Fantasy News & Analysis

Fantasy facts to know for Wild Card weekend

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 08: Chris Carson #32 of the Seattle Seahawks warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The 2018 NFL regular season has come to a close, but there’s still plenty of good fantasy football action left with the playoffs kicking off this weekend with the Wild Card round. Here are some of the best stats to know for Wild Card Weekend 2018.

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans

  • Andrew Luck had 39 passing touchdowns this season, second-most in the NFL and the second-most of his career (he had 40 in 2014). He threw for multiple touchdowns in 13 of 16 games.
  • Eric Ebron had 30 red-zone targets with 15 red-zone receptions. He had 17 end-zone targets and 9 end-zone touchdowns. No player in the NFL had more touchdowns on end-zone targets.
  • T.Y. Hilton career averages versus the Houston Texans: 8.7 targets, 5.4 receptions, 103.2 yards, 0.6 touchdowns. He dropped 199 yards against Houston in Week 14.
  • From Weeks 8-17, Deshaun Watson scored the second-most fantasy points per game among all quarterbacks (22.95).
  • DeAndre Hopkins led the NFL with 48 red-zone targets and he was second with 18 end-zone targets. His 27 red-zone receptions were also tied for the league lead.

Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys

  • Ezekiel Elliott was the NFL rushing leader with 1,434 yards — but he scored only six rushing touchdowns. That’s because he had only 11 rushing attempts from inside the 5 — tied with Doug Martin and Carlos Hyde.
  • Since the Amari Cooper trade (Week 9), Dak Prescott was fantasy’s No. 4 quarterback with 20 total touchdowns (16 passing, four rushing).
  • Over the final four weeks of the season, no player had more rushing attempts than Chris Carson (90), and only Derrick Henry had more yards than Carson’s 447.
  • Russell Wilson threw a touchdown on 8.2% of his attempts – essentially double the league average (4.7%). Every 12.2 Wilson attempts resulted in a touchdown, nearly 2.5x the league average (29.8).
  • Wilson had a flawless 158.3 passer rating when throwing to Tyler Lockett. Lockett caught 57 of 65 targets (88%) for 965 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore Ravens

  • Philip Rivers’ worst fantasy performance of the season (5.34 DraftKings points) came in Week 16 against the Ravens. He threw for just 181 yards and no touchdowns against two interceptions.
  • Melvin Gordon returned in Weeks 16 and 17 — important games for the Chargers to win — but had just 12 and 10 attempts, respectively. The Ravens allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs this year.
  • Since becoming the starter in Week 11, Lamar Jackson’s 554 rushing yards rank first among quarterbacks and sixth among all players.
  • Since Week 11, John Brown leads all Ravens players with 30 targets — but he has caught just eight of those targets for 114 yards and no touchdowns.
  • Since Week 11, tight end Mark Andrews is averaging 44 yards per game. From Weeks 1-10, he averaged 27 yards per game. He also has receptions of at least 17 yards in six of seven games with Jackson at quarterback, something he accomplished in only two of nine games prior.

Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears

  • In his five games as a starter this year (Weeks 1-2, 15-17), Nick Foles had the second-most passing yards (1,413) among all quarterbacks.
  • Foles’ target distribution Weeks 15-17: Zach Ertz – 27, Alshon Jeffery – 18, Nelson Agholor – 15, Golden Tate – 13, Darren Sproles – 13, Wendell Smallwood – 10.
  • Zach Ertz had 154 targets this season. That’s the most by any tight end in the PFF era (Tony Gonzalez had 150 targets in 2008).
  • Mitchell Trubisky averages 23.6 fantasy points per game at home versus 14.0 on the road. That’s an increase of over 69%.
  • Since Week 11, Allen Robinson has 43 targets but no touchdowns. Jordy Nelson is the only other player with at least 43 targets since Week 11 without a touchdown (out of 35 players).
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