The Ringer Fantasy Football Show

Episode: Week 16 Recap: Lawrence’s Leap, Steelers LMAO, Seahawks Insanity, Clutch Caleb, Old Al Michaels, and the Holidays Are Coming
Date: December 22, 2025
Hosts: Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck

Overview

Week 16 of the NFL season brought wild swings and crucial moments for both real teams and fantasy managers. Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly, and Craig Horlbeck break down the fantasy semifinals, spotlighting quarterback drama, bizarre endings, controversial officiating, and a series of remarkable individual performances. The discussion covers everything from Trevor Lawrence’s emergence, the endlessly weird Seahawks win, Caleb Williams’ clutch gene, the Steelers’ unfinished saga, to the infamous Seahawks-Rams two-point conversion reversal. They also weave in their unique humor, holiday reflections, and plenty of righteous grievances for fantasy heartbreaks.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ravens-Patriots: Quarterback Chaos & Ravens Meltdown

• Ravens Lose in ‘Most Ravens Fashion’
  • Zay Flowers’ fumble inside the two-minute warning epitomized the Ravens’ season-long struggles.
    “That's the Raven season, maybe this era of the Ravens.” (Danny Heifetz, 01:32)
• Lamar Jackson’s Injury Woes
  • Lamar, sick with the flu, is knocked out on a harmless-looking hit, leaving fantasy managers devastated.
    “It didn't even look bad at the time. It looked like he just fell down. So classic.” (Craig Horlbeck, 03:01)
  • If you had Lamar, your fantasy team probably mirrored the Ravens' rollercoaster.
• Patriots’ Resilience & Drake May’s Emergence
  • Rookie Drake May’s performance draws praise:
    “The only thing I did notice is Drake May looks amazing. That's about all I could take away from this game.” (Craig Horlbeck, 03:39)
  • Patriots’ old-timer Stefon Diggs’ post-30 performance is lauded:
    “He has recovered from an ACL tear after 30 years old better than anybody I can remember.” (Danny Kelly, 07:59)

2. Trevor Lawrence & the Jaguars: Finally for Real?

• Lawrence’s Post-Bye Leap
  • Jags beat Denver (34–20), now 11-4 and potential #1 seed.
  • Lawrence is QB2 in fantasy since the bye, with 14 TDs, 0 turnovers since Week 8.
    “Today was the best game I think I've ever seen him play.” (Danny Kelly, 11:13)
  • The passing attack looks deep, even without injured Travis Hunter.
• Host Vibes: Buying In Again
  • Team and QB confidence feels different:
    “He has more confidence. He's more assertive. He's more decisive. He's got a little more swagger.” (Craig Horlbeck, 12:56)

3. AFC Power Rankings and Mistrust

• AFC playoff field is a mess—no team feels invulnerable.
• The guys sort through who they’d trust: Bills, Jags, Patriots, Broncos, Chargers, Steelers?
  “This is a wide, wide open field.” (Craig Horlbeck, 17:08)

4. Caleb Williams’ Coming of Age: Bears Beat Packers

• Bears’ Most Clutch Win
  • Chicago rallies in the final 90 seconds, then wins in OT on a 46-yard TD to DJ Moore.
  • Williams now has six “down-late” comeback wins, the most ever in a season.
    “The real winner this week is patience and not judging number one picks that are like, irrefutably talented.” (Danny Heifetz, 18:22)
  • Caleb’s poise likened to Aaron Rodgers:
    “It’s like the Bears beat the Packers with their own version of Aaron Rodgers.” (Danny Heifetz, 21:38)
• Context & Significance
  • Bears fans finally get their quarterback.
  • Marked improvement despite missing top receivers.

5. Seahawks vs Rams: The “Insanity” Game

• Comeback from 16 Down: Redemption for Sam Darnold
  • Seahawks win 38-37 in OT, taking the division lead after a near-impossible comeback.
• Two-Point Conversion Controversy
  • Wild reversal on a batted two-point play—ruled good after teams had lined up for the kickoff.
  • In-depth, heated debate between hosts about the “letter and spirit” of the rules.
    “It’s a stupid rule because when the whistle blows, you are obviously trained to stop playing.” (Danny Kelly, 37:40)
• Improbable Stats
  • Rams: 500+ yards, 0 turnovers—still lose.
• Special Teams Flip the Game
  • Rashid Shahid’s TD punt return changed momentum.
  • Rams’ missed field goal in OT sealed their fate.

6. Fantasy Playoff Heartbreaks: Airing of Grievances

• Famous Letdowns
  • Josh Allen’s worst fantasy game since his rookie year (6.9 pts), capped by a listener’s deep-dive email on Allen’s rare duds. (57:06)
  • Travis Kelce, Trey McBride, Drake London, Lamar Jackson all bust.
• Running Back Boom/Bust
  • Ashton Jeanty explodes for 31 pts vs Texans after tanking many teams last week.
    “He helped no one.” (Danny Kelly, 52:34)
  • Steelers’ Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren have breakout days.

7. Steelers-Lions Finish: Rules Lawyering, Tomlin’s Apology

• Game ends on crushing OPI after apparent Goff game-winner lateral
  • Five minutes of “refs huddling,” then—TD overturned, game over.
  • DK: “It was the right call…he pushed off.” (75:02)
• Tomlin’s Legacy & Fantasy Feels
  • Kelly apologizes to Tomlin for doubting him:
    “I'm sorry. I'm stupid. You're smart. I was wrong, you were right.” (Danny Kelly, 72:31)

8. Other Notable Games & Takeaways

• Panthers’ Re-Emergence

  • Bryce Young’s 12th game-winning drive, bizarre NFC South race.
    “I've given up and come back to the Panthers more times this year than Craig's given up and come back to the Steelers.” (Craig Horlbeck, 85:39)

• Jets' Historic Interception Drought

  • Could become first team ever to finish a season without an interception. (106:37)

9. Best Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Poor guy.”—on Zay Flowers’ game-losing fumble (Craig Horlbeck, 07:25)
• “He’s just doing things that, like, four or five other people on the planet can do.”—on Caleb Williams (Danny Heifetz, 25:22)
• “I think 0.02 is so much worse than 0. I'd so much rather have 0 than some 0.02. It draws attention to the number. You have to think about it.” (Danny Heifetz, 112:51)
• On Old Al Michaels:
  “At the very end, he's like, raheed Shahid, touchdown.” (Danny Kelly, 98:55)
• On fantasy heartbreak:
  “All those guys we listed were terrible, but Jackson Dart was really, really…” (Danny Kelly, 113:24)

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On the Ravens’ struggles:
  “I just feel like that's the Raven season, maybe this era of the Ravens.” — Danny Heifetz [01:32]

• On Lamar Jackson’s sick/injured exit:
  “It didn’t even look bad at the time. It looked like he just fell down.” — Craig Horlbeck [03:01]

• On Trevor Lawrence’s leap:
  “Today was the best game I think I’ve ever seen him play.” — Danny Kelly [11:13]

• On Caleb Williams:
  “That throw that Caleb made, the game winning touchdown…is that the best throw? Is that like a top five throw in the history of Chicago?” — Danny Kelly [19:54]

• On the wild Seahawks 2-point reversal:
  “It's a stupid rule because when the whistle blows, you are obviously trained to stop playing. That's the whole basis of the sport…” — Danny Kelly [37:40]

• On Josh Allen’s meltdown:
  “Josh Allen’s bust is even more atrocious because…he’s only done it six times and the context is unbelievable.” — (Reader email, [57:11])

• DK on Tomlin after the Steelers win:
  “I'm sorry. I'm stupid. You're smart. I was wrong, you were right.” — Danny Kelly [72:31]

• On fantasy playoffs pain:
  “There were a lot of guys, a lot of good players where if you lost, it’s not your fault. You had them all year, they were great. You were smart to pick them and it just didn’t work out.” — Danny Kelly [61:30]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Ravens-Patriots Recap and Lamar’s Injury: 00:48 – 05:48
• Lawrence’s Leap & Jaguars on Fire: 10:17 – 17:40
• AFC Power Rankings/Playoff Trust: 16:31 – 18:22
• Bears-Packers and Caleb Williams: 18:22 – 26:11
• Seahawks-Rams OT Insanity & Two-Point Reversal: 29:00 – 49:03
• Panthers-NFC South Drama: 85:39 – 87:35
• Steelers-Lions, OPI Ending: 73:39 – 76:32
• Fantasy Playoff Airing of Grievances: 56:46 – 62:26
• Burn Book (Jackson Dart): 112:29 – 113:19
• Al Michaels/Rams-Seahawks on TNF: 98:16 – 101:54

Additional Segments & Tone

• “Farter Shart” Segment: Comic relief with custom “fart/no fart” jingle intros and ridiculous power rankings for fantasy stinkers. [63:08]
• Intrusive Thoughts:
  • “Why can’t you trip in football?” [91:50]
  • “Why aren’t there more Tasom Hill types?” [95:41]
• Holiday Sidebars: Extended riffing on Coca-Cola’s role in Christmas culture and the “Holidays Are Coming” jingle. [115:01]
• Classic Ringer Banter: Self-deprecating humor, meta-podcasting, and inside jokes about old references, fantasy pain, and weird NFL rules.

Closing Thoughts

• Expect another wild week—nothing in the AFC or NFC is locked except chaos.
• Fantasy playoffs test your patience (and mental health).
• The Holidays Aren’t just coming—they’re here, and so is the final fantasy push.

Next Up: Waivers Monday; Power Rankings Wednesday; Weekly Previews Friday.
Email: ringerfantasyfootball@gmail.com
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“Holidays are coming! Holidays are coming!”