Top 12 Turkey Day Fantasy Football Performances Ever
We used half-PPR scoring and four points per passing TD to make sure pretty much all fantasy leagues are covered… like, with gravy… Mmmm, gravy.
1. Sterling Sharpe, WR, Green Bay at Dallas (1994)
40.7 Fantasy points = 9 receptions, 122 receiving yards, 4 TD catches
One of the greatest fantasy football receivers of all time, Sharpe excelled by catching passes from both Don Majkowski and Brett Favre. His career was shortened by injury, but in 1994, he snagged four TD catches in one game! Strangely, the Packers totaled just 277 yards of offense this day. This was the single greatest Turkey Day fantasy football performance ever.
2. O.J. Simpson, RB, Buffalo at Detroit (1976)
39.3 Fantasy points = 273 rushing yards, 2 TDs
This season was Simpson’s last big one, before posting a partial season in Buffalo and two crappy years in San Francisco. He followed up this huge Turkey Day performance with another 203-yard game the very next week in Miami. He then went on to become one of the most hated former athletes ever! Good job, Juice.
3. Brian Westbrook, RB, Philadelphia vs. Arizona (200
38.5 Fantasy points = 110 rushing yds, 4 TDs, 3 rec., 20 rec. yds
Since 2006, when the NFL Network started broadcasting Thursday Night Football games, there have been three NFL games on Thanksgiving Day. This matchup between these two fierce birds (
Cardinals can be fierce!) was the third one, and it turned out to be a stinker, with the Eagles shooting out to a 21-point lead in the first quarter and a half of football. Can you imagine if you owned Westbrook that day, as he scored the game’s first three touchdowns? Extra green bean casserole over here, please!
4. Marvin Harrison, WR, Indianapolis at Detroit (2004)
36.7 Fantasy points = 12 receptions, 127 receiving yards, 3 TD catches
You know what this Syracuse product had to be thankful for in his NFL career? One quarterback named Peyton Manning (more on him later). Harrison caught three of Manning’s six TD passes, and the former would go on to set a career-high with 15 touchdown catches in 2004. Harrison caught three touchdowns nine different times in his career. This Colts duo would connect on 953 passes for 12,766 yards and 112 touchdowns, which ended up being the most completions, yards and touchdowns by any tandem in NFL history.
5. Barry Sanders, RB, Detroit vs. Chicago (1997)
36.5 Fantasy points = 167 rushing yds, 3 TDs, 2 receptions, 8 rec. yds
Sanders was always a huge threat to score from anywhere on the field, which made him a fantasy favorite. The Lions used him an incredible amount in his prime, which made him even more attractive. The Lions put up 55 points on Chicago on this day – and Sanders finished 1997 as the Fantasy MVP in one of the greatest seasons ever by any fantasy player.
6. Randy Moss, WR, Minnesota at Dallas (1998 )
35.8 Fantasy points = 3 receptions, 163 rec. yds, 3 TDs
This was the future Hall of Famer’s coming-out party to the rest of the NFL during
the greatest rookie season for a Fantasy wide receiver ever– sorry, OBJ! It’s crazy to think Moss ranks as a top-five Turkey Day performer – after catching just three passes in this game. It helps when two of those catches go for over 50 yards each. Moss would go on to lead the NFL with 17 touchdown catches in 1998 – his rookie season. He also led all wide receivers in fantasy points that year. Inconceivable!
7. Emmitt Smith, RB, Dallas vs. Washington (1996)
35.4 Fantasy points = 155 rushing yds, 3 TDs, 2 rec., 9 rec. yds
There were just four touchdowns scored in this game – and No. 22 scored three of them on short touchdown runs. While Smith would go on to become the NFL’s career rushing leader, fantasy owners know him more as one of the greatest
fantasy running backs ever. This 15-touchdown 1996 season was a small letdown following his 25-touchdown season from the year before. Slacker. In 1995, Emmitt Smith scored 365 fantasy points, 98 points more than second-place running back Curtis Martin. No other running back — before or since — has had that type of separation from other running backs.
8. Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit vs. Philadelphia (2015)
34.7 Fantasy pts = 337 passing yds, 5 passing TD, 13 rushing yds
This embattled quarterback had an up-and-down 2015, and in 2016, he had to learn how to play without Calvin Johnson in the huddle. He threw five touchdown passes in this game, turning these Eagles…
into turkeys. Did you know that Stafford has been in the NFL just 10 seasons – and he currently ranks 24th on the
NFL’s all-time career passing yards list? (Even more surprising is that Joe Flacco ranks three spots ahead of him!)
9. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis at Detroit (2004)
33.8 Fantasy points = 236 passing yds, 6 passing TDs, 4 rushing yds
This game happened in the season in which Manning threw 49 touchdown passes, breaking Dan Marino’s 22-year-old NFL record (4
. Of course, Manning would later break Tom Brady’s new record in 2013, throwing 55 touchdown passes for the Broncos. Interestingly, Manning threw just eight more TD passes in his final five games of the season after this outing, ruining the lives of hopeful Fantasy owners everywhere.
10. Walter Stanley, WR, Green Bay at Detroit (1986)
32.4 Fantasy pts = 4 receptions, 124 rec. yds, 2 rec. TDs, 1 punt return for TD
Before Sterling Sharpe (and Robert Brooks and Antonio Freeman and Donald Driver and Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams), James Lofton was the top wideout in Green Bay. But Stanley was a smallish wide receiver who also played as a return man on special teams – and he had a special Turkey Day game in ‘86.
11. Tony Romo, QB, Dallas vs. Tampa Bay (2006)
31.8 Fantasy pts = 306 passing yds, 5 passing TDs, -4 rushing yds
Romo hadn’t even thrown an NFL pass before 2006, much less played on Thanksgiving, for “America’s team.” But against the horrible Buccaneers and Monte Kiffin’s crippled defense, Romo blew up. This was just Romo’s sixth start of his career, and he proved to be quite a find as Drew Bledsoe’s replacement. Take that, Tom Brady! This game was in November, and Romo’s long string of bad Decembers was just about to begin. He went on to throw six TD passes and eight INTs in five December games in 2006.
12. Earl Campbell, RB, Houston at Dallas (1979)
31.5 Fantasy pts = 195 rushing yds, 2 TDs
Campbell had 33 carries in this game, back when NFL teams loved to ground and pound with their big, featured backs. This was just Campbell’s second year in the league, and he would go on to lead the NFL in rushing yards (1,697) and rushing touchdowns (19). Actually, he would end up leading the NFL in rushing in each of his first three seasons. He was the king of the tear-away jerseys! (Aren’t you the king of the tear-away turkey legs?)
Baker’s Dozen Bonus: 13. Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit vs. Philadelphia (2015)
31.3 Fantasy pts = 8 receptions, 93 rec. yds, 3 rec. TDs
About one decade ago, Megatron became a Turkey Day mainstay for years, much like Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith in the decade before him. Johnson didn’t catch his first touchdown pass of the game until late in the second half, but then he caught the next two right out of the break to blow this game wide open.
hope it pays off
