NFL First Look: Week 15 Preview

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2016-12-15 15:03:40

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The NFL First Look is complete with sortable odds, implied team totals, pace of play, DVOA rankings and each team’s projected starters to help you get an early start on the upcoming week.

Week 14 Thoughts

— The Raiders finally lost a close game. The Chiefs seem to have their number. Amari Cooper continues to almost score touchdowns.
— Tyreek Hill is exactly what the Chiefs have been missing the last couple of seasons – someone that can take the top off of a defense.
— Note to self: it it’s windy, rainy, or snowy – play Le’Veon Bell. Luckily, I had him in every one of my cash game contests last week.
— The Bills may be in free-fall mode after basically being eliminated from playoff contention. We’ve already seen a few teams throw in the towel.
— Justin Forsett out-touched Devin Booker eight to five in their loss to the Titans. If anything, Denver may have to rely on Trevor Siemian moving forward.
— The Titans won a game in which they passed for 73 yards. Two costly fumbles from the Broncos cost Denver the win.
— Rob Kelley runs as hard as any running back in the league. Keep an eye on him in games where the Redskins are favored.
— Zach Ertz has 45 targets in his last four games. It’s time to start believing that the recent target totals are not fluky.
— Hey, Bruce Arians – GIVE THE BALL TO DAVID JOHNSON. He got too cute with his play-calling yet again and it may have cost them a shot at the playoffs.
— Ryan Tannehill is out for the regular season with two sprained knee ligaments, although there is some optimism that he could return for the playoffs. It will be tough to get there though, as they have two road division games and a meeting with the Patriots in Week 17.
— How bad has Philip Rivers been the last few weeks? To make matters worse, it looks like the Chargers will be without Melvin Gordon in Week 15.
— The Panthers beat the Chargers, but make no mistakes about it – their offense is still in shambles. Cam Newton has scored more than 13 fantasy points once in the last month.
— The Bengals confirmed what we already knew: target running backs and tight ends against the Browns. Jeremy Hill and Tyler Eifert combined for 190 yards and three touchdowns.
— The weather was bad enough in Cleveland that I’m willing to give “(player-popup)Robert Griffin III a pass. Hey, he still scored more fantasy points than Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick last week.
— The Lions are so good at playing keep-away from their opponents. It has really helped their defense over the last seven weeks.
— The Texans picked up a huge win over the Colts and now hold a major advantage in the division. Unfortunately, Brock Osweiler is still their quarterback.
— Andrew Luck is great for fantasy football, but he makes too many mistakes. On a related note, how bad is the Colts’ offensive line?
— Sam Bradford almost threw for 300 yards. Of course, it was against the Jaguars, so I’m not really sure it counts. Forget everything good I’ve said about their pass defense lately.
— Marqise Lee appears to have taken over as the Jaguars’ number one receiver. He has more fantasy points than Allen Robinson in each of the last four games.
— Bryce Petty loves him some Robby Anderson. He isn’t as cheap this week, but he is still a nice value play. Bilal Powell may end up being uber-chalk this week if Matt Forte is out.
— After two bad fantasy outings in a row, everyone will be off of Colin Kaepernick this week. It’s early, but he may be my favorite quarterback play on the board.
— Don’t target the Saints on the road. We already knew this, but an 11-point outing against the Buccaneers reaffirmed it.
— It looks like all the Jacquizz Rodgers talk was just coach speak. Doug Martin is still the lead back in Tampa.
— Atlanta doesn’t need it’s top two wide receivers or a decent game from it’s top running back. Then again, the Rams were basically handing them points.
— Two weeks after getting an extension, the Rams fired Jeff Fisher. Yeah, they know exactly what they are doing in that organization.
— Russell Wilson looked really bad against the Packers on Sunday, but no worries, he gets to face the Rams at home this week.
— So much for the fireworks in New York. I don’t have much to say about a 10-7 win for the Giants other than Dak Prescott will and should be the Cowboys’ quarterback moving forward.
— The Patriots picked up a win on Monday night, but they are rooting for the Ravens to miss the playoffs. They have as good of a chance as anyone of knocking them out in the postseason.

Color Coding

1) Numbers in BLUE represent the “elite” category, in approximately the top 25th percentile.
2) Numbers in GREEN represent the “above-average” category, in approximately the top 50th percentile.
3) Numbers in YELLOW represent the “below-average” category, in approximately the bottom 50th percentile.
4) Numbers in RED represent the “poor” category, in approximately the bottom 25th percentile.

NFL Schedule & Vegas Lines

Implied Team Totals & DVOA Matchups

Note: The DVOA rankings in this chart are for the opponent of the offense listed in the first column.

Implied Team Totals & DvP Matchups

Note: The DvP rankings in this chart are for the opponent of the offense listed in the first column. They are also adjusted for strength of schedule.

Plays Per Game & Pace of Play

Projected Starters

First Look Legend