Fantasy Football week 14 early game reactions and takeaways

With the nine early week 14 games in the books, there is a lot to take away from these games, both good and bad, for fantasy football.

After the surprising game on Thursday night to kick off week 14, the early slate of games stepped up the craziness. There were plenty of points to go around, for most teams. But, there were also a lot of injuries during the nine games. Both of which will have a big impact on the fantasy football playoffs.

There was an excellent game between the 49ers and Saints that ended with a game-winning field goal by Robbie Gould. We also had 10 field goals in the Dolphins-Jets game, seven of which came from Miami.

On the negative side of scoring, the Panthers did not look good on either side of the ball. The defense allowed 40 points while Kyle Allen threw and ran for the only two Carolina touchdowns. The Lions’ only touchdown came late on a Kenny Golladay 10-yard reception.

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Despite that, the big takeaways from the early slate were the number of injuries, especially to star players. For fantasy owners in the playoffs, this is their worst nightmare. Having a star player, who carried you to this spot, miss a game in the most important week of the season is not ideal.

But, before we get carried away, I’m here to go over who got hurt and how likely they are to miss their week 15 game.

Mike Evans

The biggest name to pop up on the injury report at the end of the 1 PM games was the Buccaneers receiver. He made an athletic play to score a touchdown but immediately grabbed his right hamstring. Head coach Bruce Arians said that he “would be shocked” if Evans plays next week.

In his absence, Chris Godwin, OJ Howard and Cameron Brate should see more targets. Justin Watson and Breshad Perriman also scored 16 points each this week. Then again, with Jameis Winston under center, he may throw more turnovers than touchdowns.

Mark Andrews

The Ravens tight end caught just one pass for 14 yards before leaving the game with a knee injury. Head coach John Harbaugh said the injury isn’t serious and expects him to be ready for their Thursday night game against the Jets.

If you’ve been riding Andrews all season, this is not good news. The tight end position as a whole has been inconsistent. If Andrews is unable to play, look at backup Hayden Hurst as a replacement.

Jared Cook

Sticking with tight ends, the Saints tight end was having a big game, two catches for 64 yards and two scores, before suffering a concussion. He will have to pass the concussion protocol in order to play next week. And, with every concussion being different, his status for week 15 is uncertain. Josh Hill is the only remaining tight end for New Orleans.

The Saints were getting creative by incorporating Taysom Hill, Ted Ginn and Tre’Quan Smith more involved. They face the Colts in week 15, a favorable matchup for the Saints offense.

DeVante Parker

The result of the Dolphins-Jets game may have been different if Parker didn’t suffer a concussion. He caught two passes for 28 yards. Not sure if it was his absence or the Jets defense but Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 21-of-37 passes for 245 yards and an interception.

Like Cook, Parker will be under the concussion protocol. The week 15 matchup against the Giants would have been a good one to use Parker in for the fantasy playoffs. If you decided to take a flier on Fitzpatrick, he’ll have Mike Gesicki, Allen Hurns, Mack Hollins and Isaiah Ford as his pass catchers.

Other News and Notes

Broncos tight end Noah Fant will be questionable with a foot injury. He had it stepped on and luckily the X-Ray came back negative. Fant had a great game with four catches, 113 yards and a touchdown.

If you can, add whatever 49ers player you can. Jimmy Garoppolo is available in 40 percent of ESPN leagues. Raheem Mostert is 24.1 percent owned. Deebo Samuel is still availability in about half of leagues. While the Falcons shut down the Panthers, this San Francisco offense is better. They will put points on the board.

With injuries piling up late in the season, if you can, add your star’s backup. You want to be prepared in the worst situations. If Dalvin Cook goes down, we all know Alexander Mattison will get the majority of carries. At this point in the season, you won’t find that production anywhere else. The owners who picked up Patrick Laird in Miami were rewarded with a 12.6-point performance.

Week 14 started out crazy, so we’ll see how it finishes. The fantasy football playoffs are underway. Hopefully, you made the right decisions and are moving on to the second round. If so, use these notes to get another win in week 15.