Thank you to everyone who sent emails, texts, DMs, and notes on social media that wished my daughters luck and inquired as to how they did.
And well, in the D14 Large Level 2 Division the Cheshire Junior Cheer Rams finished SECOND IN THE WHOLE DAMN COUNTRY!!
Honestly, I thought they should have even finished first, and I’m not alone in that opinion, but that’s another story for another day. For right now, I just want to congratulate all the girls, their coaches, and all the parents. It was an incredible, magical week. #PROUDCHEERDAD.
Oh, and by the way, congratulations to you! If you’re reading this it likely means you made the playoffs, so congratulations. It’s never easy, especially this season. So, what do you say we bring home the title this year?
Okay, before we start, my weekly reminder – any Utilization stats you read below come from Dwain McFarland and his incredible Utilization Report on FantasyLife.com.
And one more reminder to catch Fantasy Football Happy Hour every weekday LIVE at Noon ET on YouTube. Of course, it’s also available on Peacock, NBC Sports NOW, and wherever you get your podcasts. And every Sunday morning we do Fantasy Football Pregame from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Peacock and the NFL on NBC YouTube channel.
Let’s get to it.
Thanks as always to my producer Damian Dabrowski for his help at various points in this column. Here we go.
These are the 10 Facts You Need to Know Before Week 15.
1. In four of his past five home games, Matthew Stafford has thrown at least three touchdown passes.
1A. He’s averaging 21.6 fantasy points per game at home.
1B. This week, he plays at home.
1C. Against the Detroit Lions.
1D. Since Week 8, the Lions allow the fifth-most points to opposing quarterbacks.
2. This season, my beloved Washington Commanders are are allowing the most yards per pass attempt.
2A. This season, my beloved Washington Commanders are are allowing the third-most passing yards per game.
2C. This season, my beloved Washington Commanders are giving up touchdown passes at the third-highest rate.
2D. I guess the point I’m trying to make here is that the Commanders’ pass defense is not very good.
2E. This week Jaxson Dart gets to play them.
2F. Five of the last seven quarterbacks to face Washington have scored at least 20 fantasy points.
3. Speaking of bad defenses… no team allows more rushing yards per game to opposing running backs this year than… you guessed it…. the Cincinnati Bengals.
3A. Running backs that see at least 15 touches against the Bengals this year are averaging 20.5 PPG.
3B. Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens face the Bengals in a rematch from Week 13.
3C. In his first matchup against Cincy, Derrick Henry averaged 6.0 yards per carry.
4. Since Week 9, only one running back in the NFL has more red zone touches than… Travis Etienne.
4A. In that same time frame, he has finished lower than RB13 only once.
4B. Teams that face the Jets this season are averaging the third-most RB rushes per game.
5. Last week, RJ Harvey had a season high in snap rate. (68%)
5A. And touches. (23).
5B. And target share. (17%).
5C. The last six running backs to face the Green Bay Packers have seen at least a 13% target share.
6. Over the past four games, A.J. Brown has a 35% target share.
6A. He’s had at least 10 targets in every single one of those games.
6B. This season, wide receivers that have seen at least a 25% target share against the Las Vegas Raiders are averaging 17.2 PPG.
7. In games he’s played with Jaxson Dart this season, Wan’Dale Robinson has a 28% target share.
7A. That’s a team high.
7B. He’s had at least eight targets in four of the past five games with Dart.
7C. This season, no team has allowed more receiving yards to the slot than my beloved Washington Commanders.
8. In seven of their past nine games, the Buffalo Bills have given up at least 16 points to an opposing wide receiver.
8A. In his first matchup against his former team, Stefon Diggs had a 43% target share.
8B. He went 10 for 146.
9. Since Week 7, the only tight end with a higher target share than Trey McBride is… Harold Fannin Jr.
9A. During that stretch, Harold Fannin Jr has been the fifth-best tight end in fantasy football on a points per game basis.
9B. Tight ends who have seen at least six targets against the Chicago Bears this season are averaging 13.6 PPG.
10. Over the last two weeks, Isaiah Likely’s has seen his two highest target shares of the season.
10A. No team allows more fantasy points to opposing tight ends than the Cincinnati Bengals.
10B. They give up 24.1 PPG to opposing tight ends.
10C. That’s seven more points than any other team in the NFL.
10D. Likely caught two touchdowns last week. One didn’t count but it should have. Just saying.
