There are only three weeks left in the regular season as Week #14 of the NFL year is over. Hopefully you’ve had a very successful daily fantasy football season so far. If you haven’t, we’re here to help. Either way, our look at the week that was should help you to make better decisions as we enter the remainder of the season. Here are our biggest busts and diamonds from Week #14.
Busts All Around
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans
Hopkins started out the season on a strong note, but he appears to have lost some momentum in the last half of the season. This week, he had just 33 yards. There were no touchdowns. He was targeted 4 times, his lowest in the last 10 weeks. He only had 2 catches. Hopkins is a talented WR, but we’re pretty sure that this is the final straw with him having any sort of fantasy value this season. He only has 4 TDs on the season and the number of throws coming his way has significantly declines. Unless he is priced at a third tier rate in the coming weeks, you should pass on Hopkins.
Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
The game in Buffalo on Sunday was a snowy one, and many players had trouble with traction on the field. Couple that with the superior defense of the Bills, and Roethlisberger was bound to have a below average game. He had only 220 yards and 0 TDs. He also had -2 yards in rushing and 3 interceptions. This was one of those games where Roethlisberger was expected to perform at a below average rate, but this was even worse than what most experts predicted for him.
Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins
Ajayi has had a storybook season this year, but this game was not in keeping with that. He had just 48 yards rushing on 20 attempts. He did have one catch for 15 yards which helped a little, but he was targeted 3 times, so this number is actually much lower than what we should have expected from him. And with QB Tannehill getting injured in this game, it was very realistic for us to expect a better performance from Ajayi. Going into the game, we had higher expectations than this, and with everything that developed during the game, it’s clear that this was an underperformance for him.
Diamonds Were Out There
Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Bell had the best fantasy performance that any RB has had the entire season. He was up against a touch Buffalo Bills defense, and it was a snowy game, but Bell didn’t let that hinder him. He had 3 TDs and 236 yards rushing for one of the most dominant performances we’ve seen in a long time. He also had 4 receptions on 5 targets for a total of 62 yards in receiving. We assumed Bell would have a decent game because QB Roethlisberger would rely less on his passing game, but there’s no way that anyone could have predicted Bell would be this good.
T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Hilton had 1 TD and 115 yards receiving on Sunday. The Colts might have lost to the Texans, but that didn’t impact Hilton’s stats at all. He was targeted 13 times and had 9 receptions. It wasn’t his best game of the season, but as far as fantasy worth goes, he was one of the top picks that you could have made in your league.
Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons had a standout game against the Los Angeles Rams, and Ryan was one of the big benefactors of that fact. He threw for 3 TDs and had 237 yards. There were 28 attempts, and 18 complete passes. Ryan was sacked twice in this game, but depending on the league you play in, you might not have lost any points for this. Ryan was behind his usual pace in this game when it comes to yards, but his TD numbers more than boosted his stats to a “Diamond” level.
