The Texans placed RB Dameon Pierce on IR with his ankle injury, ending his 2022 season. Pierce had an impressive rookie season, running for 939 yards on 4.3 yards per carry in a bad Houston offense. He currently ranks 8th in Pro Football Focus rushing grade and 3rd in Elusive Rating among 39 RBs with 100+ carries. It's enough to make Pierce the favorite to lead this backfield in 2023, but we'll see what the Texans do at the position this offseason. The Texans promoted RB Royce Freeman from the practice squad on Saturday. He joins Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale in the backfield for Sunday's game vs. the Chiefs.
The Patriots did not elevate a RB from the practice squad for Sunday's game vs. the Raiders. That suggests that RB Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) has a real chance to play. If not, New England will be down to just rookie RBs Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong. We won't get the Patriots' inactives until around 2:30 pm ET tomorrow, but we'll look for a Stevenson update in the morning.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Colts RB Jonathan Taylor's latest ankle injury is considered "nothing major." Taylor is scheduled for additional testing, though. "And with the Colts 4-9-1 record, it is uncertain when or if he’ll play again this season," Schefter adds. We should learn more about Taylor's rest-of-season outlook over the next few days. The Colts deployed a 2-man committee backfield without Taylor for most of Saturday's loss to the Vikings, with Zack Moss handling 24 carries and 1 target and Deon Jackson tallying 13 carries and 1 target. Both guys will be low-end fantasy options if Taylor misses more time.
The Rams have ruled DL Aaron Donald (ankle) out for Monday night’s game against the Packers
Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow (oblique) was activated, putting him on track to play vs. the Raiders on Sunday. He's been out since Week 9. Renfrow averaged just 4.8 targets, 3.5 catches and 32 yards across 6 games this season, so he’s not a recommended fantasy play.
Raiders TE Darren Waller (hamstring) has been activated and is now eligible to play vs. the Patriots on Sunday. He's been out since Week 5 with a lingering hamstring injury. Waller averaged 6.0 targets, 4.0 catches, 44 yards and .3 TDs over the first 4 weeks of the season, ranking 12th among TEs in half-PPR points during that stretch. Consider him a low-end, risk/reward TE1 in Week 15 fantasy lineups.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert (shoulder) was not activated on Saturday afternoon and won't play vs. the Bears tomorrow. He returned to practice this week and should tentatively be expected to return for Week 16. WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith should continue to dominate targets against Chicago.
Bills WR Cole Beasley was elevated from the practice squad for tonight's game vs. the Dolphins. We'll see how big a role he plays in his first game back with Buffalo, but he's nothing more than a flier in 1-game DFS contests.
Dolphins RB Jeff Wilson (hip) is inactive for tonight's game against the Bills. Raheem Mostert will operate as the clear lead back, with Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed behind him.
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook ran for 95 yards on 17 carries in Saturday's comeback win over the Colts. He added 4 catches for 95 yards and the final TD of regulation. Big plays were key, as Cook scored from 64 yards out late in the 4th quarter. He used a 40-yard run to pump up his rushing total as well. Cook gets strongly positive rushing matchups with the Giants and Packers the next 2 weeks.
Vikings WR K.J. Osborn tied WR Justin Jefferson for the team target lead (16) in Saturday's come-from-behind OT win over the Colts. Osborn caught 10 balls for a team-high 157 yards and scored. Jefferson returned from an injury check (chest) to catch 12 passes for 123 yards and a TD. WR Adam Thielen managed just 3 receptions on 4 targets for 41 yards and a TD. TE T.J. Hockenson added 3-33 receiving on 9 looks.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins threw for 460 yards and 4 TDs (with 2 INTs) in Saturday's comeback win over the Colts. He racked up a season-high 54 pass attempts in a game that found Minnesota fall behind 33-0 before roaring back and winning in OT. Cousins hit K.J. Osborn, Justin Jefferson, Dalvin cook and Adam Thielen for scores. It's his 2nd straight game with more than 400 yards passing. Minnesota gets the Giants and Packers in the final 2 weeks for most fantasy football leagues -- neither a scary matchup.
Colts WR Michael Pittman caught 10 balls for 60 yards in Saturday's OT loss to the Vikings. He drew 14 targets, accounting for 42.4% of Indy's total pass attempts. No other Colt drew more than 4 looks or exceeded 2 receptions. WRs Parris Campbell and Alec Pierce tied for 2nd in targets. Campbell caught 2 balls for 13 yards. Pierce went catchless. The Colts finish up with the Chargers and Giants the next 2 weeks.
Colts RB Zack Moss took advantage of RB Jonathan Taylor leaving Saturday's game early. He racked up 24 carries for 81 yards (3.4 per rush) in the OT loss to the Vikings. Moss also saw his lone target fall incomplete. We'll see about Taylor's status for a Week 16 home date with the Chargers. Moss will be worth grabbing on waivers in many cases ahead of that. RB Deon Jackson ran 2nd against Minnesota, carrying 13 times for 55 yards (4.2 per rush). He caught his lone target for 1 yard.
Bengals RB Joe Mixon seems to have a tough matchup with the Bucs this weekend. Tampa Bay ranks 10th toughest on RB scoring by our adjusted fantasy points allowed and has yielded the 6th-fewest PPR points per game to the position. But most of that has been limiting TD production. The Buccaneers sit tied for 3rd-fewest RB rushing TDs allowed. But they've also allowed 4.6 yards per rush, 11th most in the league. Two of the past 3 opponents have had a RB go over 110 yards on the ground. So it might not be as bad a matchup as the overall numbers suggest. The biggest issue for Mixon might be Samaje Perine edging him in pass routes and targets last week. The Bengals' lead back still sits in RB1 territory in our Week 15 fantasy football rankings.
Chargers RB Austin Ekeler has averaged 7.2 catches per game for the season, 6th highest in the league. That rate has climbed to 7.8 per contest over the past 8 games. That aspect is what keeps him high in our Week 15 fantasy football rankings, in spite of facing a Tennessee defense that ranks #1 in Football Outsiders' run-defense DVOA.
The forecast for tonight's Dolphins-Bills game calls for temperatures in the mid-20s and potentially heavy snow. If there's good news, it's that winds are expected to be manageable: 5-10 mph sustained with gusts of 10-15 mph. These are still less-than-ideal conditions for the passing and kicking games, though. We've made some adjustments to our projections for this game. Check out the updated rankings.
Browns WR David Bell (thumb, toe) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Ravens. Demetric Felton figures to replace Bell as Cleveland’s primary slot receiver but is only in play as a flier in Saturday DFS tournaments.
Ravens RB Kenyan Drake is a healthy scratch for today's game vs. the Browns. Baltimore will roll with RBs J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill.
Bears QB Justin Fields gets an Eagles defense that has allowed the league's 2nd-fewest QB points for the season and arrives as the 4th-worst scoring matchup for the position by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. But Philly has allowed the league's 12th most rushing yards to QBs despite facing the fewest QB carries for the year. That bodes well for Fields' floor. He's also off the injury report for the 1st time since hurting his shoulder in Week 11. That should help the QB's designed runs. Fields had just 1 his last time out. His previous 2 games (the 2nd of which was his injury game) found the QB getting 8 designed runs each time, according to Pro Football Focus.
Search
