Yahoo Fantasy Freak Show

Matt Harmon is joined by his Fantasy Football Live co-hosts Andy Behrens and Tank Williams to preview both the AFC and NFC Championship games this weekend.First, the guys tackle a bit of news. They talk about the Carolina Panthers hiring Frank Reich to be their head coach and whether or not it will pull Matt back into being a Panthers fan.They they discuss the New York Jets hiring former Broncos head coach Nathanial Hackett to be their offensive coordinator and debate if it’s simply a move to recruit Aaron Rodgers to New York.Finally, they get to the games. First up is 49ers at Eagles, a matchup of arguably the two best defenses and two of the best offenses in the NFL this season. This is the biggest test of rookie QB Brock Purdy, on the road against a great defense in the playoffs, and they’re all eager to see how he does.The guys finish off the episode by talking about Bengals at Chiefs, a surprisingly even matchup that centers around the health of Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Don’t count out the defending AF

Matt Harmon and Andy Behrens recap the first 3 games of the NFL Playoffs Divisional Round, but not before having a debate over whether it is still considered the best weekend for football each year.They start off by talking about Patrick Mahomes, who fought his way through a high ankle sprain to lead the Chiefs to a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. There’s a bigger challenge waiting for him in the Bengals next week, but maybe he just needed a good night of sleep?Andy and Matt agree that Jaguars fans should be happy with their team’s season and excited for what the next few years holds with this young, talented group.The Eagles absolutely overwhelmed the Giants, as many probably expected, but the Giants had a good season and now have some decisions to make about Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley.Joe Burrow and the (underrated) Cincinnati Bengals played a near perfect game in the snow of Buffalo, while Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs struggled to carry the rest of the Bills further in the playoffs.Finally, Dalton D

Matt Harmon, Scott Pianowski and Frank Schwab go over all four of the NFL playoff games coming up this weekend and preview each one in great detail, including where they would put their own money if they were betting on them.Frank is reminded of the 2021 Cincinnati Bengals that went to the Super Bowl when he looks at the 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars, and he wouldn’t be surprised to see an upset in Kansas City.Scott is worried about Jalen Hurts, who hasn’t played a great game in about a month, and wonders if the Giants can find a way to slow that Eagles offense down.Matt is begging Josh Allen to calm down and stop making stupid mistakes. He could get away with it against the Dolphins, but it’ll be a very different challenge against the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.Finally, the guys agree that the Dallas Cowboys are underrated and could win the Super Bowl this year. They face what might be their toughest challenge this week, in San Francisco against the 49ers.02:55 Jaguars at Chiefs20:55 Giants at Eag

Matt Harmon and Andy Behrens recap all six of the games from a wildly entertaining NFL Wild Card weekend and look ahead to the offseason plans for the teams that were eliminated.Dak Prescott and Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore really shined on Monday night, effectively ending Tom Brady’s time with the Buccaneers. He likely won’t find a home with the 49ers, who continue to get impressive performances from rookie QB Brock Purdy and an offense filled with playmakers.The Chargers blew a 27-0 lead to lose to the Jaguars, and it’s mostly the fault of their run game that has struggled all season. The Bills put up a terrible performance against the Dolphins, who fought against the play clock just as much as they battled against the Bills.In “The Fraud Bowl”, the Vikings lived up to (bad) expectations but the Giants (and QB Daniel Jones) might have something special brewing. If nothing else, they’ve built an ecosystem that free agents will be eager to join this offseason.Finally, the Bengals squeaked by Tyl

Matt Harmon is joined by Scott Pianowski and Frank Schwab to preview all six of this weekend’s NFL playoff games for Wild Card weekend in great detail.The guys tackle the games in order, starting with the Seahawks-49ers game and a conversation about rookie QB Brock Purdy (with lots of comparisons to 2001 Tom Brady). The group is split on who will be the winner of Chargers-Jaguars, but they might be aligned when it comes to which QB has the better head of hair.The Dolphins have no hope against the Bills, so the preview of that game inevitably leads to talk about Justin Fields’ sack rate. The Giants-Vikings game is referred to as “The Fraud Bowl” because nobody believes in either team, although Daniel Jones is awesome and K.J. Osborn might have some interesting props this weekend.The Ravens can barely field an offense but their defense should be enough to make the first half against the Bengals interesting. Meanwhile, which version of Dak Prescott will show up in Tampa on Monday night?01:40 Seahawks at 49ers18:

Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski close the book on the 2022 regular season by coming up with their own year-end fantasy football awards and handing them out to the lucky winners.Find out who was the fantasy MVP, the fantasy rookie of the year, which team had the most variety of scapegoats, who we wasted the most oxygen on and a lot more, including a few minutes where Matt and Scott discuss their favorite books.Before wrapping things up, the guys also crown the best waiver wire pickup of the season and the most disappointing season-ending injury for fantasy football in 2022.02:50 2022 Fantasy MVP09:55 2022 Fantasy Rookie of the Year19:30 The Touchdown Allergy award22:40 “Extra Glass” in the film room award26:30 The “Island of Hell” award27:30 “Moving is an Adventure” award29:15 Best fantasy ecosystem31:55 The Polaroid award (slow-developing rookie WR)34:10 2nd year WR most likely to end up in the dog house next season38:00 Unlikeliest Buddy Cop Show Award40:55 Worst Narrative award44:00 The Scapegoat Variety aw

Los Angeles Chargers RB Austin Ekeler is back with Matt Harmon for the final episode of Ekeler’s Edge of the season. Together, the guys look back at the amazing year Austin had as fantasy football’s RB1 before looking ahead to the Chargers’ playoff game against the Jaguars this weekend.The show kicks off with some positive news on Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin before recapping the season that was for Austin. As per usual, he’s already put his great performance behind him and is wondering how high he’s going to go in fantasy drafts next year.The guys also talk about the slow start to the season that Austin had, which is where he was when the Chargers faced the Jaguars in week 3 of this season. Things are quite a bit different now for both the Chargers and Jaguars, but Austin explains that there is still a lot to learn from their early-season matchup that can be used on Saturday.One more time, the guys play a round of ‘Fantasy Toss-Up’, this time including DFS prices to help fantasy players determine which

Matt Harmon is joined by Dalton Del Don to recap all of the craziness from week 18, which featured a lot of teams resting their starters or with nothing to play for. That didn’t stop the Detroit Lions, though, who played for pride and kept the Green Bay Packers out of the playoffs.The guys talk through all of the games, paying special attention to the teams that missed out on the playoffs and what questions they will face in the offseason. The Arizona Cardinals kicked off their offseason by opening up their head coach and GM positions, leading Matt and Dalton to wonder who would want that job.After marveling at the one-year turnaround of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Matt and Dalton also marvel at what Pete Carroll and Geno Smith were able to do wtih the Seattle Seahawks in the post-Russ era. Also, what would a Sean McVay-led rebuild look like for the Rams?Love Smith gave the Texans two middle fingers on his way out the door and we loved it, the Panthers players did everything they could to win Steve Walks a job,

Matt Harmon is joined by Dalton Del Don and former NFL safety Tank Williams to preview all of the NFL games from week 18 with an eye towards betting and DFS.Obviously, the health of Damar Hamlin and the mental health of all NFL players and coaches hangs over this final week of football, and the guys take time to discuss some positive updates and some stories from Tank’s playing career that provide a bit more context about what comes next.However, with playoff berths on the line, eventually the focus switches to the games and the motivations of each team heading into them. There are some teams that will use this week to rest their starters (Bucs, Giants, Chargers), some that need a win to play again next week (Packers, Jaguars, Titans), and others that are just looking to protect their seeding or potentially move up.It’s a difficult week to navigate, but the guys have you covered with plenty of suggestions and opinions that you can follow or fade as you prepare for the football weekend.06:15 Chiefs at Raiders1

Following a very scary situation on Monday Night Football, Matt Harmon gives an update on the health of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin and explains why we're not publishing an episode of Ekeler's Edge this week.Click here to donate to Damar Hamlin's toy drive fundraiser

Matt Harmon is joined by Andy Behrens to recap week 17 in the NFL, also typically known as fantasy football championship week. The guys discuss some big performances, a few duds, and look ahead for a couple of teams who are already out of playoff contention.We kick the show off with a recap of the very fun “backup QB bowl” between Jarrett Stidham (and the Raiders) and Brock Purdy (and the 49ers), but very quickly work our way towards the outstanding offensive performances by Tom Brady, Mike Evans and the rest of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers…who are a team nobody wants to play in the playoffs.Noted Bears fan Andy implores the team to protect Justin Fields at all costs before the guys try and figure out what to make of the current four-game winning streak from the Green Bay Packers.The Dolphins season looks like it’s slipping away due to Tua’s concussion issues, Damien Harris ate into most of Rhamondre Stevenson’s fantasy value, we still don’t trust anyone on the Chiefs besides Mahomes & Kelce, and the Jaguars

Matt Harmon is joined by Marvin Elequin and Dalton Del Don to preview all of the week 17 NFL games from a fantasy angle during championship week (in most fantasy football leagues).Unfortunately, for the teams that are still alive in fantasy, this week is a mess. Or a disaster. However you want to describe it, it’s probably bad for the players on your team.Many teams have no motivation to win this week, so there are plenty of questions about who will play and for how long. Will Christian McCaffrey play past halftime? What about Travis Etienne and Trevor Lawrence? Will Austin Ekeler play or rest?The guys do their best to sort it all out, and end up talking quite a bit about Stefon Diggs’ diet, rooting against Tom Brady, curses upon George Kittle, and combining Greg Dortch and Rondale Moore into a single player.02:20 Bears at Lions08:40 Vikings at Packers12:40 Broncos at Chiefs17:20 Jaguars at Texans20:00 Rams at Chargers24:00 Jets at Seahawks26:50 Saints at Eagles32:30 Cardinals at Falcons38:20 49ers at Raiders

Matt Harmon is joined by fellow stat nerd Dalton Del Don for another episode of Stat Nerd Thursday. Together, the guys come up with one stat for all 32 teams and also preview the Thursday night game between the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans.The guys talk a lot about this weekend’s game between the Bears and Lions in Detroit, and what a great setup that is for fantasy players in championship weekend. They also talk a bit about Russell Wilson losing his athleticism seemingly overnight and if he can be fixed with a new Broncos coach.Cam Akers and D’Onta Foreman both showed last week that an Achilles injury is not a career-ender for running backs anymore, but how much can we believe in them this week? Also, how dark will things get for the Raiders against the 49ers now that they’ve benched Derek Carr in favor of Jarrett Stidham?Dalton has one, and only one, reason for maybe not starting Trevor Lawrence this week. Matt wants to see what the Dolphins offense looks like with Teddy Bridgewater in place of Tua,

Fresh off a win over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football, Los Angeles Chargers RB Austin Ekeler sits down with Matt Harmon to talk about returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and discusses the news of J.J. Watt retiring at the end of this season.The guys also do another round of “Fantasy This-or-That” where they debate two players that are similarly ranked for the upcoming week and tell managers in the fantasy championship which one they would recommend starting.We close out the show by catching up on the Ask Austin mailbag, where the guys talk about Austin’s first time in the Wildcat, what goes into benching a player for a mistake and whether Austin being an NFL player helps him in fantasy football.04:15 NEWS / J.J. Watt will retire after this season07:40 Chargers 20, Colts 318:35 Chargers resting starters in final weeks?21:20 Fantasy This or That: Week 16 recap23:45 Trevor Lawrence vs. Jared Goff26:20 Brock Purdy vs. Tom Brady27:35 Cam Akers vs. Brian Robinson30:25 D’Onta Forem

Matt Harmon is joined by Scott Pianowski to recap all of the NFL games that happened on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in week 16 of the NFL season, an important week for fantasy football matchups.The guys kick off the podcast with breaking news that the Denver Broncos have fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett before recapping Denver’s ugly loss to the Rams on Sunday. They also dive into the other Sunday games, including another bad outing from Tua and Tom Brady looking a lot like 2011 Tim Tebow.While talking through the Saturday games, Matt marvels at the WR clinic put on by DeVonta Smith and CeeDee Lamb while Scott gives credit to Daniel Jones for having a very under-the-radar season despite playing well for the Giants.Steve Walks might be earning the head coaching job in Carolina, and Matt and Scott are both rooting for the Panthers to win the NFC South and make it to the playoffs. Also, wasn’t it fun to see the Buffalo Bills win with their running game for once?When we get to some of the less in

Matt Harmon is joined by both Dalton Del Don and Scott Pianowski to preview all of the Saturday, Sunday and Monday NFL games happening in week 16 with an eye towards fantasy football.Many of the games talked about will have freezing temperatures, snow and strong gusts of wind that could play big roles in passing games around the country. The guys talk about that and also about Californians inability to deal with weather of any sort.Matt struggles to figure out which TE he’ll start on his own fantasy teams while Dalton talks up Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf and D.J. Moore. Meanwhile, Scott can’t figure out what to do with K.J. Osborn and would take almost any rushing yardage prop bet for Derrick Henry against the Texans this week.Scott also explains the PBI (Pianow Backup Index) and uses it throughout the podcast to explain the offensive impact of each team that is starting a backup QB in week 16.02:20 Packers at Dolphins07:40 Seahawks at Chiefs14:50 Giants at Vikings20:15 Eagles at Cowboys27:20 Lions at Panthers3

Matt Harmon is joined by Dalton Del Don to provide one stat for all 32 NFL teams, and along the way the guys end up talking about games on Christmas Day, the running back market in free agency this offseason and the ranking of QBs if you were building a franchise right now.Unlike most weeks, when the guys start with the best teams in the league and work down to the worst, they go from worst to first this week and uncover a few fantasy gems on the league’s worst teams along the way.Find out which Broncos RB might just win your fantasy football playoff game this week, why a new QB in Indianapolis probably doesn’t boost the fantasy value of Michael Pittman, and which run defense has been on fire for the last month (the answer will surprise you!).Matt and Dalton also check in on their Mike Evans vs. Gabe Davis bet, and conclude that they were both wrong and should’ve trusted their guts in the preseason instead of digging into the numbers.Finally, the guys preview a very important (for playoff reasons) Thursday ni

Los Angeles Chargers RB Austin Ekeler is back with Matt Harmon for another great episode of Ekeler’s Edge. This week, the guys talk about the Pro Bowl campaign video the Chargers’ social media team put out and play a game of “this or that” as a fantasy debate before welcoming former Chargers TE Antonio Gates to the show.The guys also discuss, with each other and then later with Antonio Gates, the Chargers moving into playoff position and what they need to do to finish the job and get into the postseason.During the fantasy debates, find out where Austin and Matt come down on the following toss-ups in week 16:Brock Purdy vs. Aaron RodgersDaniel Jones vs. Derek CarrJ.K. Dobbins vs. James ConnerJerick McKinnon vs. Alvin KamaraGarrett Wilson vs. Zay JonesCheck out all the episodes of the Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Matt Harmon is joined by Andy Behrens to break down the news coming out of Week 15 in the NFL before diving into what is left on waiver wires, but not before laying out some crucial waiver wire etiquette.First, the guys discuss the disappointing news coming out regarding Jonathan Taylor’s high ankle sprain and what a blow that is for fantasy teams. Then the guys spend time talking about Trevor Lawrence, who is ascending to one of the highest tiers of fantasy QBs right now.After a brief lesson on waiver wire etiquette, Andy explains why you should be adding Tyler Allgeier or Jahan Dotson to your team (especially if you’re still alive in the playoffs). Also, which “cheat code” QB/TE hybrid is the right answer this week?Finally, Matt and Andy tell you who to drop, who to hold on to, and give an update on Matt’s mom’s fantasy league.05:05 NEWS / Jonathan Taylor high ankle sprain12:15 NEWS / Jaguars LT Cam Robinson torn meniscus18:20 NEWS / Jets QB Mike White (ribs) has “a lot of hurdles to clear”24:30 NEWS / Pack

Matt Harmon is joined by Scott Pianowski to recap the Sunday NFL action, which included a lot of exciting finishes but not a lot of big fantasy football performances, and talk about their takeaways from the Saturday games, as well.The guys kick off the show by talking about last week’s RB1, who might also end up this week’s RB1, Chiefs RB Jerick McKinnon. They also talk about the Jeff Driskel positional eligibility discourse.After that, they break down a few games that didn’t help us a lot in fantasy before diving into another great Trevor Lawrence game, this time against the Dallas Cowboys, and talk about where he’ll likely rank next season amongst fantasy QBs.Matt and Scott really only talk about the NFC South teams because they have to. It’s that time of the year and they’re over watching bad teams, and the entire NFC South is bad.Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields, who played against each other this week, should both run less than they are now to lower their chances for injury. Diontae Johnson, on the other ha