The NFL is approaching the postseason with this weekend's holiday slate of games. But fantasy football leagues are already there.
Many leagues start their playoffs in Week 15 and ultimately crown a champion during the penultimate week of the regular season in Week 17. And the fantasy managers skilled, or lucky, enough to still be in title contention surely received some gifts along the way. As the NFL hits the Christmas portion of its schedule, Newsweek looked back at 10 (technically more) individual and team performances that served as presents of sorts to fantasy football managers throughout this season. Scoring figures mentioned will be those used in standard ESPN Point Per Reception (PPR) leagues.
Here's a look.
Week 1: Dallas Cowboys Defense/ST — 35.0 Points
Just what everyone thinks about when fantasy football comes up—defense.
In all seriousness, the Cowboys had a tone-setting defensive/special teams performance to open the season in their Week 1, 40-0 blanking of the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. Dallas recorded seven sacks, picked off two passes—one of which resulted in rookie Daron Bland's first Pick Six of the season—and scored another TD on a blocked field goal return. Add in a shutout, and defensive performances don't get much better than that, real or fantasy.
Week 3: Entire Miami Dolphins Offense
One of the many lasting quotes from Tony Soprano across his classic HBO show remains, "Remember when is the lowest form of conversation." But that doesn't mean Dolphins fans won't be reminiscing about the team's 70-point outing for a long, long time.
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Miami scored the most points by any team since 1966 in a 70-20 Week 3 win over the Denver Broncos. From a fantasy football standpoint, it was as if Oprah was looking at any manager with a Miami player in their lineup and shouting, "You get points! You get points!" Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns (28.36 fantasy points). Rookie De'Von Achane tallied 233 yards from scrimmage and four scores (51.3 points, most of anyone that week). Miami's other dynamic running back, Raheem Mostert (45.2 points), also reached the end zone four times, while Tyreek Hill (30.7 points) caught nine passes for 157 yards and a TD.
The list goes on. Another wild aspect? That was far from Hill's best game of the season, or even that month. In Week 1, the Pro Bowler caught 11 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns (44.5 points), establishing early on that this fantasy football season was going to be a good one for any managers who had him on their team.
Week 3: Chargers WR Keenan Allen — 45.46 Points
Keenan Allen was limited to only 10 games last season, snapping his streak of five consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns, and caught the second-fewest passes of any year during his pro career.
Any concerns about the third-round pick's ability to bounce back were squashed early on in the 2023 schedule. Allen set career-highs in targets (20), receptions (18), and receiving yards (215) in a 28-24 Los Angeles Chargers win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3. It was a dream performance for PPR fantasy formats. Oh, and he also threw a 49-yard touchdown for good measure.
Week 4: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey — 48.7 Points
Fantasy football's top running back this season had his best game early on in the campaign.
Christian McCaffrey ran for 106 yards, caught seven passes for 71 receiving yards, and scored four total touchdowns in a Week 4 San Francisco 49ers win over the Arizona Cardinals. The All-Pro's consistency has been a present to certain fantasy football players, and a nuisance to the rest, across the season—but never more so than this 48.7-point performance that set the bar across the league that week.
Week 5: Pair of Star WRs Go Off
Fantasy football managers going against either Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase or Chicago Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore—or, in a worst-case scenario, both—paid the price. The two top pass-catchers for their respective teams played perhaps the best four quarters of football of their careers in Week 5.
Chase caught 15 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns, leading to an absurd 52.2 PPR points. Just behind him was Moore, who hauled in eight receptions for 230 yards while also reaching the end zone three times (good for 49.0 points). Elite wide receivers are a fantasy gift that keeps on giving.
Week 7: Chiefs TE Travis Kelce — 35.9 Points
This may have been the year of Travis Kelce.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end won a Super Bowl in February, is dating Taylor Swift, and—perhaps lower on the totem pole—is still the premier fantasy football player at his position. In virtually every league, the eight-time Pro Bowler was the top tight end selected. And he's largely lived up to that status. Especially in Week 7 when he tallied 12 receptions for 179 yards while adding a touchdown for good measure.
Week 8: Dak Prescott/CeeDee Lamb — 69.06 Points
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has been making a run at MVP honors over the back half of this season. And his connection with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is making that possible. For any fantasy managers fortunate to have a stack of the QB-WR duo on their team, Week 8 was about as good as it can get.
Prescott threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns (28.06 points), while Lamb was the top receiver of the week, grabbing 12 passes for 158 yards and two scores (41.0 points).
Week 9: C.J. Stroud/Tank Dell — 71.4 Points
Depending on the league, some fantasy football players may have gotten Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and/or wide receiver Tank Dell either late in the draft or on the waiver wire. And that would be a present in its own right.
Stroud is the Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner. And, before a season-ending injury, Dell — a fellow rookie — was the No. 2 overall pick's No. 1 target. In a comeback Week 9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Stroud put together a 470-yard, five-touchdown performance (41.8 points) — perhaps the best game from any QB this season, fantasy football or otherwise. And Dell (29.6 points) was also the top player at his position that week, thanks to six catches for 114 yards and two scores.
Week 12: Kyren Williams Patience Pays Off — 38.4 Points
Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams missed four consecutive games and was placed on injured reserve after establishing himself as one of the top fantasy RBs in the league. But his long-awaited return was worth the wait. The second-year pro ran for 143 yards, caught six passes for another 61 through the air, and scored two touchdowns in his first game back in Week 12.
That was the top non-QB offensive fantasy performance of the week, per ESPN. And quite the gift to fantasy managers to get an RB1 back for a playoff push.
As a bonus, any players lucky enough to grab Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua early in the season should perhaps think about sending the rookie a gift in return for the litany of standout performances out of a player often picked up off the waiver wire.
Week 14: Cowboys K Brandon Aubrey — 23.0 Points
For the fantasy leagues out there still rocking kickers, Dallas' 28-year-old rookie salutes you. Brandon Aubrey became the first kicker in NFL history to drill two kicks of 59 or more yards in a Week 14 win. And 23 points, based on ESPN scoring, from a kicker when most leagues were in the final week before the playoffs started was quite the holiday boost.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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