For most fantasy managers, the last Close Call has been made for this season. Week 17 was the end of the line. Either they are basking in the glow of a championship as we ring in 2025, or they are lamenting the bad decisions that led to a Championship Game loss.
However, for some, there is still one game to play. There is no shortage of disagreement among fantasy enthusiasts regarding the wisdom of Week 18 Championship Games. Both sides have points, whether it's the pro of an extra week of fantasy football or the con of guys with nothing to play for sitting out.
It isn't for this analyst to judge it one way or another—I play in just about every fantasy football league format imaginable. No, the task here is to help those managers who are still playing come down on the right side of this week's toughest lineup decisions. To pick that player who will put teams over the top and into the annals of history as champion.
So, one last time, here goes nothin'.
Every week here at Footballguys, Close Calls will make a case for a pair of closely-ranked fantasy options—and then make the call on which player will be more productive.
For the sake of this exercise, we'll only consider quarterbacks and tight ends outside the top 10, running backs outside the top 20, and wide receivers outside the top 30 in the Footballguys Weekly Rankings.
Hope the column was moderately useful in 2024.
Also hope to see you again in 2025.
Close Call: Bryce Young, Carolina (QB11) vs. Jordan Love, Green Bay (QB14)
The Case for Young: The fact that we're even making a case for Young speaks to the improvement the second-year pro has demonstrated since returning to the starting lineup after being benched. Young has four passing touchdowns and no interceptions over his past two games, and since Week 13, Young is quietly a top-10 fantasy quarterback.
Young's 203 passing yards and two touchdowns last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week wasn't especially impressive. But Young has also been making opponents pay with his legs of late—two weeks ago against the Arizona Cardinals, Young scrambled five times for 68 yards and a touchdown.
The Case for Love: The Case for Love is rooted in redemption. Because frankly, Love's 185 yards and a touchdown in a plus passing matchup with the Vikings last week was a disappointment. Love hasn't thrown for 200 yards since Week 15 and has just one game in the last month with multiple touchdown passes.
However, Love has also been the far more productive fantasy option as a whole—he has outscored Young by over four full fantasy points per game this season. Love is the more proven player on a better team. He also had a decent game against the Bears in their first meeting of the year, throwing for 261 yards and a score and adding a touchdown on the ground.
The Verdict: Young. Love likely has the better fantasy floor—he scored just over 20 points against the Bears last time out. But the Atlanta Falcons have surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season, and Young has no shortage of motivation to stamp his case as Carolina's long-term quarterback—and potentially ruin Atlanta's season in the process.
Close Call: Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia (RB21) vs. Antonio Gibson, New England (RB23)
The Case for Gainwell: The Philadelphia Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC, and the team has already stated that 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley will sit out the season finale. That sets up fourth-year pro Kenneth Gainwell to be the team's lead back against a New York Giants team that ranks dead last in the NFC in run defense.
Gainwell has limited experience as a lead back, and in fairness, he hasn't exactly shone when he was afforded the opportunity in the past. But there's a good bet that Gainwell will see 15-plus touches against the G-Men—frankly, this is a game where both teams will likely play things safe and try to end the game (and regular season) as quickly as possible.
The Case for Gibson: Rhamondre Stevenson appears to have played his way right out of the lead role in New England—after "starting" last week, Stevenson carried the ball just twice for one yard, while Gibson averaged over five yards a carry on a dozen totes in a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Gibson has been a lead back in the past—he rushed for over 1,000 yards with the Washington Commanders back in 2021. Gibson's 4.6 yards per carry this season is his highest mark since his rookie season, and in Week 18, the Patriots face a Bills team that has surrendered the fourth-most PPR points to running backs in 2024.
The Verdict: Gibson. Gainwell has a better matchup and offensive line, but Gibson is the more proven running back, and it appears the Patriots are playing to win in Week 18. The Bills will be resting starters, though, so a good fantasy matchup for Gibson might actually be that much better this week.
Close Call: Tony Pollard, Tennessee (RB24) vs. Ray Davis, Buffalo (RB25)
The Case for Pollard: For much of the 2024 season, Pollard was an effective second starter for fantasy managers—over the first 12 weeks of the season, Pollard was 20th in fantasy points at the position. But an ankle injury at the worst possible time slowed and then sidelined Pollard in the fantasy playoffs, putting a bad taste in more than a few mouths.
Well, grab the Listerine, Sparky—because with Tyjae Spears (concussion) out and Pollard practicing, it appears the 27-year-old will get one more shot at upping his career-best 1,017 rushing yards—and potentially chasing contract incentives. With the Titans going with a two-headed quarterback this week, Pollard should be a big part of the offensive game plan for Week 18.
The Case for Davis: The Bills are locked into the AFC's No. 2 seed regardless of what happens Sunday, so quite a few Bills starters will be taking the game off )or playing very little). That all but certainly includes James Cook, which offers rookie Ray Davis an opportunity to be Buffalo's lead running back—if only for a week.
Davis has already demonstrated he can fill that role—he had over 150 total yards on 23 touches in an October matchup with the Jets and 67 total yards and a score against the San Francisco 49ers last month. It's not hard to imagine the Bills going run-heavy in a meaningless game—and Davis posting his second 20-touch game of the year.
The Verdict: Davis. Neither of these backs has a favorable matchup in Week 18—the Patriots and Texans both rank in the bottom 10 in PPR points allowed to running backs. But the real tiebreaker here is health—Pollard has shown he can play on a bad wheel, but it's an unnecessary risk if you can swap in a healthy Davis.
Close Call: Marvin Mims Jr., Denver (WR36) vs. Olamide Zaccheaus (WR39)
The Case for Mims: If Courtland Sutton is the unquestioned No. 1 receiver for the Broncos, someone forgot to tell Mims. In last week's overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Mims exploded for 103 yards and two scores on eight receptions. Mims was Week 17's third-highest-scoring wideout in PPR points.
This week's edict for the Broncos against the JV Chiefs (who will be resting, well, everyone.) is simple—win the game and advance to the postseason. That means pulling out all the stops—including deep shots to Mims, who also topped 100 yards with a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns a few weeks ago.
The Case for Zaccheaus: Like Mims, Zaccheaus is hardly a player fantasy managers expected to be seriously considering as a starter in Week 18. But like Mims, Zaccheaus is coming off a huge game in last week's overtime win over Atlanta—eight catches on nine targets for 85 yards and a score.
It wasn't a fluke—either. The week before, Zaccheaus had an even bigger outing against the Philadelphia Eagles—five catches for 70 yards and a pair of scores. It's an admittedly small sample size, but over that two-week span, Zaccheaus is the sixth-highest-scoring wide receiver in all of fantasy football.
The Verdict: Zaccheaus. Mims' game has higher stakes, even if the Commanders have stated they plan to play to win and lock up the NFC's sixth seed. But Zaccheaus faces a Cowboys defense allowing the sixth-most PPR points to receivers in 2024. Even with the Chiefs resting starters, that difference in matchup tilts the scales.
Close Call: Romeo Doubs, Green Bay (WR40) vs. Brandin Cooks, Dallas (WR41)
The Case for Doubs: It's fair to wonder what sort of numbers Doubs might be capable of if he didn't play for a Packers team with arguably the most crowded receiver room in the NFL. But in last week's loss to the Minnesota Vikings, we saw a glimpse of what Doubs is capable of—for the second time this season, Doubs saw double-digit targets, and the third-year pro paced the team in receiving.
The Packers are already in the postseason, but there's still something at stake—avoiding the NFC's seventh seed and a trip to Philadelphia in the Wild Card round. Doubs wasn't much of a factor in the first matchup with the Bears, but with Christian Watson still not practicing Doubs could see another bump in targets.
The Case for Cooks: The days of Cooks as a high-end fantasy asset are over—after six seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards, the 31-year-old missed nearly half the season and has managed career-lows in catches and yards. There's been little to offer fantasy managers any real encouragement for the week to come.
But as the Cowboys limp into their last game of the season, they do so without the services of CeeDee Lamb, who was shut down after aggravating his injured shoulder. That moves Cooks into the role of No. 1 receiver for the team in a game where all Dallas really has to play for is pride and the role of spoiler.
The Verdict: Cooks. Neither of these wide receivers has done a heck of a lot in 2024. Neither has a good matchup—both the Bears and Commanders rank in the bottom 10 in PPR points surrendered to receivers. But Cooks is a better bet to see 8-10 targets than Doubs, even if they are in a game that makes no difference for the Cowboys.
Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter (Can't make him call it X) at @IDPSharks.
