Pivotal weeks are fully underway in both fantasy and reality as playoff spots are being clinched and championship spots are involved for fantasy. There was quite a bit of offense in Week 15 as well which leads to more Red Zone chances across the board so let’s highlight who did what this week.
Red Zone Passing Attempts
Baker Mayfield , QB CLE – Mayfield has taken his fair share of lashings this year, and for good reason with his completely lackluster play. In Week 15 though, he managed double-digit passing attempts inside the 20 for the second time this season. The Browns face the Ravens this week, who are eager to get revenge on the team that beat them earlier this year, and the Ravens still have home-field advantage up for grabs throughout the AFC playoffs meaning it’ll be a tough challenge for Mayfield and company this upcoming Sunday.
Matt Ryan , QB ATL – Ryan was without one of his big weapons in Calvin Ridley but having Julio Jones was enough to help him post eight passing attempts for the fourth such week he’s had this year. The eight attempts turned into two touchdowns, both to Jones, and he had a rushing attempt too. Ryan has continued to be a solid fantasy option every week despite the team’s overall results in the games this year. Atlanta faces Jacksonville in Week 16, making Ryan a great play once more for Week 16 with the weak pass defense for the Jaguars.
Ryan Tannehill , QB TEN – We all know that Tannehill has been very good for the Titans so far in his tenure but in Week 15 he did something he hadn’t done before. Tannehill hadn’t previously had more than four Red Zone attempts since Week 6 but in Week 15 he posted eight attempts inside the 20-yard line with two of them going for scores, not including the rushing touchdown he had as well. There are rumors that there is a deal for Tannehill in the works and another strong showing like Week 15 would go a long way to helping progress those talks.
Red Zone Rushing Attempts
Kenyan Drake , RB ARI – Flashback to when the Cardinals made a trade for Drake and they were laughed at a bit and for good reason since Drake hadn’t done much of anything to that point. That’s since changed and especially this week when he went nuts. He carried it seven times inside the 20 and four of those turned into scores. Those seven carries are as many as Chase Edmonds had all year and was nearly half of David Johnson ’s total for the year as well. Drake is clearly the lead back in Arizona and they’ll need him to keep Russell Wilson off the field in Week 16 and Seattle’s defense can be run on as well.
Carlos Hyde , RB HOU – Remember when the Texans were questioned for picking up Carlos Hyde after Kansas City cut him? Well, it’s turned into a 1,000-yard season and this week he carried it five times inside the 20 and posted a TD on one of those. The run game has turned into an integral part of the Houston offense and Hyde has been the major beneficiary of that. They are facing Tampa Bay in Week 16 and while the pass defense for Tampa hasn’t been great, the rush defense has been solid which might slowdown Hyde.
Mike Boone , RB MIN – The injuries to the Vikings backfield paved the way for Boone to get some run in Week 15 and it paid off with a successful week including more than a few Red Zone carries. He toted it six times inside the 20 and posted two scores as well. The Vikings get a good match-up in Week 16 against the weaker Green Bay rush D and if both Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison are out, which it seems like they are, Boone is a great play who’s already gotten key work in games.
Red Zone Receiving Targets
Julio Jones , WR ATL – Ridley wasn’t on the field for this one, but that didn’t stop Jones from having his biggest game of the season on Sunday, in a surprising win over the Niners. The four targets he saw was a season-high for him and he caught all four for two touchdowns. Atlanta gets to the weak Jaguars defense in Week 16 and he should have a field day with that match-up, especially considering what he did in his last game.
George Kittle , TE SF – Kittle has been a bit up-and-down this season, even when he’s been healthy, but he showed out in a big way in Week 15. The four targets he saw last week account for more than a quarter of his looks inside the 20 this season and are clearly a season-high for him. None of the chances turned into scores but he did snag a couple of them. The chances in the Red Zone are a good sign though as he saw four total from Week 9 through Week 14 combined.
Chris Conley , WR JAC – Conley was the beneficiary of not having D.J. Chark on the field and the targets went his way this past week instead of Dede Westbrook . Conley saw four targets inside the 20 and caught three of them for two scores. Those four targets are a season-high for Conley and could lead to more looks this next week in a great match-up for he and the Jaguars, if Dede Westbrook doesn’t see the looks.
Red Zone Defense
Carolina Panthers – The Panthers haven’t really been relevant since Ron Rivera was fired as they’ve slid downhill since then. Now they are the defense that allows the most opponent trips to the Red Zone at 56 on the season. They are also a top-five team in highest-scoring percentages allowed inside the 20 which means the Colts offense might get back on the right path this week after a few down weeks in a row. Also, if you’re playing in Week 17, the Panthers face the Saints so it could be a great match-up for their offensive weapons as well.
Arizona Cardinals – With a big game for Seattle on tap this weekend against the Cardinals as they look to get the top seed in the NFC West, it’s important to bring up the fact that Arizona is allowing the most Red Zone trips per game to opponents. Seattle is a top-10 offense in scoring percentage in the league at this point and Arizona is a bottom-10 team in stopping teams from scoring which sets up a big week for Seattle potentially. We already know that the Cardinals have been bad against the tight end and Jacob Hollister has been a popular target of late for Russell Wilson when they get inside the 20, giving Arizona a tough task for Week 15 on the road.