X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

NFL Recap - Week 15 Surprises, And Looking Ahead

Happy holidays to all of our readers!  And that greeting is not only extended from us here, but also from all the players in the NFL, who caught the holiday spirit just in time this year.

And what better way to celebrate than to look at some of the best gifts the NFL gave to us this week?

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive BOTH our full season NFL and NBA Premium Passes for free, a $119.99 value. Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Passes.

 

What Just Happened?

The Jacksonville Jaguars gave the Houston Texans a much more effective (and cheaper) quarterback.  The Texans thanked them by giving them a new coach.

It's a Christmas double-whammy!  The Jaguars raced out to an early lead on the Texans, picking off $72 million man Brock Osweiler twice in two attempts.  (As an aside, I know inflation means that currency doesn't go as far as it did back in the day, but you'd think that seventy-two million dollars could buy at least, like, three cybernetic quarterbacks even if they aren't played by Lee Majors.)  The Texans responded by putting former fourth-round draft pick Tom Savage into the game, and Savage led the Texans back from a 20-8 deficit.  By the way, Savage is only guaranteed $300,584 over the terms of his contract, while Osweiler is guaranteed $37 million.  By my calculations, that means that the Texans spent enough money to buy 100 quarterbacks and yet got like -1/2 of one.  Poor Houston.

However wretched their QB situation was, the Texans got right back into the giving spirit by handing the Jaguars their 12th loss of the season, prompting Jacksonville to fire head coach Gus Bradley on the tarmac.  This move is widely known as "being Kiffin'd."  (Good luck to the Florida Atlantic Owls, by the way!)

 

The curse of Ryan Fitzpatrick kept on giving itself.

During the course of the Dolphins' 34-13 victory over the Jets, Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake hit Bryce Petty right in the soul.  Ordinarily, this would just be considered a hard hit, an inevitability in such a rough game.  Of course, we know better - the annihilation of Petty's immortal spirit was preordained.  As any quarterback in the NFL should know, once taking the starting job from Fitzpatrick, the dark forces of beard voodoo are summoned and that his days are numbered.  Fitzpatrick responded to his recent re-promotion at the hands of black magic by going 5/10 for 35 yards and an INT, thus telling a cautionary tale on the nature of follicular sorcery.  It's a fickle mistress.

 

Andy Reid literally gave away a victory, for no reason!

This is more just an aside about the pointlessness of icing a kicker, especially in the middle of a "polar vortex" event (I mean, come on, everyone is being iced if it's 0 degrees before wind chill).  Titans K Ryan Succop lined up for a game winning field goal with TEN down 17-16, and missed the first attempt.  Not to worry, however!  Kansas City head coach Andy Reid, using his keen understanding of strategy and statistics, called timeout before the kick, giving Succop a second chance...which he promptly nailed.  By the way, not only is icing the kicker one of the least watchable strategic football moves there is, kickers don't actually miss more often after being iced.  Andy Reid used a timeout for no good reason, and it cost the Chiefs a one-game lead in the AFC West after the Raiders beat the Chargers in San Diego.  There's a lesson in there, somewhere.  Something about the dangers of letting a live walrus run your team.

 

Ezekiel Elliot gave the best gift of all - Ezekiel Elliott.

During the course of the Cowboys' course-correcting 26-20 victory over the Buccaneers, Ezekiel Elliott did something most of us have gotten very accustomed to: he scored a touchdown.  Fortunately for us, there was an oversized Salvation Army kettle behind the endzone in AT&T Stadium and Elliott decided to celebrate by jumping in, which is fitting considering there is no greater prize than receiving various crop-top and touchdown related blessings.

Of course Zeke was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct because the NFL is committed to sucking the fun out of everything.  I mean, at least when Larry Nance Jr dunked Brook Lopez out of existence and ran back laughing the laugh of a conqueror, the NBA was like "that is his legal right - he just dunked on Brook so hard that Robin Lopez started fading from existence."  In the NFL if anyone smiled at someone like Nance did there, they'd be sent to a secret room in the basement of the league offices for social reprogramming.  (Totally unrelated - is it obvious that I've watched that dunk 20 times a day for the past 4 days?)

There is some good that came out of the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, though.  Elliott pledged to match any fine levied against him by the NFL with a charitable donation to the Salvation Army.  Also, Jerry Jones said some crazy old oil man thing about Zeke, which is a marked improvement over the many, many instances of him calling Dak Prescott "daddy."

 

That's it for this week.  Have a happy holiday season, everyone.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Yordan Alvarez

Resumes Swinging -- Return Imminent?
Jake Burger

to Miss an Additional 2-3 Weeks
TreVeyon Henderson

Signs Rookie Contract
Christian Watson

Goes on PUP List
Austin Riley

Hopes to be Activated Next Week
Ketel Marte

Lands on Restricted List After Burglary
Ricky Pearsall

Heads to PUP List
Brandon Aiyuk

Placed on PUP List
Luther Burden III

Signs Rookie Deal
Washington Nationals

Eli Willits Expected to Sign Contract on Saturday
Grayson Rodriguez

Being Shut Down Again - Will We See Him Again This Year?
Ezequiel Tovar

Activated and Back in Lineup on Friday
Max Fried

"Hopeful" to Pitch Next Week - Looks Like He'll Avoid IL Stint
Steven Kwan

Receives Injection in Wrist, Considered Day-to-Day
CJ Abrams

Back to Start Second Half
Alec Bohm

Back From Rib Injury on Friday
Trey Hendrickson

Holdout to Spill into Regular Season?
Jalen McMillan

Bucs Offensive Coordinator Not Forgetting About Jalen McMillan
Levi Onwuzurike

to Miss at Least Four Games
Nick Emmanwori

Seahawks, Nick Emmanwori Reach Agreement on Rookie Deal
Max Holloway

Set For Main Event
Brandon Lowe

Back From 10-Day Injured List
Dustin Poirier

Set For His Final UFC Fight
Roman Kopylov

Set For Co-Main Event
Paulo Costa

Returns At UFC 318
Luis L. Ortiz

to Remain on Leave for Another Month - Will he Pitch Again?
Daniel Rodriguez

Looks For Third Win In A Row
Kevin Holland

Set For His Fourth Fight This Year
Dan Ige

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
MMA

Patricio Freire Set For His Second UFC Fight
Daniel Zellhuber

Set To Open Up UFC 318 Main Card
Michael Johnson

Looks For Third Consecutive Win
Elijah Arroyo

Signs Rookie Deal
Jaydon Blue

Described as "Borderline Lazy"
T.J. Sanders

Bills Sign T.J. Sanders to Rookie Deal
Christian Wilkins

Raiders Put Christian Wilkins on PUP List
Jabari Small

Lions Add Jabari Small to Backfield
Quinshon Judkins

Remains Unsigned, Won't Report With Rest of Rookies
Mason Taylor

Agrees to Rookie Contract with Jets
Hendon Hooker

Leading Lions QB2 Battle Entering Training Camp
Ozzy Trapilo

Agrees to Rookie Contract with Bears
Tate Ratledge

Agrees to Rookie Contract with Lions
Jack Bech

Signs Rookie Contract with Raiders
Yegor Chinakhov

Requests Trade
Dakota Joshua

Maple Leafs Acquire Dakota Joshua
Lukas Dostal

Signs Five-Year Extension with Ducks
Shemar Stewart

Not Practicing With College Team
Eugenio Suárez

Eugenio Suarez Expected Back Friday
Damian Lillard

Returning to Portland
Paul Skenes

Pirates Could Preserve Paul Skenes in Second Half
Brooks Barnhizer

Grabs 19 Points, Nine Boards in Summer League Win
Jeremiah Fears

Scores 22 Points in Summer League Loss to Thunder
Isaiah Collier

Collects 17 Points In Summer League Win
Caleb Houstan

Joins Hawks
AJ Johnson

Erupts for 25 Points in Summer League Loss
Washington Wizards

Leaky Black Logs Double-Double in Loss to Jazz
Connor Norby

Undergoes Surgery, Expected to Miss 6-8 Weeks
Trey Alexander

Tallies 25 Points in Losing Effort
Johni Broome

Records Second Consecutive Double-Double
Jahmir Young

Has Historic Summer League Outing
Rob Dillingham

Plays Big Role in Wednesday's Win
Tyrese Proctor

Erupts for 35 Points Against Kings
Cody Williams

Leads Jazz to Victory Against Wizards
LeBron James

Mavs Not Interested in "Gutting its Roster" For LeBron James
Josh Hart

Undergoes a Procedure on Right Finger
Jake Burger

Goes on 10-Day Injured List With Quad Strain
Sal Frelick

Dealing With Grade 1 Hamstring Strain, TBD for Start of Second Half
Chris Sale

Plays Catch
Los Angeles Clippers

Bradley Beal Heading to Los Angeles to Join Clippers After Contract Buyout
Rayan Rupert

Scores 24 Points in Summer League Win
Derik Queen

Collects Third Consecutive Double-Double in Summer League Loss
GG Jackson II

Records 13 Points in Summer League Action on Tuesday
Johni Broome

Logs Double-Double Against Wizards
DaRon Holmes II

Records Double-Double in Summer League Loss to Raptors
Kyle Schwarber

Named All-Star Game MVP
Harris English

Takes Stellar 2025 Performance to The Open Championship
Aldrich Potgieter

Seeks Better Result in Northern Ireland
Cameron Young

Likely to Hang Around at The Open Championship
Cameron Smith

Just Trying to Make the Cut at Royal Portrush
Jordan Spieth

Is Jordan Spieth Still a Natural for Links Style Golf?
Patrick Reed

a Viable Option at The Open Championship
PGA

Sungjae Im Wants to Rebound from Last Experience at Royal Portrush
Xander Schauffele

Looks to Defend His Claret Jug at Royal Portrush
Tony Finau

Trying to Turn Tide at Royal Portrush
Daniel Brown

Seeks a Rebound at The Open Championship
Rory McIlroy

Will be the Most Watched Player This Week at Royal Portrush
Daniel Berger

Trending Poorly as The Open Championship Looms
Clayton Kershaw

Retires Both Batters In ASG Appearance
Robert MacIntyre

Hoping to Bounce Back at Open Championship
Shane Lowry

Hopes to Repeat at Royal Portrush
Brian Harman

Hopes to Rekindle Some Magic at the 153rd Open
UTA

Michael Carcone Returns to Utah on One-Year Contract
Bowen Byram

Signs Two-Year Deal with Sabres
Morgan Barron

Jets Re-Sign Morgan Barron for Two Years
PGA

Chris Gotterup Punches Ticket to Royal Portrush With Win at Scottish Open
Bryson DeChambeau

Hopes to Reverse Links Golf Struggle at the 153rd Open
Keegan Bradley

Needs to Find The Weekend at Royal Portrush for Ryder Cup Hopes
Justin Thomas

Finishes Tied For 22nd at Genesis Scottish Open
Scottie Scheffler

Finishes Tied For Eighth at Genesis Scottish Open
Jon Rahm

Finishes in Second at LIV Andalucia
Tallison Teixeira

Suffers First-Round TKO
Derrick Lewis

Scores First-Round TKO
Stephen Thompson

Loses Controversial Split Decision
Gabriel Bonfim

Wins Controversial Split Decision
Calvin Kattar

Gets Outclassed At UFC Nashville
Steve Garcia

Extends His Win Streak
Nate Landwehr

Gets Knocked Out
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere Scores Third-Round Knockout
Austen Lane

Suffers Submission Loss
Vitor Petrino

Scores First-Round Submission In Heavyweight Debut
Tuco Tokkos

Earns His First UFC Win
Chase Elliott

Charges to A Finish of Third At Sonoma
Chase Briscoe

Finishes Second With his First Career Road-Course Top-Five at Sonoma
Christopher Bell

Rollercoaster Day Ends With Top-5 Finish at Sonoma
William Byron

Maintains the Regular-Season Points Lead
Kyle Busch

Earns A Hard-Fought Top-10 Finish At Sonoma
Alex Ovechkin

Not Thinking About Retirement
PIT

Penguins Acquire Arturs Silovs
NHL

Nikolai Kovalenko Returns to Russia
Tyler Reddick

Evades Near Upset to Remain Alive in In-Season Challenge
Ty Gibbs

One of Three Tylers to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinals
Kyle Larson

Curiously Mediocre at Sonoma Before Late-Race Crash
NASCAR

John H. Nemechek Edges Out Teammate to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Alex Bowman

Ty Dillon Bumps Alex Bowman to Advance to In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Shane Van Gisbergen

Can Anyone Beat Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma?
Tyler Reddick

Better at Sonoma Than Record Shows
Chase Elliott

a Prime DFS Option at Sonoma
Michael McDowell

Struggling a Bit at Sonoma
NASCAR

Christopher Bell Has Never Finished Better Than Ninth at Sonoma
Ryan Blaney

Has Top-10 Upside at Sonoma
NASCAR

Sunday at Sonoma Will Likely Be a Long Race for Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson

Is A Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma
Ryan Preece

Points Position Could Affect Race at Sonoma
Todd Gilliland

Struggling to Find Speed at Sonoma
Ty Gibbs

May be an Underrated Favorite to Compete for the Win at Sonoma