Week 16

Well, well, well, look what we have here guys! I mean you can call it luck, you can call it happenstance, you can call it destiny, but whatever it is we have once again arrived at the Fantasy Bowl with two worthy competitors. Both have taken dramatically different paths to get to this point and both had huge Week 16 outings putting them into position to feel like the favored team this weekend. What I find very interesting about these two teams are the multiple connections between them. I mean check this out:

• The Quarterback of The Commish (Aaron Rodgers) was drafted by Aaron last year. He was traded in the preseason for Travis Kelce, who was acquired by The Commish midseason. Travis Kelce is currently the starting TE for Aaron.

• Jonathan Taylor has set the NFL on fire this year with 296 Fantasy Points (1,626 Rushing Yards, 17 Rushing TDs, 336 Receiving Yards, 2 Receiving Touchdowns). But did you know that Jonathan Taylor was actually drafted last year by none other than Aaron?

• Ezekiel Elliott was the first round draft pick of This is the Way in 2021 and I am sure I don't need to remind you the long and storied history Zeke has with The Commish.

• And finally you have the juxtaposition of Tee Higgins and JaMarr Chase both playing on the same real life offense but competitors on the Fantasy football field this weekend.

Lots of connections across both teams, will definitely be interesting to see how it plays out this weekend.

Before we take a look at the players lets look overall at the teams. The Commish will be competiting in his 9th Fantasy Bowl vying for his 7th Championship. He has a 6-2 record in the Fantasy Bowl with Championships in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2019. Aaron is undefeated in the Fantasy Bowl with a 1-0 record and his only Championship in 2017. The Commish is 4-2 over his last 6 matchups averaging 107 points. The is the Way is 3-3 over his last 6 matchups averaging 88 points.

These two teams split the regular season with This is the Way winning 111-92 in Week 2 off of 28 points from Cooper Kupp. The Commish won in week 11 126 - 55 off of the biggest performance of the year with Jonathan Taylor's 49 points.

Let's take a look at this matchup:

#2 This is the Way vs. #4 The Commish

QB: Aaron Rodgers vs. Dak Prescott

Dak Prescott busted out of his slump big time last weekend and put up massive points in really only a half of a game. His 37 point outing was his biggest game of the year and it came at the perfect time. Aaron Rodgers on the other hand has been one of the hottest players in the NFL since he came back from the COVID list. He has 5 straight games of 24+ points including two of the five with 35+. He is at Home on Sunday Night Football against an division rival and I am expecting another huge game.

EDGE: The Commish

RB: Jonathan Taylor & David Montgomery vs. Ezekiel Elliott and Sony Michel

Jonathan Taylor is tied for the most fantasy points over the previous 4 weeks (tied with Javonte Williams, TAR HEEL) and David Montgomery has the 4th most points. These two stars have been the rock of The Commish franchise and will be counted upon to have one more huge week a piece. Zeke doesn't have the same level of explosion that he has over the past years, but he continues to be a reliable source of Fantasy Points. He is coming off his highest scoring week (15 points) since Week 10 and will be looking to continue the success on Sunday. Sony Michel has been a revelation for Aaron and after Henderson's injury has had 4 straight games of at least 18 carries. There were rumors of Cam Akers coming back prior to the end of the regular season, but it doesn't appear its going to be this week so its safe to predict another week of Michel leading the Rams backfield. There are four very talented players in this position group, but with Jonathan Taylor coming off of a scoreless game and getting his offensive line back against the Raiders how do you pick against him?

EDGE: The Commish

WR: Cooper Kupp, JaMarr Chase, and Darnell Mooney vs. Amari Cooper, Tee Higgins, and Brandon Cooks OR Brandon Aiyuk

WR has been a sore spot for me all year as discussed last week in the notes but the WRs came to play in Week 16 with all three starters scoring double digit points for a total of 55 (a season high from my WR spots). Amari Cooper's public plea for more opportunities came true and hopefully it will continue for at least one more week. Tee Higgins has been a top 5 WR the last month and he had his statement game with 190+ receiving yards and two touchdowns. JaMarr Chase has gotten all of the press this year, but Higgins actually has more receptions and only 7 less targets. Who gets the better production in this weekend's game will have a huge impact on the results of this matchup. Cooks has seen a 25% target share and seems to be rolling with Davis Mills but how will coming off the COVID list impact him? Darnell Mooney has had a fantastic year, but can he have another big week? But really the WR matchup is all about one person: Cooper Kupp. We have sung the praises of Kupp all year and the season he is putting up has been unbelievable. He has 40 point points than the 2nd place WR and he has only had three matchups all year with less than 10 Fantasy Points. He is going against the Ravens which are pretty much a disaster in the secondary so you have to think odds are high he is going to get double digit points again. I just dont know how you bet against Cooper Kupp with what he has done this year.

EDGE: This is the Way

TE: Travis Kelce vs. ?

I am not sure this really matters to go into alot of detail. This is a massive advantage for Aaron and his clearest path to victory. He needs a huge point surplus out of the TE spot and I would imagine it is his primary focus this weekend.

EDGE: This is the Way

K: Greg Zuerlein vs. Justin Tucker

EDGE: We are talking about Kickers, who cares?

DEF: Miami vs. Dallas

This may be the most interesting matchup of the weekend. Miami just demolished the Saints to the tune of 25 fantasy points and they now have at least 9 Fantasy Points in 6 of their last 7 matchups including 4 outings of 17+ points. On the other side you have the Dallas Defense which has been the talk of the NFL over the last month. They have 4 CONSECUTIVE outings of 16+ points and have looked like the 85 Bears the past two weekends. The Cowboys are at home against the Cardinals why the Dolphins are on the road against the Titans. Interesting matchup, but I am not sure how you pick against the Cowboys right now.

EDGE: This is the Way

Prediction: Both teams had big outings in Week 16, but how do you pick against The Commish in a Fantasy Bowl? We are a team on a mission and are motivated to prove that we are just as hungry to win #7 as we were to win #1.

The Commish 127 - This is the Way 97

Before we get to the awards let's check out this week's edition of Gridiron Heights (it's a good one):

Let's get to the awards...

Move of the Week

There weren't really any moves that made a positive outcome, so let's give this weeks Move of the Week to using their brain cells and adjusting their COVID protocols. It's about time.

Manager of the Weak

You know what? You are all winners in my book. Why would we bother giving one of you Manager of the Weak in such an important Fantasy Football week? I mean you all tried so hard!

Ok fine. KRABS, you are once again Manager of the Weak.

MVP

Miami Dolphins Defense & Dak Prescott

I could talk all day about how the Miami Dolphins totally dismantled the Saints on Monday night, but each of you already watched that in gory detail so I don't think I need to waste your time. So let's give the MVP award to Dak Prescott who arguably had a bigger performance in a more pressure packed situation. Aaron had to enduring watching Joe Burrow throw at will earlier in the day on the way to 42 fantasy points, immediately regretting not starting him against a pretty awful Ravens secondary. Going into Sunday Night Football, Dak needed to have a big game to really keep Aaron from going insane. And boy did he have a huge game. Not quite 42 points, but 37 will do the trick and he looked flawless for most of the night. Now the Redskins had a huge part of that success, but Prescott hadn't exactly been playing the 85 Bears the previous few weeks so all the talk all week of his play really helped motivate him. And Aaron has to be ecstatic with how he played and hope it continues for one more week. Congrats to Dak Prescott for winning the Week 16 MVP!

Manager of the Week

Well that is all I got. We have a few days until the games start so sit back and enjoy the New Year. Because we are on the verge of crowning another champion and no matter what happens we know it will be historic.

RIP John Madden. A legend and a part of probably every American kid's childhood.

I was so hyped up about Miami's dominating performance on Monday night that I decided to take my talents to South Beach for the week. I will be at the Orange Bowl tonight so make sure you look for me in the crowd!

Until Week 18?!?!?....

- The Commish