Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor made a big mistake in Week 15’s showdown against the Denver Broncos — a big, big mistake. In his premature celebrations of the score, Taylor dropped what we learned on replay was actually a live ball that had not yet broken the plane, fumbling through the end zone on what should have been the play to bring Indy to a two-score lead.
It was painful to watch on replay; the hubris that Taylor demonstrated was unbecoming of a former All-Pro and NFL rushing-title holder. The play would come back to bite not just his own team, still in the hunt for a playoff spot, but also plenty of fantasy football rosters kicking off their own postseason — a hauntingly beautiful metaphor. So, just how costly was Taylor’s goal-line fumble for fantasy football managers?
A whopping 7.9% of Yahoo Fantasy public league teams rostering Jonathan Taylor lost their respective matchups because he dropped the ball short of the goal line. It was an 8.1 point swing in half-PPR scoring formats, going from a 41-yard TD (worth 10.1 points) to a 40-yard run with a fumble (2 points).
Taylor addressed his gaffe after the game.
“It just can’t happen, no matter the game, no matter the scenario,” Taylor said. “You can be up by 50, down by 50, playoff game, first game of the season, that should never happen.”
It’s not the first time fantasy managers have seen this exact mistake this season. New York Jets rookie Malachi Corley did just the same back in Week 9, prematurely dropping the ball to celebrate what should have been an 18-yard touchdown run on the second touch of his career. That fumble was much less costly, however; that touchdown was never going to make or break the Jets’ season, nor would I venture many fantasy football managers were starting Corley, even in the deepest dynasty leagues imaginable.
Did you lose your matchup because of Taylor’s costly fumble in Week 15? Or were you lucky enough to have a bye?
