Biggest Single-Week Fantasy Performances of 2018
Amari Cooper delivered the biggest single-week fantasy performance of 2018, posting 50 fantasy points in his best game of a season he split between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys. Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans came closest to that mark with a 48-point week, and Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers followed at 47. Cooper's 50-point week is the clear standard for single-game fantasy scoring in 2018.
Which Players Had the Biggest Single-Week Fantasy Performances of 2018?
Single-week scoring is where fantasy championships are won, and the 2018 season produced a top ten of best weeks crowded between 40 and 50 fantasy points. Amari Cooper stands at the top of that range, and the list beneath him mixes wide receivers, running backs and four different quarterbacks. Below is the full board, ranked by each player's best single week of 2018, with the team or teams he played for that season, his games played, total fantasy points, per-game average, and that peak week.
| Rank | Player | Team | Games | Points | Points Per Game | Best Week | | 1 | Amari Cooper | Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders | 15 | 216 | 14 | 50 | | 2 | Derrick Henry | Tennessee Titans | 16 | 201 | 13 | 48 | | 3 | Christian McCaffrey | Carolina Panthers | 16 | 386 | 24 | 47 | | 4 | Antonio Brown | Pittsburgh Steelers | 16 | 324 | 20 | 44 | | 5 | Mitchell Trubisky | Chicago Bears | 16 | 255 | 16 | 44 | | 6 | Tyreek Hill | Kansas City Chiefs | 16 | 328 | 20 | 44 | | 7 | Alvin Kamara | New Orleans Saints | 16 | 348 | 22 | 41 | | 8 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | 16 | 307 | 19 | 41 | | 9 | Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints | 16 | 303 | 19 | 40 | | 10 | Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills | 13 | 205 | 16 | 40 |
How Far Ahead Was Amari Cooper's 50-Point Week?
Cooper's peak week of 50 sits two points clear of Henry's 48 and three ahead of McCaffrey's 47, so the top of the single-week board was tight at the very top even though Cooper owns it. What makes his number more striking is the company he keeps in the rest of his row: his 216 total points and 14-point per-game average are the lowest scoring profile of anyone on this list. Every other name in the top ten averaged more per game than Cooper did, which means his 50-point week carried his season line further than any other peak on the board carried its owner's. A single afternoon did more relative work for Cooper than the bigger weeks did for the stars around him.
Derrick Henry's 48-point week tells a similar story from the running back spot. His 201 total points and 13-point per-game average rank at the bottom of this ten by both measures, yet his best week is the second-highest single performance of the year. Henry and Cooper together show that the biggest single-week fantasy performances of 2018 did not exclusively belong to the season-long scoring leaders.
Where the 2018 Single-Week Board Bunches Up
After the top three weeks of 50, 48 and 47, the board compresses hard. Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mitchell Trubisky of the Chicago Bears and Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs all peaked at exactly 44 fantasy points, a three-way tie for fourth on the single-week list. Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers share a 41-point best week, and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills close the ten at 40 apiece. In other words, seven of the ten names sit within a spread covered by just four points of peak scoring.
The New Orleans Saints are the only team with two players on the list, since Kamara and Brees both cracked the top ten on the strength of 41-point and 40-point weeks. The quarterbacks deserve their own note: Trubisky, Rodgers, Brees and Allen all appear here, which means four of the ten biggest single weeks of 2018 came from the quarterback position. Josh Allen reached his 40-point best week in only 13 games, the fewest appearances of anyone listed.
What the Peak Weeks Show Against the Season Totals
Christian McCaffrey's 386 total points lead everyone on this board, and his 24-point per-game average also tops the list, yet his 47-point best week ranks only third. Alvin Kamara's 348 points and 22-point average sit second on both of those columns while his peak week of 41 is seventh. The players who dominated 2018 week to week were not the same players who posted the wildest single afternoons, and that gap is the most useful lesson in the numbers: season-long dominance and one-week explosions came from different names this year. Antonio Brown and Tyreek Hill are the rare entries who paired top-tier season scoring with a share of the 44-point tier.
Common questions
Who had the biggest single-week fantasy performance in 2018?
- Amari Cooper, with 50 fantasy points in his best game of the 2018 season. He played that season for the Las Vegas Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys.
Which running back had the highest single-week fantasy score of 2018?
- Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans, whose best week reached 48 fantasy points, two points behind Amari Cooper's overall-leading 50.
Did any quarterback crack the top ten single-week performances of 2018?
- Four did: Mitchell Trubisky of the Chicago Bears and Tyreek Hill's Kansas City Chiefs teammate group aside, Trubisky peaked at 44, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers at 41, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints at 40, and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills at 40.
Was any team represented twice among the biggest 2018 fantasy weeks?
- Yes, the New Orleans Saints. Alvin Kamara's best week hit 41 fantasy points and Drew Brees's hit 40, giving the Saints two of the ten largest single-week scores of 2018.
How large was the gap between the best and tenth-best single week of 2018?
- Amari Cooper's 50-point week led the list, and the tenth spot belonged to Drew Brees and Josh Allen at 40 points apiece, so the entire top ten of peak weeks fit inside a range that ends at 50 and starts at 40.