Fantasy Fallout: Week 11

By: Mike Johnson (Mjohnson86) and Tony Kneepkens (Tonytk44)

• 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 Jonathan Taylor 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 for the coming week and beyond.

  JETS @ PATRIOTS

  • Pats’ rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson had a huge game with three TDs on his 24 touches on TNF. He has the look of a breakout fantasy star for the stretch run of the fantasy season.

  • WRs Stefon Diggs (9-105) and Mack Hollins (4-64) and TE Hunter Henry (4-45) were the top receiving options for the Pats in a game where Drake Maye’s only passing TD went to Henderson.

  • Justin Fields had a rough passing performance with just 116 yards on his 26 attempts but salvaged his fantasy day with a 67-1 rushing line. Breece Hall (16 touches, 64 yards) is the only other fantasy-relevant Jets player for now.

  COMMANDERS @ DOLPHINS

  • Not much to report here from the Dolphins side. Continue to start De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle after their Week 12 bye. Continue to stash Ollie Gordon II (9-45-1 rushing) through the bye if you can.

  • Chris Rodriguez led the Commanders backfield with 15 of their 28 RB carries and one of their four RB targets while accumulating 83 scoreless scrimmage yards. Jacory Croskey-Merritt (10 touches, 33 yards) and Jeremy McNichols (six touches, 29 yards) each mix in enough to make this a backfield to avoid in most formats.

  • Deebo Samuel (7-74-1) and Zach Ertz (4-42) drew more than half of the team’s targets from Marcus Mariota. Like Miami, the Commanders have a Week 12 bye while traveling back from Spain.

  PACKERS @ GIANTS

  • Green Bay RB Josh Jacobs left this game with a knee injury in the first half and did not return. We will need to monitor his status, but the Packers backfield was led by Emanuel Wilson the rest of the way. Wilson should be the top waiver priority pickup for Week 12.

  • Packers WR Christian Watson caught two touchdowns and had a 19% target share as he continues to impress in his return from last season’s knee injury. WR Romeo Doubs battled injuries throughout the game and his status should also be monitored.

  • Veteran RB Devin Singletary was still involved this week and scored two touchdowns, but Tyrone Tracy Jr. was the primary back and had 23 touches for 139 total yards. Tracy should be a weekly starter. 

  • The wind was a problem for the passing game in this one and WR Darius Slayton was inactive for the Giants, so it is hard to take much away from this one in terms of their passing game. They will likely have to throw at a much higher volume in Week 12 against Detroit.

  TEXANS @ TITANS

  • This was an ugly, low-scoring game. The Titans defense has now played well in consecutive weeks and we can’t just assume opposing offenses will have good games against them anymore – especially when those offenses are marginal at best.

  • Texans RB Woody Marks had 19 touches compared to three for Nick Chubb and seems to have taken control of the backfield. Houston faces the Bills’ shaky run defense next week.

  • Titans WR Calvin Ridley was injured on the first play of the game and had to be carted off. Rookie WR Chimere Dike later left with an injury as well. There is no one you can trust on the Tennessee offense. They face Seattle next week, whose defense may score 25 fantasy points in that matchup.

  PANTHERS @ FALCONS

  • Panthers rookie WR Tetairoa McMillan finally had his breakout game with eight receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns. McMillan is too good to not eventually do something like this and probably has some more big ones in store down the stretch.

  • Bryce Young had a huge game with almost 400 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also brought second-year WR Xavier Legette along with him for a nice game.

  • Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. was injured in the second half of this game and the offense barely moved with Kirk Cousins under center the rest of the way. Something to monitor for your Falcons players moving forward.

  • Bijan Robinson had a massive game and was actually used near the goal line, which resulted in two touchdowns. Novel concept.

  BEARS @ VIKINGS

• Chicago snuck out an ugly, low-scoring win in Minnesota as Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy struggled once again and the Bears never pushed the issue until the last drive when they were down by a point.

• Bears RB D’Andre Swift led the backfield once again with 22 opportunities compared to only 13 for rookie RB Kyle Monangai. Swift was much more productive and played more, but Monangai stole a goal-line touchdown for the second consecutive week. This backfield is being used similarly to how head coach Ben Johnson deployed his backfield in Detroit with Swift in the Gibbs role and Monangai in the Montgomery role – similar usage but less talent and offensive scoring.

• The Vikings offense has been unproductive in every start for McCarthy this season, being held under 280 total yards in four of five games. All of Minnesota’s skill players are hard to trust until McCarthy is able to figure something out.

CHARGERS @ JAGUARS

• The Chargers offense was a mess as Jacksonville’s defense was able to generate pressure on Justin Herbert and forced bad throws because they didn’t give receivers any room to operate. Los Angeles has a bye next week and expects RB Omarion Hampton to return to the lineup after that.

• Jaguars rookie RB Bhayshul Tuten seemed to take control of the backfield prior to suffering a fourth-quarter injury. Both Tuten and Travis Etienne Jr. had strong games, but Tuten’s injury status will be important to watch going forward.

• Jacksonville played without WR Brian Thomas Jr. once again and newly acquired Jakobi Meyers led the Jaguars in receiving, although that didn’t result in a big stat line due to the game script and the Jaguars attempting only 22 passes. 

BUCCANEERS @ BILLS

• Josh Allen had one of his massive games, but the team used so many different players around him that James Cook was the only other playable Bills skill player who you would have been considering starting.

• WR Tyrell Shavers had a standout game with Keon Coleman inactive and likely earned himself more opportunities going forward.

• Tampa Bay gashed the Bills run defense and RB Sean Tucker had a massive game with three touchdowns and 140 total yards. The cat is out of the bag, and Tucker will likely maintain a role going forward even when Bucky Irving returns.

BENGALS @ STEELERS

• The Bengals offense had an ugly performance against a Steelers defense that has been playing great over the last month. Joe Burrow returned to practice this week, and he may be the only thing that can save them. 

• Chase Brown had the elite workload we expected with Samaje Perine inactive. Brown should be locked into starting lineups for as long as Perine is out.

• Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers and RB Jaylen Warren left with injuries.

49ERS @ CARDINALS

• Brock Purdy returned to the SF lineup after a six-game absence and threw for 200 yards and three TDs in a comfortable win. WR Ricky Pearsall also returned to the lineup after a lengthy absence of his own, catching one of his three targets. Purdy looks like a solid fantasy option moving forward while distributing the ball to the 49ers’ deep group of playmakers.

• Jacoby Brissett completed an NFL regular-season-record 47 passes in a game that the Cardinals allowed a TD on the first play from scrimmage (after a 98-yard kickoff return) and never got back even with the 49ers, trailing by 15+ for the entire second half. Brissett tossed two late TDs and had a potential third fumbled away at the goal line.

• Michael Wilson operated as the Cardinals’ primary WR in the absence of Marvin Harrison Jr. and had a monstrous 15-185 line on his 18 targets and Greg Dortch chipped in with a 66-1 receiving line of his own. Wilson is a fantasy starter if Harrison misses another game next week but there’s not much else to chase here, it was a pretty wacky game script from start to finish.

SEAHAWKS @ RAMS

• The Rams offense struggled to move the ball much after scoring two first-quarter TDs, while their defense held Seattle out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter and picked Sam Darnold off four times while forcing a bunch of underneath passes, many to Seahawks TE AJ Barner (10-70 receiving).

• Kenneth Walker III scored the late TD for Seattle, his first TD since Week 3, and topped 100 scrimmage yards on his 19 touches. The counting stats were nice in a game where Seattle ran a ton of plays, but KWIII still only handled 56% of the team’s RB opportunities. Zach Charbonnet had 13 touches, none going for longer than six yards, and third-stringer George Holani chipped in with rushes of two and four yards of his own.

CHIEFS @ BRONCOS

• Bo Nix played a solid game in an important Broncos’ home victory, passing for 295 scoreless yards and avoiding turnovers against a tough Chiefs defense. Troy Franklin (4-84) and Courtland Sutton (4-59) lead the team with eight targets each and remain in weekly fantasy consideration.

• Rookie RB RJ Harvey handled 11 of the team’s 17 RB carries and saw three of their five RB targets in his first game operating as their lead back. If you look past the uninspiring 50 scoreless scrimmage yards against a challenging defense, this was really exciting usage. He’s an easy fantasy starter at Washington after the Broncos’ Week 12 bye.

• Not a lot to report from the Chiefs after a tough divisional loss on the road. Patrick Mahomes threw 60% of his 45 passes to Travis Kelce (9-91-1), Rashee Rice (6-38), and Xavier Worthy (3-25), while Kareem Hunt handled all of the Chiefs 13 RB carries for a 59-1 line. 

RAVENS @ BROWNS

• The Ravens couldn’t get much done through the air in this one with Lamar Jackson passing for 193 scoreless yards, throwing two interceptions, and being sacked five times. Mark Andrews had a good fantasy day on the back of his game-clinching 35 yard rushing TD on a creative play call out of Baltimore’s version of their “tush-push” formation.

• RB Keaton Mitchell played a more prominent role alongside Derrick Henry with veteran receiving-back Justice Hill missing the game. Keaton had 54 scrimmage yards on his eight touches and makes for a strong fantasy-bench stash.

• Browns’ rookie QB Dillon Gabriel left the game with a concussion, paving the way for fellow rookie QB Shedeur Sanders to see his first regular-season action, where he predictably struggled. Monitor Gabriel’s health if you’re relying on any Browns players next week at the Raiders.

LIONS @ EAGLES

• The Eagles won an ugly low-scoring game on SNF that saw Jalen Hurts and Jared Goff complete just 14 passes each for a combined 43% completion percentage. Hurts predictably threw 75% of his passes to A.J. Brown (7-49), Dallas Goedert (2-24), and DeVonta Smith (1-8). The matchup looks much more appealing for the Eagles next week at Dallas.

• Jameson Williams was the Lions’ most productive WR for the second week in a row, snagging a 40-yard TD and a 4-88 line overall. He’s an easy fantasy starter, especially with pass-catching TE Sam LaPorta landing on IR last week. There will be better days ahead for Goff and the rest of the Lions offense, as they don’t play outdoors again until Week 18 at Chicago.