Josh Allen will again try to top Lamar Jackson. (All-Pro Reels)
Washington won its first playoff game in nearly two decades thanks to a last-second field goal that barely made it; A.J. Brown clearly enjoys reading; and Saquon Barkley probably pissed off plenty of anytime TD bettors, but he showed respect for his opponent by not taking it to the house in the final minute against Green Bay. Other Fantasy football stories we’re following include…
The Battle of the Best QBs
The Buffalo Bills, back in the playoffs for a sixth straight season — this time as the AFC’s No. 2 seed — remain in the mix after shaking off a slow start to pummel the Broncos, 31-7.
Trying to get past the Divisional Round for the first time since 2020, now the Bills will face the powerful Baltimore Ravens.
This brings up a fascinating battle between Josh Allen – the quarterback many use as the yardstick of greatness in the NFL — against Lamar Jackson, arguably one of the select few that can be considered at the same level or even better than Allen. This should be fun.
One of the aspects of Allen’s game that made him so successful this season was his ability and willingness to spread the ball around to his various offensive weapons. That balanced approach helped Buffalo match its franchise high with 13 wins this season, and was very apparent in Sunday’s win as eight different Bills had receptions.
In completing 20-of-26 passes for two scores (including this one) and zero picks while posting a superb 10.5 YPA, Allen enjoyed arguably his finest passing game in over five weeks. Another 46 yards on the ground rounded out his superb performance.
This season was perhaps Allen’s best yet, at least from the perspective of taking care of the ball as he shattered his personal record for fewest interceptions thrown; in fact, he only had a third of the total from his career-worst showing in 2023. And although he didn’t score as many rushing touchdowns this year, it was a stronger showing from YPR perspective.
Expect Allen and Jackson to again rank 1-2 at the top of the Fantasy football quarterback ranking for the Divisional Round, setting up what could be the game of the year. Whether throwing or rushing, Allen was in on 41 TDs in the regular season, so getting “just” two in the Wild Card game is less than what we’re accustomed to. Can he up that number vs. B-More? (According to the very excitable dude in the video below, Allen will not rise to the occasion.)
Former Wyoming star Allen brings a great skill set to the table and really the only obvious flaw in his game is accuracy, although he’s been slightly better in that regard over the last couple of years.
Can Chiefs Threepeat?
Much ink has been spilled about how the Kansas City Chiefs seem more vulnerable this season, yet somehow they won a franchise record 15 games (and it could have been 16 had they not sent their practice squad to the field in Week 18), earning a first round bye in the playoffs for their efforts.
No AFC team has better odds to win the Super Bowl than KC (currently +350 as per FanDuel), so what chance does its Divisional Round opponent, Houston (or any team), have against the Chiefs?
Well, what you need to consider is how much tighter Chief games were this season. Their point differential was just +59 – the team’s worst mark since its last sub-.500 season (2012’s two-win debacle).
That was same year that KC was last shut out before the season finale’s 38-0 drubbing at the hands of Denver. Of course, Patrick Mahomes – who had some injury scares this year — sat this one out along with most of the Chiefs’ key starters.
He looked rather ordinary for a six-week stretch starting in mid-November, before rounding into peak form for the last two games, especially the Christmas Day game against the Steelers (29 completions for 320 yards while tying his season high with three touchdown passes while not getting picked or sacked).
Despite that lengthy stretch of mediocrity, Mahomes’ numbers were actually slightly improved from last season. He had a career high 67.5 per cent completion rate and was picked fewer times while managing an improved YPC on the ground and scoring a couple of touchdowns after being shut out in 2023.
Meanwhile, Denver and its rookie QB visit Arrowhead Stadium to face a rested KC squad that has yet to lose at home all year, and is led by a quarterback that is peaking at the right time and gunning for a fourth career ring.
Um, good luck with that.
For Fantasy purposes, for the Divisional Round slot Mahomes right behind the top two QBs discussed above.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
American nu metal band Limp Bizkit got its start in 1994 and, other than a three-year break, has remained active since. In 2005, they released the compilation album Greatest Hitz, which included “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle),” originally from 2000’s Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. That album’s second single became the band’s highest charting U.S. track ever, reaching No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100.