Lamar Miller, Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills Post-Week 14 Fantasy Advice

The Miami Dolphins dropped a heartbreaking game to the New York Giants, 31-24, and were eliminated from the postseason race in the process.

It was an unfortunate Monday night for Miami fans, although those who relied on the team’s offensive skill players in fantasy football were treated to critical late boosts in Week 14. Running back Lamar Miller and wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills all put up impressive numbers.

With that in mind, here is a look at the final tallies and some fantasy reactions for each:

Carries	Rushing Yards	Catches	Receiving Yards	Total Touchdowns	Targets	Fantasy Points
12	89	0	0	2	0	20.9

Miller owners were likely pulling their hair out in the second half when he didn’t get the ball enough. In all, he finished with only 12 carries despite two early scores when Miami was ahead, and it was not a coincidence that the Dolphins fell apart down the stretch when they didn’t ride the hot hand. 

Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post offered the running back’s take on the situation and some context:

Even with the frustration over the lack of touches, fantasy owners aren’t going to complain about a multiscore game. Miami fired offensive coordinator Bill Lazor on Nov. 30, and Miller has been impressive in the ensuing two contests. He tallied 20 carries for 113 yards against the Baltimore Ravens before Monday’s outing against the Giants.

The switch revitalized Miller’s season after he failed to reach even 50 rushing yards in the previous five games, although he did mix in some solid receiving totals (97 yards against the Buffalo Bills and 50 yards and a score against the Philadelphia Eagles). The only people happier than Miller about the increase in production were fantasy owners.

As long as Miller sees the touches and is healthy moving forward, he is worth starting for the fantasy playoffs, especially at a position that has seen so many injuries this season (Marshawn Lynch, Le’Veon Bell, Thomas Rawls, Jamaal Charles, C.J. Anderson, Mark Ingram, Carlos Hyde and Matt Forte all come to mind).

Catches	Receiving Yards	Touchdowns	Targets	Fantasy Points
11	99	0	18	9.9

Fantasy owners may be frustrated that Landry didn’t find the end zone in what could have been a monster game with solid yardage, but they can take solace in the fact that he saw 18 targets Monday.

Nobody else on the Dolphins topped five, which is a testament to how locked in Ryan Tannehill is on his No. 1 receiving option. It was the fourth time in Landry’s last six games that he's tallied at least 12 targets, although he has only four touchdown catches all season.

Tannehill’s inconsistency has held Landry back from being an elite-level wide receiver, but it is impossible to take him out of your lineup (at least as a flex option) with such a heavy workload. What’s more, Miami will face a San Diego Chargers defense in Week 15 that ranks an abysmal 27th in the league in points allowed per game.

Landry should exploit that secondary for big numbers with the targets that keep coming his way.

Catches	Receiving Yards	Touchdowns	Targets	Fantasy Points
2	49	1	3	10.9

Stills saw only three targets Monday, so fantasy owners were lucky he parlayed one of them into a 47-yard touchdown. The NFL shared a replay of the score:

With Landry hogging nearly all of the targets, there wasn’t much work to go around for the rest of the Miami pass-catchers. That has largely been the story all season for the former New Orleans Saints playmaker. The only two times Stills has reached even eight targets in a game came against the New York Jets (eight on Oct. 4 when Darrelle Revis was shadowing Landry and 10 on Nov. 29).

Stills has gone over 80 receiving yards only once this year, and Monday’s score was just his third of the season.

The production has been limited for Stills in 2015, and he is not worth a fantasy start in Week 15 even after Monday’s score.