Week 15 Monday Night Fantasy Football Takeaways: Falcons' Bijan Robinson, Vikings' Justin Jefferson Lead Teams to Victory; Bears' Keenan Allen, Raiders' Ameer Abdullah Solid in Losses

Two Monday night NFL games wrapped up week 15 of the regular season.

Let’s take a look at some fantasy football takeaways from the two games.

Also be sure to check out takeaways stories from Thursday and Sunday, along with the IDP roundup from Sunday.

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Bijan Robinson Powers Falcons

The Falcons earned a 15-9 win over the Raiders in one of the Monday games. It was running back Bijan Robinson leading the offensive charge for Atlanta.

Robinson had 125 rushing yards on 22 carries. He also had a 10-yard catch across two targets.

Without a touchdown, Robinson’s fantasy day wasn’t elite, but on the yardage alone, Robinson definitely helped some fantasy owners finish off wins.

He’s a must-start fantasy player, and has a great week 16 matchup against the Giants. There’s a chance Robinson could be fantasy RB1 in week 16.

Backup RB Tyler Allgeier had 43 rushing yards on 12 carries and wasn’t targeted in the passing game. He has a chance to deliver a decent fantasy score in the favorable matchup in week 16, and he could be a sneaky good flex option.

Kirk Cousins, Passing Game Flounder Again

Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins finally threw a touchdown (his first in five games), but his overall numbers were really weak.

Cousins was 11-of-17 passing for 112 yards, the touchdown and an interception. It was the least amount of passing yards Cousins has had in a game this season, and it continued a poor fantasy performance trend.

He hasn’t scored over 12 fantasy points in the past five games. Cousins has a pretty good matchup against the Giants in week 16, but based on how he’s played of late, it’s going to be hard to put him in starting lineups in standard leagues.

Drake London was the top Atlanta fantasy pass catcher. He had 53 yards on three catches and targets, but a touchdown saved his fantasy day.

Despite Cousins’ struggles of late, London has continued to deliver solid PPR fantasy totals. He has scored 12 or more points in three straight games. London is the top Falcons’ pass catcher to play in fantasy, and he feels like a pretty safe play going into week 16.

Tight end Kyle Pitts had 28 yards on four catches and targets. That was actually Pitts’ best fantasy showing over the past four games, which is pretty underwhelming.

The matchup against the Giants is a really tough one, and based on how Pitts has looked of late, he’s not going to be starting in many leagues, whether that be a standard one or a bit deeper one.

Darnell Mooney didn’t have a single catch and was targeted just once. Ray-Ray McCloud had a 14-yard catch across three targets.

Both Mooney and McCloud have been pretty solid fantasy assets all season, but neither were good on Monday night. In a tougher matchup against the Giants, both are going to be part of difficult start decisions, and after their week 15 showings, I bet most fantasy owners will keep them out of lineups.

Jakobi Meyers, Ameer Abdullah Stand Out for Raiders

Desmond Ridder started at quarterback for the Raiders. He threw for 204 yards and a touchdown, but was also picked off twice. 

Las Vegas had 65 rushing yards, but no back had over 25 yards. Alexander Mattison ended up being the top back after Sincere McCormick left with an injury.

Running back Ameer Abdullah was one of the few Raiders to stand out, with Jakobi Meyers also reaching double figures as a fantasy performer in PPR leagues.

Abdullah rushed for just eight yards on three carries, but caught all seven of his targets for 58 yards and a touchdown. Meyers had 59 yards on five catches and nine targets. Brock Bowers is usually the top pass catcher for Vegas, but he was limited to 35 yards on three grabs and six targets.

There’s not many good fantasy options on the Vegas offense, and with a revolving door of quarterbacks, it’s really difficult to trust anyone. Bowers still feels like the safest fantasy starter, and he’s got a good week 16 matchup against the Jaguars, so I bet most fantasy owners keep starting him.

Meyers has been a popular wideout in our start/sit articles here at FantasySP. He’s got an even more favorable test against the Jaguars next week, and considering what he’s done of late, I think he remains a pretty good starting option for fantasy owners.

Abdullah has quietly posted three double-digit PPR performances over the past five games. The problem is that he scored just 8.1 combined points in the other two games, so he’s really hard to trust. I still like the idea of starting Abdullah in some deeper PPR leagues for week 16, especially if McCormick is out of the picture.

Several Vikings Shine in Win

Minnesota earned a 30-12 win over the Bears in the second Monday night game. Several Vikings had solid fantasy outings.

Justin Jefferson was the top PPR scorer after catching seven of his 13 targets for 73 yards and a touchdown. He’s a must-start fantasy player, and has an average week 16 matchup against the Seahawks. Start JJ with confidence, every week.

Running back Aaron Jones had 86 rushing yards and a score on 18 carries and added 20 receiving yards on two catches and three targets. He’s a good weekly option, and should be starting more often than not. He’s also got an average matchup in week 16.

Wideout Jordan Addison had 63 yards on seven grabs and nine targets. Even without a touchdown, Addison delivered another good PPR showing. He’s been trending up over the past several weeks, and I’d keep starting him as long as he’s delivering.

Quarterback Sam Darnold was 24-of-40 for 231 yards, a touchdown and an interception. It wasn’t his best fantasy showing, but he at least put up a decent amount of points. His matchup against the Seahawks is also an average one, and I’d expect a lot of fantasy teams to start Darnold again in week 16.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson went for 52 receiving yards on five catches and seven targets. It wasn’t a monster fantasy showing, but he got into double figures in PPR leagues, and fantasy owners will take that at a weak fantasy TE position. He remains a good weekly starting option, and has an average clash against the Seahawks next week.

Backup RB Cam Akers had 24 rushing yards and a score on 10 carries. The touchdown was the only reason Akers delivered a good fantasy score. He’s a deep-league option for week 16, but it’d have to be a pretty deep league for me to really want to start him.

Chicago Offense Struggles Again

Not much went right for the Bears’ offense, which has been the theme most of the season.

Keenan Allen had the best fantasy day after catching six of his 13 targets. He went for 82 yards and a touchdown. It was a nice bounceback from a six-point fantasy showing last week. A week 16 clash with the Lions sets up favorably for the Bears’ wideouts, so Allen could be a flex-level option in standard leagues and a good deeper league option.

D.J. Moore had 46 receiving yards on eight grabs and targets, while also rushing for 24 yards on three carries. He’s scored in double figures in five straight games. I still like Moore the best of the three Chicago wideouts, but his up-and-down showings don’t make him the most confident starting option.

Quarterback Caleb Williams was 18-of-31 passing for 191 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. He rushed for just three yards on four scrambles. He failed to reach double figures as a fantasy scorer for the first time in five weeks, but he also only scored 14.1 points in week 14. Even in an average matchup with the Lions next week, Williams does not feel like a very good starting option.

Running back D'Andre Swift had a solid night, rushing for 79 yards on 19 carries. He also had a 10-yard reception on his lone target. Swift has been playing banged up, and it’s showing after his fourth straight single-digit fantasy showing. The Lions slow the run with the best of them, so Swift will be tough to trust in week 16.

Wideout Rome Odunze had 39 yards on two grabs and seven targets. He scored 20 fantasy points last week after catching a couple touchdowns, but this marks his third single-digit outing in the past four weeks. I trust him the least of the three Chicago wideouts right now.

IDP Standouts

Atlanta’s Kaden Elliss had a sack among his 11 tackles on Monday. He’s finished as a double-digit tackler in seven of the past eight games, and with a sack in three straight contests, Elliss is a good weekly IDP option.

Falcons’ DeAngelo Malone posted two sacks. He has just 12 tackles and the two sacks on the season, so this looks like an outlier performance. It’s still enough to get Malone added in some deeper IDP leagues though.

Minnesota’s Joshua Metellus had 10 tackles on Monday. He got into double figures for the second time in three weeks. With 88 tackles and some other splash plays this season, Metellus is a pretty good IDP option at safety.

Vikings’ Blake Cashman had eight tackles and a fumble recovery. He has at least six tackles in four straight games, and that alone makes him a solid IDP option down the stretch.

Chicago’s T.J. Edwards had a sack amongst his eight tackles. He has at least six tackles in all but one game this season. With a sack in back-to-back games as well, Edwards is a good weekly IDP option.

Las Vegas’ Isaiah Pola-Mao tallied nine tackles. He has 65 tackles on the season, but this was his best tackle performance of the season. Pola-Mao should get some more deep-league IDP starts as a result.