Four Downs: More Stafford-Megatron magic 

January, 1, 2012
01/01/12
10:08
PM ET
The most dangerous quarterback-wide receiver duo in the NFL was again on display Sunday, as Detroit Lions Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson completed an epic run in the final weeks by combining for 68 standard fantasy points in Week 17. Sure, both Stafford and Johnson were eclipsed at their positions individually by Green Bay Packers on the other side of the field (Matt Flynn and Jordy Nelson), but you won't be investing nearly as much in that duo in the fall. With Stafford and Johnson, you'll need early draft picks to do so.

With 520 passing yards and five touchdown passes Sunday, Stafford finished the season as fantasy's No. 5 quarterback, often being overlooked by some of the record-breaking performances at the position. Remember, Drew Brees and Tom Brady each eclipsed the ol' Dan Marino passing yards mark -- Stafford even came close -- Cam Newton had an historic season for a rookie and, of course, Aaron Rodgers ended up with the most fantasy points, regardless of position, despite sitting out Week 17. Stafford didn't exactly fly under the radar, but he did his finest work when fantasy owners needed it most, averaging 31 fantasy points per game in Weeks 15-17, tops in the league. He threw 12 touchdowns and averaged 428 passing yards during that span, and scored 38 fantasy points Sunday. Johnson had a pair of 30-point fantasy games in that span, carrying his teams after scoring a total of 33 fantasy points from Weeks 10-14, and finished the season as fantasy's top wide receiver.

To see Eric Karabell's thoughts on Matthew Stafford, Michael Turner, Matt Flynn and others, you must be an ESPN Insider.

Eric Karabell | email

ESPN.com Senior Writer
  • ESPN contributor on TV, radio, podcasts, blogs, Magazine
  • Charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame
  • Author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments"

SPONSORED HEADLINES

ABOUT THIS BLOG

Eric Karabell
Eric Karabell

Eric Karabell is an ESPN.com senior writer. He has worked at ESPN since 1997 and covered fantasy sports for ESPN since 2001, specializing in baseball and football. Eric appears several times per week on SportsCenter, NFL Live and other ESPN shows, contributes to ESPN Radio and ESPN The Magazine and is the host of the Baseball Today Podcast. He has been honored twice as fantasy sports writer of the year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, his blog was named best fantasy baseball series for 2007 and he was inducted into the inaugural FSWA Hall of Fame class in 2010.

Eric grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, and accordingly, favors Philly teams first, his fantasy teams second. He previously served as ESPN.com's lead NBA editor, and is a former Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer sports writer. Eric is also the author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments," published by Source Books and available in bookstores and online.

Check Eric's ESPN work:
Karabell archive

Send questions and comments »

SUBSCRIBE:

BLOG ARCHIVE:

RECENT UPDATES