Week 17 has come and gone. Sixteen NFL games 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.

What follows is a breakdown of all the “Sheesh” moments from Week 17. I’ve watched every game 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 or pass-catchers managed to get all the way to the one-yard line, but didn’t score
  • Players scored or picked up big yardage, but the play was nullified by a penalty
  • Other random shit found a way to tilt fantasy football managers of all shapes and sizes

Let’s start with some awfully sheeshy dropped TDs from the last week of action

Would have been a lot cooler if Tyreek Hill caught this

There were roughly seven clear-cut dropped TDs in Week 17, which sucks because, you know, football is pretty cool when players make great catches and score points:

Also note that the likes of Titans WR Treylon Burks (potential 50-yard gain), Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (40), Giants WR Jalin Hyatt (35) and Chargers WR Keelan Doss (35) dropped what would have been big gains, albeit probably wouldn’t have gone for scores.

The same is true for Ravens WR Rashod Bateman, who had a potential 35-yard gain down the sideline be ruled incomplete — but honestly, a better throw might have led to a 75-yard house call after Bateman utilized a SICK double-move to spring wide-open downfield on the Ravens’ first offensive play of the game.

Najee Harris: C’mon, man

Getting all the way to the one-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:

  • Bills RB James Cook
  • 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey
  • Raiders RB Zamir White
  • Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell (did throw for a TD on the same drive)
  • 49ers RB Elijah Mitchell
  • Dolphins RB Jeff Wilson
  • Bengals RB Joe Mixon
  • Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr.
  • Broncos WR Brandon Johnson

Also note that Steelers RB Najee Harris committed the cardinal fantasy sin by pulling a Brian Westbrook/Todd Gurley and sliding down at the five-yard line upon picking up the game-sealing first down to set his real-life team up for the win … at the expense of his loyal fantasy football managers. Credit to Harris for posting an awesome 27-122-2 rushing line anyway, but still: Sheesh.

Najee Harris

Dec 31, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) carries the ball while chased by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Michael Jackson (30) during the second half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Another example of nobody being above the law of sheesh goes to Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb, who looked to be on his way to scoring his second TD of the evening before fumbling the football through the end zone. Possession: Lions, and social media engaged in another heated debate on whether or not this is the worst rule in sport (I’m fine with it — hold onto the damn ball near the most important area of the field if you’re so worried about it).

Talk about a roller coaster of emotions

Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield engineered a mini comeback (at least in fantasy land) during the fourth quarter of the team’s eventual 23-13 loss to the Saints.

Things started looking really good when he connected with a wide-open Trey Palmer deep downfield on what probably could have been a 75-yard house call with a perfect pass; too bad Palmer was out of control upon reeling in the bomb and fumbled while going to the ground.

The ground can’t cause a fumble if a player is touched by a defender … and Palmer wasn’t. I doubt there were many (any) starting him last Sunday, but to all the Baker fantasy managers out there: Sheesh.

D.J. Chark didn’t do Bryce Young many favors on Sunday

Air yards measure the distance that any given pass travels (wait for it) in the air. Subtracting yards after the catch from every player’s receiving yards total before taking the difference with total air yards helps us pinpoint exactly how much opportunity through the air a player failed to come down with for one reason or another.

Sometimes unrealized air yards are more akin to “prayer yards” because the pass wasn’t overly catchable in the first place, so grinding the ole film helps with identifying those sorts of situations.

Anyway, 10 players racked up at least 70 unrealized air yards in Week 17 specifically:

  • Raiders WR Davante Adams (143 unrealized air yards)
  • Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks (123)
  • Panthers WR D.J. Chark (120 – and many were his fault)
  • Packers WR Jayden Reed (99)
  • Bills WR Stefon Diggs (95)
  • Bills TE Dalton Kincaid (86)
  • Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (76)
  • Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (75)
  • Bears WR Tyler Scott (71)

Only six players have racked up over 900 unrealized air yards this season: Saints WR Chris Olave (1,144), Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins (1,102), Raiders WR Davante Adams (1,057), Jets WR Garrett Wilson (970), Falcons WR Calvin Ridley (940) and Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (903). That’s a lot of sheesh.

Kyle Pitts’ 1-5-0 receiving line wasn’t exactly all his fault

Our previous section helped quantify the most missed opportunities through the air, but there were an additional handful of targets that I can’t help call out because it sure seemed like the following players could have put six points on the board with a bit more accurate pass.

Overall, there were roughly 12 instances where I subjectively believe pass-catchers didn’t receive catchable passes on what would have otherwise been TDs, although differing levels of openness, difficulty of throw and pressure hardly made all of these near misses of the layup variety.

As Benjamin Franklin once said: Not all sheesh is created equal.

  • Chiefs WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (91, although do we really think he would have caught a perfect ball anyway?)
  • Panthers WR D.J. Chark (90, at a minimum should have been good for 50-plus yards
  • Bills WR Stefon Diggs (88, at a minimum should have been good for 50-plus yards)
  • Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks (32)
  • Falcons TE Kyle Pitts (32)
  • Falcons WR Van Jefferson (24)
  • Packers WR Bo Melton (24)
  • Giants RB Saquon Barkley (23)
  • Chargers RB Austin Ekeler (18)
  • Packers WR Malik Heath (16)
  • Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins (13)
  • Seahawks TE Noah Fant (11)

Yes, it was an interception. Also yes, sheesh

While the box score doesn’t account for who to blame on any particular interception, Joshua Dobbs a rocket scientist isn’t always required to figure out that sometimes the QB wasn’t overly at fault.

Specifically:

  • It's tough to cut Patriots QB Bailey Zappe too much slack on either of his first two INTs, but the third was a miscommunication issue with WR Demario Douglass as opposed to an inaccurate pass or bad decision.
  • Eagles QB Jalen Hurts' lone INT of the day came on a last-second Hail Mary attempt.
  • Browns QB Joe Flacco might have thrown a pick-six, but it’s tough to be overly critical — this was simply a brilliant individual effort to deflect the intended screen pass and take it back to the house.

Falcons QB Desmond Ridder threw a pick while getting hit, resulting in more of a deflected pass that simply never had a chance due to the pressure.

Sheesh of the year candidate was un-sheeshed

We *nearly* got the biggest sheesh of the season from Steelers WR Diontae Johnson when he caught a pass down the sideline and … fumbled it directly to the Seahawks just before going out of bounds.

Shee– but not so fast my friend! In reality, Johnson stepped out of bounds just before committing the mishap. Nothing better than a good old-fashioned sigh of relief after nearly suffering a brutal sheesh. 

Might want to skip this one, Jerry Jeudy fantasy managers

Fun fact: Fantasy players don’t get rewarded fantasy points for drawing defensive pass interference penalties. Should they? I don’t really think so, but some people disagree with me, so here we are.

The top five players in most yards gained courtesy of drawing DPI flags were as follows in Week 17:

  • Bengals WR Tee Higgins (30)
  • Cardinals WR Greg Dortch (29)
  • Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy (28 – down to the one-yard line)
  • Colts WR Michael Pittman (26)
  • Giants TE Darren Waller (13)

Additionally, Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase (from the five-yard line) drew a DPI in the end zone to set up his offense at the one-yard line on a drive that ended with a Jake Browning rushing score.

Colts DST almost added a HUGE play to their box score

There were only three big plays nullified by a penalty that were overly consequential to fantasy managers last week:

  • Colts CB Jaylon Jones managed to nab an interception and take it all the way back to the house … only for the officials to call a fairly iffy defensive pass interference penalty on Jones himself.
  • Giants WR Jalin Hyatt had a long 47-yard catch down the sideline nullified on an offensive hold. Would Tyrod Taylor have had enough time to throw without the infraction? Probably not, but kudos to Hyatt for making (another) big play downfield.
  • Ravens RB Justice Hill nearly added a 26-yard reception to his big day, only for the lovely wheel-route connection to be nullified on an offensive pass interference penalty.

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

We’re on to … 2024! Thank you everyone for catching up on all the sheesh throughout the season — tune back next week for our official sheesh awards!

Sheesh Report