New England Patriots @ Las Vegas Raiders

Rhamondre Stevenson sat out New England’s first drive while the announcers suggested the team would be happy to “get a few touches out of him” Sunday. He finished leading the league in rushing yards (172) in Week 15, also contributing to the most bizarre ending to an NFL game you’ll ever see:

Stevenson impressed while playing through an ankle injury that cost him most of practice all week. He and Christian McCaffrey are the only players in the league with 50+ catches and 700 rushing yards this season.

Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs entered accounting for the highest percentage of team scrimmage yards (62 percent) since Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James in 1999, but Las Vegas’ passing attack was more spread out Sunday with the return of Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow. Adams finished with 28 scoreless yards, as Belichick lived up to his cliché of shutting down his opponent’s best weapon.

Mac Jones somehow managed just 112 scoreless yards (3.6 YPA) indoors against a Raiders defense that entered allowing easily the highest Passer Rating. His -20.4 completion percentage over expectation was in the second percentile. It was a concerning performance by the sophomore quarterback in a season full of them.

Kyle Dugger recorded a nice pick-six, although the Raiders narrowly avoided losing yet another game in which they led by 13+ points at halftime (they have already set the NFL record this season). Bill Belichick fell to 1-7 over his last eight games against previous assistants, thanks in part to a late Keelan Cole play ruled a touchdown when he was objectively out of bounds.

It’s not an easy job, but NFL referees are comically bad.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears

Jalen Hurts didn’t throw any touchdowns and was picked off twice but had 300+ passing yards and ran for three scores while finishing as Sunday’s top-scoring fantasy QB. Hurts’ 13 rushing scores are one shy of the NFL lead this year as well as the record for the most by a quarterback in any season. Hurts also had the dime of the week to A.J. Brown late in the fourth quarter … Justin Fields was nearly a top-five QB this week despite facing an Eagles defense that entered allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. He also immediately lost his WR1 while already missing Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool. Fields was close to making the play of the year if not for stepping out of bounds (just barely) ... An Eagles running back didn’t get a carry until Miles Sanders got a chance with 2:49 left in the second quarter. Sanders also lost a fumble and totaled just 29 yards against a Bears defense that ranks last in DVOA and has allowed five more rushing touchdowns than any other team in the league.

It was truly a disastrous performance by Sanders to open the fantasy playoffs.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Houston Texans

Mahomes completed 88% (!) of his passes and put up top-three QB stats against a Texans defense allowing the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks, although they still haven’t allowed a WR1 since Week 1 (Michael Pittman). Mahomes was helped by a nice catch by MVS, while JuJu Smith-Schuster’s usage suggests a big finish to the season is coming … Isiah Pacheco totaled 97 yards but lost a fumble and once again took a backseat to Jerick McKinnon, who saw a season-high 18 opportunities while remarkably finishing as fantasy’s top-scoring back for the second straight week. His expert consensus rank was the RB32 in Week 15 … Royce Freeman surprisingly led Houston’s backfield, but no Texans RB can be used in fantasy with Dameon Pierce out … Chris Moore couldn’t match last week’s production but dominated targets once again. Jordan Akins had quite the busy game, dropping an early touchdown before later drawing a long pass interference penalty and then pulling down a TD.

Speed kills:

Dallas Cowboys @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Trevor Lawrence and Dak Prescott combined for seven TD passes in a matchup that totaled 74 points. Zay Jones erupted for three scores and hauled in the longest TD pass of Lawrence’s career, finishing as the top-scoring fantasy wideout in Week 15. Lawrence has 14 touchdowns and one interception over the last five games … Travis Etienne lost a fumble early, but while the lack of targets continues to disappoint, the emergence of Lawrence as one of the five best quarterbacks in the league will surely help his fantasy value moving forward. Lawrence should be among the favorites to win MVP entering next season (and if not, I’ll be hammering it).

Prescott had the highest CPOE (23%) of any half in the league this season to open this game, but he also has the most interceptions in the NFL since Week 9, including a pick-six in overtime. Rayshawn Jenkins finished a monstrous game with 18 tackles and two interceptions, including the play that ended Jacksonville’s 20-game losing streak to NFC opponents … Ezekiel Elliott has a rushing touchdown in an NFL-high seven straight games, but he’s yet to reach 100 yards from scrimmage this season … CeeDee Lamb recorded his seventh catch for 126 yards with 9:31 remaining in the third quarter and then somehow wasn’t targeted over the final 30 minutes. And that’s with Michael Gallup and Dalton Schultz combining for just 17 yards on three catches.

Detroit Lions @ New York Jets

Zach Wilson was getting 13.2 YPA at halftime but threw an ugly interception early in the third quarter, as the Lions secured a takeaway for an NFL-high 12th straight game. Wilson was given no help from his running backs (Bam Knight got 1.8 YPC) but fed Garrett Wilson and finished as a top-10 fantasy QB against a Detroit defense that entered playing extremely well. It was certainly a step in the right direction for a quarterback with increasingly low expectations … Jamaal Williams had his 15th TD run of the season nullified by penalty, while Jared Goff underthrew a wide-open Jameson Williams on a would-be 45-yard touchdown. Williams was the NFL’s fastest recorded receiver last week while recently returning from ACL surgery, so the future in Detroit looks incredibly bright … A mostly uneventful game was won by the Lions thanks to a punt returned for a score and a 50-yard TD on fourth down to Brock Wright.

Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints

Credit to Desmond Ridder for throwing deep on his first pro snap (and for targeting Drake London 11 times), but he struggled mightily against a New Orleans defense that entered playing well. Ridder failed to throw for 100 yards, finishing with 3.7 YPA and a CPOE (-18.6) in the third percentile. Better days are ahead for the rookie, but this was a rough start. He was lucky he didn’t throw a pick-six early on as well … Juwan Johnson has the second-most touchdowns among tight ends this season, while Taysom Hill was a TE1 this week despite not being targeted; Hill ran for 30 yards and threw a long TD pass … It was frustrating to see Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave combine for just six targets, as was a lost fumble by London costing a chance at overtime. Nevertheless, London will be someone to target in 2023 fantasy drafts.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Carolina Panthers

Mitch Trubisky played well enough against a surging Carolina defense to keep Mason Rudolph from appearing, while Najee Harris scored but also lost two goal-line touchdowns. Diontae Johnson is up to 77 catches with zero TDs this season … It was surprising to see the likes of Trubisky and Sam Darnold finish in the 90th+ percentile in CPOE while facing defenses that had been playing well … D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard totaled just 19 yards on 14 carries, while DJ Moore played through his ankle injury and scored against a Pittsburgh defense that continues to be among the most favorable to fantasy wideouts.

Arizona Cardinals @ Denver Broncos

Brett Rypien played well, while Arizona is down to its third QB after Colt McCoy went down Sunday. Trace McSorley threw two picks and posted a -20.2 CPOE (second percentile) in relief. If possible, the Cardinals offense might be even worse down the stretch … Latavius Murray tied for the league lead with 24 carries this week, although Marlon Mack has emerged as Denver’s clear passing-down back … Game script prevented Jerry Jeudy from having a bigger box score, but increased/unexpected competition from two other tight ends also contributed to Greg Dulcich’s quiet afternoon in what appeared to be a smash spot.

Tennessee Titans @ Los Angeles Chargers

Justin Herbert failed to throw a touchdown (and he finished outside the top-20 fantasy QBs) despite having fully healthy receivers and facing a struggling pass-funnel Titans defense ravaged by injuries in a matchup that appeared highly favorable. Mike Williams had just 16 yards until picking up 51 on the final drive that started with 48 seconds left, while Austin Ekeler saw fewer than four targets for just the second time all year … Derrick Henry is having by far the best receiving season of his career, and he’ll continue to be relied on heavily while Ryan Tannehill battles a sprained ankle that caused him to be carted off before returning Sunday … Tennessee’s first takeaway in five games was also a candidate for defensive play of the year ... The Titans have one of the league’s best point differentials in the first half but one of the worst afterward this season … Chig Okonkwo should be drafted as a top-10 tight end next year.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Up 17-3 at halftime, the Buccaneers somehow suffered the most lopsided loss of the week in the only game decided by double-digits. Tom Brady had been 89-0 when leading by 17 points at home during his career before Sunday. After throwing just two picks over the first 11 games, Brady has five interceptions (and two lost fumbles) over the last three. He’s fortunate to once again be in the NFL’s worst division, but the GOAT is limping down the stretch while getting just 6.0 YPA over the last nine games … Mike Evans had most of his 83 yards early and watched Chris Godwin and Russell Gage catch three touchdowns. Evans hasn’t scored in 10 straight games after totaling 27 TDs over the last two years … Byron Leftwich must’ve been wearing four raincoats when he called a run play during a rare first-and-one situation … Joe Burrow had a bizarre game in which he failed to eclipse 200 passing yards (5.1 YPA) but tossed four touchdowns anyway. It wasn’t Burrow’s best performance, but he got zero help from Cincinnati’s rushing attack and will continue to benefit from a now-healthy WR group that’s likely the best in the league.

New York Giants @ Washington Commanders

Saquon Barkley looked rejuvenated while totaling 120 yards against a Washington defense that entered ranked fourth against the run in DVOA. He also led the team with a season-high eight targets while getting his best YPC (4.8) since Week 5. Barkley helped carry a limited Giants offense that didn’t see any pass catchers reach 45 receiving yards Sunday night … New York pulled off the upset thanks in part to a defensive touchdown as well as some shaky officiating late … Rookie Jahan Dotson continues to impress and pulled down one of the best catches of the season … The Commanders have now tied and lost to the Giants over their last two games during a stretch of weird scheduling.

Follow Dalton Del Don on Twitter