Welcome to Statistically (in)Significant, the place to find great stats that probably only matter at the water cooler (or bar). Each week I'll dig through the stats of the week gone by and deliver you some choice conversation starters.
31.50 Fantasy Points
Devonta Freeman led the league in fantasy points this week, putting up 31.50 against the comically bad 49ers rushing defense. How bad are the 49ers, you ask? Freeman is the 6th back that they’ve given up 29 or more points to. Every single RB of note has scored double digits on them, with the exception of Todd Gurley in Week 1. Meanwhile you may be saying, “Great Devonta, but you got me eliminated with 6 yards last week”. Yes, 6 carries for 6 yards is a painful pill to swallow, but it’s not like Tevin Coleman dominated the carries last week – he only had 8. Look for Freeman to continue as the dominant back in the Falcons backfield and keep him in your lineup.
162 Rush Yards
Ty Montgomery, a guy who really isn’t a WR anymore, carried the ball 16 times against the Bears for an average just over 10 yards per carry. He added two TDs on the ground for a cool (cold, yesterday) 28.30 points. Despite his dual eligibility, he’s really not a WR anymore. With that being said, I found it interesting that no WR’s scored in the 20 point range - #1 was Brandin Cooks with 30.60 points, the next was Tyler Lockett with 19 points. The #10 WR for the week only scored 12.8 points, and that was Tyreek Hill all on one play. RBs, meanwhile, had 6 players score 20+ points, just showing what we always say – running backs are more valuable at the end of the season, but not necessarily the beginning.
14 Games in a Row
David Johnson continued his streak of consecutive games with 100+ yards from scrimmage, making it 14 games in a row, or all season long. There are several players tied with the NFL record of 15 games, but none of them have done it in a streak like Johnsons, and Johnson has a chance at being the only player to do it for all 16 games. He now has 6 multi TD games and 17 total TDs on the season. He’s no threat to Ezekiel Elliott in taking the rushing title, but his 800 receiving yards put him at 1938 total on the year, and with 2 games left, he’s got a long shot at breaking the all-time record of 2,509, set by his teammate Chris Johnson (when he had another name and another team). Unfortunately, he can’t just play the 49ers to finish the season.
20% Owned
Using our drinkfive.com league as a metric, I can “proudly” report that only 2 of the top 10 finishing TE’s were even owned for Week 15. Sure, maybe Cameron Brate should be owned, but the likes of Dion Sims, Erik Swoope and Ryan Griffin gracing the top 10 list makes one very nostalgic for the days of Gronkowski. TE streaming has turned into a dart throw with the dart board spinning in circles. Sure, Jordan Reed or Greg Olson could find their way onto this list tonight, but nothing about their play in the last couple of weeks fills me with confidence that they can break the 8 point barrier. Tight End has become a mystery fantasy position, with little to no consistency or predictability from week to week.
89% Completion Rate
Sunday night, Dak Prescott (or Rayne Dakota Prescott, The Fortress, thanks Pro Football Reference), completed 32 of 36 passes against the Bucs, posting a ridiculous 89% completion rate. He even added a TD on the ground, moving him to 5th overall in fantasy points at the QB position this season. In 2014, perhaps his best season so far, Tony Romo was the 11th best fantasy QB. Let’s also take a peek at Romo’s 2015 – he only played 4 games, and a 5:7 TD:INT ratio and was sacked 6 times. Those 4 games he played weren’t even consecutive. The QB controversy in Dallas has always been media driven and not because of the actual facts on the ground. Once you take Romo’s most recent performances into account, it’s really a no brainer that they would replace him with a guy who won 11 games in a row, and not look back. If you want QB controversy, go a couple hours south on I-45 to Houston, though that one seems a bit cut-and-dry as well.
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