A technology in the past, in a unique sport, Reggie Jackson cemented himself as Mr. October.
Josh Allen is doing all he can to put declare to Mr. December. He is as soon as once more dominating within the fantasy playoffs, and taking an eraser to the historical past books.
Allen’s absurd play of late has been not possible to overlook. He posted the best fantasy quarterback game of all time in Week 14 towards the Rams (51.88 factors), then backed it up with a 41.28 explosion in Detroit last Sunday. No quarterback has ever scored extra fantasy factors in a two-game pattern, and it’s the fifth-best fantasy two-pack (no matter place) of all time.
Now Allen will get to take purpose at changing into the perfect December fantasy star ever. The highest of the leaderboard is definitely inside attain, and I doubt the Patriots and Jets will sluggish him down the subsequent two weeks.
It is enjoyable to lose your self on Stathead, the search engine from the indispensable Pro-Football Reference. I ran a question on the best cumulative fantasy standard scoring (meaning no points for receptions) for a month of December, and the outcomes had been fascinating.
Allen’s pursuit of historical past
Allen’s 2024 run is already eleventh all-time regardless of him being one or two video games behind these on the prime. Allen has additionally charted on this checklist twice earlier than, back in 2018 (thirteenth all-time) and 2020 (fifteenth all-time). No surprise they name this man The Winter Soldier. One thing about Allen’s recreation takes off within the late a part of the season.
The best clarification comes from Allen’s dashing chops. His rushing yards per game jump every month over his career, as such: 30.3 yards in September, 32.1 in October, 41.4 in November, 45.3 in December. He additionally has 22 dashing touchdowns in December video games, in comparison with 40 mixed within the different three months.
When the snow trickles down, Allen goes to town.
Go-catchers not coming alongside for the experience
Allen’s having this monster run and MVP season regardless of extraordinary assist in the pass-catcher room. Mack Hollins of all individuals leads this workforce in landing catches, a modest 5. Khalil Shakir has been a fantasy hit, WR26 in half-point PPR, however Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, Dalton Kincaid and midseason addition Amari Cooper (16-231-1 on 27 targets since becoming a member of the workforce) all go down as disappointments.
A few of the shortfalls are injury-related, though we must also point out the width of the goal tree. Irrespective of. Allen has proven he can carry this unit on his shoulders.
Who’s forward of Allen?
A lot of the December stars Allen is chasing on that leaderboard are operating backs. Marshall Faulk (first, fourth) charted twice within the Best Present on Turf Days. Larry Johnson (tenth) took over the Kansas Metropolis backfield in the midst of 2005 — Priest Holmes bought damage — and single-handedly drove most of his managers to the fantasy finals, if not a championship. Clinton Portis (fifth, 2002) was a gasoline when he was wholesome. LaDainian Tomlinson (sixth, 2003), Steven Jackson (second, 2006), Adrian Peterson (seventh, 2012), Todd Gurley (ninth, 2017); all of them used to rule the fantasy world.
The 2 quarterbacks forward of Allen used completely different maps to get there. Peyton Manning’s finest passing 12 months was the ridiculous 2013 marketing campaign, when he dialed up a document 55 landing passes in his second Denver season. The Seahawks had been cautious with Russell Wilson’s utilization as a rookie, however in his 2012 stretch drive he received fantasy titles together with his legs (together with 92 yards dashing and three touchdowns in Week 15). It has been enjoyable to see Wilson resurrect his profession in Pittsburgh, however it’s nothing like the electrical participant he was by means of his 20s in Seattle.
Notice: Knowledge from above chart is from Stathead
The December list is not friendly to receivers, the variance place of fantasy soccer. Quarterback and operating again scoring is far more steady week-over-week, which performs effectively on such a leaderboard. Should you work off commonplace scoring, we do not see a cumulative December receiver till Drew Bennett (61st, 2004) and Odell Beckham Jr. (sixty fifth, 2014). If we change to full-PPR scoring, OBJ jumps to seventh and Bennett slots 14th. Marvin Harrison Sr., Eric Decker and Josh Gordon all crash the highest 20.
Ought to QBs be drafted earlier in fantasy?
Rather a lot has been manufactured from how this fantasy season has been outlined by veteran operating backs, however do not lose what the brand-name quarterbacks are bringing to the desk. Lamar Jackson is at the moment No. 3 on the Yahoo MVP list — the frequency with which a participant exhibits up on the highest 500 Yahoo Public League groups. Allen slots sixth, Joe Burrow sixteenth and Jalen Hurts twentieth. You do not discover a worth quarterback till Baker Mayfield charts within the thirty sixth place.
After I’m engaged on workforce meeting in the summertime months, I do not spend an excessive amount of time peeking forward to December or grinding power of schedule, that kind of stuff. The NFL is a snow-globe league and too many variables for December merely aren’t knowable months upfront. And for a number of years I have been wideout-focused with my early picks. In lots of seasons, that is labored effectively as a method.
For a lot of causes, it has been negative-EV (anticipated worth) in 2024.
However I am open-minded in direction of a method shift in future seasons. I at all times need a sturdy operating again room — each fantasy supervisor does, even when they draft utilizing one thing like Zero RB — and I do know their weekly scoring comes with a excessive flooring. However possibly I have to be extra open-minded to what a star quarterback can do within the fantasy playoffs. Perhaps there is a lesson to this Allen stuff, in spite of everything.
Or possibly it is less complicated than that. Perhaps I simply want to ensure I’ve some extra Josh Allen shares on my fantasy groups subsequent 12 months. Simply make the playoffs, Josh Allen will take it from there.
There are two extra weeks to go in December 2024. Pour your self some eggnog and dial-up Buffalo in your major display. We’re all witnesses.
