Week 16 Saturday-Monday Fantasy Football Takeaways for QBs and TEs: Josh Allen, Joe Flacco, Jordan Love, George Kittle, Chigoziem Okonkwo and More
Discussing some fantasy football takeaways for quarterbacks and tight ends from the NFL games between Saturday and Monday in week 16.
Week 16 of the NFL season was a fun one, with several big-time performances and some great games happening over the holiday weekend.
Let’s break down some of the top performances we saw between Saturday and Monday. We’ll start with the quarterback and tight end spots - check back later for the running back and wide receiver story.
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Top Quarterback Performances
For all the fun games, there weren’t too many quarterbacks that really put together strong outings.
Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen had one of the top performances in a favorable matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Allen completed 15-of-21 passes for 237 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He added 15 rushing yards and two scores on five attempts.
Many expected a bigger passing day from Allen, but his couple short rushing TDs made up for the lack of passing yards and scores. Buffalo has a tougher game ahead against the New England Patriots, but Allen is a must start QB because of his ability as a ball carrier.
Cleveland Browns’ Joe Flacco was one of several quarterbacks to throw three touchdowns in week 16. He finished a win over the Houston Texans with 368 passing yards and the three scores, while throwing two interceptions and completing 27-of-42 passes overall.
Flacco has now passed for 300+ yards in three straight games, and has multiple touchdown passes in all four of his starts. He’s got five interceptions over the past two weeks, but he’s making up for the mistakes with tons of yards and scores. Flacco has a tough matchup ahead with the New York Jets, but if Flacco has gotten you this far, the QB might hold on to his starting fantasy role for many.
Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields did some nice things in the team’s win over the Arizona Cardinals in week 16. Fields completed 15-of-27 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but added 97 rushing yards and a score on nine attempts to finish as one of the better fantasy QBs.
Fields continues to be pretty underwhelming as a passer, but his running ability makes him a good fantasy option. He’s a solid starting option for week 17, as the Bears battle the Atlanta Falcons, a defense that’s allowing 17 fantasy points to opposing QBs per game.
Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts helped the team escape with a win over the New York Giants in week 16. Hurts completed 24 of his 38 passes for 301 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He added 34 rushing yards on eight carries, and stole another rushing TD on a QB sneak.
It was one of Hurts’ better passing yardages of the season, but failed to throw multiple TDs for the fourth straight game. He remains a fantasy stud because he scores so many short rushing TDs.
Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love continued his late season surge with a strong showing against the Carolina Panthers in a winning effort. Love was 17-of-28 for 219 yards, two scores and no touchdowns. He added 12 rushing yards and a score on two attempts.
Love now has multiple touchdown passes in six of the past seven games, and has thrown for over 200 yards in nine straight. The first-year starter only has one interception in the past six weeks. Love has an average matchup in week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson appears to now be the frontrunner for MVP after a strong showing in the team’s rout of the San Francisco 49ers. Jackson was 23-of-35 as a passer, going for 252 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. Jackson also rushed for 45 yards on seven attempts.
His dual-threat ability makes him a must start every week. He’s now thrown for nine touchdowns and just two interceptions over the past five games, also tallying 39 or more rushing yards in each of those games.
Denver Broncos’ Russell Wilson fared quite well despite his team losing to the Patriots in week 16. Wilson was 25-of-37 for 238 yards, two scores and no picks. He added 20 rushing yards on four attempts.
He’s a great starting option in week 17 as the Broncos face the weak Chargers’ pass defense.
Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young torched the Packers’ defense and had his best game as a pro. Young was 23-of-36 for 312 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. He rushed four times for an additional 17 yards.
The Packers’ pass defense is awful, so take Young’s performance with a grain of salt. He has another great matchup ahead against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but I can’t imagine many fantasy owners are going to want to start him in what is likely your championship round.
Other QB Outings
Minnesota’s Nick Mullens led the NFL this week with 411 passing yards. He also threw two touchdowns, but threw four interceptions.
Mullens gets the Packers’ defense in week 17, and after what the Pack has allowed the past couple weeks, Mullens is likely going to draw another fantasy start - if he gets the start in the real game.
San Francisco’s Brock Purdy saw his MVP chances pretty much dry up after throwing four picks against the Ravens on Monday night. Purdy was 18-of-32 overall for 255 yards, and didn’t throw a touchdown.
If you somehow advanced with Purdy as your starting QB this past week, the matchup in week 17 against the Washington Commanders has bounceback performance written all over it.
Cincinnati Bengals’ Jake Browning came back down to earth with a three-interception game in the team’s costly loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Browning did throw for 335 yards and a touchdown to help offset the negatives a bit.
Browning has a tougher matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in week 17.
Best Tight End Showings
San Francisco’s George Kittle led a pretty weak TE fantasy position in week 16. Kittle had seven grabs on 10 targets for 126 yards.
It was the second-most yards Kittle has produced this season. He’s got a tougher matchup against the Commanders this coming week, but he’s still a must start.
Tennessee Titans’ Chigoziem Okonkwo had a great showing in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Okonkwo caught all six of his targets for 63 yards and a score.
It was the most receiving yards in a game this season for Okonkwo, and the touchdown was his first. He’ll be a hot waiver wire name, especially because his week 17 clash with the Houston Texans is so favorable.
Chicago’s Cole Kmet hauled in four of his five targets for 107 yards in the team’s win over the Cardinals.
It was Kmet’s first 100-yard showing of the season. His week 17 matchup with the Falcons is a pretty favorable one.
Jacksonville’s Evan Engram had a huge game in the team’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Engram caught 10 of his 15 targets for 95 yards.
It was the third time in four weeks that the tight end has had nine or more grabs and 80+ yards. He’s got a tougher matchup with Carolina in week 17, but that shouldn’t matter much after what he’s done recently.
Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts scored in the team’s win over the Indianapolis Colts in week 16. He finished with 49 yards on three catches and four targets.
Pitts has at least 35 yards and three grabs over the past four games, with two scores in the timeframe. He’s got a pretty favorable matchup ahead against the Bears.
Cleveland’s David Nkoju scored for a third straight game and finished with 44 yards on six receptions and nine targets.
Njoku has scored four times over the past three games, and has at least six grabs in each of those contests. He’s got a fairly average matchup in week 17 against the Jets.
Houston Texans’ Dalton Schultz tallied 61 yards on eight grabs and 11 targets in the team’s loss to the Browns. He’s gone for over 50 yards in the past two weeks. His matchup with the Titans in week 17 is about as tough as it gets, but seeing what he’s done the past two weeks, you have to still like the idea of starting him, especially if C.J. Stroud returns.
Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert had one of his better games of the season in week 16. He caught 7-of-9 targets for 71 yards.
Goedert has a tough matchup with the Cardinals in week 17, but given the lack of pass-catching options in Philly, many are going to feel pretty strongly about starting Goedert.
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