Week 16 in Review Dec 23, 2008 | More

Ballers of the Week

DeAngelo Williams , RB Carolina Panthers

It seems like Mr. Williams has been on this list quite frequently, but how can I leave him off this week after a four-TD outburst against the defending Super Bowl Champions? DeAngelo ran the ball a very effective 24 times for 108 yards and those four scores. He ran tough all night and didn’t make any mistakes, although it didn’t lead to a victory as the Panthers lost in overtime.

Marques Colston , WR New Orleans Saints

Colston had his best game of 2008, with a two touchdown game against the 0-15 Lions. He had nine receptions for 99 yards and looked as healthy as ever. With QB Drew Brees trying to break the single-season passing yards record, look for Colston to have another huge week against the Panthers in Week 17.

Brandon Jacobs , RB New York Giants

Jacobs ran all over the Carolina Panthers Sunday night, rushing 24 times for 87 yards. He found pay dirt three times as the Giants ran for over 300 yards on the night. Both Jacobs and fellow RB Derrick Ward had big games on the ground for New York, who clinched home-field advantage with the win. Jacobs’ knee held up fine, but keep in mind that he might not play too much next week because the Giants have everything locked up.

Busts of the Week

Kurt Warner , QB Arizona Cardinals

The once front-runner for league MVP has been less than spectacular over the past three weeks and had perhaps the worst game of his career in Week 16. Warner threw for 30 yards on 6-for-18 passing against the Patriots before being pulled late in the third quarter. I know the weather was terrible in New England and star WR Anquan Boldin didn’t play, but Warner still looked terrible.

Steelers DEF/ST

The No. 1 defense in the league got embarrassed by the Titans on Sunday. They allowed 31 points and failed to register a turnover. The Steelers defense and special teams also welcomed fantasy owners with a negative score for the day. This was simply a bad day for Pittsburgh. Look for the defense to regain their swagger in Week 17 against the Browns.

Andre Johnson , WR Houston Texans

A week after putting up incredible numbers against the Titans, Johnson followed that up with a pitiful performance against the Raiders. He had just two grabs for 19 yards, which came as a surprise because San Diego threw all over Oakland last week. The Raiders do have a decent secondary, but that’s not an excuse for Johnson to have just two catches.

Waiver Wire

Cedric Benson , RB Cincinnati Bengals

Benson ran all over the Browns in Week 16, running for 171 yards on 38 carries. He now has run the ball for a combined 59 times the last two weeks and should get plenty of carries in the final week of the season against the pathetic Chiefs. If you need a spot starter at RB then get Benson because he’s only owned in 40% of ESPN leagues right now.

Shocker Special

Derrick Ward , RB New York Giants

Although Brandon Jacobs made the ballers list with his three TDs, Ward was the star New York Giants RB on Sunday. He ran the ball only 15 times, but logged an amazing 215 rushing yards! Even though Ward failed to score a touchdown, he had the ball in his hands in most of the important parts of the game. He made a bunch of big plays in the fourth quarter and overtime and single-handedly set up the game winning field goal with a few huge runs.

Keep on your Fantasy Radar

Tarvaris Jackson , QB Minnesota Vikings

Jackson has now put up back-to-back excellent efforts in his starting role for Minnesota. He threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s loss to Atlanta. Jackson also ran the ball eight times for 76 yards, but did lose two fumbles which were very costly for the Vikings. Nonetheless if Tarvaris starts next week against the Giants, he could put up respectable numbers with New York having nothing to play for and Minnesota being on their home turf.

Must Start of Week 17

All Saints WRs

New Orleans QB Drew Brees will be throwing all day long against Carolina as he chases Dan Marino’s single-season passing yards record. He needs 402 yards through the air to break the record so start any WR or TE who will see the field on Sunday.

Please Bench of Week 17

AFC East QBs

Brett Favre, Trent Edwards, Chad Pennington and Matt Cassel are all questionable starts for Week 17. Favre and the Jets go up against Pennington and the Dolphins, while Edwards and the Bills get Cassel and New England. All four QBs will be tested on Sunday and seeing that everyone except Edwards is still in playoff contention, it will be a very competitive day. I would bench all of them, but Cassel would be the one to start out of the four if you need one.