Award-Winning Fantasy Football Advice

It's fun that the Colts almost upset the Seahawks in QB Philip Rivers' first game since 2020. But he certainly didn't boost the fantasy fortunes of anyone around him. Rivers completed a solid 18 of his 27 throws (66.7% completions) and found Josh Downs for an 8-yard TD. But he totaled just 120 yards (4.44 yards per attempt) and added an INT as well.

Before their Week 14 bye, it looked like the Carolina Panthers were shifting to a committee backfield with Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard. But in Week 15, Dowdle out-carried Hubbard 16-8 and scored a TD to reclaim his status as Carolina's lead back. Neither back had much success against the Saints, who held the duo to a combined 3.25 yards per carry as New Orleans pulled off a 20-17 upset win.

Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco reclaimed the rushing lead in Sunday's loss to the Chargers. He took his 11 carries for just 21 yards (1.9 per rush), while Kareem Hunt carried six times for 12 yards (2.0). Brashard Smith claimed the other two RB attempts, contributing a mere 1 yard. The usage pushed the backfield split back to what we saw from Kansas City backs before Pacheco's injury absence.

WR Ladd McConkey led the Chargers in pass routes in Sunday's win over the Chiefs, according to Pro Football Focus numbers. But that didn't equate to usable fantasy production. He managed just 2 receptions for 20 yards while trailing three teammates in targets. WR Keenan Allen led the team with seven targets and 5 receptions. Allen took those for just 36 yards, though. TE Oronde Gadsden and WR Tre Harris tied for second at five targets. Gadsden posted a 4-61 receiving line, ranking second on the team in catches and leading the way in receiving yards. Harris tallied 3 receptions for 49 yards.

RB Omarion Hampton led the Chargers in carries (15) and rushing yards (61) in Sunday's win over the Chiefs. He edged Kimani Vidal by three carries and matched his one target. But Hampton also trailed Vidal in playing time for the second straight week, powered by the Chargers favoring Vidal in passing situations. L.A. remained basically even in pass-run split, with 33 dropbacks vs. 29 designed run plays vs. Kansas City.

After a four-game slide where it appeared that Troy Franklin had lost his status as Denver's No. 2 WR, a hamstring injury suffered by Pat Bryant opened the door for Franklin to reassert himself as an integral part of Denver's passing attack. And he took advantage of the opportunity. Franklin caught all 6 of his targets for 85 yards and 1 TD in Denver's 34-26 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Texans HC DeMeco Ryans didn't sound concerned about RB Woody Marks' ankle injury after Sunday's win over the Cardinals. “Woody could’ve came back in the game," Ryans said. "But for where he was, got his ankle tweaked a little bit early in the game, for where he was, felt like Jawhar [Jordan] & Dare [Ogunbowale] were doing a really good job. So just wanted to keep rolling with those guys to make sure Woody is good as we continue to go into the week.” Marks' fantasy owners sure would have preferred he not sat out the final 2.5 quarters of the game. But it at least sounds like he has a chance to be ready for Week 16's meeting with the Raiders. We'll keep you posted on the rookie's status.

After being out-carried by Kyle Monangai in Chicago's last three games, D'Andre Swift reclaimed his No. 1 RB status in Week 15. Swift rushed 18 times for 98 yards and 2 TDs to help lead the Bears to a dominant 31-3 win over the Browns. Swift's 22.6 PPR points in this game were his second-highest total of the season.

The Packers fear Edge Micah Parsons tore his left ACL in Sunday's loss to the Broncos. He left in the second half with a non-contact injury to the knee. He's headed for a Monday MRI to confirm the diagnosis.