Welcome to the weekly Fantasy Notebook, the must-stop spot for keeping your finger on the pulse of Fantasy Nation. NFL news and developments drive fantasy values. The Notebook is here to keep you in the loop on all of it throughout the season.
Congratulations . . . And Let's Go!
For most of us, Week 17 was the end of our 2025 season-long fantasy football campaigns. We hope many of you are celebrating championships and clearing off room on your mantles for another trophy.
But we know there are plenty of leagues that carry over to Week 18, and we're here for you.
It's About to Get Weirder
We also know that Week 18 comes with an entirely different level of difficulty in setting lineups.
While there will be plenty of teams who share their plans for the finale, not all of them will be honest about it. We can mostly tell by the circumstances a team finds itself in relative to playoff positioning how truthful they're being.
But one thing you'll hear almost regardless of circumstance, will be coaches claiming their team is . . .
Playing to Win
It sounds great. But we need to realize that "playing to win" can mean different things to different people.
Winning a game, sure.
But setting yourself up for future success can also be a win. Having players going into the offseason injury-free might be viewed as a win as well. Improving your draft position could also be a win.
And of course, whoever the players are who happen to be on the field -- even if they're scrubs -- are going to play to win.
The goal for fantasy investors this week is to figure out the safest plays possible.
Unfortunately, the list of "safe teams" is short.
Footballguy Jeff Bell's NFL Week 18 Team-by-Team Motivation is a must-read for anybody setting lineups this week. There's no more comprehensive yet concise readout on the week than this.
That said, here's an abbreviated look at the teams most invested in giving their all:
The Panthers and Bucs get the ball rolling Saturday afternoon with a battle that will determine the NFC South title. On Saturday night, the Seahawks and 49ers will be going all out in pursuit of the NFC West title and a No. 1 seed. The Ravens-Steelers game on Sunday night is a win-and-in situation.
Also, the Broncos, going up against the Chargers, and the Patriots, who face the Dolphins, are looking to lock in top seeds, while the Jaguars need a win for the AFC South.
With that out of the way, I'll wish you the best of luck in your Week 18 endeavors before moving on to look back at the week that was, starting with the . . .
League Winners
Every season, there are players who rise up to deliver league-winning performances for their investors. Last week's outcomes had plenty of those. Let's look at some who almost single-handedly carried their managers to titles by delivering 30 or more fantasy points in Week 17.
The King Lives!
How did the Ravens prevail without QB Lamar Jackson? Two words: Derrick Henry.
The 31-year-old carried Baltimore in an elimination game, rushing for 216 yards and four touchdowns -- just a week after the Ravens were criticized for Henry's workload.
After not giving him a carry in the final 12 minutes of their Week 16 loss to the Patriots, as outlined in last week's Fantasy Notebook, the Ravens handed it off to Henry 36 times against the Packers, which is a career high and the most carries by an NFL player this season.
Henry's dominating performance helped him move into 10th place on the NFL's all-time rushing list and fourth in rushing TDs. This was also Henry's seventh career game with 200-plus yards rushing, breaking a tie with Adrian Peterson and O.J. Simpson.
The resulting 45.6 fantasy points made him the King of Week 17 fantasy scorers.
By the way, even with a lightened load in Week 16, Henry was RB8 with 24.8 points.
That's 70.4 points over the final two games from a player who, up until then, only had three 20-plus point outings all season.
Did I mention the Ravens are playing to win -- for real -- this week?
Prime Time Bijan!
Falcons Bijan Robinson ran the ball 22 times for 195 yards and a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.
He added a team-high five receptions (on eight targets) for 34 yards and a score.
A 93-yard touchdown highlighted the sensational night for Robinson, who had the Rams spinning to the tune of 229 scrimmage yards -- his second 200-plus scrimmage-yard outing on Monday Night Football this year.
In Week 6, Robinson had a then-career-long 81-yard TD run as part of a 238-yard night against the Bills.
Only Robinson and Jerry Rice have had back-to-back games with 200-plus scrimmage yards in Monday Night Football history.
He's averaged 180.4 scrimmage yards per prime-time game this year.
The resulting 39.9 fantasy points were second only to Henry in Week 17.
Purdier and Purdier
As he continued his string of high-end performances, I'm running out of punny headers for his sections. Nonetheless, here we are after 49ers QB Brock Purdy completed 24-of-33 passes for 303 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception against the Chicago Bears, while running six times for 28 yards and a pair of scores.
Purdy followed his career-high five TD-pass performance last week against Indianapolis by throwing for three scores and running for two to become the sixth player since the AFL-NFL merger with back-to-back games with at least five touchdowns.
His 36.9 fantasy points made him QB1 on the week through Sunday. Purdy has averaged 33.9 points per game over the last two outings.
Of course, the great byproduct of QBs having huge games is the teammates who also come up big.
In this case, Jauan Jennings and Jake Tonges, who got the start at tight end with George Kittle out, both scored touchdowns.
Tonges, with 19 fantasy points, finished the week as TE3.
And of course, Christian McCaffrey did his thing.
The star running back carried the ball 23 times for 140 yards and a touchdown, while adding four receptions for 41 yards on six targets.
McCaffrey joined Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson as the only players in NFL history to have three seasons with at least 2,000 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns.
McCaffrey's 28.1 fantasy points made him RB3 on the week and kept him RB1 on the season -- by a mile. He now has 404.9 points on the season -- the most of any player in the NFL regardless of position, and well ahead of No. 2 Robinson, who has 367.5 points.
But let's not overlook what Purdy has done this year:
Brock Purdy has 20 pass TD and 23 total TD this season.
— NFL Researcher (@NFL_Researcher) December 29, 2025
Both are the most by any QB with 8-or-fewer starts since QB starts were first tracked in 1950. @49ers | #FTTB
Purdy is going to be a menace if he's able to put in a full season in this offense next year . . .
Maye the Force be with You
Despite some depth issues thinning their ranks, the Patriots jumped all over the down-and-out Jets in the first half, taking a 35-3 lead and moving closer to the AFC East title. New England clinched an 8-0 mark away from home with Sunday's blowout.
Drake Maye also bolstered his MVP case with five TD passes, each to a different receiver, including rookie Efton Chism III.
As NFL.com's Eric Edholm wrote, "Maye was magnificent."
In the first half alone, he was 17-of-19 for 229 yards and four touchdowns -- one of the incompletions was a drop by wide receiver Kyle Williams. Maye became the first Patriots quarterback with four passing touchdowns in a half since Tom Brady in Week 8 of 2014 versus the Bears.
Maye was pulled with 5:31 remaining in the third quarter, giving his MVP candidacy one final surge by finishing 19-of-21 for 256 yards and five touchdowns.
Despite leaving early, he finished the game with a career-high 32.4 points. He completed over 90 percent of his throws. Plus, Maye added 22 yards rushing.
As ESPN.com's Matt Bowen noted, it was a big-time finish to the season for Maye, who has averaged 24.3 points in his past four games.
The Patriots are now 13-3 -- heights they've not reached since the peak Brady-Belichick years -- and they could be as dangerous as any team in a wide-open AFC field.
Worth noting, the Patriots blew out the Jets despite playing without four offensive starters, and three of them may return this week. Specifically, wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and left guard Jared Wilson are in concussion protocol, and left tackle Will Campbell (knee) is eligible to come off injured reserve. Receiver Mack Hollins (abdomen) won't be eligible to return until deep in the playoffs.
As for this week, the Patriots are playing for the AFC's No. 1 seed and a first-round playoff bye, needing to beat the Dolphins and have the Broncos lose to the Chargers. Both games are in the late-afternoon kickoff window . . .