RADIO
Fantasy football is a lot like the stock market. One minute, players in your lineup are on fire with stellar production, the next, they're either hurt or just not producing. Here are some of the players whose fantasy stock has taken a hit this past week.
Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard had a forgettable performance against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, albeit in a Bengals victory. The third-year pro rushed the ball just five times for 26 yards and added just one reception for nine yards. The game was never in question, with the Bengals taking a quick 20-0 lead in the second quarter, which led the team to lean on fellow Bengals running back Jeremy Hill, who carried the ball 22 times for 98 yards.
With Bernard being more of a threat out the backfield as a receiver, the Bengals weren't really in need of his services yesterday, which greatly affected Bernard's stats. In the past four games, Bernard has not eclipsed the 50 yard mark on the ground, and has eclipsed 50 yards through the air in just half of those four games. Bernard is an RB2/FLEX play in PPR leagues.
Philip Rivers had a dud of a game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, throwing the ball for 202 yards, one touchdown and an interception on 18-for-35 passing in a 3-17 loss. What makes the performance even more maddening for fantasy owners is that the performance came just a week after a four touchdown, 300 yard performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. When looking at the big picture though, Rivers has not played well in three of his last four games, throwing for no touchdowns and one pick in two of those games, and throwing for just one score in the other. It may be time to bench the quarterback in your fantasy lineup if you have another viable option on your fantasy roster, especially with fantasy playoffs just around the corner.
When Jamaal Charles went down with a season-ending ACL injury in October, many thought that Charcandrick West would be able to shoulder the load of the Kansas City rushing attack. Fast forward to December and it seems as if he is just an afterthought in the offense, despite the team's winning ways. West rushed the ball just nine times for 35 yards in a 34-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders. He also added two receptions for nine yards in the team's fifth straight victory. West has failed to eclipse the 50 yard rushing mark in all but three games this season.
West is an emergency FLEX play at best with the fantasy playoffs looming.
