Chargers 20, Colts 3 (Chargers covered -3, U45.5)

Pregame: The matchup between the Chargers (8-6) and Colts (4-9-1) features two teams heading in very opposite directions. The Colts are lost on offense, Jonathan Taylor is on IR and done for the year and now Nick Foles is starting at QB. Meanwhile, the Chargers are looking good. They can clinch a playoff spot this weekend with a little help, but their odds to secure a wildcard spot is currently 86%. There are a bunch of fantasy relevant players in this game, but nearly all of them are on the Chargers side. There is enough talent in this game that if fantasy GMs are hoping for a comeback on Monday night, it’s definitely in the realm of possibility.

Postgame: This game was bad.  The two QBs combined for five turnovers and zero touchdowns, yet somehow the Chargers had a trio of very strong fantasy performances.  One of those strong performances was their defense, which is trending in the right direction of late, racking up an impressive 20.0 fantasy points and a DST2 finish this week. The big time performance from the Chargers defense completely took away any fantasy relevance on the Colts side of the ball, as they were locked down on every play.  The Chargers secured their spot in the postseason, advancing to 9-6 on the year, while the Colts dropped to 4-10-1 this season and will be hopeful to turn things around next year, assuming they can address the issues at QB. 

Chargers

QB

Justin Herbert:  

Pregame: Herbert has been a fairly big disappointment this season, but that has largely been due to his skill players missing time due to injuries. Now he has his full repertoire and things are looking up in a great matchup. The Colts defense has been far from impressive this season, making Herbert a quality QB1 option this week. Fantasy GMs will be hopeful that the young gunslinger is able to get the job done for them on Monday night.

Postgame: Unfortunately, Herbert has just not been getting the job done for his fantasy GMs. He now has back-to-back games with zero touchdowns and only two over his past four games. In three of those games, he was able to get carried by throwing for over 300 yards passing, but that was not the case in Week 16. In the fantasy semi-finals, Herbert was the QB30, finishing with 235 yards on 24-of-31 passing, with one lost fumble and one interception.  An absolutely brutal outing. 

RB

Austin Ekeler:  

Pregame: Ekeler has been remarkable once again this year. He is third in the NFL in receptions among all players, not just RBs. The stud RB is averaging 22.0 fantasy points in PPR leagues and if fantasy GMs need a Monday Night Miracle, Ekeler is the man for the job.

Postgame: Unlike the passing game, Ekeler was able to get things done on the ground.  Even though he only finished with 79 combined yards, he managed to score twice and earn a RB5 ranking on the week.  His full stat line was 18 rushes for 67 yards and two touchdowns, adding four receptions on four targets for 12 yards.  He gets a great matchup with the Rams next weekend that should help fantasy GMs win their titles. 

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WR

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