Week 15 fantasy winners and losers: Cam shines (again), McCoy struggles
Winners
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Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers: How about this tidbit from ESPN Stats & Information: Newton has at least four touchdown passes in three career games -- and they have all come since Week 11 this season. Newton had 31 fantasy points five minutes into the second half and finished the game with 41, the second-highest mark this season ( Drew Brees had 44 in Week 8).
David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Johnson had gained more than 100 total yards in each of his past two games, but he had yet to really blow up from a fantasy standpoint. That changed on Sunday night against the Eagles, as the RB had 34 points through 35 minutes of the game. He finished the night with 40 -- the second-highest total of Week 15 -- behind 229 total yards and 3 TDs.
Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: Brown is Exhibit A for the "start your studs" theory in the fantasy playoffs. Facing a terrible matchup against a lockdown Denver defense, Brown caught 16 of his 18 targets, totaling 189 yards, 2 TDs and 30 fantasy points. For some perspective, the Broncos had allowed 31 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers in the past five games combined.
Demaryius Thomas/ Emmanuel Sanders, WRs, Denver Broncos: The Broncos WRs combined for 242 yards, 3 TDs and 44 fantasy points against an underperforming Steelers secondary. Sanders and Thomas ranked as the No. 2 and 8 fantasy wideouts in Week 15, behind a good performance from QB Brock Osweiler (296 passing yards, 3 total TDs, 28 fantasy points).
Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders: On a day in which he became the fourth WR ever to reach 1,000 receiving yards by age 21, Cooper put up 24 fantasy points against the Packers (six catches, 120 yards and 2 TDs). It was his best output all season and came a week after getting shut out by the Denver Broncos.
Danny Woodhead, RB, San Diego Chargers: Woodhead's past four games entering this week: 0, 3, 3, 0 points. On Sunday, he exploded for 30 points, behind four touchdowns. (He had never scored more than twice in a game.) Woodhead did it despite getting just 14 touches against the Dolphins.
Sammy Watkins, WR, Buffalo Bills: Watkins torched the Bills' secondary for touchdowns of 48 and 20 yards, on his way to posting 23 points. After struggling in Weeks 10 and 11 (four total points), Watkins has been playing like a man possessed during crunch time in the fantasy season (80 points over his past four games).
Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins: All three of Reed's multi-touchdown games of his career have come since Week 7 this season. On Sunday against the Bills, he turned in a complete game (seven catches, 84 yards and two scores), as he posted his second consecutive game of at least 18 points.
Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons: Believe it or not, Jones hadn't scored a touchdown since Week 8. He snapped that streak on Sunday in a golden matchup against the Jaguars' defense. He put up 17 points after averaging 7.3 points from Weeks 12-14.
DeSean Jackson, WR, Washington Redskins: Jackson caught a 77-yard touchdown, which propelled him to his best fantasy day (21 points) since scoring 22 in Week 9 last season.
Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears: When the Bears went down big to the Vikings, it looked like game flow might impact Forte's upside, but he managed to put up more than 100 total yards and a touchdown. His 15 points marked his third-consecutive game reaching double digits.
Ted Ginn Jr., WR, Carolina Panthers: Ginn has quickly become one of Cam Newton's go-to targets. After posting six catches, 85 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Giants, Ginn now has 64 points in his past three games.
Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: From Weeks 2-9, Freeman had eight consecutive games of at least 10 fantasy points. But in his next three games, the RB managed just 17 total. He busted out of that mini-slump on Sunday with 15 points against an underrated Jaguars run defense.
Charcandrick West, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: After putting up 27 points in Week 10 against the Broncos, West had managed just 13 total in his past three games. That changed on Sunday against the Ravens, as West busted a 38-yard touchdown on the Chiefs' first drive. The RB scored 13 points on the day against the Ravens.
Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins: Cousins completed his first nine passes against the Bills. Only three other quarterbacks have gone 9-of-9 or better in the first quarter this season. Cousins accounted for five touchdowns -- four passing and one rushing -- on his way to scoring 35 fantasy points on the day.
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Minnesota Vikings: Bridgewater beat his previous fantasy career-high by 10 points after putting up 32 on Sunday. He threw for 350 yards and five touchdowns on the day, leading the Vikings to a big win over the rival Bears.
Losers
LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills: McCoy left early in the second half with what appeared to be a bad knee injury, but he was struggling even before going down (10 carries, 29 yards). He failed to score on three consecutive runs from the 1-yard line. McCoy's two fantasy points snaps a streak of six consecutive games of the RB reaching double digits.
Eddie Lacy, RB, Green Bay Packers: Another week, another surprising performance from Lacy. Two weeks after he got benched vs. Detroit (0 points) and one week after he shredded Dallas (20 points), Lacy laid an egg against the Raiders, with just 23 yards and two points.
Lamar Miller, RB, Miami Dolphins: Of all the perplexing games Miller has played in 2015, this one might take the cake. Facing the No. 28 fantasy defense vs. running backs, Miller posted just 24 total yards and two fantasy points vs. the Chargers. This comes on the heels of a 2-TD, 20-point effort against the Giants in Week 14.
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers: Rodgers has now gone five consecutive games without throwing for more than 300 yards. On Sunday against the Raiders, he threw his sixth interception all season and posted his worst fantasy total (10 points) since Week 8 vs. Denver.
Danny Amendola, WR, New England Patriots: Like McCoy, Amendola also left Sunday's game early with a knee injury. He looked to have a good matchup (the Titans entered the week 24th in fantasy points per game allowed to opposing WRs), but Amendola's total came in at minus-two points thanks to a fumble on a punt return.
T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts: Coming off a 132-yard performance last week, Hilton managed just 29 yards against the Texans. It's been hard to count on Hilton since Andrew Luck went down an injury in Week 9 -- the WR has posted fantasy totals of 2, 21, 3, 13 and 2 points over that span.
Allen Hurns, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars: Hurns hasn't been a huge volume guy all season -- he has just one game with more than five catches all season. But he has been able to stay fantasy-relevant because of the frequency with which he reached the end zone (8 touchdowns on the season). Hurns didn't score on Sunday against the Falcons and posted just four points.
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