Box Score Breakdown: Week 16 Snaps, Routes, Personnel and Usage

The final five columns of each stat table (written in italics) show numbers for the entire season. Bold lettering denotes especially strong marks relative to positional standards. Green lettering for the weekly stats denotes considerable increases in playing time and/or usage relative to past weeks. Red lettering denotes the opposite — a decreased role relative to prior games.

If you're looking for target and air-yard shares that only include active games, you can find those updated every Tuesday on RotoWire's advanced receiving stats page. For the players that have missed games this year, we can still get a good picture of their usage/role from the stat tables below by looking at snaps/routes per game in combination with TPRR (targets per route run) and YPRR (yards per route).

Broncos (27) at Chargers (34) 

Broncos Personnel: 11 - 63% / 12 - 8%

63 Plays — 4 DBs — 3.3 aDOT — 29-of-40 for 263 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 2 scrambles

• RB Javonte Williams' role didn't change with Jaleel McLaughlin (quad) inactive. Williams led the backfield in snaps (51%) and routes (52%), right in his usual range, but took just four of the 17 RB carries. 
  • Williams drew targets on 11 of 22 routes, with a few of those being screens but most check downs.
• RB Audric Estime took only 21% of snaps but led the team in carries (nine), taking them for 48 yards and a TD.
  • RB Blake Watson also had a role, getting four carries and two targets on 10 snaps (16%). 
  • Estime and Watson took the work that normally would go to McLaughlin.
• WR Courtland Sutton had 91% route share and was the only Bronco above 57%. Five players fell between 43% (Troy Franklin) and 57% (Devaughn Vele).
  • Sutton had a down week all the same, as nine Broncos got multiple targets, with only Williams topping six.
• WR Marvin Mims had season highs for snap share (48%), route share (50%) and targets (five).
  • It was Mims' fourth straight game with 3-4 catches on 4-5 targets, but his first time all year playing more than 35% of snaps. He'll turn 23 in March and is showing enough to have some third-year breakout appeal as a late-round pick, especially when considering his 66.7% catch rate and 8.95 YPT this year, albeit boosted by a 93-yard TD a few weeks ago. His combo of deep speed and YAC ability makes him unique among Denver wide receivers (most of the others are bigger receivers / possession guys, with the exception being rookie Troy Franklin, who is also more of a downfield guy but doesn't have Mims' ability to pick up a lot of yardage after the catch).

Chargers Personnel: 11 - 52% / 12 - 5% / 21 - 13% / 22 - 11% / 6OL - 10%

61 Plays — 36 DBs — 6.9 aDOT — 23-of-31 for 284 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 3 scrambles

• RB Gus Edwards had by far his best game in four tries without J.K. Dobbins (IR - knee), recording season highs of 68 rushing yards and two TDs while taking his most carries (14) since Week 2.
  • Edwards played 46% of snaps, after 27% in Week 15, 44% in Week 14 and 53% in Week 13.
  • Edwards has played 43% of snaps in the four-game span, averaging 9.5 carries for 39.8 yards and 0.75 TDs, with only 0.75 targets per game.
• RB Kimani Vidal dropped to 33% snap share after topping 50% for the first time in the previous game (67%, but with just three carries and three targets). Hassan Haskins took over a lot of the passing-down work and finished with 20% snap share and a receiving TD.
• WR Ladd McConkey missed out on some snaps (77%) but not routes (97%), leading the team in routes and receiving yards for a second time in two games since he missed Week 14 with a knee injury.
  • McConkey has 94% route share over his last four appearances, with 89% or higher in every game. He has five straight games with at least 14.3 PPR points and six targets, and his per-route stats are some of the best in the league. McConkey definitely will be a top-36 pick next year, and he could land as high as the 1/2 turn if he finishes 2024 strong.
• TE Stone Smartt got 64% snap share and 67% route share with Will Dissly (shoulder) out again, essentially matching his role from the week before.
  • TE Hayden Hurst returned from IR and caught a pass, but he played just eight snaps (13%).

Stock ⬆️:   RB Gus Edwards  /   RB Audric Estime

Stock ⬇️:   RB Kimani Vidal  /   RB Javonte Williams

 Chargers Injuries 🚑: LB Denzel Perryman (groin), S Marcus Maye (ankle)

Texans (19) at Chiefs (27) 

Texans Personnel: 11 - 67% / 12 - 12% / 21 - 17%

58 Plays — 43 DBs — 10.8 aDOT — 23-of-39 for 244 yards — 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 sacks, 2 scrambles

• WR Tank Dell suffered a season-ending injury while making a 30-yard TD catch with 11:40 left in the third quarter. It's unclear how much additional damage he suffered to his knee beyond the dislocation, so there hasn't been any report of a timeline yet.
  • WR Xavier Hutchinson played 94% of snaps after Dell's exit, with Robert Woods taking 81% and Nico Collins just 69%. 
    • Hutchinson and Woods both have bottom-of-the-barrel marks for targets and yards per route. That might improve slightly with Dell out, but John Metchie (shoulder) is the best hope besides Collins and Schultz to see more than 3-4 targets per week. Metchie was inactive Saturday but hasn't been ruled out beyond Week 16.
• RB Joe Mixon got 16 of 19 RB opportunities but lost a lot of passing-down snaps to Dare Ogunbowale for a second straight game (while playing through a minor ankle injury).
• TE Dalton Schultz had five catches and scored a TD for the second time in three weeks, after not doing either of those things over his first 12 games of the season.
• The Texans used 12 personnel (RB+FB+TE+2 WRs) on 17% of snaps. That was a big part of their offense last season but hasn't been this year, with the team instead using more three-wide formations and then a good amount of two-TE stuff. 
  • With No. 2 TE Cade Stover (appendix) missing a second straight game, the Texans called up FB Andrew Beck (a regular part of last year's offense) from the practice squad for the first time since Week 7. We should see more of Beck in the coming weeks, with Dell out for the season and Stover likely missing more time.

Chiefs Personnel: 11 - 56% / 12 - 29%

70 Plays — 45 DBs — 5.5 aDOT — 28-of-41 for 260 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack, 3 scrambles

• RB Kareem Hunt had more snaps, routes, carries and targets than Isiah Pacheco, with only slight leads in each volume category but a far bigger gap in production (Hunt had 79 total yards and a TD, compared to 25 and no score for Pacheco).
  • Pacheco got far more of the RB workload in his second game back but otherwise has been in a 50/50ish split with Hunt in four weeks since returning.
• WR Marquise Brown took 27% snap share and 33% route share in his season debut, but he was second on the team in targets (eight) and third in receiving yards (45), seeing a pass on eight of his 14 routes.
  • Brown's playing time mostly cut into JuJu Smith-Schuster's, with JuJu dropping from 53% snap share and 53% route share over the previous three games to 39% and 29% in Week 16.
• WR Xavier Worthy led the team in route share (81%) and targets (11), going 7-of-11 for 65 yards and TD (with three carries for 10 yards).
  • It was Worthy's third consecutive game with at least 80% route share and his sixth in a row with at least four catches for 41 yards. 
• WR DeAndre Hopkins' 64% route share was an improvement from 48% the week before, back in the 60s like we saw Weeks 13-14. That's been inconsistent, though, with Hopkins never a full-time player and ranging from 40-to-70 percent route share.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Kareem Hunt  /   WR John Metchie (shoulder)

Stock ⬇️:   RB Isiah Pacheco

 Texans Injuries 🚑: WR Tank Dell (knee / OFS), RG Shaq Mason (knee), S Jimmie Ward (foot)

 Chiefs Injuries 🚑: DT Chris Jones (calf), RT Jawaan Taylor (knee)

Steelers (17) at Ravens (34) 

Steelers Personnel: 11 - 65% / 12 - 25% / 13 - 10%

60 Plays — 38 DBs — 7.3 aDOT — 22-of-33 for 217 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 2 scrambles

• RB Najee Harris played a season-low 28% of snaps, after playing a then-season-low 34% in Week 15. The past two games are Harris' only two of the season with single-digit carries, after he took 13 carries or more in each of Pittsburgh's 13 games.
  • Negative game script hurt him in the past two games, but he was losing ground even before that, with snap shares of 39% in Week 12 and 42% in Week 14.
  • RB Jaylen Warren has been benefited in terms of snaps, touches and production, but with Cordarrelle Patterson also poaching a bit of work as the No. 3, including a 12-yard receiving TD on his lone opportunity in Saturday's loss.
• With WR George Pickens (hamstring) out for the past three games, three Steelers have drawn 12-14 targets (Calvin Austin, Pat Freiermuth, Warren) and WR Mike Willams has gotten nine. Austin's 18% share is the best on the team, slightly ahead of Warren/Muth (16%).
  • Mike Tomlin said Pickens has a chance to play Wednesday against the Chiefs.
  • Austin put up 4-65-0 and 5-65-0 the past two weeks, after catching just one of four targets for four yards in the first game Pickens missed. He's made some big plays throughout the season as one of the smallest players in the league (6-9, 162).
  • Freiermuth scored TDs in the first two games Pickens missed but got shut down Saturday evening, finishing with 3-16-0 on three targets.

Ravens Personnel: 11 - 29% / 12 - 44% / 21 - 16%

62 Plays — 25 DBs — 9.8 aDOT — 15-of-23 for 207 yards — 3 TDs, 1 INT, 1 sack, 1 scramble

• RB Justice Hill was concussed in the second quarter, with Derrick Henry then taking 78% of snaps for the rest of the game (and 16 of 17 RB opportunities).
  • RB Rasheen Ali took nine snaps (22%) but got just one carry, which came with the Ravens up by 14 and four minutes remaining.
  • The likely upcoming absence for Hill improves Henry's outlook, although the Ravens could bring back Keaton Mitchell (a healthy scratch) to play a lot of the snaps Hill has been getting. We can't fully assume that, as the Ravens may trust Henry over Mitchell for the two-minute offense and/or pass blocking, in which case Henry would play snaps that he doesn't usually get (third downs, no huddle, etc.).
    • Henry took three of the five snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long after Hill's departure.
• WR Rashod Bateman handled his usual workload after being listed as questionable with an ankle injury, taking 80% of snaps and 83% of routes (both second highest among Baltimore's skill-position players, behind only fellow wideout Zay Flowers).
• WR Tylan Wallace filled in as the No. 3 receiver with Nelson Agholor (concussion) inactive and Diontae Johnson released, but the Ravens barely used three-wide formations, so Wallace ran just five routes (21%), one more than rookie Devontez Walker (17%, also zero targets).
• TE Mark Andrews has four straight games with at least 60% route share and exactly one TD, with the snap/route split typically slightly favoring him over Isaiah Likely in recent weeks (although Likely ran just one fewer route Saturday, and also scored a TD).

Stock ⬆️:   RB Jaylen Warren

Stock ⬇️:   RB Najee Harris

 Steelers Injuries 🚑: WR Ben Skowronek (hip), CB Joey Porter (knee)   

 Ravens Injuries 🚑: RB Justice Hill 

Browns (6) at Bengals (24) 

Browns Personnel: 11 - 68% / 12 - 27%

63 Plays — 45 DBs — 4.6 aDOT — 20-of-34 for 157 yards — 0 TD, 2 INTs, 5 sacks, 6 scrambles

• RB Jerome Ford got 79% of snaps and 16 of 22 RB opportunities, gaining 131 total yards and a TD along the way.
  • Ford had three games with snap share in the 75-79 percent range earlier this season before Nick Chubb's 2024 debut, and then two games with much lower snap shares (44%, 58%). 
    • Ford averaged 9.6 carries for 50 yards and 4.0 catches for 17.4 yards in his five healthy games pre-Chubb earlier this year, with just one TD from 337 total yards.
    • Ford had a 66-yard run on the first snap of the game, right after he returned the opening kickoff, only to watch D'Onta Foreman lose a fumble on a carry from the 1-yard line a few snaps later. Foreman didn't play any snaps after the lost fumble, and Ford took 14 of 18 RB opps from that point forward, yielding four touches to Pierre Strong.
• TE David Njoku played a few less snaps than usual in his first week back from a hamstring injury, but the slight reduction in snap share and route share (both 62%) didn't stop him from leading the team in targets (10), catches (eight) and receiving yards (66).
  • Njoku is the only Cleveland pass catcher who has enjoyed any success with QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson the past couple seasons. Thompson-Robinson is sub-backup quality, FWIW, but it won't be surprising if he starts the final two games and helps the Browns get a top-five pick.
• WR Jerry Jeudy drew just three targets on 37 routes, ending his phenomenal run of production. He may just be a WR4/5 with DTR in at QB.
  • WR Elijah Moore didn't fare any better, although his brief run of relevance seemed to end before Thompson-Robinson's return to the starting job.

Bengals Personnel: 11 - 59% / 12 - 29%

56 Plays — 36 DBs — 8.3 aDOT — 23-of-30 for 252 yards — 3 TDs, 0 INT, 4 sacks, 2 scrambles

• RB Chase Brown had a relative down week in terms of production but completely dominated Cincy's backfield work again, with 98% snap share and all 21 RB opportunities.
• WR Ja'Marr Chase padded his stats with a 32-yard TD catch on a second-down play when the Browns were up 17-6 with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter.
  • Chase and Tee Higgins combined for 19 of the 28 targets.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Jerome Ford

Stock ⬇️:   WR Jerry Jeudy

 Bengals Injuries 🚑: RT Amarius Mims (ankle) 

Giants (7) at Falcons (34) 

Giants Personnel: 11 - 93% / 12 - 4%

55 Plays — 42 DBs — 7.1 aDOT — 22-of-39 for 210 yards — 1 TD, 2 INTs, 3 sacks, 0 scrambles

• RB Tyrone Tracy got 60% of snaps and 11 of 16 RB opportunities, including a highlight-reel TD reception. 
  • Tracy's role isn't quite what it was a month ago, but this was an improvement from the week prior in terms of his share of the opportunities (he had just three more than Devin Singletary in the previous game).
  • Tracy played 71% of snaps before the final drive, with 10 of 14 RB opportunities. He added a 16-yard catch on the final series, but Eric Gray took nine of the snaps after not playing at all beforehand.
• TE Daniel Bellinger had snap/route shares in the 60s for a second straight week, after being around 80% in the first game without Theo Johnson (IR - foot)
• I don't remember QB Drew Lock being this bad. He looked alright as Seattle's backup last season but has been beyond awful for the Giants this year. He threw two pick-sixes in Sunday's blowout loss.
  • Lock played every snap but is now getting an MRI on Monday to evaluate a shoulder injury. Regardless of what the MRI shows, there's a chance the Giants turn back to QB Tommy DeVito for Week 17.
• WRs Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson combined for 26 of the 37 targets.
• WR Jalin Hyatt barely took any playing time from Darius Slayton, which was a reversal from the previous few games. Not that either really sees targets when on the field.

Falcons Personnel: 11 - 91% / 12 - 5%

65 Plays — 29 DBs — 6.0 aDOT — 18-of-27 for 202 yards — 0 TD, 1 INT, 0 sacks, 2 scrambles

• RB Bijan Robinson has four straight games with at least 22 carries and 92 rushing yards, scoring four TDs in that span.
• TE Kyle Pitts played less than half the snaps on offense for a third time in the past four games. He had a blooper shortly before halftime, turning what should've been a short reception and first down at New York's 3-yard line into an interception with his brutal bobble.
  • It's over. Michael Penix can't save him. Pitts lost some of his athleticism after the knee injury, and he was never going to be a good blocker or a top YAC threat. The question for 2025 and beyond is whether he can refine his game some and at least become a good receiving-specialist TE. 
• WR Drake London suffered a minor hamstring injury early in the fourth quarter and missed the rest of the game. Falcons coach Raheem Morris said afterward that London could've re-entered the game if needed.
  • WR Chris Blair filled in for London late in the game (usual No. 4 receiver KhaDarel Hodge was playing through a rib injury and only got snaps on special teams).
• London and WR Darnell Mooney both seemed to have decent chemistry with QB Michael Penix, who didn't do anything for fantasy purposes but played well from a non-fantasy standpoint in his first NFL start.
  • Three of Penix's nine incompletions were drops, including the one that Pitts turned into an INT.

Stock ⬆️:   QB Michael Penix  /   RB Tyrone Tracy

Stock ⬇️:   QB Drew Lock

 Falcons Injuries 🚑: WR Drake London (hamstring), CB Antonio Hamilton (quad) 

Cardinals (30) at Panthers (36) - OT 

Cardinals Personnel: 11 - 53% / 12 - 34% / 13 - 11%

64 Plays — 41 DBs — 6.6 aDOT — 20-of-32 for 202 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 6 scrambles

• RB James Conner hurt his knee in the third quarter and missed the rest of the game.
  • After Conner's exit, Michael Carter took 71% of snaps and all seven RB opportunities (two carries and five targets for 33 yards), while DeeJay Dallas got only 29% of snaps and no carries/targets.
    • Dallas caught a one-yard TD pass earlier in the game, on a play where he was lined up as the fullback with Conner behind him.
  • Prior to his exit, Conner took 80% of snaps and 19 of 21 RB opportunities, gaining 166 yards from scrimmage and a TD.
• WR Marvin Harrison led the team in targets and air yards but finished with a 4-39-0 receiving line.
• TE Trey McBride finished with 3-20-0 on four targets, following four straight games with 10+ targets, 7+ catches and 70+ yards.

Panthers Personnel: 11 - 57% / 12 - 23% / 6OL - 19%

65 Plays — 33 DBs — 7.0 aDOT — 17-of-26 for 158 yards — 2 TD, 0 INT, 3 sacks, 4 scrambles

• RB Raheem Blackshear took three carries in a span of five plays at the end of the third quarter / beginning of the fourth. Otherwise, Chuba Hubbard got 30 of 31 RB opportunities, going for 165 total yards and two TDs (including the walk-off winner in OT).
  • Hubbard's snap share (83%) was down slightly after consecutive weeks in the mid-to-high 90s, but he still reached 79% for a seventh consecutive game. He's played 74% or more in 10 straight games, with no fewer than 12 carries in any of those contests.
• WR Adam Thielen drew a team-high six targets and scored a TD. In five games since returning from a hamstring injury, he's averaging 6.0 catches for 70.4 yards and 0.4 TDs on 7.6 targets, with 24% targets share and 27% air yard share.
  • Thielen's snap share dropped to 58% with the Panther using more heavy formations than normal, but they ran almost all their pass plays out of 11 personnel, which allowed Thielen to get 83% route share even with the reduced playing time. 
• WR Jalen Coker tied for second on the team with five targets, including a couple shots into/toward the end zone, but he finished with only eight yards.
• WR David Moore filled in for Xavier Legette (shoulder) with 89% snap share, 83% route share, three targets and an 18-yard TD.
  • Moore is second on the team in target share (20%) and air yard share (27%) since Thielen's return, filling in for either Legette or Coker nearly every week with the two rookies alternating injuries.
• TE Ja'Tavion Sanders has split snaps with Tommy Tremble whenever Tremble's been healthy this year, but Sanders at least was productive on a per-route basis for much of his rookie season. The past three weeks have been a different story, with just two targets and no catches on 55 routes since returning from a neck/head injury.
  • There's still a second-year breakout case, especially because Tremble can become a free agent and Sanders is young for his draft class (he'll turn 22 in March).

Stock ⬆️:   RB Michael Carter

Stock ⬇️:   TE Ja'Tavion Sanders

 Cardinals Injuries 🚑: RB James Conner (knee), LB Baron Browning (neck), RT Jonah Williams (knee)   

Lions (34) at Bears (17) 

Lions Personnel: 11 - 55% / 12 - 34%

65 Plays — 33 DBs — 5.8 aDOT — 23-of-32 for 336 yards — 3 TDs, 0 INT, 1 sack, 0 scrambles

• RB Jahmyr Gibbs took 69% of snaps and 28 of 37 RB opportunities, gaining 154 yards and scoring a TD in the first game without David Montgomery (knee) this year.
  • Prior to the final drive in garbage time, Gibbs took 74% of snaps and 28 of 34 RB opportunities, with Craig Reynolds playing 15% of snaps (four carries, one target) and Jermar Jefferson playing 3% (one target).
    • All three of Jefferson's carries came on the last series.
• TE Sam LaPorta is up to six straight games with at least six targets, scoring double-digit PPR points in five of those (including four in a row).
  • His averages of 4.2 catches for 49.8 yards and 0.67 TDs on 7.0 targets over the past six games are pretty close to what he did last year (5.1 catches for 52.3 yards and 0.59 TDs on 7.1 targets).
  • He's played at least 90% of snaps in five straight games since missing Week 11 with a knee injury.
• WR Jameson Williams scored an 82-yard TD, and he was in the range of 5-8 targets for a seventh straight game.
  • For the season, he's averaging 68.5 yards per game, 18.9 yards per catch and 11.9 per target.

Bears Personnel: 11 - 75% / 12 - 15%

59 Plays — 46 DBs — 9.3 aDOT — 26-of-40 for 334 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 4 scrambles

• RB D'Andre Swift took 73% of snaps and 12 of 13 RB opportunities, with Roschon Johnson getting only 27% snap share and one carry in his return from a concussion.
  • Johnson's one carry came on a 3rd-and-6, but Swift took five of the nine snaps in 3rd-and-medium/long.
• TE Cole Kmet scored a TD but has just three targets the past three games and six over the past four, without any loss of snap/route share. His TPRR for the season is all the way down to 13%, while all three starting WRs are at 19% or higher.
• WRs DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze each had at least seven targets and 82 air yards, with Allen leading the way in every major stat category.
  • Allen's four games against the Bears and Lions each yielded at least 73 yards and one TD. His other nine games this season have featured zero instances of more than 44 yards and just two total TDs (both Week 5 against Jacksonville).
  • Moore's 33% target share over the past four weeks ranks fifth in the league. Allen's 31% target share in that span is 10th in the league. Odunze's 20% target share is much lower, but not bad by any means, and only 18 players have more air yards (355) the past four weeks.
    • It's all interesting, but given their respective ages and the likelihood of an offseason coach/coordinator change, we probably shouldn't read too much into it. Not to mention that Allen's in a contract year...
• The Bears lost starting LT Braxton Jones (ankle) and starting LG Teven Jenkins (calf) to injuries.

Stock ⬆️:   TE Sam LaPorta, WR Jameson Williams, RB Jahmyr Gibbs

Stock ⬇️:   TE Cole Kmet

 Bears Injuries 🚑: LT Braxton Jones (ankle), LG Teven Jenkins (calf)

Rams (19) at Jets (9) 

Rams Personnel: 11 - 72% / 12 - 24%

50 Plays — 19 DBs — 3.3 aDOT — 14-of-19 for 110 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 0 sacks, 0 scrambles

• Matthew Stafford finished with 19 pass attempts and 64 air yards, while RB Kyren Williams took 23 of the 28 RB opportunities for 129 total yards and a TD on 84% snap share.
• WR Cooper Kupp failed to rebound from his goose egg the week before. His three targets were second most on the team... but a distant second to Puka Nacua's nine.
• TE Tyler Higbee scored a TD in his 2024 debut on one of his six routes (two targets). He formed a four-way timeshare at tight end, with none topping 34% snap share or 37% route share.

Jets Personnel: 11 - 71% / 12 - 24%

63 Plays — 44 DBs — 5.3 aDOT — 28-of-42 for 256 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack, 1 scramble

• RB Breece Hall had a much larger role compared to the week before when he was in his first game back from a knee injury. Hall took 79% of snaps and 20 of 26 RB opportunities, which is a larger share of the workload than he typically got in the weeks preceding his minor knee injury.
• WR Garrett Wilson caught four passes on the Jets' final drive but continued to be both out-targeted and out-produced by Davante Adams, who put up 7-68-1 and had a 9-3 target advantage over Wilson before they got four targets apiece on the last series.
  • Adams has 94 targets to Wilson's 74 since joining the team, with a 56-719-6 receiving line compared to Wilson's 49-588-3
• CB Sauce Gardner (hamstring), S Tony Adams (ankle) and LT Olu Fashanu (foot) left early with injuries and didn't return.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Breece Hall

Stock ⬇️:   WR Cooper Kupp

 Jets Injuries 🚑: CB Sauce Gardner (hamstring), S Tony Adams (ankle), LT Olu Fashanu (foot)

Titans (30) at Colts (38) 

Titans Personnel: 11 - 75% / 12 - 9% / 6OL - 12%

57 Plays — 35 DBs — 6.9 aDOT — 23-of-34 for 252 yards — 2 TDs, 3 INTs, 1 sack, 0 scrambles

• RB Tyjae Spears had a huge fantasy score for the second straight week, again piling up points with the Titans trailing big after halftime. He scored TDs from 11 and 2 yards out in the second half, getting 63% of snaps in the third quarter and 80% in the fourth.
  • RB Tony Pollard took 73% of snaps and six of seven RB opportunities in the first quarter. After that, he got no more than 38% of snaps on three opps in any quarter.
  • After the first quarter, Spears took 73% of snaps and 13 of 19 RB opportunities.
    • This marks a departure from earlier in the season. Negative game scripts helped Spears get a few more snaps, whereas the past two weeks we've seen him completely take over once the Titans are down big. That may be related to Pollard playing through an ankle injury, but the recent production from Spears could lead him to more touches in neutral situations even if Pollard's ankle improves.
• TE Chigoziem Okonkwo is enjoying a late surge for the third time in three seasons, with receiving lines of 9-81-0 and 8-59-0 the past two weeks (21 targets), after recording no more than six targets or four catches in a game prior to Week 15.
  • For his career, Okonkwo averages 1.6 catches for 10.4 yards in September, 2.5 catches for 19.5 yards in October, 2.0 catches for 33.5 yards in November and 4.4 catches for 44.1 yards in December.
    • 46% of Okonkwo's career targets have come in December/January, which account for only 33% of his games played.
    • Fellow TE Josh Whyle barely played in this one, with Okonkwo recording season highs for both snap and route share. That's a change from the previous game, in which Okonkwo's 8-59-0 receiving line didn't stop Whyle from taking a bunch of snaps at the end and cashing in with a 5-37-1 receiving line. 
    • The breakout case for Okonkwo never dies, it just lays dormants for long stretches.
• WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine scored his ninth TD but saw his TPRR for the season continue to slide, now at 14%.

Colts Personnel: 11 - 63% / 12 - 34%

62 Plays — 13 DBs — 7.3 aDOT — 7-of-11 for 131 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack, 1 scramble

• RB Jonathan Taylor had TD runs of 65, 70 and 1 yards, kind of making up for his goal-line guffaw the week before. If not for that play, he would've been the key to postseason success in a lot of fantasy formats this December.
• QB Anthony Richardson had seven pass attempts and one scramble on the first two drives, with the second of those ending in a red-zone interception. After that, he had just five dropbacks and four pass attempts all game, with seven designed QB runs and 38 RB carries.
  • Yes, the Colts had five dropbacks and 45 rushes after Richardson's early INT.
• WR Adonai Mitchell got 89% snap share and 92% route share with Alec Pierce sidelined by a concussion. But that amounted to just 11 routes and one target (which he caught for a 36-yard gain).
  • Mitchell is another one of those guys who has done enough to have a 2025 breakout case but not enough for most people to actually believe in it. He seems to get open pretty easily but struggles with finishing plays (and may be stuck in an offense with the fewest completions in the league, if Richardson is at QB again).
• WR Josh Downs made the most of his 10 routes, with 3-61- on four targets thanks to a 27-yard TD on a third-down play shortly before halftime.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Jonathan Taylor  /   RB Tyjae Spears

Stock ⬇️:   RB Tony Pollard

 Titans Injuries 🚑: S Amani Hooker (shoulder), LB Kenneth Murray (wrist), G Dillon Radunz (shoulder    

 Colts Injuries 🚑: CB Tre Flowers (shoulder), CB Jaylon Jones (neck)

Eagles (33) at Commanders (36) 

Eagles Personnel: 11 - 65% / 12 - 27%

71 Plays — 37 DBs — 9.4 aDOT — 15-of-28 for 154 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 4 sacks, 5 scrambles

• QB Jalen Hurts entered concussion protocol in the first half, leaving the game in Kenny Pickett's hands.
  • Pickett played alright, and the Eagles very likely would've won if not for DeVonta Smith's brutal drop late in the fourth quarter.
• Smith drew eight targets. A.J. Brown got 15. Every other Eagles combined for two, with Jahan Dotson and Grant Calcaterra both running more than 25 routes without seeing a single target.
• It was an odd day for RB Saquon Barkley, who gained just 41 yards on 22 after the first quarter. Barkley took seven carries for 109 yards and two TDs in the opening quarter, looking ready to challenge Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record.
  • Barkley is now at 1,838 yards, needing 267 over the final two weeks to break Dickerson's record, although it wouldn't really count in my opinion if he needs the 17th game to do it. Granted, Dickerson did it on 23.7 carries per game, compared to Barkley's 20.9. Derrick Henry in 2020-21 is really the only example we've seen in recent years of any RB matching peak-Dickerson's volume of rush attempts per game.

Commanders Personnel: 11 - 77% / 12 - 17%

64 Plays — 45 DBs — 7.6 aDOT — 24-of-39 for 258 yards — 5 TDs, 2 INTs, 1 sack, 5 scrambles

• RB Brian Robinson got stuffed for a second straight week, getting 63% of snaps and 13 of 22 RB opportunities but finishing with only 24 rushing yards and 17 receiving. He's really struggled of late, unable to take advantage of Austin Ekeler's absence, which has created more space for Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez to contribute.
  • Robinson may be a good receiver by big-back standards, but he's not a good runner by any standard. For next year, the Commanders should bring back Ekeler as their scatback and install either Rodriguez or a new player as the power runner, with Robinson then being the top backup for both roles.
  • Ekeler is eligible to return Week 18, but I'm guessing we won't see him until the playoffs, if at all again this season.
• WRs Olamide Zaccheaus and Jamison Crowder both got slight snap/route share boosts compared to Week 15 -- mostly because Dyami Brown left with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter -- and both took advantage with a pair of TDs.
  • Brown played 84% of snaps through three quarters, with Zaccheaus at 61% and Crowder at 33%. Brown's absence for the fourth quarter boosted the final rates for Zaccheaus and Crowder.
  • The Commanders went three-wide more than usual, trailing for nearly all of the game, including by multiple scores for much of it.
• TE Zach Ertz drew just two targets, but he got his full workload in terms of snaps/routes after suffering a concussion and shoulder injury on a hard hit the week before.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Olamide Zaccheaus

Stock ⬇️:   RB Brian Robinson

 Eagles Injuries 🚑: QB Jalen Hurts (concussion), QB Kenny Pickett (ribs)

 Commanders Injuries 🚑: WR Dyami Brown (hamstring), CB Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) 

Vikings (27) at Seahawks (24) 

Vikings Personnel: 11 - 60% / 12 - 26% / 21 - 11%

62 Plays — 40 DBs — 7.9 aDOT — 22-of-35 for 246 yards — 3 TDs, 0 INT, 3 sacks, 2 scrambles

• RB Aaron Jones got 82% of snaps and 23 of 24 RB opportunities, continuing the trend of larger snap and touch shares in close games.
• TE T.J. Hockenson has five straight games with snap share in the 62-69 percent range and 5-9 targets. He has zero TDs from 378 yards, taking a page out of Trey McBride's playbook.
• WR Jordan Addison caught three passes for 26 yards and a TD on the opening drive. After that, it was the Justin Jefferson Show.
  • Jefferson's mid-season semi-slump is a distant memory. He has five TDs over the past three weeks and 448 yards over the past four weeks. His overall numbers look very similar to his second NFL season, only with slightly less volume and slightly better efficiency.

Seahawks Personnel: 11 - 70% / 12 - 22%

60 Plays — 46 DBs — 7.7 aDOT — 31-of-43 for 314 yards — 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 sacks, 1 scramble

• Some pre-game reports suggested Zach Charbonnet would maintain a key role after his excellent work filling in for Kenneth Walker in the previous two games. Instead, Charbonnet got just 22% snap share and three of 23 RB opportunities, with Walker taking 58% of snaps and 16 opportunities.
  • Walker suffered an ankle injury late in the game, however, and now is scheduled for an MRI.
  • Kenny McIntosh unexpectedly had a role, getting 20% of snaps and four opportunities. Three of his four touches came in the fourth quarter, but only one of those (a reception) was after Walker left the game. There's at least some chance of McIntosh cutting into Charbonnet's usage if Walker misses time again. And it's perhaps worth noting that Charbonnet was listed on the injury report with an oblique injury last week (although he returned to full practice by the end of the week and didn't have an injury designation).
  • Walker's recent injuries at least haven't involved his groin/abdomen like most of his previous problems, but the repeated absences still aren't a good sign long term. He might end up being a James Conner type, i.e., consistent and effective when healthy but likely to miss multiple games every year.
• WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba just keeps raking, with a steady diet of quick passes while also seeing far more intermediate/deep looks than a typical slot receiver. He's still not the YAC threat the Seahawks seemingly want him to be, but his ability to get open and make tough catches outweigh that by a long shot.
  • JSN has eight straight games with at least 69 receiving yards, including six outings with 18+ PPR points in that span. His numbers are ARSB-like, and I'm glad to have been wrong a few months ago when I said Smith-Njigba looked maxed out as a competent-but-unspectacular starter. Now he looks like a Round 2-3 fantasy pick for next year, assuming he has the same coaches and QB. In full-PPR leagues, he might even go as early as the 1-2 turn or mid-R2.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Stock ⬇️:   RB Kenneth Walker

 Seahawks Injuries 🚑: RB Kenneth Walker (ankle)

Patriots (21) at Bills (24) 

Patriots Personnel: 11 - 40% / 12 - 44%

68 Plays — 40 DBs — 7.7 aDOT — 22-of-36 for 261 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 2 scrambles

• RB Rhamondre Stevenson got only 53% of snaps and 12 of 21 RB opportunities before the fourth quarter, despite having one of his better games recently (73 yards, TD).
  • RB Antonio Gibson took 47% of snaps and nine touches through three quarters, then got 83% of snaps and three touches in the fourth with New England trailing.
    • Gibson's role had grown in recent weeks, but not to this extent. The snap share was a season high for him, and he ran more than twice as many routes as Stevenson.
  • Stevenson's reduced role wasn't just a product of his lost fumble, but the fact it was his seventh fumble of the season (and accompanied by another ugly play that cost the Pats in a big way) seems to have Stevenson on the hot seat.
    • FWIW, Gibson also fumbled, and also has a sketchy history there. But his fumble in Sunday's game was recovered by the Patriots.
• WR Kayshon Boutte broke out of a two-month slump in a big way, although his 5-95-1 receiving line was padded by a freebie 31-yard catch on the final play of the first half against an extreme-prevent defense.
• WR DeMario Douglas had a one-yard TD overturned late in the fourth quarter, with TE Hunter Henry then scoring a nine-yarder a few plays later.
• TE Austin Hooper got 70% snap share, 63% route share and five targets even with Henry at 84% snap share, 74% route share and a team-high nine targets.

Bills Personnel: 11 - 66% / 12 - 5% / 21 - 14% / 6OL - 16%

58 Plays — 34 DBs — 12.0 aDOT — 16-of-29 for 154 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack, 4 scrambles

• This was a disaster for Josh Allen's fantasy managers (notably: myself), with New England completely dominating possession in the first half and James Cook scoring a 46-yard TD. Allen fared better after halftime, but even then there were missed chances like a potential 30-yard TD that slipped through Khalil Shakir's hands (admittedly in tight coverage).
• RBs Ray Davis and Ty Johnson took the final six carries to salt the game away. Before those final two drives, Cook took 44% of snaps and 14 of 20 RB opportunities, right in his usual workload range (plus he scored two TDs).
• With Curtis Samuel (shoulder) inactive, the Bills rotated four WRs instead of five. Khalil Shakir had the most snaps (74%), routes (73%) and targets (six) of the WRs, while Amari Cooper was either last or tied for last in every category.
  • Cooper's 14-target game a couple weeks prior was a massive fluke. He's since seen two targets on 29 routes while being on the field for slightly less than half of Buffalo's pass plays.
• TE Dalton Kincaid drew seven targets, but they produced only 15 yards, and he ran just 13 routes (43%).
  • TE Dawson Knox was solidly ahead of Kincaid for both snap share (57% - 33%) and route share (57% - 43%). That's twice in two games since Kincaid returned that Knox has gotten more snaps and routes, even though Kincaid drew seven targets in both games (compared to three and two for Knox).

Stock ⬆️:   WR Kayshon Boutte, my dynasty teams

Stock ⬇️:   WR Amari Cooper, TE Dalton Kincaid, my home league team

 Bills Injuries 🚑: QB Josh Allen (hand), LB Baylon Spector (calf) 

Jaguars (14) at Raiders (19) 

Jaguars Personnel: 11 - 75% / 12 - 16%

61 Plays — 40 DBs — 6.2 aDOT — 25-of-39 for 247 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack, 0 scrambles

• RB Travis Etienne got 51% of snaps and 12 of 27 RB opportunities, with Tank Bigsby at 30% snap share and 13 opportunities. The Jags reintroduced D'Ernest Johnson to the offense for a lot of the passing-down snaps, further complicating a hot-potato / hot-hand backfield where neither Etienne nor Bigsby can be trusted.
• WR Brian Thomas is making a push to be a late-first-round pick in fantasy leagues next year, with four straight games of double-digit targets and 16+ PPR points.
  • His 49 targets over the past four weeks are second most in the league, behind only fellow rookie Malik Nabers (51). Thomas leads the NFL in air yards (539) during that time, ranking fifth in air yard share (50%) and sixth in target share (33%).
• TE Brenton Strange dropped to 51% snap share and 38% route share, after sitting at 81% for both numbers the week before. That's likely because he was playing through a shoulder injury.
• The Jaguars lost four starters to injuries during the game, including both starting offensive tackles.

Raiders Personnel: 11 - 43% / 12 - 48%

67 Plays — 41 DBs — 6.1 aDOT — 24-of-38 for 257 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 1 scramble