Week 16 Booms and Busts: Ryan Tannehill goes bananas
If you didn't have Ryan Tannehill in your Circle of Trust entering Week 16, you certainly weren't alone.
Tannehill threw just two touchdowns in his previous three games, doing little with some prime passing matchups (Jets, Ravens). And the entire Miami offense dropped the ball in the second half of last week's loss at New England, scoring zero points. No one on the Yahoo staff considered Tannehill a Top 10 quarterback for fantasy's championship week.
So much for all that. Sunday's home game against Minnesota turned into an afternoon of pinball.
Tannehill posted the game of his short career in the 37-35 victory, and Miami needed every last bit of the production. The third-year quarterback completed 35-of-47 passes for 396 yards, with four touchdowns against one interception. It's a personal best for completions and touchdowns, while the yardage was his second-best mark ever.
A bunch of Miami players came along for the ride. Tight end Charles Clay, missing in action for much of the season, rolled up a 6-114 line on 10 targets. Mike Wallace snagged a couple of touchdown passes. Underrated back Lamar Miller posted 19-92-1 on the ground, and added 5-58 through the air. Crooked numbers everywhere. Fins to the left, fins to the right.
The high-scoring win made an impression on Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. After the victory, he announced head coach Joe Philbin will return for the 2015 season. Maybe it's not the right time to make these proclamations, but it's his multi-million investment, not ours.
The fourth period was especially crazy, when the Vikings and Dolphins combined for 41 points. Heck, there were four touchdowns in the final 6:39, in addition to Miami's game-winning safety. Teddy Bridgewater had some fine moments for the Purple (19-26-259, 2 TDs), and Matt Asiata continued his Hoard Tour (two short touchdown rushes, plus a conversion rush). Greg Jennings made good on his three targets (3-56, with a 21-yard touchdown).
It was fun to see all the scoring in South Florida, because a bunch of offenses mailed it in for the 1 pm ET wave. The Miami-Minnesota game was the only one that sailed over its posted total; the other seven games fell under.
If your league uses Week 17 for fantasy purposes, Tannehill and Bridgewater deserve consideration. Miami hosts the Jets, while Minnesota entertains the Bears. Good work if you can get it.
Also Booming in Week 16 (early games):
-- Packers Passing Game: OK, we'll be fair, you probably expected more than two offensive touchdowns (and one passing touchdown) at Tampa Bay. But Randall Cobb's 11-131-0 line was just fine, especially in PPR formats, and Jordy Nelson paid the bills with a 9-113-1 haul. The Pack seemed intent on getting Aaron Rodgers a touchdown toss, going pass-heavy in their goal-line packages. Rodgers turned in a solid line (31-40-318-1-0), then celebrated with his playoff-bound teammates. The Pack and Lions play for the NFC North title next week.
-- Jonathan Stewart, Panthers: The Carolina rushing game was fantasy quicksand for many years, but Stewart has taken over nicely in the absence of DeAngelo Williams. He ran over and through the Browns all afternoon (122 yards, 5.1 a pop), and added a short touchdown catch, just for fun. Boogie With Stew, indeed. Carolina and Atlanta have an NFC South Championship Game set for Week 17.
-- Julio Jones, WR, Falcons: He missed practice all week and obviously the hip isn't close to 100 percent. So let's tip the cap to Jones for collecting seven catches for 107 yards in a critical victory at New Orleans.
Other Booms (early games): Torrey Smith (thanks, garbage time), Arian Foster, Eddie Lacy, Jordan Cameron
Unfortunately Busting in Week 16 (early games):
-- Matthew Stafford, QB, Lions: The Bears defense is supposed to be the gift that keeps on giving, but Stafford never got comfortable in Sunday's victory at Soldier Field. Stafford was intercepted twice and sacked four times, and he didn't manage a touchdown pass.
-- Tom Brady, QB, Jets: Say this for Rex Ryan, he often knows how to get under Brady's skin. He did that early and often Sunday, forcing Brady into a mediocre game by anyone's standards (76.1 rating, 182 yards, one TD, one pick). New England was fortunate to escape with a one-point victory.
-- Joe Flacco, QB, Ravens: A couple of scores in garbage time massaged the bottom line, but for the most part Flacco was confused and inaccurate in an upset loss at Houston. The final line looks bad (21-50-195-2-3) but it doesn't reflect just how terrible Baltimore looked for the majority of the day.
Other Busts (early games): Jamaal Charles, Justin Forsett, Greg Olsen, Buccaneers passing game, Josh Gordon
