The long race to the fantasy football playoffs is nearly over. The conclusion of Week 14, which has pivotal real-life stakes on the NFL playoff picture, brings with it the end of the fantasy regular season for most players (there are leagues that have their championships in Week 18 for some bizarre reason but they are the outliers in the fantasy space).
If your team punched a ticket to the postseason, congratulations are in order as the long battle of a chaotic regular season littered with injuries and underperformance is over. The one-and-done nature of the fantasy playoffs is unforgiving, so with a win-or-go-home situation looming don't be afraid to bench a few fantasy stars who delivered underwhelming lines on Sunday.
NFL Fantasy Stars Who Should Be Benched After Week 14
QB Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
The fact that Daniels, who was a league-winner for many last year, was able to get back on the field just weeks after a gruesome elbow dislocation is a remarkable story. With Washington at 3-9 entering the game, the odds were slim of the Commanders pulling off a postseason comeback, but Daniels wanted to get back on the field to help his teammates in any way possible.
Those comeback dreams were dashed as Daniels hurt his elbow again and left the game in the second quarter, turning the Washington offense back over to Marcus Mariota. Anyone who started Daniels in fantasy got a very unlucky line of 78 passing yards and 16 rushing yards with an interception, which was trending towards dud even if Daniels didn't get injured.
Head coach Ron Rivera revealed after the game that Daniels could have returned in the second half but Washington kept him on the bench with the score well out of hand in a 31-0 defeat. With that result officially eliminating Washington from the playoffs, expect the Commanders to treat their franchise quarterback with kid gloves, so any start he makes carries tremendous risk of an unfinished game if Daniels is injured in-game.
RB Breece Hall, New York Jets
The momentum the Jets built with a 3-2 run over their past five games came to a crashing halt with a lopsided 34-10 loss to Miami that was marred by the loss of Tyrod Taylor to a groin injury in the first half, leading undrafted rookie Brady Cook to finish the game.
The Jets' offense completely imploded under Cook, who completed 14-of-30 passes for 163 yards with two picks, and the Dolphins teed off on Breece Hall as a result. Game flow was against Hall, who carried 14 times for 43 yards, and he was only targeted once in the passing game as offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand still cannot figure out how to use Hall's receiving skills effectively.
Week 15's trip to Jacksonville is a bad draw for Hall as the Jaguars held Jonathan Taylor to 74 yards on 21 carries on Sunday. If the Jets are forced to roll with Cook again on Sunday there may be 9 men in the box against Hall, which is not a recipe for fantasy success.
WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
We warned against starting Jefferson in this space last week and that warning went unheard in most circles, with Jefferson drawing fantasy starts in 91 percent of Yahoo! leagues in Week 14. Even though the Vikings won 31-0 and J.J. McCarthy threw three touchdowns Jefferson delivered another dud, catching two passes for 11 yards in the win.
McCarthy looked Jefferson's way only 4 times, which trailed Jordan Addison's seven targets for the most looks on the team. Minnesota only dialed up 27 passes for McCarthy, who was sacked four times and completed 16-of-23 attempts for only 163 yards, while the Vikings ran 34 times for 162 yards.
The fact that Jefferson didn't deliver in a plus matchup where everything went Minnesota's way is an alarming development for his fantasy managers. While no one can deny how talented Jefferson is, if anyone delivered an average of 4.92 points in half-PPR leagues over a five-week span they would be off of fantasy rosters, meaning Jefferson backers are relying on name value over the production they're getting on the field.
RB Kenneth Walker, Seattle Seahawks
While the Seahawks cruised to victory in Atlanta to get to 10-3 on the season, they have not been able to figure out how to get the most out of their running backs. Despite having a pair of talented running backs in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, Seattle has been mediocre as a rushing team, relying on the exploits of Sam Darnold and a strong defense to stack up wins.
Week 14 was no different for Seattle as Walker delivered another dud, rushing 10 times for 29 yards while adding one reception for -1 yards. The Seahawks have vowed to make Walker the true lead back but they cannot help turning things into a 1A/1B situation, with Charbonnet carrying 7 times for 46 yards in the game.
The touchdown pendulum has also been heavily in favor of Charbonnet, who has eight scores compared to just three for Walker, who has registered only one touchdown since Week 3. While the struggling Colts offer a platform for Walker to bounce back, expect Seattle to revert back to a true platoon in their backfield, rendering him untrustworthy in the fantasy playoffs.