NFL Scores Week 15: Results and Top Fantasy Football Stars for Sunday Games

Week 15 is a watershed moment for most NFL teams still in the thick of the playoff picture, and it's also a defining time in the fantasy football playoffs.    

This late in the season, there is so much game film to study that the game plans have to be executed that much better, because opponents are familiar with just about every fathomable tendency. Such a phenomenon makes it harder to rely on even the most productive, consistent fantasy stars.

Here is a look at the complete results from around the league, along with analysis on some of the biggest fantasy performers from Sunday's action.

Away	Score	Home	Notable Fantasy Star
Pittsburgh Steelers	27-20	Atlanta Falcons	Matt Ryan (310 pass yds, 27 rush yds, 2 pass TD)
Washington Redskins	13-24	New York Giants	Odell Beckham Jr. (12 rec., 143 yds, 3 TD)
Miami Dolphins	13-41	New England Patriots	Rob Gronkowski (3 rec., 96 yds, TD)
Oakland Raiders	13-31	Kansas City Chiefs	Alex Smith (297 pass yds, 17 rush yds, 2 pass TD)
Houston Texans	10-17	Indianapolis Colts	Arian Foster (99 rush yds, 3 rec., 18 yards)
Cincinnati Bengals	30-0	Cleveland Browns	Jeremy Hill (148 rush yds, 1 rec., 4 yds; 2 rush TD)
Jacksonville Jaguars	12-20	Baltimore Ravens	Owen Daniels (4 rec., 62 yds, TD)
Green Bay Packers	13-21	Buffalo Bills	Eddie Lacy (97 rush yds, 2 rec., 11 yds; 1 rush TD)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	17-19	Carolina Panthers	Derek Anderson (277 pass yds, 1 TD, 14 rush yds)
New York Jets	16-11	Tennessee Titans	Geno Smith (179 pass yds, 1 TD, 16 rush yds)
Denver Broncos	22-10	San Diego Chargers	Demaryius Thomas (6 rec., 123 yds, TD)
Detroit Lions	16-14	Minnesota Vikings	Teddy Bridgewater (315 pass yds, 1 TD; 30 rush yds)
San Francisco 49ers	7-17	Seattle Seahawks	Marshawn Lynch (91 rush yds, TD; 1 rec., 7 yds)
Dallas Cowboys	38-27	Philadelphia Eagles	Dez Bryant (6 rec., 114 yds, 3 TD)

Top Week 15 Fantasy Performers

Alex Smith, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

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Sunday's blowout win over the AFC West rival Oakland Raiders was a microcosm of what Alex Smith represents as an NFL quarterback and as a fantasy player.

Smith has limited arm talent, yet he is a smart, quick decision-maker, has enough athleticism to extend plays, can competently distribute the ball to his skill players and feast on weaker matchups.

The Raiders would qualify as a weaker matchup, given their 2-12 record. Their leaky run defense was keyed in on stopping Jamaal Charles, so Smith capitalized, getting a good chunk of his Week 15 fantasy points from a 70-yard touchdown toss to Charles' backup, Knile Davis.

Chris B. Brown of Grantland broke down the play:

This stat from SiriuxXM NFL Radio shows how Smith may have more fantasy upside in the future if the Chiefs surround him with more wide receivers other than Dwayne Bowe:

Those fantasy leagues that start two quarterbacks may want to consider Smith in a pinch. However, traveling to Pittsburgh in Week 16 doesn't present an easy matchup, as Smith will face a lot of pressure from the blitz-heavy Steelers, whose secondary will likely jump most of his short timing patterns.

Pittsburgh ranked 23rd against the pass entering Week 15, so fantasy owners will be in a tough spot deciding whether to start Smith as the stakes increase.

Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

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How does one slow down the immense hype surrounding Johnny Manziel's debut as the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback? By taking the air out of the football, dominating the line of scrimmage and having a leader with plenty of confidence to back up his game.

This is what happened Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium, when another rookie, Jeremy Hill, made the most of his own promotion. He was named the Bengals' starting running back over dynamic incumbent Giovani Bernard this week.

Hill said the Browns were "probably worse than I thought" after Cleveland defeated Cincinnati in Week 10 in dominant fashion. A bold claim, but Hill had the last laugh when he wrecked the Browns, scoring his two touchdowns in just over a quarter and jumping into the Dawg Pound on the second one.

NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala weighed in:

Now the Bengals suddenly seem in control of their own destiny atop the AFC North, having demoralized Manziel and the Browns' stagnant offense.

If Cincinnati can continue to take pressure off its own suspect signal-caller in Andy Dalton by pounding the rock with Hill, fantasy owners can expect the former LSU ball-carrier to continue lighting it up down the stretch.

Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants

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Take your pick of hyperbolic adjectives to describe how phenomenal Beckham has been. No wordage would do OBJ justice.

Rotoworld's Josh Norris does a nice job explaining why Beckham can be counted on as a fantasy WR1 for a long time to come:

The Washington Redskins' 13th-ranked pass defense was no match for Beckham at MetLife Stadium.

Without another viable target like, say, Victor Cruz to distract opposing defenses, Beckham has been a bright spot in a bad season in the Big Apple. The pro-style offense Beckham was a part of at LSU with Hill has evidently eased his transition to the NFL, but so has tremendous talent.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports noticed the playmakers lighting it up to make Baton Rouge proud:

And think about this for those Beckham owners fortunate to be in keeper leagues: The young man hardly got any reps after he was drafted while he battle a nagging hamstring injury. He will still probably manage to go over 1,000 yards with one regular-season game to spare.

Imagine what might happen in 2015 when Beckham has a whole offseason to get on the same page with QB Eli Manning, and if the Giants can play a little defense to help the cause. Beckham could well be a top-five receiver in the game before long.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

The holiday-season gifts of Hill's rejection from the Dawg Pound and Beckham's hat trick may have placed too much emphasis on the SEC, since both were LSU products. This Sunday was a break from major college football, and it wouldn't have been complete without the treat of a "Gronk Spike."

It didn't look promising at the outset for Gronkowski fantasy owners, but as ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss observed, the Pro Bowler's inevitable impact was a mere matter of time:

Patriots fans got another great glimpse of Gronkowski turning down for no one against the Miami Dolphins. Despite only three receptions on eight targets, he made the most of his opportunities, racking up 96 yards and a 27-yard TD catch.

That score came right after Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill threw an interception. In what was a tight game, Gronkowski's grab was a game-changer, extending New England's lead to 31-13 in the third.

ESPN Stats & Info noted the history Gronkowski made at Gillette Stadium:

NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner said something that seems to ring true about just how valuable Gronkowski is:

Injuries have been a concern for Gronkowski in recent years, yet when he is healthy, there is arguably no better all-around player at his position. As long as Brady is under center for the Pats and Gronkowski is good to go on game day, fantasy owners shouldn't hesitate to draft him extremely high moving forward.

Steady production at the tight end spot has been hard to come by in fantasy this year. The new age of pass-happy football has created a false presumption that athletic, pass-catching tight ends will thrive if they're halfway competent.

But players like Gronkowski are proving it takes a rare breed to do it all, stay on the field at such a physical position and still have the energy to be a lethal receiving threat.