Week 15 Fantasy Football Winners

Week 15 is in the review mirror, and real-life playoff clinching scenarios are starting to make their way around the internet. Some top stories are the return of Mike Evans, who suffered a collarbone injury, and it seems extremely unlikely that he will break Jerry Rice’s record for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, which they are tied for. Week 15 also marked the return of future Hall of Fame QB Philip Rivers, who came out of his 2020 retirement to help the Colts on their playoff push after the Daniel Jones injury. In their own non-fantasy outlooks, they both won this week, hands down. However, in terms of fantasy football, the first round of the playoffs for the majority of leagues was in Week 15. In one of my leagues, a 13-1 team lost in the first round because of the newly found struggles in Indianapolis’ run game. One of my teams lost by less than two points in the first round because of Tre Tucker’s goose egg and Joe Burrow getting shut out by the Ravens. While those teams lost, there were plenty of players who single-handedly won their owners the first round of the playoffs by putting up more than 30 fantasy points. Every year, there are always one or two players who come out of nowhere and make a team go on a Cinderella run. Here are some of those performers.

QB Trevor Lawrence – (44.3 Fantasy Points)

I never talk about my own fantasy leagues in these weekly recaps of fantasy football, but in the spirit of playoffs, I am sad to say that I had to face Trevor Lawrence in the first round of the playoffs. In our chat after the Thursday Night Football game between the Bucs and Falcons, he texted that he regrets starting Lawrence over Kirk Cousins, who scored about 30 points. That thought was immediately put to sleep because Trevor Lawrence put on a clinic, embarrassing the New York Jets. The former first overall pick threw for 330 yards and five touchdowns, adding 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground, marking the first time since Week Five of 2024 that Lawrence threw for more than 320 yards and the first time in his career to throw five touchdowns, let alone score six in one game. This performance against the Jets is unlikely to replicate itself as the Jags will now face the Broncos, Colts, and Titans to close out the season. Lawrence has put up respectable points over the last few weeks, but a six-touchdown-zero-turnover game is one that fans don’t see very often from any quarterback.  

RB Travis Etienne – (31.5 Fantasy Points)

Staying in Jacksonville, Travis Etienne had himself a game, but there was a direct correlation between his success and the success of Lawrence through the air. Etienne contributed to only 31 yards on the ground, but caught three of his four targets for 73 yards and three touchdowns. Before 2025, Etienne never had more than one receiving touchdown in a season, and he just recorded three in one game, bringing his season total to five. While it was not in the script for the former Clemson RB to rush well in this game, he still shattered his projection, giving tremendous upside as the lead back for the Jags. Etienne is not a name like Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs, but he still deserves the respect to start, considering he has two performances all year with less than 10 fantasy points.   

TE Kyle Pitts – (45.6 Fantasy Points)

This is what Kyle Pitts' selectors have been waiting for. This is why Kyle Pitts was drafted fourth overall. The Falcons had nothing to play for in this game except to spoil the Buccaneers’ playoff hopes, and that is exactly what they did. Right out the gate, backup QB Kirk Cousins found Kyle Pitts for two touchdowns in the first half, and then a third on an amazing catch in the fourth quarter. While that only describes three of his catches, Pitts finished with 11 receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns, marking all career highs and the first TE to record yards and touchdowns like that since Shannon Sharpe back in 1996. The Falcons picked up the fifth-year option for Pitts in 2024, making the former Florida TE a potential free agent in 2026. Wherever Pitts finds himself, he has shown fans that he is not a bust and is the true athlete that everyone expected him to be when drafted; it just took a little time and the right game plan.

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown – (41.4 Fantasy Points)

As I said in previous recaps, I would not shy away from recognizing a first-round fantasy football draft pick if they had an amazing game. While the Lions lost the game and were down for the majority of it, fantasy owners were loving life as Amon-Ra St. Brown was targeted 18 times, catching 13 of them for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Owners were rightfully worried when St. Brown went down with a knee injury in the Week 13 game against the Packers, but the three-time Pro Bowler fought through and suited up for the matchup against the Cowboys, putting up a respectable 15 points. The knee does not seem to be a problem, considering he answered back just a few weeks later with a 40-bomb, finding himself seventh on the most PPR points scored in a single game in 2025. Detroit is fighting for a playoff spot behind the Bears and Packers, finishing the season against the Steelers, Vikings, and Bears. St. Brown is a must-start due to his ability to make plays that can increase a Detroit lead, as well as his usage when they need to cut the deficit.

TE Trey McBride – (37.4 Fantasy Points)

For the second straight week, a Cardinals player found extreme usage because of the quick hole they found themselves in. In Week 14, the Cardinals found themselves down 24-10 at halftime and 38-10 by the end of the third quarter to the Rams, allowing Michael Wilson to record 11 receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns. In Week 15, the Cardinals were down 17-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Cardinals finished the game with three total touchdowns in a 40-20 loss to Houston. However, similar to the owners of St. Brown, the owners of Trey McBride did not care, as the star tight end had caught 12 of his 13 targets for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Drafted as a consensus TE1 back in August, knocking on wood, McBride has yet to score less than 10 this season, proving his ADP despite losing Kyler Murray due to injury. McBride is the clear first option in Arizona, and as the Cardinals will most likely be playing from behind for the rest of the season, McBride will be a high-impact player throughout the fantasy football playoffs.