Fantasy Football: 4 Unexpectedly Great Week 14 Performances

Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers

NFL.com Start Percentage: 13.7%
Week 14 Fantasy Points: 28.3

Jonathan Stewart ran for 103 yards and 3 touchdowns, finishing as the week's second-best fantasy running back, and he did it against a good Vikings defense.

That performance helped Stewart move up to the RB24 for the year in standard leagues. But how do things look in Week 15?

On the one hand, Stewart now has just three 100-yard rushing performances in his last 26 games. In his 129-game career, he's had multiple rushing touchdowns just nine times. Focusing on 2017 alone, even including last week's numbers, he's averaging just 52 yards from scrimmage (rushing and receiving yards) per game. Not exciting.

On the other hand, he's 11th in red zone rushing attempts this season. His 26 attempts inside the 20 are double Christian McCaffrey's total in the red zone. Stewart also has a decent matchup against the Packers, the 22nd-ranked defense, per our schedule-adjusted numbers.

Put it all together, and Stewart is projected as a top-36 running back for Week 15, according to our models. That's not as exciting as his Week 14 outburst, but it makes him worth considering as a flex play.