By Brandon Funston //
Sam Bradford entered Week 15 as just the No. 26 quarterback in total fantasy points for the season. And he was employed as a starting QB in Week 15 in just five percent of Yahoo! leagues. But those owners that rolled the dice on the former No. 1 overall pick likely lived to see their fantasy league’s championship game thanks to a career-best effort from Bradford.
Against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Bradford set personal bests for pass attempts (55), completions (35), passing yards (377) and passing TDs (3). His final fantasy tally was good for a third-place finish at the position in Week 15, behind only Seattle’s Russell Wilson and New Orleans’ Drew Brees.
Here are a few more unlikely playoff heroes from this past week:
• Before Sunday, Arizona ranked as the least-productive fantasy backfield in the NFL. But a hat trick of touchdowns by oft-injured Beanie Wells quickly vaulted the Cards running backs out of last place. For Wells, it was his second three-touchdown effort of his career, the last one coming against the Giants in Week 4 of last season. And only Adrian Peterson was better at the RB position in Week 15 than Wells on the virtual gridiron.
• Wells was one of three players to net three touchdowns on Sunday, joining QB Russell Wilson and Green Bay wideout James Jones. The Packers receiver wasn’t discounted by fantasy owners at the level of Wells heading into Week 15, but only a third of Yahoo! leagues employed his services against the Bears, likely because of the daunting matchup, but also because Jones’ production had dried up significantly in recent weeks – he ranked outside the top 50 at WR in fantasy points per game over the previous four games. In a dramatic slump-busting effort, Jones finished as the top fantasy WR for Week 15.
• If your Week 15 hopes for advancement came down to needing a career-best fantasy effort from Jets backup tight end Jeff Cumberland on Monday night, you were in luck. Cumberland picked up 53 yards and scored a touchdown against the Titans in the final contest of Week 15, no doubt thrilling the very few that were relying on him (he was started in less than one percent of Yahoo! leagues). Cumberland’s tally was good for a top 5 finish at the TE position.
