Fantasy Index Blackout

January 10, 2023

Russ Neis avoided Bills-Bengals mess en route to Week 17 win

Russ Neis of Eagen, Minn., managed to avoid the carnage of the Week 17 Bengals-Bills game, rolling up a Blackout-high 223.40 points. His entry for "The Fighting Mascots"included three maximum-points players and earned him a $25 Fantasy Index gift certificate. Click through to see more about our decision on scoring the Bills-Bengals game, plus Russ's winning lineup, the perfect lineup for the week, the most frequently picked players, and the overall top 25.

Week 17 was a nightmare. The Bills-Bengals game, abandoned due to the injury of Damar Hamlin, forced us to make a difficult decision. Like most of the fantasy world, we awarded zero points to all participants in the game, matching the NFL's decision to scrub all stats accrued in the few minutes before the game was abandoned. The carnage in Blackout mainly affected people who had Tee Higgins in their lineup -- more than one-third of Blackout entrants. Many other key players in the game -- Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Joe Burrow and JaMarr Chase -- were not available for Blackout lineups.

Week 17 highest score
Russ Neis, Eagen, Minn. - "The Fighting Mascots"
(Maximum-points picks in bold)
Pos	Name	Team	Score
QB	Daniel Jones	NYG	37.95
QB	Kirk Cousins	MIN	17.95
RB	D'Onta Foreman	CAR	3.50
RB	Jamaal Williams	DET	22.70
WR	A.J. Brown	PHI	19.70
WR	Terry McLaurin	WAS	5.70
WR	Mike Evans	TB	48.70
TE	Juwan Johnson	NO	11.20
TE	Mark Andrews	BAL	19.00
PK	Greg Zuerlein	NYJ	6.00
PK	Robbie Gould	SF	13.00
ST	Jacksonville	JAC	10.00
ST	Kansas City	KC	8.00
	Total		223.40

Week 17 perfect score
(Blackouts in ~~strikethrough~~)
Pos	Name	Team	Score
QB	Tom Brady	TB	42.00
QB	Daniel Jones	NYG	37.95
RB	Austin Ekeler	LAC	32.10
RB	~~Christian McCaffrey~~	SF	~~31.30~~
RB	D'Andre Swift	DET	27.70
WR	Mike Evans	TB	48.70
WR	Davante Adams	LV	34.30
WR	Brandon Aiyuk	SF	26.70
TE	Dalton Schultz	DAL	24.60
TE	Trey McBride	ARI	20.80
PK	Matt Prater	ARI	13.00
PK	Robbie Gould	SF	13.00
ST	Green Bay	GB	22.00
ST	New Orleans	NO	14.00
	Total		356.85

Tee Higgins was among the most frequently used players in Blackout -- submarining his owners' lineups, including the Crowd Wisdom score. The Crowd managed only 44.8 percent of the perfect score -- by far the lowest figure of the year. No surprise there.

Week 17 Wisdom Of Crowds score
(Maximum-points picks in bold)
Pos	Name	Team	Score
QB	Justin Fields	CHI	20.95
QB	Jared Goff	DET	24.95
RB	Saquon Barkley	NYG	7.30
RB	Austin Ekeler	LAC	32.10
WR	Amon-Ra St.Brown	DET	10.20
WR	A.J. Brown	PHI	19.70
WR	Tee Higgins	CIN	0.00
TE	T.J. Hockenson	MIN	12.90
TE	Evan Engram	JAC	3.90
PK	Harrison Butker	KC	3.00
PK	Justin Tucker	BAL	7.00
ST	Kansas City	KC	8.00
ST	N.Y Giants	NYG	10.00
	Total		160.00

Mark Christie stretched his lead in the overall chase to 21.65 points.

Top 25 overall after the Week 17 games
Rk	Last	Pts	Team	Owner	Hometown
1.	1.	3408.65	Renegades	Mark Christie	Fairport, NY
2.	3.	3387.00	Crushers	James Zabloudil	Plainfield, IL
3.	2.	3385.70	Steve K.	Steve Klitzner	Miami, FL
4.	4.	3366.75	#EvilGenius	Ken Edwards	Salinas, CA
5.	5.	3350.85	Ralph C.	Ralph Cunningham	Owasso, OK
6.	8.	3341.90	Bob R.	Bob Reck	Mukwonago, WI
7.	7.	3332.35	Travis P.	Travis Perry	Coeburn, VA
8.	11.	3328.05	Mike T.	Mike Taylor	Meridian, ID
9.	6.	3326.80	Henne to Manningham	Michael Garves	La Crosse, WI
10.	10.	3326.30	Bellview Bashers	Treavor Phipps	Salem, IN
11.	12.	3321.00	18 rocks	Brad Dengler	Morton, WA
12.	9.	3318.50	Steven H.	Steven Hecker	Powell, OH
13.	13.	3315.40	CRAIG MACHINE	Craig Smith	Humble, TX
14.	16.	3307.55	DT BOMBERS	Dennis Thomas	Royal Oaks, CA
15.	14.	3302.35	SA Maddogs	Micahel Espinosa	Helotes, TX
16.	18.	3298.90	SHAMROCKS	Robert Cassidy	Florence, OR
17.	19.	3298.65	FIUSER0824	Victor Kitzes	Black Diamond, WA
18.	20.	3296.25	Steven T.	Steven Torres	Nipomo, CA
19.	17.	3286.95	Manifest Density	Mike McIlraith	Livingston, TX
20.	32.	3285.00	Scott K	Scott Kaliska	Winnipeg, MB
21.	23.	3282.80	Joe Kapp	David Weissmiller	Mount Carroll, IL
22.	22.	3281.65	For Who? For What?	Steve Knight	West Chester, PA
23.	15.	3272.85	Last Call	Steve Brun	Beavercreek, OH
24.	21.	3272.55	Paulie's Playhouse	Paul Grubb	Timnath, CO
25.	30.	3267.60	DeutschlandEXPRESS	Paul Deutsch	Sioux Falls, SD

Weekly scoring leaders, 2022 season
Week	Name	Hometown	Team	Points	Perfect score	Pct Perfect
17	Russ Neis	Eagen, Minn.	The Fighting Mascots	223.40	356.85	62.6%
16	Joe Clifford	Cumberland, R.I.	The Crushers	251.50	351.10	71.6%
15	Rob Elmlinger	Cincinnati, Ohio	Relm	219.30	345.50	63.5%
14	Jack Silverman	Mendota Heights, Minn.	Douches	249.15	329.45	75.6%
13	Michael Espinosa	Helotes, Texas	SA Maddogs	236.30	322.90	73.2%
12	Fred Wright	New Palestine, Ind.	Newpal	255.15	314.95	81.0%
11	Marc DeStefano	King Of Prussia, Pa.	Marc D.	235.85	331.80	71.1%
10	Ed Burke	Clifton Heights, Pa.	Ed From Philly	237.00	322.75	73.4%
9	David Weissmiller	Mount Carroll, Ill.	Joe Kapp	269.05	355.25	75.7%
8	Robert Cassidy	Florence, Ore	SHAMROCKS	297.00	345.20	86.0%
7	John Yert	Kirtland, Ohio	YRTY	198.25	305.45	64.9%
6	Bob Adelman	St. Louis, Mo.	Bob A.	216.90	297.25	73.0%
5	Scott Behiel	Angels Camp, Calif.	ScottBLucky	227.15	322.85	70.4%
4	Robert Cassidy	Florence, Ore	SHAMROCKS	265.40	340.90	77.9%
3	Jason Schuetz	Fort Collins, Colo.	Jason S.	220.00	294.40	74.7%
2	Chris Hertzberg	Austin, Texas	Austin Oh-Fers	282.65	389.25	72.6%
1	John Wulf	Williamsville, N.Y.	Wulfpack	229.25	292.65	78.3%

Though less impactful than Tee Higgins, several more Buffalo and Cincinnati players were zeroed out on Week 17 entries, including Tyler Bass, Evan McPherson, Dawson Knox, Gabe Davis, Joe Mixon, the Buffalo D/ST, Hayden Hurst, the Cincinnati D/ST and Devin Singletary.

Percentage of Week 17 lineups that included the player
Pct	Score	Name	Pos	Team
69.5%	10.20	Amon-Ra St.Brown	WR	DET
52.1%	12.90	T.J. Hockenson	TE	MIN
48.3%	3.90	Evan Engram	TE	JAC
46.2%	8.00	Kansas City	ST	KC
44.1%	20.95	Justin Fields	QB	CHI
41.1%	7.30	Saquon Barkley	RB	NYG
36.9%	3.00	Harrison Butker	PK	KC
35.6%	32.10	Austin Ekeler	RB	LAC
35.2%	10.00	N.Y Giants	ST	NYG
35.2%	19.70	A.J. Brown	WR	PHI
33.9%	0.00	Tee Higgins	WR	CIN
33.9%	24.95	Jared Goff	QB	DET
30.1%	9.00	Philadelphia	ST	PHI
29.2%	11.80	Keenan Allen	WR	LAC
28.8%	7.00	Justin Tucker	PK	BAL
25.4%	8.00	Trevor Lawrence	QB	JAC
25.0%	6.40	Dalvin Cook	RB	MIN
24.2%	7.50	Dallas Goedert	TE	PHI
20.8%	18.80	Justin Herbert	QB	LAC
20.8%	23.00	Chris Godwin	WR	TB
20.3%	18.15	Aaron Rodgers	QB	GB
19.5%	10.00	Jacksonville	ST	JAC
18.6%	8.00	Younghoe Koo	PK	ATL
18.6%	8.20	Jaylen Waddle	WR	MIA
18.6%	17.95	Kirk Cousins	QB	MIN
18.2%	14.00	James Conner	RB	ARI
17.4%	9.00	Brett Maher	PK	DAL
17.0%	23.00	Travis Etienne	RB	JAC
14.0%	2.00	Baltimore	ST	BAL
13.6%	12.00	New England	ST	NE
13.6%	19.00	Mark Andrews	TE	BAL
13.1%	0.00	Tyler Bass	PK	BUF
13.1%	17.70	Gardner Minshew	QB	PHI
11.4%	6.60	Pat Freiermuth	TE	PIT
10.6%	10.70	Cole Kmet	TE	CHI
10.6%	20.50	DeVonta Smith	WR	PHI
10.2%	11.00	Michael Badgley	PK	DET
9.8%	4.80	Garrett Wilson	WR	NYJ
9.3%	7.00	Riley Patterson	PK	JAC
8.9%	13.00	Robbie Gould	PK	SF
8.9%	7.00	Cameron Dicker	PK	LAC
8.9%	24.60	Dalton Schultz	TE	DAL
8.5%	8.00	Graham Gano	PK	NYG
7.2%	16.50	Tyler Allgeier	RB	ATL
7.2%	1.30	DK Metcalf	WR	SEA
7.2%	14.30	Cam Akers	RB	LAR
6.8%	8.70	Brian Robinson	RB	WAS
6.8%	0.00	Evan McPherson	PK	CIN
6.4%	0.00	Dawson Knox	TE	BUF
5.9%	34.30	Davante Adams	WR	LV
5.9%	9.70	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	DAL
5.1%	2.00	Atlanta	ST	ATL
4.7%	2.10	Christian Watson	WR	GB
4.7%	5.00	L.A. Chargers	ST	LAC
4.2%	4.10	Tyler Higbee	TE	LAR
4.2%	10.80	Jerry Jeudy	WR	DEN
3.8%	8.00	Tampa Bay	ST	TB
3.8%	10.90	Allen Lazard	WR	GB
3.8%	13.80	Taysom Hill	TE	NO
3.8%	42.00	Tom Brady	QB	TB
3.4%	26.70	Brandon Aiyuk	WR	SF
3.4%	9.70	Drake London	WR	ATL
3.4%	5.00	Greg Joseph	PK	MIN
3.4%	3.00	N.Y. Jets	ST	NYJ
3.4%	0.00	Gabe Davis	WR	BUF
3.4%	3.00	Pittsburgh	ST	PIT
2.5%	12.00	Mike White	QB	NYJ
2.5%	11.00	Jason Myers	PK	SEA
2.5%	0.00	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	ARI
2.5%	3.50	D'Onta Foreman	RB	CAR
2.1%	16.40	Mike Williams	WR	LAC
2.1%	4.00	Ryan Succop	PK	TB
2.1%	10.00	Daniel Carlson	PK	LV
2.1%	5.00	Washington	ST	WAS
2.1%	6.00	Eddy Pineiro	PK	CAR
2.1%	48.70	Mike Evans	WR	TB
2.1%	12.60	Nick Chubb	RB	CLE
2.1%	0.00	Joe Mixon	RB	CIN
2.1%	5.00	Nick Folk	PK	NE
2.1%	22.60	Jerick McKinnon	RB	KC
2.1%	5.40	Zay Jones	WR	JAC
1.7%	27.70	D'Andre Swift	RB	DET
1.7%	5.60	David Montgomery	RB	CHI
1.7%	37.95	Daniel Jones	QB	NYG
1.7%	0.00	Buffalo	ST	BUF
1.7%	0.00	Hayden Hurst	TE	CIN
1.7%	4.00	Jake Elliott	PK	PHI
1.7%	15.20	Kenneth Walker	RB	SEA
1.7%	13.30	Aaron Jones	RB	GB
1.7%	19.50	Josh Jacobs	RB	LV
1.7%	4.10	Christian Kirk	WR	JAC
1.7%	5.70	Terry McLaurin	WR	WAS
1.7%	11.20	Juwan Johnson	TE	NO
1.7%	11.00	Mason Crosby	PK	GB
1.7%	11.00	Detroit	ST	DET
1.3%	10.10	AJ Dillon	RB	GB
1.3%	5.00	Romeo Doubs	WR	GB
1.3%	4.90	George Pickens	WR	PIT
1.3%	12.65	Teddy Bridgewater	QB	MIA
1.3%	6.40	Zonovan Knight	RB	NYJ
1.3%	13.00	Matt Prater	PK	ARI
1.3%	18.95	Geno Smith	QB	SEA
1.3%	3.00	Jason Sanders	PK	MIA
1.3%	23.70	DJ Moore	WR	CAR
0.9%	10.00	Seattle	ST	SEA
0.9%	10.50	Gerald Everett	TE	LAC
0.9%	8.40	Courtland Sutton	WR	DEN
0.9%	22.00	Green Bay	ST	GB
0.9%	4.90	Jelani Woods	TE	IND
0.9%	0.00	Derrick Henry	RB	TEN
0.9%	6.10	Miles Sanders	RB	PHI
0.9%	6.00	Brandon McManus	PK	DEN
0.9%	9.30	J.K. Dobbins	RB	BAL
0.9%	4.10	JuJu Smith-Schuster	WR	KC
0.9%	5.00	Carolina	ST	CAR
0.9%	8.70	Leonard Fournette	RB	TB
0.9%	12.10	Marquise Brown	WR	ARI
0.9%	16.20	Darren Waller	TE	LV
0.9%	0.00	Cincinnati	ST	CIN
0.9%	25.50	Amari Cooper	WR	CLE
0.9%	7.10	Rhamondre Stevenson	RB	NE
0.9%	6.70	Jahan Dotson	WR	WAS
0.9%	3.00	Miami	ST	MIA
0.9%	6.00	Greg Zuerlein	PK	NYJ
0.4%	14.20	Robert Tonyan	TE	GB
0.4%	1.00	Minnesota	ST	MIN
0.4%	10.00	Chris Boswell	PK	PIT
0.4%	29.80	Russell Wilson	QB	DEN
0.4%	12.90	Isiah Pacheco	RB	KC
0.4%	12.90	Tyler Huntley	QB	BAL
0.4%	0.00	Devin Singletary	RB	BUF
0.4%	3.40	Darius Slayton	WR	NYG
0.4%	21.90	Brock Purdy	QB	SF
0.4%	6.90	Michael Gallup	WR	DAL
0.4%	7.40	Baker Mayfield	QB	LAR
0.4%	16.90	Jakobi Meyers	WR	NE
0.4%	20.30	Najee Harris	RB	PIT
0.4%	14.00	Tyler Conklin	TE	NYJ
0.4%	7.40	Zack Moss	RB	IND
0.4%	9.35	Desmond Ridder	QB	ATL
0.4%	5.50	Diontae Johnson	WR	PIT
0.4%	22.70	Jamaal Williams	RB	DET
0.4%	0.00	L.A. Rams	ST	LAR
0.4%	4.00	Matt Gay	PK	LAR
0.4%	9.00	Cleveland	ST	CLE
0.4%	20.80	Trey McBride	TE	ARI
0.4%	12.60	Kenny Pickett	QB	PIT
0.4%	4.00	Joey Slye	PK	WAS
0.4%	3.00	Arizona	ST	ARI
0.4%	13.85	Carson Wentz	QB	WAS

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