The Denver Broncos have already locked up the AFC West division title, but are still chasing a chance at the number one seed and a first round bye in the playoffs.
Houston is the number one seed currently with an 11-1 record, but Denver could easily slide in if the Texas slumps to end the season. Houston has a tough game against New England on Monday night, while Denver finishes the season with games at Baltimore (which could decide the second seed and the first round bye), then at home against Cleveland and Kansas City.
The Broncos took care of the Raiders on Thursday, winning 26-13 to earn eighth victory in a row. The team hasn't lost since a 31-21 defeat by the New England Patriots on Oct. 7 and has been the hottest team in the NFL.
Scoring for this article is based on a Yahoo fantasy league with one point per reception, one point for every 30 passing yards, one point for 10 rushing yards, one point for 10 receiving yards and six points per touchdown.
QUARTERBACK
Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
Manning may go down in the books as the best free agent signing in NFL history. A few years ago the idea of Manning as a free agent or of Manning playing in a different uniform would have been preposterous.
Now Manning has appeared to resurrect his career in the Mile High City. He is on pace to throw more yards this season than he has at any other time in his career and has already reached 30 touchdowns, which is a franchise record, with three games left to play.
Against the Raiders on Thursday, Manning threw for 310 yards and one touchdown to post 13.03 fantasy points. While that is not out of this world, it is a solid performance form a quarterback who has been stellar all year.
According to the Associated Press, Manning became the fastest quarterback to reach 5,000 career completions and threw for over 300 yards for the 70th time in his career.
"We talk about getting better," Manning said to the Associated Press. "All the other stuff, that's not what we talk about. If we get better each week, we'll see what happens from there."
Manning is the fourth ranked player in fantasy this season and has earned over 257.77 points. In the league where this information comes from, the team that had Manning is the first-place team and earned a first round bye in the fantasy playoffs. He has thrown only 10 interceptions this season and should reach 4,000 yards passing in next Sunday's game.
Carson Palmer, Oakland Raiders
Palmer has been one of the biggest surprises in fantasy football this season and had a solid game against the Broncos on Thursday night, posting 16 points while throwing for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
He is second in the NFL in passing yards this season and has thrown for 3,805 yards and 22 touchdowns. Palmer has 222 fantasy points this year and has posted double-digits in eight of the past nine games.
Although the Raiders have been a bad team overall this season, Palmer could be a valuable pickup for a team in the playoffs if they have quarterback issues on their squad.
Palmer has favorable matchups left against the Carolina Panthers and the San Diego Chargers, who both rank in the bottom half of the league in fantasy points given up to quarterbacks.
RUNNING BACK
Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos
Moreno has been one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy football this season, but made up for it on Thursday night with his first big game of the year, earning 25.10 fantasy points, the most of any player on either team.
He rushed for over 199 yards---breaking the 100-yard barrier for the first time this season---and also scored a touchdown. Moreno was valuable out of the backfield, catching four balls for 48 yards.
Moreno hadn't played since fumbling in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night football, but got his chance when Willis McGahee went down with a knee injury a few weeks ago against the San Diego Chargers.
McGahee was the rushing leader with the Broncos with 731 yards and four touchdowns. Moreno has notched double-digit fantasy points in each of the past three weeks and is clearly the main guy now that McGahee is out.
Many fantasy teams picked up Ronnie Hillman when McGahee was hurt, but he only had four carries in the game against the Raiders.
Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders
McFadden has been dealing with injuries this season, but returned just in time for fantasy owners on Thursday against the Broncos. He rushed for 52 yards and made two receptions for 12 yards and a touchdown and posted his first double-digit game in over a month with 14 fantasy points.
McFadden was one of the most impressive running backs this season, but inured his ankle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 4, notching only three fantasy points. He is valuable in points-per-reception leagues and has shown he has a nose for the endzone.
Based on his performance on Thursday, he is likely to get the majority of the touches for the Raiders moving forward the rest of the season.
WIDE RECIEVER
Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oakland Raiders
The wide receivers on the Raiders this season have greatly benefited from the play of Palmer, especially Heyward-Bey. Against the Broncos on Thursday night, Heyward-Bey had five receptions for 82 yards and scored a touchdown while posting 16 fantasy points.
Heyward-Bey has posted only two double-digit fantasy point games all season, including Thursday night. With favorable matchups against Carolina and Kansas City left this year, Heyward-Bey could be a valuable receiver heading into the fantasy playoffs.