Championship week! If you made it this far, I’m sure you’ve already stared at your lineup for the better part of a few hours this week, constantly pondering your lineup decisions. As you all know by now, our weekly Let’s Overthink This column discusses what transpired in the week prior, and what’s to come in the upcoming week. This column, Talkin’ Crazy, gets spicy with our bold predictions. Got that gut feeling that player X is going to outscore player Y, but you can’t really fathom or understand why? This is what you want to read! Let’s get crazy and make some extra bold predictions for the most important week of the fantasy season. Recap of Last Week’s (Week 16 Predictions) Last week’s predictions certainly went better than week 15. Had some hits and misses as always, but let’s recap what we were talkin’ crazy about last week. 1. Jerick McKinnon and Isiah Pacheco each top over 12 fantasy points. Both are getting heavy volume, and up next is the Seahawks defense, which is the second worst rushing defense in the league, right above Houston. If you have either of these players, you should start them. Was pretty close on this one, but Pacheco’s lack of involvement in the passing game (he had one catch in this one) made the prediction come up just short. 2. The Texans (+3) cover versus the Titans. They’re going to win one more game before the season is over. Is this the week? I like their chances to at least cover. A hit! I felt fairly confident in this one once the Titans ruled out Ryan Tannehill, and not only did they cover, but the Texans came out victorious. Props to those who were more brave than me and took the Texans moneyline. 3. Speaking of teams covering, I like the Giants to cover (+4) versus the Vikings. Emotional, historic win for the Vikings last week, and as we’ve seen countless times before, the situation is ripe for a letdown. Another hit! In what was an entertaining contest, the G-Men kept it within three points. 4. Lions win again. I’ve said it countless times, and I’m going to die on this hill, damn it! Lions, WTF was that?!? Just a terrible showing from their defense letting the Panthers absolutely gash them on the ground. Remember a couple weeks back I predicted both Chuba Hubbard and D’Onta Foreman would rush for over 75 yards against the Steelers? They then proceeded to rush for about 30 yards as a team, and that prediction was a massive flop. I guess I was a week early on that one. 5. The Ravens defense shows up in a big way in their win over the Falcons. They’re my favorite D/ST play this week. A decent outing from the Ravens defense limiting Atlanta to nine points, but one fumble recovery and two sacks wasn’t what I had in mind. For what it’s worth, I like the Ravens defense this week again, in what should be a low scoring contest versus the Steelers on Sunday night. 6. This one may be partially due to my Eagles fanhood, but I think the Birds cover (+4.5) versus Dallas. Gardner Minshew is capable, and he is auditioning for a starting gig next year, and could have 3 games to do it. Another entertaining game, even though I was disappointed with the end result. The Birds ended up falling to Dallas 40-34, but had the ball right on the cusp of the red zone at the end of the game. Alas, a L is still a L. 7. I like Tampa Bay big this week versus Arizona. Did you read Jeremy Fowler’s piece on the turmoil that is in Arizona, and how coach Kliff Kingsbury is considering resigning at year’s end? It was an eye-opening piece, and I think Arizona snowballs from here. Give me Tampa with the points (-7.5). Maybe I will eventually learn my lesson with Tampa this year. Although, it is week 17, so I doubt it. While I thought they would get back on track offensively in this one, they didn’t. Leonard Fournette looked fantastic, but they still needed OT to beat the Cardinals and their third string QB, Trace McSorley. Earlier this week, J.J. Watt announced he will retire at season’s end. A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Watt was the most dominant player in the league for a stretch of time. It’s a shame he’s going out without making the playoffs. This Week’s (Week 17) Bold Predictions Let’s get crazy and discuss some of the spicy takes for this upcoming week! 1. With Carson Wentz being pegged as the Commanders QB1 this week, I like Jahan Dotson to find the end zone again. Dotson and Wentz had some strong rapport earlier this season, and I think it shows in this one. As we all know by now regarding Carson Wentz, there’s going to be some great flashes, and some boneheaded decision making as well. No idea who wins this game, but I like Dotson to score. Additionally, I think Brian Robinson Jr has a HUGE game with Antonio Gibson being ruled out. 2. I like the Bears (+6) to cover versus Detroit. I’ve been on this Lions bandwagon all season long, but did you see the Panthers run all over them last week? I expect David Montgomery, Khalil Herbert, and Justin Fields to do the same. 3. I like both Atlanta’s RBs (Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson) to top 10 fantasy points this week versus a weak Arizona run defense. Fire up both as low RB2’s/flex plays 4. Speaking of topping 10+ fantasy points, I think both of the star Dolphins WRs (Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle) will do just fine with Teddy Bridgewater under center versus the Patriots. Don’t get too cute, you need to play them if you have them. 5. Give me the Panthers straight up over the Bucs this week. I expect Carolina to adapt a similar game plan as last week, and that’s to run, run, and run some more. I would play Foreman and/or Hubbard this week if you have them. 6. I think Davante Adams will disappoint again this week. When the news broke earlier this week that Derek Carr would be benched the rest of the season, all of Adams’ owners cried a little on the inside. Just a terrible blow to his fantasy stock at the worst possible time. If you’re banking on Adams to have a big game with Jarrett Stidham under center, you’re probably better off playing the Mega Millions. 7. The Packers will beat the Vikings at home this week as they continue to sneak into the postseason field. If they do, they’ll be a dangerous team. Also, I think Aaron Jones rebounds this week and is more heavily involved in the passing/screen game. Fire up Jones. I like him to score close to 15 fantasy points this week. I’m also not forgetting my predictions for the playoff seeding, which we will recap at season’s end. Let’s check those receipts next week! Also feel free to reach out on social media @DLorenzDPT (Twitter) and @TheFantasyDoctors (Twitter) and follow/subscribe to our YouTube channel. I can handle the heat.
Trending Today
