Week 15 Fantasy Football Awards

In a week in which streaks of all kinds fell: The Colts won, the Packers lost and Michael Vick ran in his first touchdown of the season -- just in time for his owners in the consolation bracket playoffs playing for the Toilet Bowl. Even better, just in time for the fantasy football semifinals, some legends were made and others took a tumble. Without further ado ...

Fantasy MVP of the Weekend: LeSean McCoy. Not only did he score three touchdowns, but he hit the 100-yard mark as well. McCoy has six touchdowns in his last three games and set an Eagles single-season record, to boot. Next season he looks like a shoo-in for a top-five pick overall as the offense likely will be built around him and less around Vick.

Fantasy MVP of the Weekend Part II: Drew Brees. It was only fitting that the season of giving included a generous performance from Brees, who, in his record-shattering march, ended up making everyone but those who played against him happy. Four touchdown passes and more than 400 yards later, almost any Saints receiver you can find becomes lineup plug-in possibility.

The Good Hands Award: Welcome back to the end zone, Calvin Johnson. The Lions' great liked it so much, he visited twice, including the game-winner in the final seconds. Going into Sunday, Megatron had scored one touchdown in his last five games and his last 100-yards or more effort had come back on Oct. 30 against the Broncos. Sunday didn't just mark a return to form, with a record 219 yards -- rather, a glimpse at what might be a special combination between him and Matthew Stafford for years to come.

The Golden Arms Awards: Besides Brees, a number of quarterbacks stepped up this weekend.

A) Tom Brady -- Adding a rushing score was the cherry on top of a three-TD pass statement win.

B) Tony Romo -- A rare rushing score helped bolster a nice night of three TD passes Saturday.

C) Matt Ryan -- His three TD strikes gives him 11 in the last month, seven in past two games.

D) Stafford -- A 391-yard, four-TD performance was scary good. Scarier? He's just 23.

The That's It? Award: It was like being 12 years old and opening only boxes of clothes for Christmas. Rodgers' play against the Chiefs -- much like the Packers as a whole, was baffling. It's hard to fault Rodgers when a bad game is one TD pass, one TD run and 240-some odd yards, but against the Chiefs is another thing altogether. Had he not gotten the fourth quarter scoring run, his numbers would have been a lot more brutal. Does the sidelined Greg Jennings mean that much to the offense? Rodgers' mediocre outing cost many a fantasy team dearly yesterday.

The "In Emergency, Break Glass" Award: Tim Tebow hysteria aside, he hasn't been of much relevance in fantasy terms -- until Sunday with his two rushing scores. Tebow won't always be facing a crumbling defensive unit like the Pats every week, but for now at least, he's more sizzle than steak in fantasy land. I've said before he could be a poor man's Cam Newton, but for now he's a mere fantasy backup who's much better in real life.

The Silent Night Award: Ray Rice. It's hard to be mad for long at maybe the most consistent back in all of fantasy football, but Sunday night was a big disappointment. Rice had been averaging 117 yards a game in the last month, not to mention four touchdowns in that span. Owners depending on him in their final four were expecting much more than 55 yards against the Chargers' 21st-ranked run defense. He hit for over 100 yards combined with receiving, but was still very underwhelming.

Dis-honorable Mention: Chris Johnson. He had a similar stat line to Rice (over 100 yards combined), and although this whole year has been a struggle with brief bursts of brilliance, 55 yards was woeful against the Colts. Coming into yesterday, Indy was boasting the 28th-ranked run defense.

The "Yes He Just Did That" Award: Reggie Bush. Despite the fact the team is in flames with the coach fired, Bush has to be the only bright spot on South Beach right now (besides the NBA season). Bush rolled for a career-high, going over the 200-yard mark. In his last three games alone, Reggie has run for 500 of his 900-yard season total. Even more impressive than his yardage has been his knack of scoring down the second half stretch of the season. No matter who the new coach is next year, a timeshare with Daniel Thomas is looking less and less likely. Thomas, at best, could be a goal-line back, but for now it's Reggie's show.

Fantasy Goat Award: Adrian Peterson. 10 carries for 60 yards is not the kind of thing you expect against the Saints' middle of the road run defense. After missing the last three games, you can't help but think AP needed one more week on the shelf. Peterson is a top two pick year in and year out, but thanks to him being banged up, this is shaping up to be a brutal season finish for his fantasy owners.

Runner-up: Eli Manning had been one of the hottest fantasy quarterbacks heading into Week 15's showdown with Washington, which ranked 13th against the pass. Manning had thrown seven touchdowns and averaged 384 yards the past three games. Is it impossible to maintain? Most likely. But you still don't expect a crash and burn with three interceptions no matter if Hakeem Nicks dropped a touchdown.

The What Can Brown Do For You Award: The Colts showed new life, thanks in part to a career day by Donald Brown. Although I trust not the Indy offense (Yoda TM), I do endorse Brown for dynasty leagues that allow most of or all roster spots carried over to the next season. He'd be a nice piece to hang onto for the future. Brown has been underwhelming to say the least, but with Joseph Addai's injury history and age, he'll never recapture his solo starting spot. Brown is here to stay and with more upside, to boot -- just not this year.