Sunday's Best

Big performances still abound to end regular season

Jeff Garcia finished the season with a flourish, throwing four TD passes. AP

By James Quintong, CNNSI.com

Surprisingly, there were plenty of big-time performances from this season's fantasy studs, something not always seen in the final week of the regular season. There were few "meaningless" games on the schedule, with playoff spots and positioning on the line. And even in the games with little regular-season significance, players want to end the season on a high note, thus limiting the amount of people "mailing it in."

However, special consideration must be given the Bucs-Eagles game, which resembled some more often seen in August. Our condolences if you were expecting any numbers from players like Donovan McNabb or Keyshawn Johnson this week. However, if you decided to play A.J. Feeley -- well, we'd like to know if you talked to Miss Cleo before putting in your lineup this week.

Top 10 Studs

1. Derrick Mason, WR, Titans (9 catches, 186 yards, 2 TDs): He was stellar the second half of the season, piling up four 100-yard games and seven TDs to close out the campaign. Tennessee had two heartbreaking losses to Cleveland and Cincinnati to end the season, but it definitely wasn't Mason's fault.

2. Marshall Faulk, RB, Rams (20 carries, 168 yards, 1 TD; 5 catches, 58 yards): He finished the year with a great flourish, although he found the end zone just once. He finished the season with a whopping 21 TDs and broke the 2,000 total combined yardage mark for a record fourth year in a row. It's hard to argue against him as the fantasy MVP again for this season.

3. Jeff Garcia, QB, 49ers (14-21, 263 yards, 4 TDs; 3 carries, 3 yards, 1 lost fumble): He's proving to be among the elite fantasy quarterbacks again, finishing the season with a career best 32 TD passes. He probably could've put up more stats but he sat out a good part of the second half as San Francisco built up a huge lead on the Saints.

4. Marvin Harrison, WR, Colts (9 catches, 128 yards, 2 TDs): Just another day at the office for one of the league's best receivers. He set a career best with 15 TDs this season and finished with six 100-yard games. There were a couple of down weeks here and there, but in all he lived up to his high draft pick.

5. Terrell Owens, WR, 49ers (2 catches, 116 yards, 2 TDs): He capped off a huge season with two big touchdown plays -- even better for those that reward for distance. Owens also set a career best with 16 TDs and finished with six 100-yard games, although he went five games without breaking the century mark before this week.

6. Ahman Green, RB, Packers (23 carries, 101 yards, 2 TDs; 2 catches, 19 yards): After last season's breakthrough, Green proved to be no fluke, picking up seven 100-yard games and 11 total TDs. He came up with nearly 1,900 total yards, proving he should be a first-round pick come next season.

7. Brett Favre, QB, Packers (15-30, 315 yards, 2 TDs; 3 carries, 4 yards, 1 lost fumble): He bounced back from a terrible fantasy outing last week to torch the Giants' defense. Green Bay had a shot to win the NFC Central crown, and Favre was up to the challenge.

8. Anthony Thomas, RB, Bears (33 carries, 160 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, 11 yards): He finished the season with almost 1,200 yards despite starting just 10 games. Just imagine what he might've done if he'd been the full-time starter and healthy all season. He should get his share of votes for Offensive Rookie of the Year. LaDainian Tomlinson was the best rookie runner early, but Thomas ended on a high note.

9. Corey Dillon, RB, Bengals (22 carries, 87 yards, 2 TDs; 3 catches, 27 yards): He can provide a lot of spark and is still one of the top running backs. However, he's prone to having absolutely terrible games along with his breakout efforts. Just a thought for next season.

10. Lamar Smith, RB, Dolphins (30 carries, 158 yards, 1 TD): He had been just about useless after about Week 4, so it's somewhat bittersweet that he finally had a huge game to end the season. It could be a nice audition for some other team for next season since it looks like he won't be in Miami.

Just missing the cut: Shaun Alexander, RB, Seahawks (20 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD; 6 catches, 31 yards); Stephen Davis, RB, Redskins (38 carries, 148 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, 10 yards); Kurt Warner, QB, Rams (25-30, 280 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs); Darrell Jackson, WR, Seahawks (6 catches, 71 yards, 2 TDs); Mike Vanderjagt, K, Colts (5-5 FGs, 2-2 XPs).

Top 5 Duds

1. Aaron Brooks, QB, Saints (21-33, 119 yards, 4 INTs; 4 carries, 6 yards): He had a great season throwing for more than 3,800 yards and 26 TDs. But he finished the season on a low note, passing for just one TD and seven interceptions. He had stretches where he was just plain awful, but when he's on, he's really on.

2. Ricky Williams, RB, Saints (11 carries, 33 yards, 2 lost fumbles; 4 catches, -8 yards): If he really wants out of New Orleans, he's definitely showing it. He scored just one TD in his final five games and was held below 100 yards for his last six. The talent is definitely there but for some reason, it's not coming together as well as everyone expects.

3. Kordell Stewart, QB, Steelers (8-16, 72 yards, 2 INTs; 4 carries, 38 yards): He's proving why fantasy championships shouldn't be played in the last week of the season. Pittsburgh had little to play for, so they rested most of their starters by halftime. Something of concern for Pittsburgh fans in the playoffs, though, is that Stewart has thrown six interceptions in his last two games.

4. Brian Griese, QB, Broncos (16-32, 151 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs): This was not the way Griese wanted to end a very trying year that saw him deal with injuries to himself and just about all his primary offensive weapons.

5. Isaac Bruce, WR, Rams (1 catch, 5 yards): The past couple of seasons, he's struggled down the stretch, and the same goes here. So in two of the last three weeks, he's gone for less than 10 receiving yards. If anything, Torry Holt deserved the Pro Bowl nod over Bruce.

Top 5 Surprises

1. Jon Kitna, QB, Bengals (28-47, 340 yards, 1 INT, 1 lost fumble): He broke the 300-yard barrier yet again in rallying Cincinnati to another last-second victory. The Bengals are probably going to draft a quarterback, but Kitna is making a late statement to stay on the team. He's especially working well with Darnay Scott, who had struggled until just recently.

2. Ty Detmer, QB, Lions (24-40, 242 yards, 2 TDs; 4 carries, 4 yards): After a couple of brutal starts, the former Heisman winner actually turned in a decent effort to close out the season and the Silverdome. Good to see he has a couple of good games in him, but don't expect much more of this in the future, either with Detroit or anywhere else.

3. Richard Huntley, RB, Panthers (22 carries, 168 yards, 1 lost fumble; 2 catches, 23 yards): He never lived up to expectations this season taking over for Tim Biakabutuka, but there is some potential for the future the way he ran wild over the Patriots defense. He didn't find the end zone, unfortunately, but he looked good bursting free on long runs all game long.

4. Ricky Proehl, WR, Rams (4 catches, 31 yards, 2 TDs): He scores his TDs in bunches, and he closed off the season with a pair of scores. Surprisingly, he finished the season with just one TD less than Bruce (six to five).

5. Terry Jackson, RB, 49ers (4 carries, 18 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 16 yards, 1 TD): Not a lot of yards, but a nice reminder of how fullbacks used to score a lot more in the San Francisco offense. Just something to keep in mind for the later rounds of a fantasy playoff draft.

James Quintong is Fantasy Sports producer at CNNSI.com.

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