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If you're reading this I'm going to assume you survived the injury-plagued disaster that was Week 14.
I hate for playoff games to be decided that way, but congratulations. Of course, all those injuries did create opportunity and there were more than a few who stepped up to the challenge. We'll discuss them and more in this week's Believe It or Not.
Russell Wilson and the Seahawks passing attack can win you a title.
When Thomas Rawls left early in the Seahawks Week 14 win plenty of owners' playoff chances left with him. Of course, for Russell Wilson's owners it led to more pass attempts and his third monster performance in a row.
Over his last four weeks, Wilson has thrown for 1,171 yards and 16 touchdowns. It's easily the best stretch of his career on both a volume and efficiency basis. Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett have been the main beneficiaries.
Over that same time frame Baldwin has been the No. 1 overall wide receiver in Fantasy and Lockett has been a solid Fantasy WR2. It may still be difficult to accept, but this Seahawks pass attack can absolutely lead you to a championship.
Verdict: Believe it. If the performance of Wilson and company hasn't been enough to convince then the situation moving forward certainly should.
The Seahawks face the Browns and the Rams over the last two weeks of the season, likely without anything remotely close to a starting running back. Expect Fred Jackson and DuJuan Harris to carry the load to a certain degree, but the team will clearly need more from Wilson.
The only argument I could see is that the young quarterback's volume will be limited by his opponents' inability to score. That's fine, just remember that the Seahawks' previous two opponents have combined for 13 points and that didn't slow them down.
Johnny Manziel is the best quarterback available on your waiver wire.
Despite the off-the-field concerns, Manziel has looked really special in his last two games. He now has 642 yards in his last two games and led his team to a victory against the 49ers on Sunday. His defense is not good, which will put him in more high-volume situations down the stretch.
Whether you like the way Manziel conducts himself or not, you have to acknowledge his talent and opportunity make him a worthwhile pick-up and a great stash for next year.
Verdict: Don't believe it. Manziel's last two games have come against the Steelers and 49ers defense. They both rank in the bottom half of the league. More importantly, Manziel's huge yardage numbers have led to a 1-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio as he continues to make at least one terrible decision on the field each week.
Think I'm just hating on Johnny Football? That's fine. He's still irrelevant over the next two weeks as he travels to Seattle and Kansas City. Over the past month they've been two of the best defenses in the league. If we get positive reports about Manziel this summer he may be worth drafting heading into next season.
Maybe.
Other than that his only value is a possible Week 17 start against the Steelers.
December Eddie Lacy is back.
You guys know I generally scoff at these types of narratives, but Lacy sure looked like he was more comfortable in Week 14. He has averaged 94 yards per game in the last month of the season over his career and has nine touchdowns in nine career games.
Lacy heads to Oakland next week, so it's unclear whether his December magic works in a place where they don't have a traditional winter. If you're believing in the way he looked and not the narrative, then Lacy is a near must-start.
Verdict: Believe it. He looked like a confident runner hitting large holes and even broke a few tackles. This is still a committee with James Starks, but I expect Lacy to be the one toting the rock in the fourth quarter of victories. I also don't think it's a complete coincidence that Mike McCarthy took back the play-calling duties and Lacy got going again. Start Lacy with confidence in Week 15.
A.J. McCarron can keep the Bengals' weapons relevant.
With Andy Dalton done for at least your Fantasy season, A.J. Green and the rest of the Bengals' weapons will rely on a quarterback with 36 career attempts to keep them relevant. McCarron wasn't all bad in relief of Dalton, tossing a pair of touchdown passes including a bomb to Green for 66 yards.
The key is that McCarron seemed willing to take a shot like that and at least has the ability to connect on it. There's no way he can match Dalton, but if he can be at least adequate, Green and the other Bengals should remain relevant.
Verdict: Believe it, at least for Green. I'm a little concerned about everyone in this offense, but Green should continue to get his targets. Tyler Eifert is very questionable for this week (concussion) and I'm really not sure that Marvin Jones is good enough to win consistently as the second option with a quarterback as inexperienced as McCarron under center.
