Fantasy Fallout: Week 11

By: Billy Gabelman (StatATL) and Mike Johnson (Mjohnson86)

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Daily Dose newsletter, our “Fantasy Fallout” day. In this article, you will get a quick rundown of the relevant things we learned from the week’s games from Thursday through Sunday. 

We won’t talk about every single player and we usually won’t spend time on studs who go nuts (no one needs to be told to start CeeDee Lamb right now!), but rather, the idea is to update you on usage trends, injuries, and other relevant things to help your decisions with your teams.

Commanders at Eagles

• Saquon Barkley exploded for 198 total yards and two TDs as the Eagles defeated the Commanders, 26-18, on Thursday Night Football.

• Terry McLaurin didn’t see his first reception until the fourth quarter and ended with just one catch for 10 yards. He will remain a volatile weekly starter as WAS remains a run-first team.

• Brian Robinson returned from injury and scored a rushing TD, but Austin Ekeler remained a focal point of the passing game, leading the Commanders with 89 yards on eight catches. He remains a viable Flex option even with Robinson back.

Raiders at Dolphins

• Tua Tagovailoa threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns as the Dolphins scored 30 points for the first time this season.

• De’Von Achane continued to lead the Miami backfield with 21 touches, compared to three for Mostert and six for rookie Jaylen Wright. He converted those touches to 100+ total yards and a TD.

• Jonnu Smith caught six passes for over 100 yards and two TDs. He continues to remain involved in the Miami offense and can be considered a weekly starter at TE.

• Brock Bowers saw 16 (!!) targets and exploded for 13-126-1 line, his eighth time this season scoring double-digit fantasy points. 

Browns at Saints

• Despite two early turnovers, Taysom Hill put up a career best 138-yard game on the ground that included three TDs as the Saints won, 35-14.

• In his return to New Orleans, Jameis Winston threw for 395 yards and two TDs. He remains a weekly starting QB option as the Browns continue to throw 40+ times a game with him at QB.

• Jerry Jeudy has now seen 11 targets in back-to-back games and finally had a breakout fantasy game, amassing 146 receiving yards and a TD on six catches. He remains a viable WR3 option.

Colts at Jets

• Anthony Richardson returned to the starting QB role and led the Colts to a 28-27 victory over the Jets. He passed for 272 yards and added 32 yards on the ground, including two rushing TDs.

• Josh Downs once again led the way through the air with 84 receiving yards and a TD. The second-year WR should be locked into your starting lineup most weeks.

• Breece Hall had rushing and receiving TDs, converting his 23 touches into 121 total yards.

Vikings at Titans

• Vikings controlled this game throughout, leading to lower production from all of their offensive skill-position players. Not a reason to panic.

• In his third game of the season, T.J. Hockenson only saw three targets but saw his snap count increase for the third straight week. He remains a weekly starter at TE.

• Titans RB Tyjae Spears left the game with an apparent concussion and did not return. A situation to monitor.

• Calvin Ridley had a 51-yard touchdown called back due to an illegal formation penalty but was the first look on most of Will Levis’ pass attempts. He remains a volatile weekly starter attached to this weak Titans offense.

Packers at Bears

• Christian Watson set a career high with 150 receiving yards on just four catches as Jordan Love attempted just 17 passes.

• Josh Jacobs converted his 22 touches into 134 total yards and a touchdown, as the Packers leaned on him in a 20-19 victory over the Bears.

• Roschon Johnson saw 11 touches (compared to 16 for Swift) for Chicago and is an interesting speculative waiver pickup for teams needing RB depth.

Jaguars at Lions

• Jared Goff threw four touchdowns and finished with 412 passing yards as the Lions routed Jacksonville, 52-6.

• David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 218 total yards and three TDs through three quarters before ceding work to Craig Reynolds and Sione Vaki. 

• Amon-Ra St. Brown exploded for 161 yards and two TDs on 11 targets, producing his best fantasy game of his career. 

• The Jaguars started Mac Jones for the second straight week and their offense once again looked completely inept. It’s hard to feel confident starting any Jacksonville piece moving forward.

Rams at Patriots

• Matthew Stafford threw for 295 yards with four TDs as the Rams defeated the Patriots, 28-22. Stafford remains a viable weekly starter in plus matchups, as does rookie Drake Maye, who had 282 passing yards and two TDs to go along with 27 yards on the ground.

• Both Puka Nacua (7-123-1) and Cooper Kupp (6-106-2) had strong games as they dominated the receiving work once again for L.A.

• After not seeing an offensive snap last week as part of what the New England coaching staff deemed a “wake-up call”, WR Kendrick Bourne amassed 70 yards and a TD. He’s an intriguing waiver add for teams needing WR depth.

Ravens at Steelers

• The Steelers’ defense continues to show it’s one of the best in the league, holding its eighth opponent (out of 10) to 20 or fewer points this season. Probably a matchup to avoid in the future.

• George Pickens saw 12 targets, converting the opportunity to 89 yards on eight catches. The Ravens will continue to be a secondary to target with opposing WRs.

• Derrick Henry was limited to just 13 touches, in one of the few games where Baltimore struggled to move the ball and trailed throughout. 

• Isaiah Likely returned from injury and led the Ravens in receiving, amassing 75 yards on five targets.

Seahawks at 49ers

• Seattle predictably struggled running the ball again this week, but Kenneth Walker managed to score a touchdown. More notably, Zach Charbonnet had an increased role coming out of the bye week and took about 1/3 of the RB work.

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba and DK Metcalf combined for 20 of Geno Smith’s 32 targets and have clearly established themselves as the dominant focal points of the passing game. Both are every-week starters.

• The absence of George Kittle had a severe negative impact on the 49ers’ running game, which slowed down their entire offense and kept them from having the same offensive success they had in the first meeting with Seattle.

• Jauan Jennings predictably had a big game in the absence of Kittle, while Deebo Samuel’s struggles continued and rookie WR Ricky Pearsall came back to earth with zero fantasy points.

Falcons at Broncos

• The Falcons’ offense fell apart, as they were unable to establish any kind of a running game and Kirk Cousins struggled with the Broncos’ defensive pressure. They have the bye and then face the Chargers and Vikings’ defenses, who may give them many of the same issues they ran into this week.

• Bo Nix had the best game of his career as Denver played from ahead the whole way and they let him keep throwing with a lead. His five remaining games in the fantasy season include four plus matchups against the Raiders, Browns, Colts, and Bengals, and he could keep building on his promising rookie season.

• As is often the case, the Broncos receiving work was very spread out. Nix completed passes to nine different teammates and his four TD passes all went to different players – with none of them going to the top two receiving leaders for the game.

• Javonte Williams did not just roll over and give his job away to Audric Estime, as he jumped back into the lead role a week after taking a back seat. Both players will be hard to trust on a weekly basis. 

Chiefs at Bills

• Patrick Mahomes threw three TD passes but had under 200 passing yards and targeted 11 different receivers.

• Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt predictably went back to his ho-hum, TD-dependent role and scored only six fantasy points. Isiah Pacheco is expected back for Week 12, which should render Hunt relatively useless for fantasy purposes.

• Rookie WR Xavier Worthy had a huge first quarter with four receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown, then promptly disappeared. They probably need to find a way to keep him involved if they want to unlock this offense down the stretch.

• TE Noah Gray scored two red-zone TDs as the Chiefs made the Bills pay for all the attention they were giving to Travis Kelce and DeAndre Hopkins. Both Kelce and Hopkins will be fine, but Gray is someone who has played over 2/3 of the snaps in four of five games since their bye and could be a thorn in our side again this year. If Kelce were ever to miss a game, Gray would be a TE1.

• Josh Allen and James Cook did the heavy lifting, accounting for all four of Buffalo’s touchdowns. Obviously, both are every-week starters.

• The Bills took the path of least resistance against the strong Chiefs secondary without Keon Coleman and with Amari Cooper playing with a cast. A total of 30 of Josh Allen’s 40 pass attempts were targeted at Cook, Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, and Dawson Knox – all of whom work in the short and middle areas of the field.

Bengals at Chargers

• Tee Higgins returned to the lineup for the Bengals and had his biggest game of the season, with Ja’Marr Chase and Chase Brown also putting up big games and seeing heavy usage. All three of those players are weekly starters, while anyone else on the Bengals is best left on the bench as long as the “Big 3” are healthy.

• Bengals QB Joe Burrow continued his career year with 350 yards and three TDs despite what was a tough on-paper matchup. You’re also starting him every week.

• Chargers QB Justin Herbert had a strong game passing and rushing as the team was pulled into their first high-scoring game of the season. They have a strong upcoming schedule of opposing offenses, so we could see more games like this down the stretch.

• Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins continued with their split backfield, with Dobbins taking about 2/3 of the work to 1/3 for Edwards. The scary part here is that Hassan Haskins got some goal-line work once again.

• Chargers rookie WR Ladd McConkey went over 100 receiving yards for the second time in the last four weeks, while TE Will Dissly and WR Quentin Johnston each scored touchdowns in a good matchup. All are borderline starters depending on your weekly roster and matchups.

Join us Tuesday for Week 12 Waiver Targets!