NFL Week 16 Takeaways

Injury Roundup

RB Aaron Jones - Green Bay Packers

Ankle: Jones had been limited in practice with this ankle injury but played through it, albeit, on limited touches. He should be good to go for next week.

RB Jamaal Williams - Detroit Lions

Leg: Williams exited the game with a leg injury but it is unknown if he will miss any time from it.

WR Christian Watson - Green Bay Packers

Hip: Watson exited the game on Sunday with a hip injury but says that he will be alright. Keep an eye on injury reports this week.

TE Greg Dulcich - Denver Broncos

Hamstring: Dulcich was ruled out with a hamstring injury in Week 16 and his status for next week is unknown.

TE Hunter Henry - New England Patriots

Knee: Henry was ruled out with a knee injury in Week 16 and his status for next week is unknown.

Game Recaps

Lions @ Panthers

Foreman’s Weird Season

D’Onta Foreman is the definition of boom or bust. The 5th year RB is on his 3rd team already after several lost injury-riddled seasons but has found success in Carolina thanks to the Christian McCaffrey trade. Game script has almost entirely dictated what type of Foreman game we spectators have come to see on a weekly basis, though. After McCaffrey got traded and Foreman became the assumed starter, he put up two consecutive 118-yard rushing performances, including a 3 TD game against the Falcons. Things changed almost immediately, though, as he dropped to 23 yards in a blowout loss to the Bengals. He followed that up with a 130-yard game that included a TD. The list goes on. Look through his game logs and compare them to the final scores and you’ll see just how perfectly it all lines up. Next week he faces a Buccaneers defense that ranks highly against the run but he did torch them back in Week 7. There is just no way to start him with confidence, especially with a lack of receiving work. He is startable but not guaranteed even an RB3 week.

The Cleveland Offense Stinks

Is it too late to put Jacoby Brissett back in? Cleveland’s playoff hopes have ended thanks to a woeful offensive performance at home against the Saints. Weather conditions aside, this offense has generally looked awful since Deshaun Watson returned. They have not put up more than 13 points in a game with Watson under center this season. Away games against the Commanders and Steelers should continue to cause trouble for Watson and company. It appears the rust is still showing and it cannot be overcome easily. Expect more bad performances that hurt your fantasy teams these next two weeks but try to buy Browns players in dynasty for next season.

Texans @ Titans

Jaguars: Division Champs?

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

With a Titans loss to the Texans and a Jaguars win over the Jets, the AFC South just got a whole lot more complicated. Well, actually, the AFC South is really simple. Week 18’s Titans-Jaguars matchup will decide this division. Next week is meaningless for the Jaguars. Both the Jaguars and Titans have the same record and going down a game would not affect Jacksonville since a Week 18 win over Tennessee puts them back at an equal record with Jacksonville ahead via the head-to-head tiebreaker. It is not outrageous to think that the Jaguars bench or limit snaps for some of their key starters, including QB Trevor Lawrence. For betting and fantasy purposes, just be cautious and keep an eye out for any hints at this. This is a weird scenario.

Chig Struggles as Burks Returns

Chigoziem Okonkwo will be a name to watch as the Titans head into the off-season but he does not offer much value as we head into the fantasy football finals. Okonkwo had a good stretch of games with Treylon Burks out. By rookie tight end standards, this has been a massive fantasy football success. This unfortunately came crashing down this week as he only caught 1 of 2 targets for 10 yards. Every worst case scenario happened. The Texans are awful against the run,and the already run-heavy Titans gave Derrick Henry 23 carries. The Titans were also favored by a TD in this game so the game-script was not expected to force Tennessee to play from behind. Burks’ return and Malik Willis starting at QB were the daggers as this offense can rarely support multiple passing options and an RB. Things are unlikely to change this week against a great Dallas defense, although playing from behind could give Okonkwo some more opportunities. I would not start him, even in dire circumstances, though. 

Bills @ Bears

Bills RBs Explode

The Chicago Bears run defense was in the season of giving on Christmas day as they allowed Buffalo to combine for 254 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. James Cook and Devin Singletary each had a TD and 100+ scrimmage yards in the blowout win. It has been hard to trust either of these backs on any given week, but Buffalo is the type of team that can keep on winning big and support these types of games. The Bengals are a more difficult matchup next week but Devin Singletary should still slot in as a low-end RB2 as the leader of the backfield.

Commanders @ 49ers

Rookie Fever

Jahan Dotson has been on fire these past few weeks. The rookie set career-highs in targets, receptions, and receiving yards despite Washington’s offensive struggles. With nine targets in two of his last three games, Dotson finds himself slotted in as the half-PPR WR6 in PPG from Weeks 13 to 16. This comes after he only combined for four targets, two receptions, and 27 yards from Weeks 10 through 12, upon his return from injury. Game script seems to have helped the rookie as the Commanders handily won each of their 3 games when he barely saw any targets but have been playing from behind in these past 3 games. There should still be plenty of optimism for him. He has taken over the clear WR2 role behind Terry McLaurin as Curtis Samuel has seen a steady drop in playing time and targets. Dotson plays a different role on this offense, though, and the 1st round rookie WR still seems massively undervalued in dynasty.

Packers @ Dolphins

Dillon Filling In

Aaron Jones has been dealing with an ankle injury that left him limited in practice all week. He barely played on Sunday and if this injury continues to limit him, AJ Dillon should be started as an RB2 with RB1 upside on a full workload and scoring opportunities. It would be hard to sit Aaron Jones in the fantasy football finals so monitor this ankle injury.

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By Themi Michalakis