Ian Hartitz reveals the Week 17 Sheesh Report.

Week 17 has come and gone. We saw 16 NFL games that brought joy, laughs, and tears to football fans and, of course, fantasy football faithful.

Today, we’ll focus on the latter sadness and break down just how close some came to achieving fantasy football glory. Critics might call this unnecessary cruelty, while supporters could claim it helps with understanding the full context of what exactly happened last week.

Either way: Welcome to the Sheesh Report.

What follows is a breakdown of all the tilting, near-miss moments from last week that left fantasy managers and fans alike saying, "Sheesh!" I’ve watched hours of film and combed play-by-play data to help determine instances when:

  • Pass catchers could have scored or picked up big yardage with a more accurate pass
  • Pass catchers did receive an accurate pass that should have resulted in a score or big gain, but the ball was dropped
  • Ball carriers managed to get all the way to the 1-yard line, but didn’t score
  • Players scored or picked up big yardage, but the play was nullified by a penalty
  • Other random shit that managed to tilt fantasy football managers of all shapes and sizes

Let's kick things off with an example of a great day that could have been absolutely nuclear … 

Chase Brown was so close to an absolutely MASSIVE game

Getting all the way to the 1-yard line but failing to score a TD is objectively a sheeshy feeling—particularly when fantasy managers are forced to watch someone else vulture away the score that was SO CLOSE to belonging to them.

Here’s the full list of Week 17’s players who managed to get the football within three feet of the goal line, but not quite across the plane, and ultimately didn’t score later on the same drive:

Now, Brown might have only appeared on this list once, but the fact it was his CHOICE to go down … before getting injured … makes things far more sheeshy to deal with.

Oh yeah, and Brown's selfless decision to go down at the 1-yard line didn't even wind up mattering after Joe Burrow took matters into his own hands and scored the go-ahead TD on the next snap. I literally PLEADED to the fantasy gods to have players avoid this very sequence last week. Remember kids: Be like De'Von Achane.

Making matters even sheeshier was the reality that Chase got tackled at the 2-yard line on two additional drives on the day. For those counting at home, the Bengals' RB1 was essentially five yards away from scoring *three* TDs. Surely those wouldn't have come in handy for any fantasy managers out there.

Pretty much the only thing more sheeshy than this is when the player actually does score a TD … only for the points to come right back off the scoreboard.

TD! Wait: Flag.

TDs usually get nullified by a penalty for a good reason, but that doesn’t make the rollercoaster of adrenaline any less sheeshful for fantasy managers to deal with.

In Week 17 there were seven TDs nullified by penalty.

*Law and Order music*

These are their stories:

  • Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas: Took a short pass 50 yards to the house; too bad the Bengals failed to get everyone set before the snap, leading to an illegal shift penalty.
  • Packers RB Josh Jacobs: Scooted around the right side for a 19-yard score … only for the score to be nullified by a holding penalty. Green Bay still scored later on the same drive, but it was Emanuel Wilson that time around.
  • Bears WR Rome Odunze: Caught a 17-yard DART from Caleb Williams that was truly one of the better throws of the week. One problem: The score was nullified due to a hold. I'd argue it should've counted because it was really cool, but alas.
  • Steelers RB Jaylen Warren: Took a carry up the middle eight yards into the end zone … only for the score to be nullified by a holding penalty. Warren also got stopped at the 1-yard line and didn't score on a separate drive. He now has a whopping 114 carries and just *1* rush TDs this season—only Rico Dowdle (213!) has more rush attempts without finding the end zone more than once on the ground this season. Sheesh.
  • Eagles WR A.J. Brown: Caught a seven-yard TD on a rather great throw from Kenny Pickett in the third quarter; too bad holding on Micah Parsons took the score off the board.
  • Commanders WR Olamide Zaccheaus: Nearly had a two-TD evening at the office after hauling in a 2-yard score late in the 4th quarter; too bad the Commanders were called for a holding penalty.
  • Chargers returner Derius Davis: Returned a punt 93 yards to the house, BUT the Chargers committed two separate fouls along the way to nullify the (cool) score.

Additionally, Saints TE Juwan Johnson (39, 16 yard gains nullified by penalty), Bills WR Keon Coleman (37), 49ers TE George Kittle (24, 23), Cardinals WR Trey McBride (34), Patriots WR DeMario Douglas (19), Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (18–and it was SWEET), Jets RB Breece Hall (18), Steelers WR George Pickens (18), Bills WR Amari Cooper (17), Ravens WR Zay Flowers (16), Dolphins RB De'Von Achane (16), Saints WR Cedrick Wilson (16), Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (15) all had explosive plays nullified for one reason or another.

Those plays sucked. You know what also sucks? Pass catchers leaving all sorts of yards on the field.

Unrealized air yards are a helluva drug

We can help quantify sheeshy missed downfield opportunities using "unrealized air yards," which are derived by subtracting yards after the catch from every player’s receiving yards total before taking the difference with total air yards to pinpoint exactly how much opportunity through the air—not including potential YAC—a player failed to come down with for one reason or another.

We're essentially measuring the total distance of everyone's incomplete targets. A high number indicates a player had lots of fantasy-friendly opportunities, but didn't capitalize on them for one reason or another. Cool? Cool.

ANYWAY: Nine players racked up at least 70 unrealized air yards in Week 17:

Say it with me everyone: Sheesh.

Of course, sometimes these unrealized air yards were far more the fault of the WR than the QB.

The Butterfingers Police: Dropped touchdowns

While drops are a somewhat subjective stat, you know one when you see one—and I sadly witnessed the following three pass catchers drop what sure looked like reasonable chances to secure six points.

Sheeshy stuff indeed—almost as bad as when a missed TD was more so the QB's fault!

I could have made that throw! (Editor's note: No you couldn't)

I looked at every incomplete pass that was thrown at least 10 yards downfield and/or into the end zone to get an idea of who just missed out on some big plays last week—and there were quite a few instances that stuck out:

The Bijan miss especially hurt considering the distance involved AND the fact that the stud RB absolutely toasted his defender before being overthrown.

You could also argue Cowboys WR Jonathan Mingo should have received a better ball on this potential 59-yard TD, although his tracking ability sure seemed to leave a lot to be desired. My official ruling: Sheesh on Mingo, not on Cooper Rush.

This category was certainly a bit subjective—our next one not so much.

Justin Jefferson is the DPI king

Defensive pass interferences can be finicky and don’t always occur in instances when the targeted receiver would have FOR SURE made the catch.

That said: They are very annoying for fantasy managers to deal with when the result could’ve, should’ve, would’ve been a chunk gain—and maybe even a TD.

Overall, six players gained at least 15 yards courtesy of DPI penalties in Week 17:

Jefferson now has a league-high 171 yards drawn on defensive pass interference penalties this season. Sheesh.

Our last category of sheesh centers around determining which QBs perhaps deserve some slack for their on-paper turnovers …

Was that interception REALLY the QB's fault?

From pressure, to a bad route, to an essential arm punt on 3rd and forever: There are quite a few reasons why any given interception might not necessarily be the QB's fault, even if that context isn't provided in the boxscore.

Good news for you, a scholar: Our Fantasy Life Sheesh Experts (just me, actually) have looked closely at each and every interception thrown in Week 17 to get an idea of which QBs probably deserve a bit of slack despite technically committing a turnover.

Specifically: 

  • Bears QB Caleb Williams: Had his 353-pass streak without an INT (!) end on a 4th-and-10 desperation heave under immense pressure.
  • Cardinals QB Kyler Murray: Was intercepted on a desperate 4th-and-10 heave to a double-covered Marvin Harrison that wound up serving as a pretty solid arm punt. It's also maybe fair to not overly blame Kyler for his game-ending INT because, you know, it drilled Trey McBride in the head? The ball was out hot, but yeah, he hit his intended target in the head. That happened.
  • Falcons QB Michael Penix: It looked like he expected WR Chris Blair (WHO?) to go out, but he didn't, so the pass was intercepted. That was Blair's only offensive snap of the game, so you be the judge.
  • Cowboys QB Cooper Rush: His pick-six was rough, but INT No. 2 was a deep heave down the middle on 3rd-and-6 with just 50 seconds remaining in the second quarter, serving as an essential arm punt (albeit not a very good one).

Additionally, Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph had INTs occur on passes that were deflected at the line of scrimmage. Not great!

I think I speak for all of us when I say for one last time: Sheesh.

Thanks for stopping by. We're … on to 2025! Happy New Year everyone!