The first week of the fantasy playoffs were rocky, to say the least. First-round pick Aaron Rodgers went down with a concussion and put up a total of three points for his owners. Kyle Orton remembered he was Kyle Orton right when we needed him to think he was Joe Montana. And finally, Tashard Choice went autograph guy on Michael Vick and had him put his John Hancock on a glove after the game. Seriously, even if I was 0-16 in my picks and cost you the title shot… that moment was worth the whole season for me because Choice went all autograph hound on Vick and made him sign his game-glove.
Oh, and did the Bears get exposed or did the Bears get exposed?
Winners
Matt Schaub:Schaub entered the 2010 season as one of the top five projected fantasy QBs, but he has failed to live up to the hype thus far. On Monday night he torched the Ravens defense for 393 yards and three TDs. However, in true Week 14 fashion, his final pass was intercepted by CB Josh Wilson and returned 12 yards for a pick-6 in overtime. If fantasy owners had no bad luck this week, we'd have no luck at all!
Jason Campbell:Another FA that performed like a star, Campbell wasted his stats in a loss. Campbell finished with 324 yards and two TDs on Sunday, but he doesn't have the players to get this done weekly, so let him sit on the waiver wire too. Yes, I whiffed on this one.
Darren McFadden:Run DMC put up 209 total yards (123 rushing and 86 receiving) and three TDs. But, like Campbell, McFadden went home with a loss and his owners hopefully went home with a win. McFadden is a mid-range RB1 to finish the season.
Tim Hightower:Despite being owned in just 46 percent of leagues, he started in just 18 percent of those leagues. Hightower racked up 148 rushing yards and two scores, good enough to finish in the top five for fantasy RBs this weekend.
DeSean Jackson:Big-time players make big-time plays, and that is exactly what Jackson did on Sunday as he burned the Cowboys defense on a 91-yard TD from Vick. D-Jax was held to just four catches, but made the most of them and finished with 210 yards. That is a 52.5 YPC average!
Deion Branch:Tom Brady has mastered the short passing game, and that is exactly what the Patriots needed from him this weekend as they played the Bears in the modern day Ice Bowl. Branch was the biggest winner in that game as he finished with eight catches for 151 yards and a TD.
Jason Witten:Witten ended his four-game scoring drought as he caught two touchdowns to go along with his seven receptions and 69 yards receiving. The Cowboys' season has been over since the season started, but they are playing like nobody told them.
Miami Dolphins defense:The Dolphins continued to show why the Jets are overrated as they held the Jets offense to just six points. As if that wasn't enough, the Dolphins amassed six sacks, one INT and recovered one fumble, netting fantasy owners 20-plus points this weekend.
Losers
Aaron Rodgers:Rodgers exited early in the game after bouncing his head off the field and suffering a concussion. There has been no official word, but word around the campfire is that Rodgers could play in week 15. Either way, his 46 passing yards, 25 rushing yards and an INT killed many fantasy playoff runs before they ever started.
Kyle Orton:Orton is someone I try and avoid at all costs because no matter how good he does, he will eventually go Kyle Orton on you. This weekend the Cardinals shut him down and he finished with 166 passing yards and three INTs.
Adrian Peterson:A top-3 pick in your draft put up 26 rushing yards and no TDs in the first week of the fantasy playoffs… do you know who this is? Not Aaron Rodgers, because he had 25 rushing yards; none other than Adrian Peterson. Two streaks were ended in Detroit on Monday night; Brett Favre's consecutive game streak and your run in the fantasy playoffs! Thanks, Mr. Peterson.
Jahvid Best:Why is Best still owned in 89 percent of fantasy leagues? I'll do you one better; why is Best starting in 33 percent of those leagues? The guy hasn't had more than 65 yards rushing or scored since week 2. Best may be better next season, but he isn't worth playing again this season as he finished the fantasy season with the Bucs and Dolphins defenses.
Anquan Boldin:Yahoo had Boldin projected as the #2 WR this weekend, and it made sense as the Texans have the worst pass defense in the league (287.4 YPG heading into week 14). However, to keep the tradition of crazy things happening this weekend, Boldin came up with just one catch for 14 yards.
Brandon Lloyd:As usual, when your QB makes the losers list, the team's best WR will make the list too. To date, Lloyd has racked up 63 receptions for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns this season, but on Sunday he finished just three catches for 32 yards. Lloyd has fantasy starter numbers, but his value is directly related to Orton's performance and that worries me to death.
Antonio Gates:Gates missed yet another game and hopefully his owners were first on the wire to snatch Jacob Tamme a few weeks back. Tamme wouldn't have helped much this weekend, but four catches and 36 yards is better than zero catches for zero yards.
Denver Broncos defense:The Broncos defense looked good heading into week 14 given the Cardinals' offensive woes. However, since week 14 was right out of the Twilight Zone, the exact opposite happened. The Cardinals put up 37 points on the Broncos defense, didn't allow a sack or INT and had just one recovered fumble against them.
