Falcons 18 @ Saints 21 (Falcons covered, +4 U43.5)

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The Falcons trailed early and couldn’t make the comeback necessary to save their playoff hopes, and will now finish their season hoping they have something in rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder. Ridder didn’t really get anyone excited for fantasy as he averaged only 3.7 yards per pass attempt completing 13-of-26 passes for 97 yards and 38 yards rushing on six carries. The running is where we thought we could extract some value but the Falcons don’t seem to trust him enough to run plays that can be valuable for fantasy. Tyler Algeier stole the show on the ground, rushing 17 times for 139 yards and a touchdown. Algeier got the hot hand and the team kept feeding him. He should be rostered in most leagues but with the understanding that in games where he doesn’t have the hot hand he doesn’t do much to help our teams. Cordarrelle Patterson carried 14 times for 52 yards and a touchdown with the touchdown saving his fantasy day as Algeier was the man today. Patterson remains a RB2 as long as he is the starter and gets the first crack at having the hot hand. Drake London was the only receiver of note for the Falcons and he caught seven passes for 70 yards and a fumble, but still helped those that started him in PPR leagues.

The Saints play spoiler limiting the playoff hopes of the Falcons through defense and some unconventional plays that didn’t do much to help fantasy managers. Andy Dalton completed only 11-of-17 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns as his ceiling is limited with the utilization of Taysom Hill who threw a touchdown pass himself. Alvin Kamara got the rushing workload this week, rushing 21 times for 91 yards and added two receptions for 13 yards. It was a shame he didn’t find the endzone this week but the workload is encouraging as we hope he continues this amount of work and finds the endzone next week against Cleveland. For the receivers, if you started Rashid Shaheed, then you were happy but for those who started Chris Olave you were not as much. Olave is the player we are still more interested in but he may be better suited as a WR3 in PPR leagues until the Saints make a change at quarterback. Our dart-throw of the week, Juwan Johnson, had himself a game catching four passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns while fellow tight end eligible player Taysom Hill completed two passes for 80 yards and a touchdown with 30 more yards rushing. One of those completions went for 68 yards, making it hard to predict when Hill will be fantasy relevant. However with how the tight end position is, he is a viable start with how high his ceiling is on a per-play basis.

Top Performers

RB Tyler Algeier: Algeier was the back with the hot hand this week, out-touching Patterson and paying off for those who started him in a pinch this week. This backfield is too unpredictable to say anyone is a must-start but taking a chance on Algeier isn’t the worst idea either.

TE Juwan Johnson: Johnson had the big day playing for tight end needy managers and while he has been inconsistent this season, when he hits he pays off big time and can be a sneaky high upside play in fantasy playoff matchups.

Biggest Busts

RB Cordarrelle Patterson: The touchdown saved his day, but being outplayed by your backup is never a good thing. We should expect Patterson to maintain a hold on the starting gig but with how Algeier has been outproducing him, that could change soon.

WR Chris Olave: We have high hopes for Olave who has had an exceptional rookie season, but with how limited the offense is with Dalton and the mixing in of Taysom Hill, we have to limit our expectations. We will hope he can outproduce three receptions for 53 yards next week at Cleveland.

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Steelers 24 @ Panthers 16 (Steelers covered +3, O37)

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