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Heroes & Zeroes (Week 17)

December 30, 2025

Who came through (or didn’t) when you needed them the most? Our complete list of heroes and zeroes outlines everyone that either won or lost you that coveted Championship title.

Heroes

QB: Drake Maye

It was between him and Brock Purdy who had an incredible game himself on Sunday Night football. Some might find it more impressive given the legitimate opponent the 49ers had, instead of the joke Jets team that New England got. But, hey! Maye still had a 90.5% completion percentage to go along with his 5 touchdown passes. He still had to make those throws against an NFL defense and he padded his MVP case while doing so.

RB: Derrick Henry

Welp, you either love him or hate him. It completely depends on which side of the matchup you were on last week. Personally, he ended my season, so not a fan currently. But everyone has to appreciate the level of dominance on display against Green Bay. 36 carries for 216 yards and 4 touchdowns is absurdity and will go down as one of the most overpowering championship performances we’ve ever seen.

WR: Chris Olave

Olave has been right up there with the best of the best over the last few weeks. When he’s healthy, I personally believe he’s one of the best in the league and the numbers support it. Olave has become a clear number one target for the rookie Tyler Shough and the two of them lit up the Titans secondary to the tune of 8 catches, 119 yards and his fourth touchdown in three games.

TE: Coleston Loveland

Odunze remained out, DJ Moore is battling an illness, that left Loveland as one of the remaining receiving options for Caleb Williams and did he ever show out. Both tight ends in the Bears/49ers had themselves the day, but it was Loveland who edged out Tonges for our top scorer with 94 yards and a touchdown. He’s taken on the LaPorta role in the Chicago offense and all dynasty managers have to like what they’ve seen.

DEF: Falcons?!

Atlanta is currently the highest scoring team with that game going on at the time of this writing. Who would’ve thought they’d be so dominant against the Rams? The issue with Atlanta is that you never have no idea what you’re getting out of them. If they end up dropping below a bit more, the second (or soon to be first) highest scoring team was the Giants defense who dominated a dead Raiders team. New York’s defense had an incredible Week 16 and 17 with a combined 4 turnovers, 8 sacks and a touchdown.

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Zeroes

QB: Jalen Hurts

The Eagles looked like they’d be off to a hot start, and they were, but then it suddenly stopped. There was plenty of rain but Josh Allen was dealing with the same conditions and performed just fine from a fantasy perspective. You just never really know what to expect from the Eagles this season. Hurts has typically done well but there have been a few duds sprinkled in. During the Championship week, that Hurts.

RB: Josh Jacobs

He’s clearly still hurt and shouldn’t be playing. Despite Jordan Love being out with a concussion, Green Bay ignored their rushing game and let backup Malik Willis do his thing. Jacobs still led the team with an astonishingly low 4 carries. Derrick Henry had more touchdowns (4) than Jacobs had rushing yards (3), and it hurt even worse if you had Jacobs in your lineup.

WR: CeeDee Lamb

The Cowboys once again had nothing to play for during Championship week. We need to examine where Lamb’s ADP ultimately lands going into next season because he’s starting to feel very overrated as a mid to early first round pick. Lamb was clearly jogging routes and not giving this one his all, despite playing most of the game. He had a horrendous semi final as well and combined both weeks for less than 100 yards when you needed him the most.

TE: Kyle Pitts

We need to make a collective decision and just rule him off our draft boards. Pitts has been exploding in points since week 13 but turned back into a pumpkin against the Rams. Five yards is a disgustingly low number and you would’ve done better picking up a streamer. He didn’t give us much for a majority of the season, but it was nice while it lasted. Oh well, back to the garbage bin you go.

DEF: Bucs 

I’m not sure what’s been going on in Tampa Bay but it has been a total team collapse over the last several weeks. They never recovered from that Rams blowout loss and have blown every opportunity to redeem themselves along the way. Thought they’d be able to handle Quinn Ewers? Nope. It’s a super disappointing showing to score so poorly against a Miami team that had nothing to play for. 

Keith, Author

Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.