Sunday Wrap-Up: Heroes and Zeroes in the Fantasy Championship

Heading into Week 16, Las Vegas projected the Jets-Bears Sunday game to be the lowest scoring NFL contest this week. This was not the case.

The Jets took a 24-17 lead into the locker room at the half, but the Bears scored three TDs in the third quarter to ultimately win the game 38-34 and secure a playoff spot. With that kind of scoring, there were fantasy heroes aplenty in Chicago in Week 16.

Leading the charge was Jay Cutler, who threw 215 yards and three TDs while running for another score. Two of his TD strikes went to Johnny Knox, who added 92 yards to his fantasy line. The big surprise was Matt Forte, who gashed the Jets rush defense for 113 yards and a TD on 19 carries while adding 56 yards on four catches. Heading into the game, all Bears players were clearly shaky options against a Jets defense playing very well. Well, they showed us.

For the Jets, Shonn Greene, LaDainian Tomlinson and Santonio Holmes all scored a TD, with Greene piling up 70 yards on 12 carries. Tomlinson was only able to gain 28 yards on 13 carries, and both backs added 14 yards on two receptions each. As an LT owner in a 16-team league, I'll take that mediocre line.

Many of these players clearly wound up being fantasy heroes in championships across the globe. Who were the other heroes and zeroes from Week 16?

Championship Heroes

Kansas City Chiefs
How about this huge game? I foolishly went with David Garrard over Matt Cassel this week, and the Kansas City quarterback must have taken offense. He passed for 314 yards and three TDs against the Titans, adding 20 yards on the ground as the cherry on top. He hit Dwayne Bowe for a 75-yard TD, and the once No. 1 overall receiver rebounded from a subpar stretch with a big day, catching six balls for 153 yards and his TD. Jamaal Charles keyed the Kansas City attack, catching two early TDs and finishing the day with 117 yards. Owners who played any of these guys are celebrating.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
We liked Josh Freeman as a solid QB1 option this week -- after all, he had been a top-12 QB this season and had a plus matchup. He went bonkers, going 21-for-26 for 237 yards and five TDs. Five TDs! It was good enough for the second-best performance of the day at the QB position, and owners that relied on Freeman likely have a great shot at winning a title. Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams each caught two TDs, while LeGarrette Blount racked up 164 yards on 18 carries. This is going to be an intruiging offense heading into next season. Freeman is up to 3,196 yards, 23 TDs and six INTs this season.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead
Both New England backs topped 100 total yards against the Bills, easily piling up fantasy points against a bad Buffalo rush defense. Woodhead added a TD to go with his 125 yards, making him quite the hero for teams using him as a third receiver, second running back or flex player.

Rob Gronkowski
Even with Aaron Hernandez out, I was worried Bill Belichick would turn into the evil villian and give some of Gronkowski's looks to a backup tight end. What do you know, Alge Crumpler caught a TD in the game. Of course, that did nothing to detract from Gronkowski, who led the Patriots with four catches, 54 yards and two TDs. Kudos to anyone brave enough to dabble in the New England TE position this season.

Carson Palmer and Jerome Simpson
Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocino were out, leaving Palmer with Simpson, Andre Caldwell and Jordan Shipley. It was a recipe for disaster, yet Palmer completed 16 of his 21 passes for 269 yards, four TDs and no INTs. What?!? Simpson was Palmer's main target, as he piled up 124 yards and two TDs with his six receptions. Congrats to the super-deep league owners that started Simpson in their fantasy championship, though I'd be surprised if anyone actually did.

Peyton Manning and Jacob Tamme
Now here's a pair that actually did see playing time in a majority of fantasy leagues. Manning had a subpar game by his standards, completing 16 of 30 passes for only 179 yards and two interceptions. Three touchdowns are nice no matter how you get them, and Manning added 25 rushing yards as well. His main target was Tamme, who hauled in seven balls for 78 yards and a TD.

Tim Tebow
Hey now. We pegged Tebow as a sleeper option worth gambling on for owners hurting at the QB position, and he was able to exploit a great matchup against Houston. Completing 16 of his 29 passes, Tebow a touchdown and ran for another to complete the Broncos fourth-quarter comeback. He added one interception and 28 rushing yards. Has Denver found their QB of the future?

Michael Crabtree
Despite the team juggling Smiths at the QB position, Crabtree came through with his best performance of the season. The second-year wide receiver topped 100 yards for just the second time this season, gaining 122 yards on six catches with a TD to boot. Crabtree had just 18 yards in his last two games combined heading into Week 16, and owners that were brave with the talented receiver were rewarded handsomely.

Brandon Marshall
The Dolphins receiver posted his second consecutive 10-catch, 100-yard game on Sunday, making PPR owners rejoice. His prospects are looking up heading into next year, and it wouldn't be shocking to see him as a top-ten receiver on draft day next season.

Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson and John Kuhn
The Packers QB was phenomenal on Sunday, topping 400 passing yards and throwing four TDs. He easily led all players in fantasy points this week with the big game. Jennings had seven catches for 142 yards, while Nelson took an early pass 80 yards for a TD and finished with 124 yards on four catches. Kuhn had less than 10 touches but scored three TDs on the night. Chalk up a big win for the Packers defense too, as they notched six turnovers in the game.

Owen Daniels and Jacoby Jones
The Houston tight end was the subject of several Tailgate chat questions this week, and those owners that cast their lot with Daniels were rewarded with 73 yards and a TD on eight receptions. With Andre Johnson out, Jones led the team with 115 yards on his five receptions.

Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks
With nothing going right for the Giants on Sunday, at least fantasy owners of Manningham and Nicks had something to cheer about. Each caught four balls and scored a TD in the game, with Manningham gaining 132 yards thanks in large part to terrible coverage on a 85-yard score. Nicks added 93 yards to his line.

Championship Zeroes

Peyton Hillis
We expected Hillis may struggle this week with the Ravens bent on revenge (the big back completely embarrassed Baltimore in Week 3), and we were correct. Hillis was held to 2.9 yards per carry on 12 attempts, adding just one catch for five yards to finish with 40 yards and no TDs. With Hillis wearing down late in the year, it wouldn't be shocking to see the Browns favor a Hillis-Montario Hardesty committee in 2011.

Calvin Johnson
The elite receiver failed to impress against the Dolphins, totaling only 52 yards on four receptions and failing to reach the end zone. It was just his second single-digit fantasy performance in his last seven games. The subpar performance is all the more shocking as Johnson's been at his best this season with Shaun Hill under center, and Hill was the starter on Sunday.

Chris Johnson
The Titans running back succumbed to the Titans' ineptitude on defense, as an early deficity limited the once and future fantasy king to just 14 carries and 58 yards. He added zip through the air. Despite the weak finish, Johnson is still more than worthy of a top-ten selection in 2011.

Rashad Jennings
My bad. Arian Foster was the sleeper culprit of 2009 fantasy championships, and Jennings also failed to live up to our big expectations. The fill-in back was outrushed by QB David Garrard, and Jennings finished with only 32 yards on 15 carries. This after averaging almost seven yards per carry this season. He added 29 yards through the air, but that's little consolation to owners like me that picked him up expecting a big game.

Knowshon Moreno
A game time decision, Moreno was able to play but didn't make it through the entire game. He ended his day with 19 rushing yards and a 22-yard reception before exiting. Hopefully you found a decent replacement for Moreno instead of waiting on the Denver back.

Mike Tolbert and Vincent Jackson
Tolbert owners can blame an early injury on their running back's championship zero, as the big back rushed for negative-two yards on four carries before leaving for the game. Jackson owners have no excuse, as the talented receiver came back down to Earth after a big Week 15 performance, catching four balls for just 54 yards and no TDs.

Cedric Benson
The Bengals surprisingly had no trouble moving the ball against the Chargers on Sunday. With San Diego's elite pass defense and with Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco out, you would figure Benson had a huge day knowing the Bengals won handily. You'd be wrong. Benson rushed for only 52 yards on 24 carries. Bernard Scott was twice as effective with half the carries. His 2010 struggles make Benson a shaky keeper prospect for next year.

Reggie Wayne
A must start on Sunday, Wayne couldn't find his way to the end zone, shut out from Manning's three-TD day. Outside of Tamme, the Indianapolis passing game generated just 101 yards, and Wayne was responsible for only 40 yards of it. Not what you want to see from your WR1.

Seattle Mike Williams
I can give him a bit of a pass, as the Seattle passing game as a whole was completely terrible. The combination of Charlie Whitehurst and Matt Hasselbeck could only manage 90 passing yards on the day as Seattle was completely blown out. Williams had just 15 of those 90 yards and didn't sniff the end zone. Seattle should be on the lookout for a quarterback this offseason; if they find some talent for the position, Williams' stock goes up.

I hope all you readers are in a position to win your leagues with these results. I'm sitting pretty with a 34.4-point lead in the FanHouse championship, but FH editor Tom Mantzouranis still has LeSean McCoy, Jimmy Graham and Matt Bryant to play. I have Marques Colston as my final player. Good luck to everyone on Monday and Tuesday!