Tristan H. Cockcroft 7y

Week 16 fantasy football winners and losers

Happy holidays to all!

Football arrived a day earlier this week, as fantasy championships began (and/or concluded) during the holidays. As we do each week, we recap the week's winners and losers from a fantasy perspective -- the players who helped win and lose their teams a league title -- complete with applicable game and historical data.

Check back after the conclusion of the 1 and 4 p.m. ET (and, if applicable, Saturday night and Sunday) games for our picks of the week's best and worst.

Winners

Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings: Only 26 individual performances this season have been worth 30-plus fantasy points, and Thielen's -- a career-best 32 Saturday -- was one of the most unexpected. He was started in just 6.4 percent of ESPN leagues, the second-lowest rate of any player who has reached that threshold all year, behind only Jay Ajayi (32, started in 5.0 percent) in Week 6. What's more, Thielen's 12 catches gave him 44 fantasy points using PPR scoring, which is the third-best performance by any individual player all year, behind only Le'Veon Bell's 51 in Week 14 and Julio Jones' 48 in Week 4.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers: He was a much, much more obvious fantasy play than Thielen, started in 83.4 percent of ESPN leagues (third-most among quarterbacks), but Rodgers' 36 points nevertheless led the way during the 1 p.m. ET block. It tied for his fourth-best total in his career and gave him his 15th performance reaching the 30-point threshold; only six players in history have had more (Drew Brees, 20; LaDainian Tomlinson, 20; Marshall Faulk, 18; Jim Brown, 17; Tom Brady, 16; and Steve Young, 16). They also pushed Rodgers' seasonal fantasy point total past the 300 threshold -- he now has 331, his third-best single-year total -- giving him a record-tying fifth career season with at least that many, matching Peyton Manning.

Jordy Nelson, WR, Packers: His 27 fantasy points set a new season high, besting his 22 in Week 3, and tied the third-best single-game output in his career (he had 34 in 2011 Week 17 and 30 in 2012 Week 6). Rodgers and Nelson have had quite a connection over the years, as this was the fourth time in their careers that they both scored at least 25 fantasy points in the same game (2012 Week 6, and 2014 Weeks 2, 10 and 14). Like Rodgers, Nelson was one of the more obvious fantasy plays of Week 16, his 98.3 start percentage was fourth-highest among wide receivers.

Charles Clay, TE, Buffalo Bills: His two second-half touchdowns were instrumental in helping his Bills rally from a two-touchdown, second-half deficit to force overtime, and while his team eventually lost, those scores gave him a position-best (through the Saturday night game) 20 fantasy points. That was one shy of his career high of 21, set in 2013 Week 14, and it gave him a third consecutive week with double-digit fantasy points. Owners who were so bold as to start Clay were pleasantly rewarded again. His 8.1 start percentage was his highest during his three-week hot streak (1.2 percent in Week 14, 2.3 percent in Week 15).

Tyrod Taylor, QB, Bills: He scored a career-high 31 fantasy points Saturday, finishing just five shy of Rodgers for the lead at the position during the 1 p.m. ET games, though he was started in a considerably lower percentage of ESPN leagues (23.5 percent). Taylor now has 254 fantasy points for the season, four shy of his 2015 total, though he has played one more game this season (15) than last (14).

Chris Thompson, RB, Washington Redskins: He did almost all of his damage on two first-quarter touches: He scored 7-yard rushing and 17-yard receiving touchdowns for 13 fantasy points, finishing the game with 15, sixth-most among running backs during the 1 p.m. ET block. That helped Thompson set a new personal best using standard scoring, though his 16 using PPR scoring fell shy of his 21, set in 2015 Week 3. He was started in only 2.9 percent of ESPN leagues.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Redskins: Those of his fantasy owners who survived his season-low nine fantasy points of Week 15 (that tied with his Week 1 output) were rewarded with one of the best performances of his career Saturday, as Cousins' 29 tied for the third-best score of his career. Unfortunately, his owners were more hesitant to start him this week: He was active in 45.3 percent of ESPN leagues, ninth-most among quarterbacks, compared to 63.8 percent in Week 15.

Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins: Though he padded his stats during overtime, the result was impressive nevertheless, as Ajayi tallied at least 200 rushing yards for the third time this season, becoming only the fourth player in history to have that many games in a single year (Earl Campbell 4, Tiki Barber 3, O.J. Simpson 3), per ESPN Stats & Information. The result was 26 fantasy points, the third-highest score in his career, with the two higher scores coming in his other games with at least 200 yards rushing: 32 in Week 6, 27 in Week 7. Ajayi was started in 79.8 percent of ESPN leagues Saturday, 13th-most among running backs.

Sammy Watkins, WR, Bills: What a way to try to salvage a season largely lost to a foot injury. On Saturday, Watkins scored 21 fantasy points, his season-high and tied for the fifth-best output of his three-year, 36-game career. He was started in just 24.1 percent of ESPN leagues.

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots: Though his 20 fantasy points fell far short of his season high -- that was his 29 in Weeks 5 and 8 -- keep in mind that he accomplished it in just under three full quarters of action before being lifted with the Patriots leading 34-0 for backup Jimmy Garoppolo. Brady's owners, who started him in 88.4 percent of ESPN leagues (second-most among quarterbacks) might complain about wanting more, but it was his sixth 20-point performance of the season and 83rd in his career. Only Manning (105) and Drew Brees (91) have had more.

David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals: His 29 fantasy points led all running backs (through the Saturday night game), and gave him a whopping nine games (out of 15) this season with at least 20. He now has 310 for the season, giving him a 51-point lead over Ezekiel Elliott, who will play the Monday night game. With a game to play, Johnson already has the 19th-best single season by a running back in history.

Johnson is also one game shy of a perfect 16-for-16 game season scoring double-digit fantasy points in each. The only running back in history to have managed a perfect such year was Emmitt Smith in 1995.

Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints: He might have been a difficult player to start since his Week 8 benching, his weekly role consistently unclear, but Saturday was definitely a day in which to do it, and fantasy owners in 63.5 percent of ESPN leagues had Ingram in their lineups. He rewarded them with 23 fantasy points, the third time during that nine-week span that he had scored at least 20. The catch: He scored 23 fantasy points combined in his other six games.

DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard, RB, Oakland Raiders: They scored 22 and 13 fantasy points respectively, capitalizing upon the favorable matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. As productive as their performances were, however, they were barely started in ESPN leagues, with Richard active in 1.62 percent and Washington in 0.19 percent, making Latavius Murray's fantasy owners all the more frustrated. Murray managed just five fantasy points on 17 total touches, in a week in which he was the seventh most-started running back (92.1 start percentage).

Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks: The third quarterback to reach the 30-fantasy-point plateau on Saturday, Wilson's 33 set his season high and were his eighth career game with at least 30. It's the first time since he had three such performances in a row from 2015 Weeks 12-14. Wilson was started in 43.5 percent of ESPN leagues, 11th-most among quarterbacks.

Doug Baldwin, WR, Seahawks: His 23 fantasy points matched his season high (Week 10) and tied for the third-most in his career, but his 13 catches set a new personal best and gave him 36 points using PPR scoring. That fell just two shy of his previous single-game high of 38, set in 2015 Week 12.

Colin Kaepernick, QB, San Francisco 49ers: What a comeback! After getting off to a slow start in the first half of Saturday's game, Kaepernick scored a rushing touchdown with roughly five minutes remaining and a passing score plus game-winning two-point conversion with roughly 30 seconds remaining to propel his 49ers to victory. The result was a 25-point fantasy score, his second-highest of 2016 and sixth-best in his six-year, 67-game NFL career. Kaepernick was one of the more unexpected stars of the week, as 20 quarterbacks were started in a larger percentage of ESPN leagues; he was active in only 8.2 percent.

J.J. Nelson, WR, Cardinals: For the third time in the past four weeks, Nelson scored double-digit fantasy points, his 19 on Saturday matching his season high (Week 8) and falling just one shy of his career high (20, 2015 Week 11). That gave him 55 fantasy points since (and including) Week 13, second-most among wide receivers behind only Jordy Nelson's 72. J.J. Nelson was owned in only 10.48 percent and started in 2.08 percent of ESPN leagues in Week 16.


Losers

Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans: Though a right ankle injury ended his day with roughly one minute remaining in the third quarter, Mariota's performance up to that point fell far short of being useful in fantasy leagues. He scored only seven fantasy points, giving him a third consecutive week in single digits, the first time in his career he has done that. Fortunately, fewer than one-third of Mariota's owners in ESPN leagues started him in any of the three weeks; his 29.2 start percentage on Saturday was his highest during that three-week span (12.9 percent in Week 14, 19.5 in Week 15).

Ty Montgomery, WR/RB, Packers: After setting a new personal best with 28 fantasy points in Week 15, Montgomery was held to a quiet three fantasy points Saturday. His was an example of the reactionary nature of many owners; his 72.6 start percentage set a new career-high, after he was active in just 33.6 percent of ESPN leagues last week.

DeMarco Murray, RB, Titans: He picked a bad week to post his season-low in fantasy points (five), letting down owners in the 98.5 percent of ESPN leagues in which he was active (fifth-highest among running backs). In all likelihood, Murray will finish outside the top 25 in scoring at the position -- 20 running backs had already outscored him as of 5 p.m. ET Saturday -- which would snap his streak of 14 consecutive games ranked within the top 25 weekly scorers to begin the season. That leaves only Ezekiel Elliott (plays on Monday Night Football) and David Johnson as running backs who have been top-25 scorers every week.

Vernon Davis, TE, Redskins: Pressed into starting duty with Jordan Reed (shoulder) sidelined, Davis managed just one fantasy point, his worst total in any of his four games played this season in which Reed was absent. Davis was started in 28.2 percent of ESPN leagues, 13th-most among tight ends.

Thomas Rawls, RB, Seahawks: A shoulder injury contributed to his quiet effort on Saturday, but even before exiting he was held scoreless on the fantasy scorecard despite receiving eight rushing attempts. Rawls has been held to three fantasy points or fewer in three of his past five games, and he was started in 61.0 percent of ESPN leagues, 21st among running backs.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals: Started in 66.4 percent of ESPN leagues, 17th-most among wide receivers, Fitzgerald flopped with three fantasy points in a high-scoring game on both sides. It was the sixth consecutive week in which he was held to single-digit fantasy points, and oddly enough, he was also held to single-digit fantasy points in every game from Weeks 11-16 in 2015.

Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers: Though a 10-point fantasy score is hardly a disastrous number, in a high-scoring week for quarterbacks such as this one, it's particularly poor. Newton finished tied for 19th in scoring at the position through the 4 p.m. ET games, with what was his lowest single-week total of 2016. He was started in 66.5 percent of ESPN leagues, fifth-most among quarterbacks.

Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Listed as questionable with a knee injury, Hill was able to play on Saturday night, but he was shut out on the fantasy scorecard on seven carries. It was only the second time in his career that he was held to zero or negative points -- he had minus-1 in 2015 Week 2 -- and he was active in 76.2 percent of ESPN leagues, 15th-most among running backs in Week 16.

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