Fantasy Football Frustrations: Week 16

Well, that’s all she wrote folks. The fantasy football season has officially come to an end.

For a few, it was a glorious and exhilarating ride. For the most, the fantasy football season was filled with disappointing moments where we second-guessed our lineup decisions and the in-game decisions of NFL coaches and players.

The funny part is, many of the champions that were crowned this year won’t even remember the players they started or how they won. All they’ll know is they won. The losers on the other hand will remember the players that let them down and the players they could’ve and should’ve started who were left on their bench. So what exactly are the players and moments we should all remember front his final week?

Here are some of the biggest and most frustrating misfortunes of Week 16 for fantasy owners.

Cam is No Superman

In Week 16, Cam Newton was set up for success because the Atlanta Falcons defense isn’t that good, but their offense is excellent. With Newton and the Panthers expected to trail in this game, he was in a position to throw early and often in order to keep up with the Falcons offense. The game script was there for Newton. The problem is, he didn’t show up.

By “not showing up,” I mean for the first half of the game it would have been better for fantasy owners if they didn’t play a quarterback at all because Newton went into halftime with negative fantasy points. The NFL’s reigning MVP did manage to (sort of) salvage his day by finishing with 10 fantasy points. He finished Week 16 tied as the 23rd highest-scoring quarterback.

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It’s a fitting end for the 2015’s highest scoring fantasy player as he’s struggled all season and possibly won’t finish as a top-15 fantasy quarterback in 2016.

Turbin Does it Again

Robert “The Vulture” Turbin made Frank Gore fantasy owners want to rip their hair out yet again as he scored a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders. It was his fourth touchdown over the last four weeks as the Colts starting running back, Gore, has just one.

As a result, Turbin has scored more or just as many fantasy points as Gore in four out of the last five weeks. The difference is, he’s done it on 58 less touches. Not one of those four Turbin touchdowns has come from farther than six yards out from the end zone.

Doug Martin Goes MIA

Let’s not pretend Doug Martin has been good since he returned from injury back in Week 10. However, with this volume and history of success, he was still a RB2 going into Week 16’s game against the New Orleans Saints. That was until it was announced about 90 minutes before the game Martin was going to be a healthy scratch.

With the Buccaneers playing at 4:25 pm EST, many owners did not have a suitable replacement for Martin and instead had to plug in some running back they quickly found on the waiver-wire.

An Up-Hill Battle

Just like with Doug Martin, Jeremy Hill hasn’t been great this year. Yet, with his high-volume and goal-line work, he’s been an effective RB2. Well, that wasn’t the case on Saturday night. Hill finished the game with seven carries for eight yards and left owners with zero fantasy points in the championship round. It was his worst fantasy outing of the 2016 season.

Next: NFL Picks and Predictions for Week 17

If one of these players or incidents put a damper on your Christmas weekend I apologize. I also retract my apology and tell you to lighten up: It’s just a game.

A game you lost when you were oh so close to winning.

Happy Holidays everyone!

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