Fantasy Football: Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch produce in Fantasy Playoffs

This was a game for all the marbles. The Seattle Seahawks traveled to square off with the quarterback-less Arizona Cardinals on the road, in a match up that potentially meant the difference between having or not having home field advantage in the playoffs.

In other news, Marshawn Lynch missed part of the first quarter with #TummyProbz and then proceeded to absolutely wreck everyone...

[QB]

Russell Wilson - (88 Rush Yards, 1 Rush TD, 339 Pass Yards, 2 Pass TDs = Total Points 40.36)

Per usual, Rusty didn't come out of the gates blazing in the first quarter. In fact it's safe to say that his biggest fantasy contribution of the first quarter was a career long 55 yard run, which nobody complained about. That wasn't the only "career" long stat he earned on the day though, and late in the second quarter Russell floated a gem right over the coverage to a wide open Luke Willson, tying a career long for an 80-yard touchdown pass. One wasn't all she wrote though, as Russell and Luke found mutual pay dirt one more time on a 20 yard pass right into the back of the endzone. The icing on the cake? It would have to be a late 4th quarter touchdown where Russell took one to the house all on his own for 5 yards.

This was a pretty good example of why, despite his moderately low passing attempts (usually), Wilson is still by definition "matchup proof". Even against a stout Arizona Cardinals defense he provided 88 rushing yards (14.7 YPC), one rushing touchdown, 339 passing yards (20/31) and two touchdowns through the air. There may be a general fear of starting Russell because of the Seahawks' propensity to run the ball, but statistically speaking Wilson has never averaged more passing attempts per game at any point in his career than he has in 2014.

This offense is growing, and Russell is continuing to learn with it. If you own him in dynasty then pat yourself on the rear, and if you don't? Good luck ever getting a share of him for less than more than you'd like to spend.

[RB]

Marshawn Lynch - (113 Rush Yards, 2 Rush TD's = Standard 23.3/PPR 23.3 Points)

Arriving tardy to the party because of stomach issues, Lynch missed a majority of the early series, though it didn't matter. With 3:41 minutes left in the second quarter Lynch road-housed his way through a bevy of defenders en route to a 6 yard score. Of course, that wasn't the end of it, as Marshawn later proceeded to break off a highlight reel 79 yard rushing touchdown in the 4th quarter.

Marshawn's rushing room this year has been directly proportional to Russell's ability to force the defense to respect his legs, and Sunday night the math worked out again. Lynch only needed to run 10 times Sunday night as he bodied the Arizona Cardinals to the tune of 11.3 YPC for 113 yards on the ground and two scores.

Baring Lynch's IBS flaring up again, he should continue to produce and see the workload of the high-end RB1 he's always been.

Robert Turbin - (38 Rush Yards = Standard 3.8/PPR 3.8 Points)

Starting the game as the primary back while Lynch funneled down a handful of Skittles, Turbin again came out looking ready to handle the workload. Speculation about his depth chart rank with and without Lynch in 2015 will continue to swirl, but a majority of experts would say that Michael is the dynasty back to own.

Christine Michael - (28 Rush Yards = Standard 2.8/PPR 2.8 Points)

For just a brief moment in time it was like a glimpse of what Michaels future "could be". He boasts all the requisite attributes to be a feature back with the exception of opportunity. His usage was minor but just enough to probably get the fantasy world salivating again. Michael rushed 8 times for 28 yards with a long run of 15 yards (3.5 YPC).

His fantasy playoff value is absolutely zero without a Lynch injury, but his dynasty value is still sky high. So until 2015, and pending a Marshawn Lynch contract re-signing, Michael will continue to be an extremely valuable stash.

[WR]

Doug Baldwin - (7 Catches, 113 Rec Yards = Standard 11.3/PPR 18.3 Points)

Douglas Baldwin had a game Sunday night as he hogged all the targets Wilson could provide. He finished the day hauling down 7 for 113 yards on a team high 11 targets.

He's more often than not going to finish as a PPR WR3. The difference tonight, aside from great play, was the amount of target volume he received. Baldwin's a talent, and when the opportunity is right he can easily creep into low end WR2 digits on any given night. He's rounding out into an every week WR3 as him and Russell grow though.

Paul Richardson - (5 Catch, 52 Rec Yards, 27 Return Yards = Standard 6.68/PPR 11.68 Points)

His future is brighter than Stephen Hawking sitting on top of the sun, but his present day value isn't exactly the same. He's a versatile wideout who, again, showed why Seattle wasn't worried about trading Percy Harvin after drafting him. Richardson set season highs in yards and catches going 5-52 on 7 targets Sunday night.

He's flashing in small ways right now, so he is still an excellent buy-low option. Richardson is shaping up to be a viable dynasty stash in the ever growing Seahawks pass game, so add him where he's still available.

Jermaine Kearse - (1 Catch, 8 Rec Yards = Standard .8/PPR 1.8 Points)

3 words. Not. A. Factor.

Sunday night Jermaine dropped a fantasy playoff bomb as he was only good for 1 catch for just 8 yards (1 target). As one of the more sizable pass options Russell has, you'd expect better weekly production, yet sadly that has not been the case. His cause was hurt when he left early with a hamstring injury.

Ricardo Lockette - (1 Catch, 5 Rec Yards = Standard .5/PPR 1.5 Points)

3 words. Not. A. Factor.

Bryan Walters - (1 Catch, 13 Rec Yards = Standard 1.3/PPR 2.3 Points)

Not fantasy relevant. Had just one catch for 13 yards. He has zero place in this offense and you'd be better off rolling out the 5th wide receiver on the Jets depth chart than Bryan.

[TE]

Luke Willson - (3 Catches, 139 Rec Yards, 2 TD = Standard 25.9/PPR 28.9 Points)

It felt almost surreal as I watched Luke catch a beautifully lofted pass from Russell Wilson and then outrun his defender the rest of the 80 yards for a touchdown. It was a combination of all the "Luke Willson" attributes we speak of: route running, hands, speed, big play ability. One touchdown wasn't enough though, so early in the 4th quarter Luke and Russell connected one more time on a 20 yard touch pass right over the top of the coverage again for a score.

There is without a doubt plenty of room for a successful fantasy tight end in this offense, however that means that this said tight end must be consistent, and Luke just hasn't been. He's worth a stash in deeper dynasty leagues, and especially those with tight end premium scoring values. If you fantasy finals are next week it would take a pair the size of hot air balloons to roll him out with everything on the line.

Cooper Helfet - (2 Catches, 9 Rec Yards = Standard .9/PPR 2.9 Points)

He has promise, but the likelihood of him ever becoming relevant on a weekly basis seems borderline impossible. With Luke Willson flashing capability and Moeaki's addition to the team, its safe to say Helfet is droppable by most all accounts. He produced just 2 catches for 9 yards on 4 targets Sunday night.

[DST]

Seattle Seahawks DST - (6 Points Allowed, 4 Sacks, 1 INT, 27 Return Yards = Standard/PPR = 17.68 Points)

This game got way out of hand, and there was never anything Arizona could do about it. The Seattle DST has been in peak form for weeks now and Sunday night was just another highlight reel for the greatest hits VHS tape we will be making. Holding the Arizona Cardinals to just a pedestrian 6 points, the SEA DST did their job. Factor 4 sacks, & 1 INT then you'll have a pretty dominant outing.

It was just a brutal beatdown of a quarterbackless team on their own turf. If you own the Seattle DST long term then you will love the news of the recent contracts they addressed (Avril, Wright). This continues to be an offense that dominates time of possession, and a defense that makes opponents pay for not having enough weapons to hurt them.

[K]

Steven Hauschka (5 XP's = 5 Total Points)

Steven had the shanks like Tin Cup Sunday night and hosed a lot of owners in the process. Missing from just about everywhere you can legally kick from, Hauschka ended his utterly disappointing evening going 0-3 from FG range, but saving a little face with 5 XP's. Chalk it up to the dry Arizona air, I don't know.

Hauschka is still a favorite to produce accurately nearly 99% of the time, let's call this one an anomaly and move forward.

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