It’s Week 17, which means most fantasy football managers are in the middle of their fantasy football championships. Unfortunately, there have already been some disappointments at a crucial moment, but there could be more on the horizon. In this week’s Fades/Busts column, I’ll highlight three players who have the potential to let you down in fantasy’s crucial week.

QB Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

Since returning to the active lineup after subbing for Joe Flacco, second-year QB Anthony Richardson has generally improved – particularly for fantasy football managers, as he has scored 20 fantasy points in three of his last five meetings has achieved. Still, there were plenty of inconsistencies during that span, as Richardson averaged a 51.1% completion rate with fewer than 175 passing yards in all but one game and threw 4 passing TDs and 5 INTs with a YPA of 6.5 during that span. However, it’s not the temporary staging that scored these fantasy points – it’s his work on the ground; He has scored at least one rushing touchdown in all but one matchup.

In Week 17, Richardson could face several tough challenges against the New York Giants, the first being health concerns. The QB missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday because he was listed with back and foot injuries, and even if he were active, he could be limited in the rushing game under the circumstances. He’ll also face a New York Giants defense that’s forcing the second-highest sack rate at 8.3% – another alarming indication, and a bad one for a banged-up quarterback who’s already prone to taking some big hits could be a message.

Heat check 🔥 Given the hype surrounding Richardson before the season, it seems ridiculous to consider leaving him on the desired bench. However, given his volatile track record and another string of injuries, he’s probably best left out of lineups in such an important week.

RB Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys

Unfortunately for fantasy football managers who were hoping to ride off into the sunset with the most pleasant surprise of the year in their lineups – er, championship game – Dallas Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle faces another tough matchup at the crucial moment. For Dowdle, it’s his second straight week here in the Fades column, fresh off a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he was limited to just 23 rushing yards on 13 attempts and just 6.6 fantasy in half-PPR leagues points for his third lowest score. Goal score of the year.

However, this week’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles likely won’t be the answer.

The Eagles’ rushing defense has been a challenge for opponents this year, with the fourth-lowest EPA per rush (-0.14) and the second-fewest fantasy points per game (14.67) for opposing RBs, one of only five in the NFL -Teams have allowed fewer than 10 rushing scores per year. Over the past five weeks, the Eagles have ranked last in schedule-adjusted fantasy points per game allowed to opponents, according to fantasy points data. With CeeDee Lamb shut down for the remainder of the 2024 season, there’s also a chance that things could get out of hand pretty quickly, which would be bad news for establishing the run in terms of the game’s script.

Heat check 🔥 Dowdle is another big asset that has helped you get to Fantasy Championships all year long as a surprisingly useful FLEX play. However, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that his chances of making a league win in Week 17 are high.

WR Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions

Former first-round pick Jameson Williams has been one of the more surprising breakouts this fantasy season, currently ranking third in the NFL with an 18.9 YPR average and a WR22 ranking with an 11.9 FPPG average in half-PPR -Scoring formats despite a relatively low target percentage (5.8). per game – 43rd among WRs who played more than 10 games this year). The climb up the standings wasn’t necessarily smooth sailing, however, as WR had as many weekly finishes outside the top 100 as he did inside the top five

Although he posted a season-best 23.5 points in Week 16 thanks to a 5-142-1 stat line, his performance of late has been generally disappointing, posting 11.2 or fewer fantasy points in five of his last seven games since this week’s 10 This week, the already volatile player will be tasked with taking on the San Francisco 49ers, who have allowed the fifth fewest schedule-adjusted fantasy points in the last five weeks, per fantasy points data. Since Week 10, the 49ers rank last in the league in explosive receptions allowed (10), with a league-low 10.0 YPR and the second-lowest YAC/R average (3.55) in the league on targets for WRs .

Heat check 🔥 Williams has a high ceiling, but fantasy managers should carefully consider whether or not his ceiling is worth the potentially low floor in a must-win week.