it's. It haunts me that I had Buggy Irving and I don't have him anymore. Jordan Addison nearly had a 39 yard touchdown catch. Top five players at each position. And we really need to praise Baker Mayfield. I have to look and see what his roster percentage was in week one because he might be Unless I'm. Am I missing someone obvious? Is Baker Mayfield the best waiver wire pickup of the year is Baker? Assuming he was a waiver wire guy, I'll go look at it.

[Dave]

I'm pretty confident he's a waiver wire guy. Yeah, I think he is.

[Adam]

Especially when you consider what he did in the fantasy playoffs. I mean, 44 points today, 26.3 last week, 36 points at the Chargers. Amazing year for Baker Mayfield. Who's buying him for 20, 25?

[Evan]

Me.

[Heath]

Yeah, me too. Especially if they don't move on from Evans. Godwin comes back and is okay. McMillan steps up. Maybe they find a improvement at tight end. They had a great running game. This, this thing is going to keep working in Tampa.

[Evan]

You got the slam dunks at quarterback are Allen, Lamar Daniels, Herz Burrow, and then there's a group that Baker belongs in right after that.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Evan]

All right.

[Adam]

Other top five quarterbacks this week, Joe Burrow, Drew Locke, of course.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Adam]

Lamar Jackson.

[Evan]

Are you mad? Are you happy?

[Adam]

I'm not. I'm not happy. First of all, there's nothing to be happy about. I'm not mad necessarily because I've, I've talked about this before. Look, they, they won a game late last year. They fell to the. What do they have, the fifth pick? Six. What did they have this year? Fifth, sixth. So, yeah, a six pick.

[Dave]

So they couldn't. Yeah. You're not mad that you didn't get any of the quarterbacks in last year?

[Adam]

I'm happy. I'm happy with.

[Dave]

They wouldn't have helped.

[Adam]

I don't think they could have had this. The number two pick. I think they could have had, if I can remember correctly. But I'm happy with neighbors. Look, I'm happy with neighbors. They, they missed out on Chase Young. They got Andrew Thomas. That worked out, you know, so you shouldn't go crazy about this stuff. It's something I don't think, like never, never have Cam Ward and Chadur Sanders been talked about as these generational franchise altering quarterback. So I think it's whatever it is what it is, but I'm not happy about it. There's no reason to be happy. Stupid win.

[Evan]

I want. I wonder if the, the Vikings would be willing to shop J.J. mcCarthy and pay Darnold.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Heath]

How old is Sam?

[Evan]

27.

[Heath]

Really?

[Adam]

It seems like yes.

[Dave]

I just, I don't think it makes any, like, unless. And I guess maybe they just don't feel like they've gotten to see enough of McArthur. But they believed in him enough to do what they did in the draft.

[Evan]

But they didn't know that Darnold would do this.

[Dave]

They didn't, but you got a three year window of paying a guy five to $10 million a year or whatever he's making, or you pay Sam Darnold $30 million a year.

[Evan]

But if you believe in Darnold and doing what he just did, you know, okay, do you give that up if.

[Heath]

You'Re Kevin O'Connell, but is it because of Darnold that he's doing it or is it because of O'Connell who got great? Well, last year was Kirk Cousins that put up big numbers until he got hurt. So I think O'Connell is actually the driver of this. And that would make me encouraged for McCarthy, provided that he's healthy and, you know, has the full off season and all that stuff. And he's going to have that great receiving core to throw to and they'll.

[Dave]

Have Daniel Jones around. So, like they did this with Sam Darnold.

[Adam]

I think I, I think if you listen to the broadcast, Tom Brady does not seem very impressed with Sam Darnold. He just keeps calling him out for every bad throw he's making.

[Dave]

He had a lot of bad throws today.

[Adam]

Yeah. And he had a really good game one points.

[Evan]

You just, you just wonder like if you can get a first round pick for McCarthy now. Do you take it?

[Adam]

Yeah, it's tempting. Okay, let's go to the top five running backs for week 17. I top my head. Like, I can't figure out who's the top. Taylor. All right. Jonathan Taylor. I don't know if that's duh because.

[Heath]

He didn't have like a Jonathan Taylor as a top five running back is duh.

[Adam]

No, no, I mean as number one.

[Heath]

Oh, no.

[Adam]

I didn't realize he'd be number one. He's number one.

[Heath]

He would be up there. Bucky's up there. Saquon, even though he didn't score, is probably up there.

[Adam]

So it's Taylor 1 with 27 points, Derrick Henry 2, 23. Bucky Irving is 3 with 22 fantasy points in PPR. Saquon Barkley 4 and Amir Abdullah 5.

[Heath]

Just like we all thought when the season started.

[Adam]

Who, who are you buying into more for next year? Baker Mayfield or Bucky Irving?

[Evan]

Baker is certainly safer. Rashad White's still going to be there, most likely, unless they cut him, which I don't think is going to happen, or trade him. He's got one more year left on his deal. So there's still the Potential of him sharing and losing third down work. But Baker, I mean, look, as long as Mike Evans doesn't completely fall off, if they let Godwin walk, then Baker's still going to have a really big year.

[Heath]

Bucky's a top 40 fantasy pick. Baker's maybe a top 100 fantasy pick.

[Adam]

Oh, I think he'll be like a top 70 pick. Baker Mayfield.

[Heath]

Okay, I. I mean, I, I do think that there will be people that won't buy into him again.

[Evan]

Oh, here. I started. I started. Like I said, grouping them, the quarterbacks. You tell me where, where Baker goes. So again, to me, there's five slam dunks. Lamar Allen, Jane Daniels, Jalen hurts, Joe Burrow. Then as of now, this is the next four guys I have. Mahomes, Darnold, golf and Baker. Assuming Darnold's back in.

[Heath]

Baker does belong in that group for sure.

[Evan]

And then after that, it's the. The huge group of Kyler Richardson, Purdy Tua, Nicks Love, Stafford, Dak Herbert. Like, I think he's better than that group.

[Adam]

I've been thinking so much about 20, 25, and I, like, I don't even think Drake May is going to be a top. I don't even know where he's gonna be. I'DRAFT a lot of Drake May, I think.

[Heath]

Sure, that's a smart call.

[Evan]

When he gets Travis receiver.

[Adam]

Yeah, when he gets Travis Hunter, he'll. He'll be a top 12 guy. All right. All right. Moving on. Moving on. Let's see our top wide receivers in week 17. It's T. Higgins, Malik neighbors Devonte Smith, Marvin Mims and lad McConkey with a tie with Mike Evans. Higgins neighbors Devonte Smith, Marvin MIMS, lad McConkey and Mike Evans. Any thoughts, guys?

[Heath]

I checked the route rate from Marvin Mims because he brought up just how he's been playing more. He still doesn't have a game this year with a 50 route rate. Why? Why, why would they do that? Do they really value Devon Vale? And Troy Franklin is better contributors over the course of a game than Mims. At this point, I don't know what Mims has to do to show this coaching set. They should be out there at least 60% of the snaps.

[Evan]

It's two years now of Sean Payton, though, just for whatever reason, not wanting to use him more. So there's got to be something.

[Adam]

Well, look at the way he uses his running backs.

[Heath]

I mean, well, that's because those guys aren't great.

[Adam]

Okay?

[Evan]

And he really hates Javante Williams.

[Adam]

I wanted to bring up that. Now that Oklahoma and Texas A and M are in the sec, five of these six wide receivers are SEC wide receivers. How about that? And T. Higgins representing the ACC. Good for you, T. Higgins. Top five tight ends. Trey McBride. Hey, touchdown Trey McBride. 30 fantasy points. Travis Kelsey. Look at you, Travis Kelsey. You're going to give us a lot to think about going into next year. Are you going to have a huge. You could average 85 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs, in the super bowl run.

[Heath]

Who says he's coming back next year?

[Adam]

We'll see. Tyler Conklin with the touchdown and 821 fantasy points. Mike Gasicki. And then we had Brock Bowers and Mark Andrews tied at 14. So McBride at 30, Kelsey at 22 points, Conklin 21, Kasiki 18. Bowers and Andrews 14.

[Dave]

We're gonna have a real race for tight end one in week 18.

[Evan]

I think is, is Bowers a first round pick? Thanks, sir.

[Heath]

I don't think so. I, and like I, I bet we're looking McBride and Bowers. I bet they're going to be the top two tight ends off the board.

[Evan]

Oh, without a doubt.

[Heath]

And everyone's gonna say, oh well just take the second guy, don't take the first guy, get the second guy. They're I bet, I bet they're both going to be second round picks and I bet they'll both be like within four spots of each other in adp.

[Dave]

I think it really depends on who the Raiders quarterback is. If they go get a good quarterback, then I could see Bowers being a first round pick. If they're just stuck on the wheel of mediocrity, then I think he's probably around 2 pick with McBride.

[Adam]

Why is he obviously ahead of McBride? I mean McBride.

[Dave]

I'm not saying he is. I just think if he gets, if he, if we can say they were the same guy last year when Bowers was a rookie and played with three mediocre quarterbacks and now he's got a quarterback upgrade, then he's definitely going to be ahead of McBride. If it's the same situation for Bowers, then I think it's debatable between the two of them.

[Adam]

And you know what?

[Heath]

I keep thinking one can become a touchdown machine because we, we're going to love them both for the volume that they get.

[Adam]

I would say it's hard to be a touchdown machine with Kyler that hasn't really been.

[Heath]

Yeah, right.

[Dave]

Or with a, with Minshew or O'Connell.

[Heath]

Or Ritter or I think there's a better chance for him, if it's a mediocre quarterback to be that number one guy in the red zone and and to have more touchdowns than Trey McBride, who's now shown us that he has a tough time consistently getting touchdown.

[Adam]

All right, all right, let's take a break and recap all the games when we come back on Fantasy Football today.

[Zach]

Hey everyone, this is Jimmy Conrad, your favorite former U.S. men's National Team player and the host of the call it what you want podcast. And I'm here to tell you that Viori is a versatile clothing brand that speaks my language. It's inspired from the coastal California lifestyle, Just like me. Its products stand the test of time. Just like me. And also just like me. It endeavors to inspire others to live vibrant, healthy lives. Fiori gear is designed to look great in everyday life while also being perfect for any workout activity. I'm currently rocking the men's Sunday Performance Jogger. And don't let the name deceive you. You can wear these babies any day of the week and in any situation. I'm talking going to the office, running errands, the gym, whatever your heart desires. Because Vuori is an investment in your happiness. For our listeners, they are offering 20% off your first purchase. So get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the [e-mail] sports that's V U-O-R-I.com sports not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on any US orders over $75 and free returns. Again, go to viori.com sports and discover the versatility of Vuori clothing when it comes to towing.

[Kenny]

Seeing is believing. That's why Chevy Truck's advanced camera technology offers up to 8 available cameras for 14 unique views so you can focus on the view that really matters. Chevrolet Together, let's drive Learn Learn more about chevy [e-mail] safety or driver assistance features are no substitute for the driver's responsibility to operate the vehicle in a safe manner. Read the vehicle owner's manual for important feature limitations and information.

[Jack]

This episode is brought to you by NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. Catch every moment of your team's playoff push with NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. You'll get amazing features like multi and Right now, it's only $49 for the rest of the NFL regular season, so give yourself the ultimate gift this holiday season. Get NFL Sunday Ticket for $49. Sign up now at YouTube.com SundayTicket Device and Content restrictions apply Local and national games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday Ticket for out of market games excludes digital only games.

[Adam]

We'll start with the Saturday.

[Evan]

I really think Adam says that to his children every time.

[Adam]

I had to have a very difficult Talk with my 4 year old today because she was sitting at the table while the games are on, going, let's go Giants. Let's go Giants. And I had to explain to her, no, we don't root for them anymore. You know, it was like, she's growing up so fast.

[Dave]

Who's. Who's winning the FFT Open?

[Adam]

I. I can take a look.

[Evan]

I can try to take a look Monday. Don't look now.

[Adam]

Why? Yeah, I'll send out an update on Monday to everybody.

[Evan]

I got. I got a. I got a text from somebody. One of our analyst leagues. Happy that they won. I was like, I. I wasn't gonna look until Monday.

[Adam]

See for what? For the leaks.

[Evan]

Yeah.

[Adam]

Yeah. I tried not to look, but I. I couldn't help it.

[Evan]

I'm not in the final. I just, you know.

[Adam]

Oh, the FFT Open, you mean?

[Evan]

No, another league. I was like, I. Like somebody was like, I'm so thrilled I finally won this league. I was like, oh, cool.

[Adam]

I gotta remember to win the leagues that have a bigger prize money than the magazine league. I mean, I don't even know what should I even do with that?

[Evan]

Are you winning?

[Dave]

Pay the rest of your league.

[Adam]

Yeah, right. Just keep it, Jamie. I'm sure I owe you that much money.

[Dave]

I'm gonna cover all the other leagues.

[Evan]

I mean, again, you can start the movement spearheaded. Tye spearheaded the. The movement to start for more money.

[Adam]

All right. The Chargers beat the Patriots 40 to 7.

[Evan]

No, actually, I think the. The people that complain the most are no longer in the league. So you can. We could do more next year.

[Adam]

I want one of you to. One of you to be a winner, one of you to be a loser, and one of you to be a surprise. Who wants to be what?

[Dave]

I'll be the loser.

[Adam]

He's the loser. Who wants to be a winner today?

[Evan]

I'll be the surprise.

[Adam]

Dave, you're the big winner. I'm the winner for every game we talk about. I want a winner from Dave, a loser from Heath, and a surprise from Jamie.

[Dave]

This is going to be fantastic.

[Adam]

Here we go. And we're going to try to do this in about 20 minutes. Let's go. Chargers 40, Patriots 7. Dave, who's our winner?

[Heath]

J.K. dobbins is a winner. Showed us that, especially in the second half of this Game. He started to play better, get back into the swing of things, and not only is he going to be able to provide the Chargers with a rushing presence through the playoffs, hopefully he stays healthy, has a full off season, and he's the lead running back for the Chargers next year. I was excited. I know that the game started slowly for him, but he did come around the second half. He had the touchdown. Fourth quarter, like, early fourth quarter. But Chargers desperately need him to make this thing go. They're going to have a tougher time beating teams without him.

[Dave]

Hunter Henry is a loser. Zero points in the championship. Zero. And he still gets to be on Adam's magazine league championship team because Baker Mayfield and t. Higgins scored 200 points.

[Adam]

Yeah, yeah. Three zeros on that team. JB, what was the big surprise from this game?

[Evan]

Gerard Mayo saying that Ramon Dre Stevenson would not start, then starting Ramon Dre Stevenson, then not giving Ramon Dre Stevenson any more carries the rest of the game.

[Adam]

That was so crazy. Oh, man, that was awful.

[Heath]

Like, he forgot to bench him. And so he made up for it by benching him for three quarters.

[Adam]

Oh, yeah, I was supposed to bench you. That's right.

[Heath]

Oh, I forgot how much that guy sucked.

[Adam]

Denver and the. And the Bengals, what a fun game this was.

[Heath]

Wow.

[Adam]

30 to 24, Bengals win in overtime, keep their playoff hopes alive. A Dave, big winner from this game.

[Heath]

Well, I don't know who's playing in week 18, but Khalil Herbert might be a big winner. If Chase Brown has this ankle injury that just sidelines him, they're not going to have a choice but to go with Khalil Herbert. And that would be interesting for Cincinnati to give a guy with fresh legs the opportunity to play big. Otherwise, you can make the case for Gasecki, you can make the case for Marvin Mims. Dealer's choice. But those guys were winners, too.

[Dave]

Javante Williams, 0 carries, 0 yards in the fantasy championship.

[Adam]

Not on my magazine league team.

[Heath]

Did you know that he led the Broncos and snaps?

[Dave]

Yeah, he was. I. Yeah. And he did okay in my snap league.

[Heath]

Jamie, 37 of the snaps.

[Adam]

Oh, the game's on. I totally forgot about the game. Jesus. Jamie was the biggest surprise.

[Dave]

Big, big game.

[Evan]

Zach Taylor not understanding clock management and almost ruining this game and allowing the Bengals to not even have a chance in week 18 to make the playoffs.

[Heath]

That's a. Well, so do you think he told Chase Brown to slide?

[Evan]

Yeah.

[Heath]

And then what? The explanation after the game was they decided to score because, like, like the timeout logic was all different. Now, because there was an injury timeout, so no one lost a timeout.

[Adam]

Right? Right. Okay.

[Heath]

Take a knee for one play. Kill 40 seconds of the clock at least.

[Dave]

Don't agree. I think once that once Chase Brown was hurt, they had this. And if you take a knee, you might not score on the next play. And then you're kicking a field goal and giving them the ball with 45 seconds left. You know they only need three to win.

[Heath]

All right, Touchdown. Which they did do.

[Adam]

Big surprise. You could have gone with Mims or Gasicky. We talked about Mims. I don't think we're gonna make much.

[Evan]

We talked about them already.

[Adam]

Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. All right. Rams and Cardinals. Dave. Rams win 13, nine. Who's our big winner here?

[Heath]

It's McBride. Ah, screw that. It's Marvin Harrison. 10 targets, six catches, 96 yards. Definitely look better than he had in the past few weeks. I should have known what his adot was before I started yapping, so I'll look it up. But he. For those managers that were desperate enough to start him, he came through with.

[Dave]

15.6. Cooper cup, three targets, three games in a row. I cannot remember a player who was great during the fantasy football regular season. And as soon as it got to crunch time, turned into such a pumpkin as you. Cooper cup, what a disaster.

[Adam]

Yeah, he's not ending the season on a high note. And Jamie, biggest surprise of the Rams Cardinals game.

[Evan]

Biggest surprise of the Rams Cardinals game. That's not Cooper cup sucking. KYLER Murray had 300 yards passing, so good for him. The interceptions were not great, but did give you 20 fantasy points, so nice little surprise there if you still start a Kyler Murray.

[Heath]

MHJ's ADOT was 15.6 yards. Adam.

[Adam]

Oh, that's. That's pretty high. Yeah. So Kyler, I mean, what a swing with that last interception, throws it in the end zone to Trey McBride. If that's a catch, he scores. 20. Kyler has a 25 fantasy point game. It's an interception. He has a 17 point game. We'll go to the Sunday games. We're going to start with Carolina and Tampa Bay. Dave, the biggest winner from this game. 48, 14 Tampa Bay. Go ahead.

[Heath]

I mean, Baker Mayfield probably deserves to be the biggest winner just because of the monster game that he put out there. He was incomplete on five passes, so he had as many incompletions as he had touchdowns against the Carolina defense. That's just. It's been done since week one. But you know, we expected them to suck, but holy crap, yeah. Baker Mayfield. Biggest winner.

[Dave]

Rashad White has been completely and totally and utterly supplanted by Bucky Irving. Just seven touches in this game for 34 yards. He will not be drafted in the first eight rounds of fantasy football drafts next year.

[Adam]

Biggest surprise, Jamie.

[Evan]

Adam Thielen getting the job done again. You know, five catches, 110 yards, two touchdowns. Another 31 year old receiver. Just like I said at the beginning of season, they're going to deliver and deliver and deliver. It was just back and forth between Thielen and Evans, Evans and Thielen. These old guys, never count them out.

[Heath]

Except for Devonte Adams and I will.

[Adam]

I'll just say Bryce Young as a surprise. Just turning his season around and giving the Panthers something to think about for next year. How about Dallas?

[Evan]

He's their guy.

[Adam]

He's not that good. You could in theory, like move on, but Dallas and Philadelphia. Philadelphia 41, Dallas 7. He, Dave, biggest winner.

[Heath]

Did the Cowboys find their running back for next year with Rico Dowdle? This was a tough matchup for him and I know that he also got off to a slow start. I'm curious how many of his yards came in the fourth quarter, but I thought that Rico Dowdle, over the last month of the season, he had six carries, 31 yards in the fourth quarter, so. Yes, but he's looked pretty good. I'm not saying that he's a great talent or anything like that, but if they had to go into next year with him as one of their starters, I think they'd be okay.

[Dave]

I just assume they're going to draft Ashton Genti.

[Evan]

Yeah, everybody I think is.

[Heath]

Yeah, we thought that last year they. They didn't.

[Dave]

Jake Ferguson? No. CD Lamb. Huge opportunity. Sees 5 out of 29, 5 targets on 29 pass attempts for the Cowboys, catches 3 of them for 18 yards and loses a fumble for 2.8 PPR. Fantasy points.

[Adam]

Pretty bad, Jamie. It's the biggest surprise in this game.

[Evan]

Devonte Smith with just a monster game, should have had three touchdowns, six for 120 and two just, you know, the best receiver in this game. And AJ Brown almost had a ridiculous catch. My gosh. For a touchdown.

[Dave]

This is gonna be the greatest revenge game ever.

[Adam]

Spell revenge. Z A C C H E A U S or something like that.

[Heath]

I think that's it.

[Adam]

All right, next game is the Giants game. The Giants win 4533. Let's skip this.

[Evan]

I told you, Zacchaeus. Told you.

[Adam]

Yeah, there you go. All right, Dave, who's the big winner in this game?

[Heath]

Imagine what the Colts passing offense could be with Anthony Richardson being more accurate. Alec Pierce, nine targets, six catches, 122 yards, one touchdown. Michael Pittman, 10 targets, nine catches, 109 yards and a touchdown. Ignore the fact that a bunch of the targets of both of these guys were like Joe Flacco yolo balls that they just camped out under to and like, you know, just outmaneuvered a DB to make the catch. And Anthony Richardson can do that much at least. But to me, this showed that if they had a competent quarterback in Indianapolis, they'd be able to have one of the better offenses in the league. They have a good offensive line, Jonathan Taylor's a stud. And these two receivers are definitely perimeter guys who can win contested catches and maybe even make some plays after the catch.

[Dave]

Josh Falls downs, 2025 wide receiver rankings and dynasty rankings. Just four targets. Joe Flacco was supposed to come back and save him. 4 targets on 38 attempts. Outperformed by Pierce, outperformed by Pittman, outperformed by Kylan Granson, who can't even catch.

[Adam]

Kylie Granson made a huge catch for them. It didn't end up ring, but yeah.

[Dave]

He'S had a terrible year.

[Adam]

I was surprised. Josh downs had averaged 16.7 PPR fantasy points per game with Joe Flacco and he got four targets. Alec Pierce with the nine targets, six catches, 122 yards and a touchdown surprised me. All right, Jamie, that those or surprises? Jamie, what else surprised you in this game?

[Evan]

You. You bleeping, bleeping, bleeping Colts defense. What the bleeping, bleeping, bleep did you do to all of us? 45 points to the Giants. 45 points to the Giants. Yeah, go bleep yourselves.

[Adam]

Oh, my goodness. Jeez. Giants.

[Dave]

They earned it.

[Adam]

Giants scored the most points in the game since 2000.

[Heath]

Any words for Gus Bradley?

[Evan]

Love you, Gus.

[Adam]

Okay, next game is the Raiders. And a 2510 win for the Raiders over the Saints.

[Dave]

Nobody saw this one. Adam, we're gonna have to. We're gonna have to skip this one. No, nobody watched this one.

[Adam]

You just look at the box for eight. O'Connell scored 21 points. Dave, who's a big winner in this game?

[Heath]

Who the hell am I going to call a winner from this game? Anybody who didn't watch it, probably. O'Connell had a nice stat line. 242, 2 and zip. He did have a touchdown to Abdullah. Called back. They. They ruled him down right before he crossed the goal line. That was early.

[Adam]

Is he your winner or are you just buying time?

[Heath]

I'm buying time.

[Adam]

How about Jacoby Myers? 5 catches, 61 yards in a touchdown.

[Heath]

Okay, great. Super. He's a winner.

[Adam]

Who's a loser? Heath?

[Dave]

Alexander Madison. Like one team thought Ty Chandler is better at playing running back than you. Another team thinks the corpse Amir Abdullah is better at playing football than you. You probably should not be starting running back for anybody ever again.

[Adam]

Jamie, biggest surprise in this Raiders Saints.

[Evan]

Game that we talked about it.

[Dave]

Yeah. That was literally his biggest surprise earlier in the show came from this game.

[Adam]

Yeah. Now the biggest surprise was what Jamie already talked about. Amir Abdullah just usurping Alexander Madison. All right, and then we have Tennessee, Jacksonville, Tennessee and the Jaguars 20 to 13. Jacksonville gets their fourth win of the year. Dave, who's the biggest winner here?

[Heath]

We might want to get used to the idea of Brian Thomas Jr. As a first round pick. Just the way that he is closing his rookie season with Mac Jones as his quarterback is really impressive. Monster games week in and week out. And if, if we cared less about quarterbacks and we gave the rookie of the year award to players that really did like overcome some terrible circumstances, I think Brian Thomas Jr. Would be very much toward the top of the list. And this is a guy who's going to be an absolute fantasy stud for years.

[Dave]

If you thought it was strange that Brinton saw 11 targets in his first game without Evan Ingram, they fixed that the next two games. I think there was some talk from myself and others about the fact that, you know, Evan Ingram could be let go next year and maybe Britain Strange gets to be a starting tight end for the Jags and maybe we're interested in him in fantasy and not so much.

[Adam]

Yeah, no catches on one target today. Jamie, biggest surprise in this Jaguars Titans.

[Evan]

Game that we talked about this game.

[Adam]

No, come on, we gotta talk about something.

[Evan]

That old conqueror was not better with seven targets.

[Heath]

Oh, man.

[Adam]

Dave, didn't you say they missed him on a big play?

[Heath]

Mason Rudolph overthrew him on a deep pass down the left sideline where if they, if their timing was a little bit better, he would have scored long touchdown.

[Adam]

Okay. Yeah, I'm disappointed. You know, I told everybody in the world to start tyjay Spears. We all, we all did. I was super high on him. He was great. He, I, he was going to have a probably a 16 plus point game if he didn't get hurt.

[Heath]

He was probably going to score five times in the fourth quarter.

[Adam]

Yeah, it just, you know, it was good to see him because, you know, Heath had mentioned he really had not been having a good year. It was true. He just had such a good matchup. But it was good to see Tajie Spears play well. All right, one more game from Tony.

[Evan]

Bar is going to come back in week 18 and no ties. A Spears against the Texans team that's probably going to be sitting guys and he's going to get all of his incentives which is going to be a two touchdown game and over 100 plus yards and really make a lot of people mad. That had Tony Paul.

[Adam]

All right, the Bills and the Jets. Bills 40, Jets 14. Dave, your biggest winner from this game.

[Heath]

Is it a cop out to just give it to Josh Allen? Because I really don't want to give it to anybody else in this Bill's offense. Keon Coleman caught a touchdown. It was on a crazy throw from Josh Allen. Cross his body into the end zone. Coleman had to leap for it. Kind of the thing that we expected Keon Coleman to do is a nice play. Mari Cooper's touchdown, 30 yards. Awesome play. He was shaken up after it. Go back and find that highlight. It's worth it. But I don't know if, if Cooper or Coleman are going to be monster breakout candidates or Coleman anyway a monster breakout candidate last year or this year. What the hell am I saying? Doesn't even matter. Buffalo crushed the Jets. The jets suck.

[Dave]

If you go into our app, which is. I am checking the app all throughout the day like the, the actual CBS sports app that shows the box scores for the games and in the far right column it gives you the fantasy points the players scored. And if you go to Aaron Rodgers, it's just a dash. Like he actually didn't play in the game because he didn't score any fantasy points because he had threw two interceptions and looked absolutely awful, made some bad decisions, took some bad sacks and I don't really think that anybody should make him their starting quarterback for next season.

[Adam]

I think Breece hall is going to be a really interesting call next season. He just hasn't looked like the same player since his rookie year and did.

[Heath]

Have a nice run today though. 17 yards.

[Adam]

That was nice. He just, he hasn't been nearly as good and this was a total dud from him. And I will give Aaron Rodgers this in decimal scoring, he scored like less than a point. I think so. But more than zero, I think. All right, so the late games, Green Bay, no surprise.

[Evan]

Wow. Okay.

[Adam]

Oh, I'm sorry, Jamie. What was the surprise that we talked About.

[Evan]

Okay.

[Adam]

Green Bay at Minnesota. You know, honestly, one of the surprises was that Josh Allen only scored 26 fantasy points. Right. He wasn't even that good.

[Evan]

I do want to give the Bills credit because they the James Cook touchdown, they could have padded Josh Allen stats a little bit and Cook got down to the one. If you saw the play, you know, ran to the right side, dove for the pylon, missed it and could have easily just had another touch push touchdown for Josh Allen just to give him another rushing score. Didn't need to do that. Yeah. So kudos to them for letting James Cook at that touchdown.

[Adam]

All right, Sam Darnold in the Minnesota Vikings with a 27, 25 win. Darnold with 31 points, Jordan Love with 15, and Justin Jefferson with a sort of quiet eight catches for 92 yards. Jalen Naylor, a big game. Jordan Addison, a big game. TJ Hawkins in a pretty good game. Dave, who's the big winner here?

[Heath]

The big winner is Darnold. 377 yards, three touchdowns, one pick, and the fact that he put up those numbers without connecting with Jefferson for a touch, and I'm not even sure if he had an end zone target in the game, but also only 92 yards, man, that's impressive. Like Darnold really is showing that total command of the Vikings offense. Great receivers to work off of first two quarters of the game. I think at halftime Jefferson might have only had like two catches, three catches. Packers were taking away Jefferson and Darnold was just doing a good job of finding other guys to get the ball to. So we're gonna have an interesting question on where to draft that guy if he stays in Minnesota this year. You know, is he a late pick? I. You'd love to take him with a late pick. That's an easy call. I don't know, Arnold, which tier you're gonna put him in?

[Evan]

Yeah, Jamie, I. I just told you, he's in the same tier with Baker for me right now.

[Heath]

Okay, so right now he is in.

[Evan]

That second quarterback if he stays in Minnesota.

[Heath]

Okay. No fear about any regression from Darnold.

[Evan]

Not if He's. Look, Kevin O'Connell's on a one year deal. I don't think that's going to happen though. There's some talk about what a team trade for him. I doubt Minnesota would let him go.

[Heath]

Right.

[Evan]

If O'Connell is back and Jefferson is healthy and Addison is healthy and Hawkinson is healthy and everything is the same status quo, which hopefully Daras all back. Let's not forget that Then yes, I will trust Sam Donna's number one quarterback. I will take a backup, but I will definitely draft Sam Darnold as number one quarterback. He has shown me enough in this offense that. Can't believe I'm saying it, but he deserves the. The. The. The chance to have an opportunity to do what he did. Now he goes someplace else. No chance.

[Heath]

I am loving that second tier of quarterbacks already.

[Dave]

Christian Watson was out. Great game script for wide receivers. Great matchup for wide receivers. Jaden Reed had one catch for six yards on four targets. Fantastic first half of the season. Complete letdown except for one week when he scored two touchdowns in the second half.

[Adam]

Yeah, yeah. Very disappointing. Biggest surprise in this game, Jamie.

[Evan]

Biggest surprise. No targets for Josh Jacobs.

[Adam]

I'd say 30 pass attempts for love in a game where they were losing by 17 points in the second. In the fourth. Fourth quarter is really disappointing. And then obviously two touchdowns. They scored both rushing touchdowns, including an Emmanuel Wilson rushing touchdown. Everything stunk and they didn't have the ball. They had the ball for 24 minutes and 30 seconds. So that contributes. Last game is the Dolphins and the Browns. Dolphins win at 20 to 3. They are still alive. They need a win and a Broncos loss to the backups for the Chiefs most likely to get in the playoffs and lose to Buffalo. I think they would get the 7 seed if they got into Dolphins. Is there any chance they get higher than.

[Evan]

Yes. Whoever gets in Denver, Cincy, Miami, or I guess the order would be Denver, Miami, Cincy would be the seventh seed.

[Adam]

I don't think anyone wants to see the Bengals, but.

[Evan]

No, no, but that would be awesome. Bengals. Buff. Bengals. Bills. Right now, I just.

[Adam]

They're not that good. But still you don't want.

[Dave]

They're not that good. Like, it'd be fun because there'd be a lot of points, I guess.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Dave]

But they're not that good.

[Adam]

You don't want to play the best. One of the best.

[Heath]

Go watch that then. Dolphins, Bills. Round three.

[Evan]

Broncos.

[Heath]

Bills.

[Evan]

Like, I mean, first off, can we. Can we. This is like one of the years where you want to see like the division winner not get roar, like kick the Texans out.

[Dave]

The Texans are really.

[Adam]

The Broncos to me would be a much tougher battle for the Bills than the. Than the Dolphins. The Bills will kill the Dolphins.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Evan]

Yeah.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Evan]

The Bills would kill the Broncos too.

[Adam]

I think, like, if we're gonna say that, that they don't want to see the Bengals, we got to give a little bit of credit to the team that took the Bengals to overtime in Cincinnati.

[Evan]

Like the last thing.

[Adam]

You're not that bad.

[Evan]

Look, we could. We could. We could easily say that the. The top two MVP candidates are who they are. If the Bengals were in contention right now. Joe Burrow's numbers are better than anybody's.

[Adam]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, I know.

[Evan]

So the last thing you want to see anybody is that guy.

[Adam]

Of course, I don't care what their defense looks like. Dave, who's the biggest winner for you in this game? You know, I honestly, because the game ended kind of late, I didn't even realize. Jerry Judy had 12 catches for 94 yards on 18 targets with this crazy stat line. But who's the biggest winner for you in this game?

[Heath]

Yeah, I mean, he got a ton of volume, but I don't want to give him the dub. It's Tyreek Hill who came through with his third 100 yard game of the season. Only his third 100 yard game of the season, but it came with Tyler Huntley. Expectations were low for Tyreek Hill. I had him crushed in my rankings, man. I did not feel good about Tyreek Hill being in my lineup. And you know what? I look silly. He had a great game. He had a good first half especially. And the 9 for 105. What you know, Tyreek isn't gone yet, everybody. He's still going to be a factor. Hopefully.

[Dave]

I'll go with hn.

[Heath]

I don't.

[Dave]

I don't think he was hurt because he. He did play some in the second half. He was in on the final drive, I think. So There was just a stretch in the third quarter, like the first half of the third quarter where he just didn't play. They. They had a snap where they played Moster, then they played Wilson, then they played Jalen Wright. And HM was just over on the sideline. And you mentioned it, Adam, like his targets haven't been there when Tyler Huntley has started and his rushing production just hasn't been that good this year.

[Adam]

Yeah, and what they were sort of saying on the broadcast was that they were trying to run out the clock up the middle physical style, and they were just going with most dirt and Wilson a little bit there instead of Devon. Hn most certain.

[Heath]

Wilson combined for almost as many snaps as HNH led the way, but it was with just 53% of the snaps. They used all four of their running backs in this game.

[Adam]

The Dolphins did biggest surprise.

[Evan]

Jamie, who was the fourth?

[Dave]

Jalen Wright and Jeff Wilson.

[Heath]

Yeah, Wilson played more than Wright did.

[Evan]

I don't see right with A touch.

[Heath]

No, he played. He just.

[Dave]

Oh, yeah.

[Adam]

Jamie biggest surprise is that Jalen Wright didn't have a touch.

[Evan]

No, it's Jerry Judy. I mean, look, that was. You know, we were basically saying you can't even trust Judy with. With dtr. And he. He got the assignment. You know, no David Najoku. I know Aiken still had a decent game, 6 for 49, but, you know, just Pepper Jerry, Judy. And Judy had a ball in his hands in the end zone. He had, you know, plenty of opportunities to make plays. He had a few drops. Understandably so. But anybody that's still stuck with him, you were rewarded and rewarded handsomely.

[Adam]

Yes, you were. Congratulations. And Dorian Thompson Robinson, career high 170 passing yards today.

[Evan]

Oh, did. Did you ever find out. I forget which. Which FFT open was. But somebody picked up Huntley. It was pretty good fantasy day.

[Adam]

He did. He. I don't know why he picked him up. Who did he have in that league?

[Dave]

He had Purdy. I think he probably should have just started Hunt.

[Adam]

Tyler Huntley. Yeah. Scored 26 points. Good seven. He led the Dolphins in rushing, seven carries, 52 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a touchdown to John.

[Evan]

And he may start next week if Tua's hip is a problem.

[Adam]

Yeah, folks, that's it for our show. Our recap. If you haven't won yet, get in the playoffs.

[Evan]

That's just crazy.

[Adam]

I just don't want that to happen. Broncos take care of business.

[Evan]

Whatever.

[Adam]

We. We'll talk to you. I mean, like, the Bengals are not getting in. That's not going to happen. So why?

[Dave]

Because the Chiefs are going to start Chris Aloa Dukon at quarterback this week to make sure they don't.

[Adam]

Yeah. Come on. Broncos are not losing.

[Evan]

They want. They want a division photo. Get in.

[Adam]

They don't care.

[Dave]

I mean, I don't think they really care.

[Adam]

They'd rather it be them than the Bron than the Bengals.

[Dave]

Whoever they let in has to beat the Bills right before they get a chance to play them.

[Heath]

So they almost blew it against the Bengals in week two.

[Dave]

They almost blew it against the Broncos.

[Heath]

Two weeks field goal against everybody. It's true.

[Adam]

No beyond the box score tomorrow. So we'll talk to you Tuesday with the ways of Wire. See you later. Paramount Podcasts.

[Kenny]

Water damage is no joke. Did you know that water damage makes up more than 25% of all home insurance claims? And the average claim costs over $13,000. Don't let a small leak turn into a big expense. Learn [e-mail] no joke. Pemco Mutual Insurance Co. Seattle, WA.