You work hard all year. Scrounging the wire. Stressing start/sit decisions. You narrowly miss a bye, claiming the three seed. Then your buddy's friend Greg gets the best tight end fantasy game in 30 years out of Kyle Pitts Sr. as the six seed.
It stings.
I have been there.
Home league championship. 2020. Christmas Day. Hosting family Christmas for both my family and my in-laws. My buddy Mark is a great fantasy player and a better friend.
Saints vs. Vikings. Friday of Championship Weekend.
As I scramble to help with the kids, my wife is leading the hosting duties. Kamara, again and again. A masterful six-touchdown performance that put me in a hole I could not dig out. Mark claims the title. Except there are even more layers.
Our league was a keeper league with an auction draft. It has since graduated to Dynasty. Our rules were relatively simple: the first year you kept a player, they received 20% inflation, the second year, up to 40%, and the third and final year, 80%. Deep rookies that went for single digits turned into tremendous values.
That title game was Kamara's fourth year. Mark had been able to enjoy Kamara's fantasy dominance nearly all of his first four seasons. Nearly all. Mark did not draft Kamara. I did.
Kamara started his career in a three-headed backfield with Mark Ingram II and Adrian Peterson. Mark's team started slow in 2017. Mine was strong. Ever the opportunist, I saw a chance to acquire Drew Brees. We tossed trade negotiations back and forth. Kamara was the final sticking point. Ultimately, I relented, thinking he was stuck behind Igram and Peterson.
Peterson was cut the week after I traded Kamara.
Kamara immediately became a fantasy superstar.
Mark got all of it. To the point that the title game was the last game Kamara had keeper eligibility.
Mark won the trade. And the league.
I got the worst loss of my fantasy career and this intro.
Fifteen games stand on the schedule; let's get a fix.
Number Watch
Matthew Stafford, LA Rams - 277 Passing Yards
Philip Rivers, Indianapolis - 648 Passing Yards
As last Sunday ended, Stafford was 277 yards from the seventh-most passing yards in NFL history. Philip Rivers was in seventh place. You know that story, with Rivers joining the Colts in one of the most shocking transactions in recent history.
Rivers can work on his own career climb, needing 648 yards to catch sixth-place Ben Roethlisberger.
Stafford is in fifth place on the Rams' career passing list with 18,054 yards. Jared Goff is 117 yards away, in fourth place. Stafford vs. Goff has become an annual battle, and this week's is 2025's. Great timing.
Davante Adams, LA Rams - 3 Receiving Touchdowns
Adams has the third most receiving touchdowns in a Rams season, with 14. Elroy Hirsch holds the record at 17. Cooper Kupp is second with 16.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City - 6 Receptions, 176 Receiving Yards
Kelce is 11th in career receptions at 1,064. He needs six catches to tie Reggie Wayne for 10th. Longer term, Kelce is 38 receptions away from Marvin Harrison Jr. for the fifth most.
He is 23rd in career yards with 12,878. He needs 168 to pass Jason Witten and move into second on the career tight end yards list. Tony Gonzalez is first with 15,127.
Trey McBride, Arizona - 23 Receptions
McBride is trending toward breaking Zach Ertz's single-season tight end receptions record of 116, needing 23 catches. DeAndre Hopkins holds the Cardinals franchise record of 115.
Tyler Warren, Indianapolis - 8 Receptions
Warren has 60 catches, trailing Josh Downs' franchise rookie record by eight. He has the eighth-most receptions by a rookie tight end. He needs 26 to reach Sam LaPorta for the second most. Brock Bowers is well ahead with 112.
Warren's 699 yards are the tenth most by a rookie tight end; John Mackey's eighth place is 27 yards away.
Javonte Williams, Dallas - 100 Scrimmage Yards, 1 Touchdown
Williams already played on Thursday Night. He is closing in on significant contract incentives. At 1,150 scrimmage yards, he needs 100 more yards to unlock $250,000. He has 11 touchdowns; his next touchdown will unlock another $250,000 incentive.
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas - 4 Receptions, 1 Touchdown
Jeanty broke the Raiders team record for rookie running back receptions. At 45 on the season, he needs four to crack the top three for any Raiders rookie. The Top 3: Brock Bowers (112), Amari Cooper (72), Hunter Renfrow (49).
Jeanty is tied with J.D. Smith for the second-most touchdowns by a rookie in Raiders team history. Allen has the team record, with 14.
Cameron Ward, Tennessee - 350 Passing Yards
Ward lands on the number countdown list. His 2,468 passing yards are the second most by a Titans rookie. Marcus Mariota holds the team rookie record with 2,818.
Tyler Shough, New Orleans - 105 Passing Yards, 1 Passing Touchdown
Before 2024, Archie Manning held the Saints' rookie passing record with 1,164 yards. Spencer Rattler broke it, with 1,317. Shough has 1,212, sitting 105 away.
Manning has the team's rookie passing touchdown record with six. Shough has five.
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland - 7 Receptions
Fannin is approaching the Browns' rookie reception record, needing seven catches to get to Kevin Johnson's team rookie record of 66. Fannin is coming off an 8-114 game; only Dante Lavelli and Mohammed Massaquoi had more receptions and yards as a rookie in a game for the Browns.
Jauan Jennings, San Francisco - 19 Receptions, 142 Receiving Yards, 1 Receiving Touchdowns
Jennings can earn $ 666,667 bonus for 60 receptions, 600 yards, and six receiving touchdowns each. His current numbers are 41 catches, 458 yards, and five touchdowns.
Rico Dowdle, Carolina - 167 Scrimmage Yards, 2 Touchdowns
Dowdle has already unlocked $ 1.75 million in multiple incentives. He has two more thresholds at 1,350 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns. He needs 167 scrimmage yards to earn $1 million, and two touchdowns will earn $ 250,000
Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland - 212 Rushing Yards, 4 Rushing Touchdowns
Judkins is fifth in rushing yards by a Browns rookie at 784. The Top 4 in team history: Nick Chubb (996), Trent Richardson (950), Jim Brown (942), and William Green (887).
Judkins has seven rushing touchdowns, tied with Travis Prentice and Ron Johnson for the fifth most in team history. The Top 4: Trent Richardson (11), Jim Brown (9), Nick Chubb (8), Isaiah Crowell (8).
Kareem Hunt, Kansas City - 91 Scrimmage Yards
Hunt has 659 scrimmage yards. He has multiple bonuses in his contract and will earn $25,000 at 750 yards. The following are non-cumulative, meaning he only gets the highest earned: 905 scrimmage yards for $125,000 / 1,000 for $375,000 / 1,250 for $625,000.
Hunter Henry, New England - 5 Receptions
Henry unlocks a $ 250,000 bonus at 50 receptions. He sits at 45. He receives an additional $250,000 for each five-catch threshold between 55, 60, and 65.
Mack Hollins, New England - 5 Receptions
Hollins has 35 receptions. He has a contract bonus of $300,000 for 40 receptions, then another $400,000 at 50.
Chase Brown, Cincinnati - 9 Receptions
Brown's 51 catches are closing in on Joe Mixon's Bengals team record of 60 for a running back.
Breece Hall, NY Jets - 123 Rushing Yards
Hall needs 123 rushing yards to hit 1,000 for the first time. With 3,210, he is 12th in Jets team history. He needs 238 to pass Adrian Murrell and move into the Top 10 in team history.
Dak Prescott, Dallas - 9 Passing Touchdowns
Prescott is nine touchdown passes from tying Tony Romo for the Cowboys franchise record. He passed Romo in Cowboys passing yards earlier in the year.
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville - 2 Passing Touchdowns
Lawrence's 87 career passing touchdowns are two behind David Garrard for third on the Jaguars' career list. Blake Bortles is second with 103. Lawrence is 951 passing yards from Bortles for second on the team's passing yardage list.
Sam Darnold, Seattle - 838 passing yards, 6 Passing Touchdowns, 100 Passer Rating, 67.5% Completion
Darnold has multiple incentives in his contract, earning $500,000 each for 4,000 passing yards, 28 Passing Touchdowns, 67.5% completion, and a 100 passer rating. He is currently at 3,162 yards, 22 touchdowns, 68.1% completion, and 103.8 passer rating.
Sterling Shepard, Tampa Bay - 1 Reception, 29 Receiving Yards
Shepard has incentives of $125,000 at 40 receptions and 400 yards. He has 39 catches and 371 yards. He has a second threshold of 50 receptions and 500 yards, with an additional $125,000 each.
Van Jefferson, Tennessee - 7 Receptions
Jefferson has 23 catches on the season. His contract is structured with non-cumulative bonuses. He unlocks the first $100,000 at 30 receptions.
George Kittle, San Francisco - 17 Receptions
Kittle is third on the 49ers franchise record book with 575 receptions. Terrell Owens is second with 592. Jerry Rice holds the record at 1,281.