first and foremost to be clear any leagues that play week 18 are a complete joke and can't be taken seriously

that said I'm in one wonky league where 4 team playoffs are wk 15+16 then wk 17+18 combined
actually kinda scratches the itch of getting another week of fantasy even being a completely new approach/strategy pretty much a diff game for kicks

off the top of my head teams open about resting starters include Eagles, Rams, Chiefs

I have a 9pt lead in the championship facing a potent lineup, so for Hurts so far I grabbed Bryce Young and Richardson-tho prob too much injury risk to roll him so might swap Penix as the alternate, other option could be Geno with some key monetary performance incentives on the line facing Rams

for Kelce I took Gesicki with Burrow having to keep unloading the clip

I have Chargers @LV unless Steelers beat Bengals making that game meaningless then would play Bucs vNO, tho Broncos were just dropped facing KC backups...


rest of lineup should be ok: JChase, BTJ, Jacobs, Bucky, Dobbins, Justin Tucker

I think Ray Davis could potentially have a solid game for the Bills! My league where McMillan is still available, I know he's due for a bad game, but the late season run he's on is amazing! I'm going with Gesicki also and hoping Jerry Jeudy gets a lot of targets!

I have one unserious freebie league that is finishing up a championship this week...

I have one fun league that finishes in week 18

going to bench Nico

and then debating whether to start Blake Corum or Michael Carter in place of Breece

the Jets mailed it in last week...might mail it in again this week

Sunday night's regular-season finale carries plenty of importance as it pertains to the NFC North title and playoff seeding. In fact, it might be the most significant regular season game in NFL history.

The 28 combined wins between the Vikings (14-2) and Lions (14-2) are the most shared by two teams in a regular-season matchup in NFL history, besting the previous mark of 25 set by the 2007 Patriots (15-0) and Giants (10-5), and the 2005 Colts (13-1) and Seahawks (12-2), according to NFL Research. The 272nd and final regular season game of the 2024 season will also be the first regular-season contest played between two teams with 14-plus wins, and only the sixth such game including the five such playoff matchups, with Super Bowl LVII (played between the 14-3 Chiefs and 14-3 Eagles) being the most recent instance.

https://www.nfl.com/news/lions-vikings-set-to-make-history-in-week-18-showdown-for-nfc-north-title-no-1-seed-in-playoffs

It's crazy how the NFC North became the first division in NFL History to have two teams with 14+ wins. It's even crazier how the NFC North will become the first division to have three teams with 12+ wins if the 11-5 Packers beat the 4-12 Bears on Sunday.

Found a couple of tweets from Underdog Fantasy's NFL account listing team and player motivations (playoff seeding, draft positions, stat milestones, and financial incentives) for Week 18. Probably most helpful for setting DFS lineups on DraftKings or Fanduel, but could also help with season long start-sit decisions.

AFC teams' motivation heading into Week 18: pic.twitter.com/AIGTFq9OJy

— Underdog NFL (@Underdog__NFL) January 2, 2025

https://www.footballguys.com/article/2024-nfl-week-18-motivation-team-by-team?

was able to pick up Broncos, think I have to start them in a must win vs KC backups right, over Chargers @LV or Bucs vNO

Zachary Klement said:

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I have one unserious freebie league that is finishing up a championship this week...

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Why play in free leagues? Never understood it. From what I've heard for years, you'll lose 75% of the league by week 10

George Pickens or Jameson Williams?

Williams has been on a streak lately. He's either due to regress to the mean or they'll keep feeding him since he's hot.

I wouldn't grab Penix.... LOL

well should I put in Dicker or Butker

other option is to just go Gay

why tf did Rams rest starters to now get bounced rd1 by DET/MIN

EliteZags said:

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why tf did Rams rest starters to now get bounced rd1 by DET/MIN

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It's just you're always balancing… I think the first thing is you have to take into account, this isn't like the preseason. You've a 53-man roster. You have the ability to flex two guys up and you have five inactive. Injuries usually make a lot or some of the decisions a little bit easier. I'm always trying to make decisions that I think are best for our football team," Sean McVay told reporters.

"It might not be best for everybody else, but if you said risk-reward, I think it's a great opportunity for Jimmy to be able to play. I think it's also an awesome opportunity for Matthew to be able to get rested, rejuvenated and ready to roll for the playoffs. He's accumulated so much experience. I think that's the important thing while also saying this is an important game for us. We want to go compete to the best of our ability, don't minimize that. Ultimately, you're just weighing the pros and cons and tilting in those scales. Those are things that we've kind of done when we've been in similar situations. What I do acknowledge is that while it might not be for everybody, you try to have a thought process in regard to why you make these decisions. You use other people that you really value their input and then you're able to articulate that with an open and honest dialogue with our players. They've always been so great about how we handle it."

Rams' Sean McVay explains LA's decision to rest starters in Week 18

Sean McVay probably did not think there would be a difference between the No. 3 or No. 4 seed. If the Rams had beaten the Seahawks, they would have gotten the No. 3 seed and hosted the Washington Commanders. The Rams have shown that if they are healthy, they can beat anyone. The Rams beat the Minnestoa Vikings 30-20 at home on Thursday Night Football on 10/24, and they are the only other team besides the Lions to beat the 14-2 Vikings. Also, the Rams defeated the 13-4 Buffalo Bills 44-42 at home on 12/8.

After the Vikings cut the Lions' lead to 10-9 with 9:55 left in the 3rd quarter, the Lions scored 21 unanswered points to throttle the Vikings 31-9 for their 3rd consecutive win to finish a franchise best 15-2. As a result, the Lions won the NFC North for the second straight year and clinched the NFC's No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history. Also, the Lions snapped the Vikings' 9-game winning streak to drop them to 14-3, the best record ever for a wildcard team, breaking the previous 13-3 record set by the 1999 Titans. I noticed several other trends:

1. This is the first time in NFL history where multiple teams reached 15 wins in a single regular season: the 15-2 Lions and15-2 Chiefs.

2. The Lions sweep the Vikings for the 2nd straight year and have won 5 straight games against the Vikings since a 28-24 road loss on 9/25/2022.

3. The Lions have won 4 straight home games against the Vikings, including the last 3 by 10+ points each, since a 37-35 home loss on 1/3/2021

4. Dan Campbell is 6-2 (4-0 home and 2-2 away) against the Vikings, 1-1 (1-0 home and 0-1 away) against Mike Zimmer in 2021 and 5-1 (3-0 home and 2-1 away) against Kevin O'Connell since 2022

5. Since Dan Campbell started 4-19-1 (3-13-1 in 2021, and 1-6 in first 7 games of 2022) in his first 24 games, he has gone 35-9 (8-2 in last 10 games of 2022, 12-5 in 2023, and 15-2 in 2024) in his last 44 regular season games

I'd rather face sam darnold then Jayden Daniels in the playoffs. Not to mention that the let down will be bigger for the vikings.

Now he did gamble because if that were the lions I'd expect them to destroy the rams (though I think the rams won that match up earlier in the season too)

We don't play in Wk 18 but I went and checked and Gibbs scored 46 points last night in our PPR format. Dude ended up leading the NFL in TDs this season.

He makes a strong case for the 1.01 next year.

Funny thing is during our draft I had computer issues in Rd 2 and it auto-drafted Gibbs for me. I was not too happy at the time but it worked out OK.

2024 was the year of the running back in fantasy

Gibbs, Henry, Taylor, and Saquon were league winners

plus Bijan, Jacobs, and Kyren

next year's draft may be a throwback to the old days with Chase being the only WR in the 1st round

Quote:

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next year's draft may be a throwback to the old days with Chase being the only WR in the 1st round

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If that's the case, would make for a great opportunity to be contrarian and go WR-WR to start the draft, especially in PPR formats. Could you imagine being in the bottom half of the draft and getting Jefferson plus one of CeeDee, Thomas Jr, Nabers, etc.?

I wonder how many league winners this year went RB zero in their draft

yes, an owner near the end of the 1st round next year could go WR...

and then pickup Achane or Bucky at the top of the 2nd round

needed every bit of an excessively stacked RB room to make it through playoffs after losing CMC, Mason, Chuba, Chubb, Dobbins(late IR stretch), Pollard(traded), and coming down to Jacobs, Bucky, and Dobbins(wk17) to win championship

W said:

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2024 was the year of the running back in fantasy

Gibbs, Henry, Taylor, and Saquon were league winners

plus Bijan, Jacobs, and Kyren

next year's draft may be a throwback to the old days with Chase being the only WR in the 1st round

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Lamb should be drafted no later then 7 or 8 in ppr.
Justin Jefferson and Nabers should be 11 or 12.

Running backs: Barkley, Gibbs, Henry, bijan 1st round
Maybe 1st round: breeze hall, JT, Josh Jacobs and CMC

That is 12 and i dont see JT or Hall edging out lamb or JJ. Bowers might be a 1st.

so final QB rankings in 6-point TD passing leagues (total scoring):

1. Lamar
2. Burrow
3. Baker
4. Josh Allen
5. Daniels

6. Goff
7. Darnold
8. Nix
9. Hurts
10. Kyler

11. Mahomes
12. Herbert

17. Love -- only rushed for 83 yards
18. Stroud -- no rushing TD's in 2024

Breece will be a much-debated player before next year's draft

he finished with 1,359 total yards and 8 TD's

Not sure I'm touching Jets skill players next year, especially if they bring Rodgers back.

BowSowy said:

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Not sure I'm touching Jets skill players next year, especially if they bring Rodgers back.

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You won a championship with Garrett Wilson and this is how you repay him?!

with ppg normal scoring Allen at 2, Hurts at 5

Chipotlemonger said:

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BowSowy said:

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Not sure I'm touching Jets skill players next year, especially if they bring Rodgers back.

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You won a championship with Garrett Wilson and this is how you repay him?!

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Garrett Wilson might have been the worst (feeling not result) WR10. Honestly I think because he was only 21st WR in average performance (so basically he was healthy all season and good not great).

texagbeliever said:

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Chipotlemonger said:

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BowSowy said:

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Not sure I'm touching Jets skill players next year, especially if they bring Rodgers back.

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You won a championship with Garrett Wilson and this is how you repay him?!

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Garrett Wilson might have been the worst (feeling not result) WR10. Honestly I think because he was only 21st WR in average performance (so basically he was healthy all season and good not great).

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Yep, carried by some big games before Davante Adams got there, with just one more big game coming after that trade. Plus, pretty disappointing down the home stretch.