Week 13 was wild and woolly, with high scores abounding in the daily fantasy realm. Last week was far more normal, however. Let's take a look at how Daily Musings did in Week 14.
STACK OF THE WEEK
Brian Hoyer, QB, Cleveland Browns - Draft Kings (DK): 3.9 points, $1,333 per point, FanDuel (FD): 3.9 points, $1,718
Josh Gordon, WR, Cleveland Browns - DK: 3.5 points, $2,314 per point, FD: 3.0 points, $2,667 per point
Stack of the week? More like dud of the week.
Thankfully—or at least hopefully—you only utilized Brian Hoyer and Josh Gordon in GPP lineups as a boom-or-bust pairing. It was a massive bust, as you already know.
PLAYS
QUARTERBACK
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers - DK: 30.88 points, $317 per point, FD: 27.88 points, $373 per point
For a minute there it seemed like Aaron Rodgers investors would suffer the same fate Peyton Manning owners did when the latter laid a fantasy egg on Sunday.
The Packers scored the first two touchdowns of the night on the ground and were at the goal line on their way in for their third, seemingly poised to run it in again. Rodgers promptly threw a touchdown pass, however, and he would throw two more en route to a rout-turned-close-call. He met value in GPP and cash contests in the process.
Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons - DK: 35.3 points, $198 per point, FD: 32.3 points, $245 per point
As expected, the Monday Night Football tilt was a high-scoring affair.
Matt Ryan actually outscored the future MVP despite a terrible interception and a near-miss soon after that. He did it in a desperate bid to match Green Bay's 43-point outburst. He may have come up short on the field, but he certainly delivered for his fantasy owners.
Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks - DK: 29.32 points, $263 per point, FD: 29.32 points, $290 per point
This is, perhaps, the best intersection of cash and GPP value at quarterback this week.
Russell Wilson goes on the road to take on a Philadelphia Eagles defense that has just been awful against the pass this season.
Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins - DK: 13.68 points, $534 per point, FD: 13.68 points, $629 per point
This might seem risky considering Ryan Tannehill had a great matchup last week and flopped against the New York Jets, but that only served to depress his prices for another great matchup in Week 14.
This time around, Tannehill is at home against a Baltimore Ravens pass defense that has been even more suspect in recent weeks. The Dolphins have regressed, it would seem, and Tannehill's upside as a rusher has disappeared.
RUNNING BACK
Justin Forsett, Baltimore Ravens - DK: 15.8 points, $437 per point, FD: 14.8 points, 14.8 points, $500 per point
The Miami Dolphins were far tougher against the run last week than they had been in the previous two, but Justin Forsett managed to have a decent day thanks to a goal line touchdown.
Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers - DK: 6.3 points, $792 per point, FD: 6.3 points, $905 per point
The 49ers offense is all but broken. Despite a nice matchup, Frank Gore couldn't get anything going in a bad loss against the Oakland Raiders.
Andre Williams, New York Giants - DK: 26.7 points, $165 per point, FD: 25.2 points, $258 per point
Rashad Jennings was declared healthy enough to be active on Sunday morning, causing self-doubt about Williams. That doubt was unfounded, however—Jennings barely got on the field, and Williams had a field day against the worst run defense in the league.
Bishop Sankey, Tennessee Titans - DK: 4.7 points, $851 per point, FD: 3.7 points, $1,459 per point
Unfortunately, the second-worst run defense wasn't so accommodating. The Giants throttled the Titans without mercy, and Sankey was rendered useless.
Marion Grice, Arizona Cardinals - DK: 0.6 points, $6,667 per point, FD: $8,333 per point
Unlike the previous week, the Cardinals doled out the backfield duties in the wake of Andre Ellington's injury. Marion Grice got very little of the take as Kerwynn Williams emerged. Nobody did much in that backfield anyway.
WIDE RECEIVER
Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers - DK: 37.7 points, $215 per point, FD: 30.7 points, $290 per point
Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers - DK: 9.7 points, $763 per point, FD: 7.7 points, $1,091 per point
All of the points slid to one guy as Jordy Nelson napalmed the Falcons defense. Randall Cobb didn't see many targets, however, unable to reach 10 points in PPR formats. It was too bad, given Desmond Trufant wasn't even on Cobb for most of the night.
Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers - DK: 10.4 points, $625 per point
An early touchdown augured well for Kelvin Benjamin, but he wound up with just two catches for 24 yards. This was the second time this season we were bamboozled by Benjamin going up against the New Orleans Saints.
Cecil Shorts III, Jacksonville Jaguars - DK: 2.3 points, $1,696 per point, FD: 1.8 points, $3,167 per point
Marqise Lee, Jacksonville Jaguars - DK: 12.1 points, $322 per point, FD: 9.6 points, $594 per point
Marqise Lee eked out value in cash games with Cecil Shorts disappointing yet again in a nice matchup. Unfortunately, neither of them were worthwhile in GPP contests in the end, which is where they would have been
Kenny Stills, New Orleans Saints - DK: 5.3 points, $1,132 per point, FD: 3.8 points, $1,684 per point
It seems the New Orleans offense is doing a season-long rendition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Last week, it did its best impression of Mr. Hyde again, and the entire offense had a bad day in the fantasy realm as a result.
Odell Beckham Jr, New York Giants - DK: 33.9 points, $227 per point, FD: 25.4 points, $323 per point
Beckham has become a staple in daily fantasy lineups, a reliable receiver who is going to get a ton of targets. He had a huge game against the Tennessee Titans—the second big game in a row that defense allowed to a receiver—and met value in all formats.
Mike Wallace, Miami Dolphins - DK: 6.9 points, $754 per point, FD: 5.4 points, $1,315 per point
Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins - DK: 11.5 points, $487 per point, FD: 8.5 points, $812 per point
One of these weeks Mike Wallace will convince me not to have faith in him anymore.
TIGHT END
Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans - DK: 6.7 points, $627 per point, FD: 4.7 points, $1,149 per point
The entire Tennessee offense tanked on Sunday, and starting quarterback Zach Mettenberger was knocked out from the game with an injury. Delanie Walker just couldn't get anything going, but
Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints - DK: 5.5 points, $1,182 per point, FD: 4.0 points, $1,775 per point
Well, this time around he got 11 targets, but Jimmy Graham was ab bject disappointment in the fantasy realmyet again as the New Orleans offense laid an egg as a whole.
Jared Cook, St. Louis Rams - DK: 22.1 points, $136 per point, FD: 20.1 points, $244 per point
While most tight ends disappointed, Jared Cook flourished with the highest-scoring output of the week at his position. He was one of the best values overall last week.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs - DK: 20.0 points, $225 per point, FD: 13.5 points, $393 per point
No touchdown again for Kelce, but he had a nice day in PPR formats despite a dubious fumble ruling.
Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers - DK: 8.4 points, $560 per point, FD: 5.9 points, $949 per point
Antonio Gates was targeted eight times, but he caught just five passes for 34 yards in a decent matchup at home. It was enough to keep his pricing low for Week 15, something we'll explore in our look forward.
FADES
QUARTERBACK
Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers - DK: 11.56 points, $562 per point, FD: 11.56 points, $623 per point
As expected, the 49ers had trouble passing the ball, though the entire offense was atrocious against the Oakland Raiders.
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers - DK: 28.9 points, $280 per point, FD: 25.9 points, $324 per point
Ben Roethlisberger made up for lost time against the Cincinnati Bengals, it seems. History was thrown out the window as Roethlisberger had a top-five fantasy game for Week 14. That 94-yard bomb to Martavis Bryant certainly helped—he would have scored fewer than 20 points without it.
RUNNING BACK
Matt Asiata, Minnesota Vikings - DK: 9.4 points, $436 per point, FD: 6.9 points, $826 per point
Matt Asiata simply isn't a good fantasy option, regardless of opportunity. Carry on.
Boom Herron, Indianapolis Colts - DK: $5,400, FD: $6,400
Trent Richardson, Indianapolis Colts - DK: $3,800, FD: $5,600
Did you really expect Boom Herron or Trent Richardson to have big games last week? Again, that one big run from Herron in Week 13 was an aberration.
Latavius Murray, Oakland Raiders - DK: 10.5 points points, $362 per point, FD: 9.5 points, $705 per point
It was completely incorrect to assume Latavius Murray wouldn't be a big part of the offense in his return from a concussion, even running well against the 49ers. But he wound up with a mediocre fantasy score in a poor matchup, giving way to Marcel Reece for a touchdown.
WIDE RECEIVER
Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles - DK: 11.1 points, $613 per point, FD: 9.6 points, $854 per point
Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles - DK: 4.3 points, $1,326 per point, FD: 3.3 points, $2,272 per point
The Seattle Seahawks clamped down on the Philadlephia Eagles offense, even more so than expected on the road. Jeremy Maclin scored a touchdown but little else, and Jordan Matthews was all but invisible.
Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers - DK: 2.3 points, $3,130 per point, FD: 1.3 points, $5,846 per point
Revis Island traveled west to San Diego, stranding Keenan Allen and any investors as expected.
TIGHT END
Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers - DK: 23.2 points, $211 per point, FD: 18.2 points, $357 per point
It was a bad matchup for Greg Olsen, going up against a New Orleans defense that had been rather stingy to opposing tight ends. Naturally, he had a huge game to throw it in my face.
Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts - DK: 10.6 points, $538 per point, FD: 8.1 points, $790 per point
Despite Dwayne Allen's return from injury, Coby Fleener garnered 10 targets against the Cleveland Browns last week. He didn't do a ton with those targets, but it was a decent output compared to most others at his position.