Sunday's Best

Plenty of holiday gifts abound for fantasy owners

Panther hunter: In two games against Carolina this season, Marshall Faulk rushed 385 yards and four touchdowns. AP

By James Quintong, CNNSI.com

It's late December, the Christmas shopping still has to be done and there's snow on the ground. Should that mean lower fantasy scores? Definitely not, after this weekend's slate of games. After a handful of defensive struggles on Saturday, the offensive gates burst wide open on Sunday, making for some high-scoring and exciting fantasy contests. There was plenty of holiday cheer to go around after seeing some of the numbers this weekend.

Top 10 Studs

2. Chris Chandler, QB, Falcons (28-40, 431 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs): On the other hand, Chandler stunned many with such a big outing against the lowly Bills. He's had his share of big games this year, and if he filled in for Brian Griese, for instance, you cashed in nicely.

4. Shaun Alexander, RB, Seahawks (28 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 36 yards, 1 TD): Back in the starting lineup after Ricky Watters' injury last week, Alexander picked up where he left off as one of the most surprising fantasy performers of the season. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to keep Seattle in the playoff hunt.

5. Stacey Mack, RB, Jaguars (27 carries, 111 yards, 2 TDs): The Vikings defense was truly awful on Sunday, so Mack took full advantage, making Jacksonville fans further forget Fred Taylor for this season.

6. Antowain Smith, RB, Patriots (26 carries, 156 yards, 1 TD): He's been a major reason why New England has risen to the top of the AFC East, so he was a perfect person to rely on in the cold weather to wear down the Dolphins. Hard to believe Buffalo just flat out released him in the offseason.

7. Vinny Testaverde, QB, Jets (28-47, 285 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs; 3 carries, 11 yards): While a handful of top players had inopportune off weeks (see below), Testaverde pulls off his first 200-yard (yes, 200) passing game of the season in a crucial game in Indianapolis. The Colts defense has been spotty all season, which helped lead to this, and Testaverde made good use of Wayne Chrebet, who's become more useful the past two weeks.

8. Dominic Rhodes, RB, Colts (17 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 26 yards): He followed up last week's big game against the Falcons with another one against the Jets, despite getting hurt a couple of times. Unfortunately, his two fumbles helped bring his standing down for the week.

9. Brad Johnson, QB, Buccaneers (16-31, 207 yards, 3 TDs; 1 carry, 9 yards): The yardage was pretty solid, but the three scores with no picks was even better. This was one of his better outings from a fantasy perspective the year, although it's surprising that he threw for three scores with Keyshawn Johnson not getting any of them.

10. Kerry Collins, QB, Giants (30-47, 338 yards, 1 TD): Collins was reasonably sharp for most of the game, but his work on the game-winning drive in the final minute not only drove up the stats but proved yet again he has some great leadership qualities.

Just missing the cut: Jay Fiedler, QB, Dolphins (21-37, 320 yards, 1 TD; 3 carries, 13 yards); Chris Weinke, QB, Panthers (24-51, 312 yards, 1 TD; 1 carry, 23 yards); Aaron Brooks, QB, Saints (21-38, 248 yards, 3 TDs, 4 INTs; 3 carries, 15 yards); Marvin Harrison, WR, Colts (12 catches, 127 yards, 1 TD); John Hall, K, Jets (5-6 field goal attempts, 2-2 extra point attempts).

Top 5 Duds

2. Ricky Williams, RB, Saints (10 carries, 26 yards; 3 catches, 15 yards): New Orleans got into a huge hole against Tampa Bay with Williams' struggles and Aaron Brooks' interceptions big parts of it. It's one of those anomalies which came about at the wrong time for many fantasy owners.

3. David Boston, WR, Cardinals (3 catches, 26 yards): The NFL leader in receiving yards had his worst outing of the season in a very inopportune time for fantasy owners. To put things into perspective, Brian Urlacher had more receiving yards (27) this week.

4. Randy Moss, WR, Vikings (3 catches, 34 yards): After two big weeks with Todd Bouman at quarterback, Moss was back to his old tricks again. Having the unproven Spergon Wynn at quarterback doesn't help things out.

5. Sebastian Janikowski, K, Raiders (1-4 field goal attempts, 1-1 extra points): He had been one of the best kickers all season but he was way off his game on Saturday night, potentially ruining some fantasy contests as he could've had approached double digits in scoring again.

Top 5 Surprises

2. Jamel White, RB, Browns (21 carries, 131 yards; 9 catches, 85 yards, 1 TD): He assumed the starting job after James Jackson was put on injured reserve although little was expected of him thanks to Cleveland's struggles running the ball. Instead, he puts up one of the better all-purpose performances of the season against a good Packers defense. Don't expect much more like this down the stretch, though.

3. Marvin Minnis, WR, Chiefs (6 catches, 80 yards): Trent Green has been looking for targets other than Priest Holmes and Tony Gonzalez, and now Minnis is starting to step up after injuries slowed him down all season. He now has 169 yards the last two weeks and might be worth a shot if you're desperate down the stretch.

4. Reggie Swinton, WR, Cowboys (3 catches, 72 yards, 1 TD): His performance on special teams has helped give him more of a role in the Dallas passing game. With Raghib Ismail and Joey Galloway both often coming up empty, someone needs to help out Quincy Carter.

5. Dorsey Levens, RB, Packers (9 carries, 72 yards; 2 catches, 25 yards): While Ahman Green had a great game running through the snow, Levens had his share of touches and made the most of it. This was the type of performance from a backup running back that some people expected from Trung Canidate this week (backup coming up big against a lesser team in garbage time).

James Quintong is Fantasy Sports producer at CNNSI.com.

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