Josh Allen is on fire.
After accounting for 6 touchdowns — 3 passing and 3 rushing — in a losing effort in Week 14, he added 4 more — 2 passing and 2 rushing — in a massive win over the Lions on Sunday.
Allen was already leading the MVP race before his performance against the Lions, and he is even further ahead of the competition coming out of Week 15.
Let’s take a look at the rest of the best performers from Week 15 and project how they will do in Week 16.
Best Quarterbacks: Week 15
| Rank | Player | Passing Yards | Passing TDs | Rushing Yards | Rushing TDs | Fantasy Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Allen | 362 | 2 | 68 | 2 | 41.3 |
| 2 | Jared Goff | 494 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 41.1 |
| 3 | Lamar Jackson | 290 | 5 | 65 | 0 | 36.1 |
| 4 | Aaron Rodgers | 289 | 3 | 45 | 0 | 30.1 |
| 5 | Jalen Hurts | 290 | 2 | 45 | 1 | 28.1 |
Josh Allen‘s heroics were already covered in the intro, so let's dig a little deeper into an emerging trend.
For the second year in a row, Allen has kicked up his rushing production to close out the season.
Over the first 9 games this year, Allen averaged 5.2 rushing attempts and 23.4 rushing yards per game.
Over the last five, he has averaged 8.8 rushing attempts and 54.6 rushing yards per game.
It is possible a series of injuries to his receiving corps prompted the move, but the Bills were mostly healthy against the Lions, a game that featured 68 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns from Allen.
Over that span of five games, the Bills are first in yards per play (6.8) and points per drive (3.42).
Best Running Backs: Week 15
| Rank | Player | Rushing Yards | Receiving Yards | Touchdowns | Fantasy Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Conner | 110 | 28 | 2 | 30.8 |
| 2 | Jahmyr Gibbs | 31 | 83 | 2 | 28.4 |
| 3 | Tyjae Spears | 5 | 87 | 2 | 27.2 |
| 4 | James Cook | 105 | 28 | 2 | 26.3 |
| 5 | Chase Brown | 97 | 16 | 2 | 26.3 |
We've been highlighting this stretch of games for the Cardinals, and James Conner took full advantage in Week 15.
He finished with 110 yards on the ground, 28 yards through the air, and 2 touchodwns in an important win over the Patriots.
It was Conner's second strong game in a row, and the schedule sets up for him to keep that streak going.
Next week, Arizona plays a Panthers defense that ranks dead last in yards per carry allowed to running backs.
The week after that, he gets a Rams defense that ranks 23rd in that same metric.
To be clear, however, his success and likely continued success is not just a result of scheduling.
Out of 44 qualified running backs, Conner ranks fourth in explosive run rate and 14th in yards after contact per carry this season.
Best Wide Receivers: Week 15
| Rank | Player | Receptions | Receiving Yds | Touchdowns | Fantasy Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davante Adams | 9 | 198 | 2 | 42.8 |
| 2 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | 14 | 193 | 1 | 37.3 |
| 3 | Mike Evans | 9 | 159 | 2 | 36.9 |
| 4 | Brian Thomas Jr. | 10 | 105 | 2 | 32.5 |
| 5 | DeVonta Smith | 11 | 109 | 1 | 28.0 |
It is too little, too late for the Jets, but Davante Adams is coming on strong to close the season.
In Week 15, he went for 198 yards on 9 catches, got into the end zone twice, and set up the game winning score with a 41-yard catch and run.
Since the Week 12 bye, Adams ranks sixth among qualifying receivers in yards per route run and ninth in yards per target.
Next up for the Jets is the Rams, who have allowed 8.7 yards per target to receivers this season. That ranks 29th in the league.
The Rams are even worse against outside receivers, ranking 31st with 9.8 yards per target allowed.
Adams splits his time almost evenly between the slot and outside, but he should be get plenty of opportunities to take advantage of that matchup.
Best Tight Ends: Week 15
| Rank | Player | Receptions | Receiving Yards | Touchdowns | Fantasy Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonnu Smith | 9 | 48 | 1 | 19.8 |
| 2 | Brenton Strange | 11 | 73 | 0 | 18.3 |
| 3 | Sam LaPorta | 7 | 111 | 0 | 18.1 |
| 4 | Trey McBride | 9 | 87 | 0 | 17.7 |
| 5 | Josh Whyle | 5 | 37 | 1 | 14.7 |
Jonnu Smith has been a consistent target in the Dolphins offense for a long time.
Since Week 5, Smith has seen 21.7% of Miami's targets, has been targeted on 25.9% of his routes, and has averaged just over 6 receptions per game.
Among qualified tight ends, only George Kittle and Trey McBride have averaged more yards per route run than Smith since that Week 5 marker.
He is tied for second among that same group of tight ends with 6 touchdowns over those 10 games.
At this point, it is surprising when Smith does not have a good game.
That said, he has a rough matchup next week.
The 49ers have been their usual tough self against tight ends, allowing 6.2 yards per target to the position (fifth) and seeing the third-fewest tight end targets for the season.
