Week 17 surprises: Foster, McGahee finish strong

The games of Week 17 left us positively baffled. Fans and Fantasy owners sat with mouths agape as they watched the carnage. There were a handful of teams that you expected to take their starters to the sidelines early. You were prepared for those issues. You were prepared for the inevitable heavy workload for Chris Johnson. And, you were prepared to see a host of new faces plastered on the ubiquitous leaderboards.

You couldn’t have anticipated that a number of other teams would flat-out quit on you. The Eagles and Giants were the worst offenders, and I believe I have a good 3,000-word diatribe for them in the offing. For now, I’ll stay on the positive side of things with the best storylines of the final weekend of play.

It starts in Denver, where Kansas City tailback Jamaal Charles ran wild against the heretofore stout Broncos run defense. Charles produced his fourth consecutive 100-yard season and capped the game’s scoring with a 56-yard sprint to the end zone. He finished the game with 25 carries for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Charles averaged 111.6 rushing yards per game over his final nine appearances.

Ryan Fitzpatrick returned to action for the Bills after missing Week 16 because of an ankle injury. Fitzpatrick completed 16-of-25 attempts against an Indianapolis defense that rested a number of starters. He cut through the snowstorm to pass for 155 yards and three touchdowns, including a 41-yard strike to Terrell Owens.

Owens finished the game with four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. The mercurial receiver completed a quiet season in Buffalo with 55 catches for 829 yards and five touchdowns.

Only on a day with playoff berths at stake and Chris Johnson charging to 2,000 yards would Fred Jackson’s monstrous 212-yard performance in a snowstorm get lost. Alas, the sneaky-good tailback was an afterthought in Sunday’s season finale. Jackson proved to be an effective option as a runner and receiver while supplanting Marshawn Lynch as the top option. He amassed a total of 1,433 total yards on 283 touches (1,062 rushing yards).

Daunte Culpepper finished the season well against the Bears in a Home loss to close out another dismal season. Culpepper passed for 262 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He appeared in eight games and produced only three touchdowns.

Culpepper was able to find top target Calvin Johnson in the end zone. It was Johnson’s fifth touchdown reception of the season (fourth in his final seven games) and he completed the game with six catches for 86 yards. Johnson finished the year 16 yards shy of 1,000.

I don’t know that Jonathan Stewart’s overall production was a surprise in Week 17. However, there were some reports that he would sit out the finale early on Sunday morning. Stewart sprinted for a 67-yard touchdown early in the game and finished the contest with 16 carries for 125 yards. He produced four 100-yard games in the final five games of the season, scoring in each of those contests. Stewart finished the season as the ninth leading rusher in the NFL.

The Saints rested all of their regulars, putting Lynell Hamilton from San Diego State on the map. Hamilton amassed 13 touches (three receptions) for 86 total yards and a touchdown. He was on the radar as a sleeper for this contest and delivered in a big way.

The “other” Zach Miller, tight end from Jacksonville, posted a strong day in the Jaguars’ season-ending loss to Cleveland. Miller caught eight passes for 69 yards with two touchdowns in the disappointing end to the season.

We anticipated that receiver Julian Edelman of the Patriots would play a sizable role in the finale against Houston. We didn’t anticipate that it would take a devastating injury to Wes Welker to put him into play. Edelman shone brightly when Welker was injured early in the season, and he finished this game with 10 catches for 103 yards.

The Texans have seemingly found a deep ball threat for 2010. Jacoby Jones caught touchdowns in back-to-back weeks early in 2009 and popped onto the radar. He went silent for much of the season before finishing the season with scores in back-to-back games. Jones averaged 16.2 yards per reception and should see opportunities in one-on-one coverage opposite Andre Johnson ( Kevin Walter becomes a mighty interesting No. 3 who may pile up strong PPR numbers). Jones finished Sunday’s win against New England with five receptions for 65 yards.

Tailback Arian Foster assumed the top slot in Houston for the second straight week and posted a tremendous audition tape for 2010. Foster scored twice while amassing 20 carries for 119 yards. He averaged 5.5 rushing yards per carry in the final two games of the year (39 carries).

The Patriots deactivated Laurence Maroney for the finale, thrusting former fantasy standout Fred Taylor into the spotlight. Taylor carried the ball seven times for 33 yards with two touchdowns, although his fumble was recovered for a touchdown. This obviously holds no long-term fantasy effects, but Taylor certainly will be on display this weekend in the playoff matchup against Baltimore.

Michael Turner sat out the Falcons’ finale, as expected, leaving Jason Snelling to finish off the season against the Buccaneers. Snelling carried the ball 147 yards on 25 carries. Given Jerious Norwood’s injury issues, Snelling may have worked himself into a No. 2 role for the 2010 season.

Finally, Willis McGahee sent a cautionary note to those owners pushing Ray Rice very quickly up to the top of their draft boards. McGahee rushed for 177 yards on 16 carries in the playoff-clinching win over Oakland. His second touchdown was a thing of beauty, a 77-yard sprint to daylight that included a straight-arm move to send a defensive back to the turf. McGahee finished the season with 12 touchdowns.