Big Blue View
Welcome to Week 16, and Round 2 of the Fantasy Football Playoffs!
If you’re still sniffing a championship after this past weekend, you probably didn’t have the misfortune of going up against Trevor Lawrence, who had six total TDs and scored the most fantasy points of any player this entire season, or Kyle Freaking Pitts (his new name), who scored 20% of his career TDs and around 7% of his career fantasy points in one game (an 11-166-3 eruption) this past Thursday night. Sometimes, you can’t see the car that’s about to run you over.
In other news, Week 15 was marked by a slew of injuries, and there are a lot of situations to monitor this week and especially at the running back position. The most significant injury was three-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes tearing his ACL in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 16-13 loss to the Chargers. The Chiefs not only lost Mahomes, but are eliminated from playoff contention, meaning their remarkable streak of appearing in seven straight AFC title games is over.
The Mahomes/Tom Brady parallels are eerie. Both players sat as rookies. Both became starters during their second season. Both won three Super Bowls across their first seven seasons as the starter. Both lost the Super Bowl in their eighth season, to an NFC East team. Both players then tore an ACL in their ninth season. We know what Brady did after that. Duplicating it won’t be easy for Mahomes, who will turn 31 at the start of next season.
Abraham Lincoln was first elected President in 1860, was assassinated by a man with three names, and was succeeded by a Vice President named Johnson. John F. Kennedy was first elected President in 1960, was assassinated by a man with three names, and was succeeded by a Vice President named Johnson. Just throwing that out there.
Stats of the Week:
With three games remaining on the schedule, Myles Garrett needs one sack to tie the NFL single-season record of 22.5, shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.
The Jets don’t have an interception this season, through 14 games. No team in the modern NFL has gone a full season without a pick. The lowest total is two (2018 49ers).
This season’s AFC Conference Championship game will be the first one since January, 2010 that does not have either Brady or Mahomes competing in it.
The Raiders are the first team since the 2000 Browns to be shut out twice in the same season. They play the Texans and their No. 1-ranked defense this week.
The Lions have alternated wins and losses across their last ten games.
The Rams have scored 40+ points and rolled up 500+ yards of offense in back-to-back games.
The Steelers have won 23 straight home games on Monday Night Football.
Caleb Williams has thrown just 12 interceptions across his first 1,000 NFL pass attempts, which is the fewest in NFL history.
**TreVeyon...
