Fantasy Fallout: Week 12

OWS Fam –

We’re kicking off Black Friday early!

💥 80% OFF Inner Circle (code: BlackFriday25)

💥 Bink Machine: $19 Rest of Season (no code)

That’s full-season access to strategy, player grids, and the optimizer that’s built to find your edge.

Unlock Inner Circle Access 

Build Lineups with Bink Machine

And now for today’s feature from the Daily Dose…

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.

BILLS @ TEXANS

• The Houston defense dominated this one, sacking Josh Allen eight times and forcing three Bills turnovers. Allen peppered Khalil Shakir (8-110) with 10 targets. No other Bills WR or TE had more than four targets or 26 receiving yards.

• Woody Marks maintained his hold on the Houston backfield and had 17 touches for 69 total yards to veteran Nick Chubb’s seven touches for 15 yards.

• Davis Mills threw half of his passes to Christian Kirk (5-54-1) and Jayden Higgins (4-38-1), while superstar Nico Collins topped the team with 55 yards on just three targets.

COLTS @ CHIEFS

• Indianapolis played well but was unable to hold off a late comeback by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs as Kansas City kept its playoff hopes alive. The Colts got out to an early lead and played conservatively the rest of the way, resulting in mediocre days from the passing game and Jonathan Taylor being held in check.

• Rashee Rice got back on track with a huge game but failed to score a touchdown. Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce also had eight and six targets, respectively.

• Kareem Hunt handled an incredible 33 touches en route to 130 total yards and a touchdown. The Chiefs expect Isiah Pacheco back soon and signed free agent RB Dameon Pierce this weekend, leaving the future of the Chiefs backfield up in the air.

SEAHAWKS @ TITANS

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s dominance doesn’t leave room for anyone else in the passing game, as he set the Seahawks’ single-season receiving yards record through just 11 games.

• Seattle’s backfield continues to swing more and more towards Kenneth Walker III, who had 15 opportunities compared to only six for Zach Charbonnet. Don’t let Charbonnet’s touchdown fool you, Walker is in control now.

• Titans QB Cam Ward had his best game of the season in an incredibly difficult matchup, which is encouraging for his prospects down the stretch of 2025 and beyond. Fellow rookie WR Chimere Dike showcased his explosiveness with a big game and should be considered as a “Flex” starter going forward.

VIKINGS @ PACKERS

• The Vikings’ offensive performance was one of the worst things we have seen this season as J.J. McCarthy is giving off the type of vibes of someone who may not be salvageable. Start Vikings at your own risk next week in Seattle.

• Packers RB Emanuel Wilson had a huge game in relief of Josh Jacobs, who was inactive with a bruised knee. The Packers expect Jacobs to return for their Thanksgiving  game against the Lions, but this week showed us the team trusts Wilson in a bell-cow role. 

• Green Bay WR Christian Watson had another strong game and seems to be emerging as the team’s WR1, and with potential shootouts and strong matchups coming up on the schedule, he could be in store for a hot stretch.

JETS @ RAVENS

• Jets RB Breece Hall had another solid game in a tough matchup, while WR John Metchie caught six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown and may be the new top target for QB Tyrod Taylor going forward.

• The Ravens offense struggled but found a way to get it done. Most of their production came from Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers. They have a soft matchup against the Bengals coming up Thanksgiving night.

GIANTS @ LIONS

• The Jameis Winston Experience is always entertaining and Week 12 did not disappoint as he was the QB1 on the week and nearly led a shocking upset of the Lions. The Giants have a Week 14 bye, so we may get one more week of Jameis before they bring rookie QB Jaxson Dart back on the field.

• Giants RB Tyrone Tracy has had great usage in consecutive games, but it has not turned into notable fantasy scores yet. The Giants have a great schedule after their bye week and Tracy could be a true difference-maker in the fantasy playoffs.

• Jahmyr Gibbs stole the show with the highest scoring fantasy game of the season as he put the team on his back to avoid the upset. Amon-Ra St. Brown also had a huge game that paled in comparison to Gibbs. Jameson Williams had a goose egg right when we all thought we could finally trust him. Detroit hosts the Packers on Thanksgiving.

STEELERS @ BEARS

• Mason Rudolph started in place of Aaron Rodgers at quarterback for the Steelers, but the game plan didn’t look very different. Four receivers, three tight ends, and two running backs were all involved, which spreads out the usage pretty thin.

• The Steelers had a prime matchup with the injury-ravaged Bears defense and RBs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell did not disappoint, combining for 190 total yards from scrimmage. This backfield is close to an even split, with Warren getting more volume but Gainwell getting the passing down work.

• Bears QB Caleb Williams led the NFC North-leading Bears to their eighth win of the season and threw three touchdown passes, including two to DJ Moore and one to rookie TE Colston Loveland. The Bears have a lot of capable players and rotate their formations and personnel often, which will result in sporadic production.

• Rookie WR Luther Burden III maintained his role as the WR3 and has had his best usage stats of the season the last two weeks. If either Moore or Rome Odunze misses a game at any point, Burden would be a potential blow-up candidate.

• Similar to the Steelers, Chicago has a true backfield split on their hands with Kyle Monangai playing a meaningful role next to D’Andre Swift.

PATRIOTS @ BENGALS

• TreVeyon Henderson maintained over a 70% share of the backfield work, which should relieve his fantasy managers about his prospects down the stretch. The production wasn’t great in this spot that looked perfect on paper, but Henderson could have a massive game against the Giants next week.

• Drake Maye had another very-good-but-not-great week for fantasy and another week passed where Patriots WRs didn’t do much despite Maye’s solid stat line. Maye is an every-week starter, only Stefon Diggs can be considered from the WRs.

• Hunter Henry had his biggest game of the season, which shouldn’t be a shock considering the Bengals entered the game ranked 32nd in DVOA against tight ends. Cincinnati plays the Ravens on Thursday, with one of Mark Andrews or Isiah Likely in position for a big game.

• Joe Flacco started this game, which will likely be the last time this season he is under center for the Bengals as Joe Burrow is scheduled to play on Thursday.

• Tee Higgins suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter and will miss Week 13, but he’s likely to return for Week 14. Ja’Marr Chase will be back from his suspension on Thanksgiving and should be heavily targeted right away, while TE Mike Gesicki and WR Andrei Iosivas could also see meaningful targets.

• Chase Brown went over 100 rushing yards for the first time all season and has proven to be a useful fantasy commodity when the team has capable QB play, and especially when Samaje Perine is not around to siphon off some of his workload. 

BROWNS @ RAIDERS

• The Browns’ rookie backfield accounted for all of their TDs in this one, with Quinshon Judkins punching in two short rushing TDs and Shedeur Sanders tossing a TD to Dylan Sampson. Harold Fannin Jr. led the team in targets and catches yet again.

• Raiders’ star rookie Ashton Jeanty had 25 touches, topped 100 scrimmage yards, and scored, but he left the game after a big hit on the Raiders’ last drive. He’s seemed more annoyed than anything, but it’s a situation to monitor for one of the league’s top RBs.

• Geno Smith tossed 44 passes and took another 10 sacks while playing from behind for almost the entire game. Tyler Lockett (4-62) and Tre Tucker (3-28) remain PPR options in deeper formats, but Jeanty and Brock Bowers are the only fantasy-relevant Raiders in most leagues.

JAGUARS @ CARDINALS

• Trevor Lawrence tossed three TDs and three INTs in the Jaguars overtime victory, focusing most of his attention on TE Brenton Strange (5-93), and WRs Parker Washington (5-71-1) and Jakobi Meyers (4-50-1).

• Travis Etienne Jr. had 19 of the Jags’ 28 RB opportunities, including a 45-yard rush and a 15-yard TD grab. He remains a strong fantasy option and rookie Bhayshul Tuten (seven carries, one target) remains his top handcuff.

• Jacoby Brissett had another 300-yard passing performance but it took 49 pass attempts and six sacks to get there on a day Cardinals RBs (15-40-1 rushing) couldn’t get much going (monitor Trey Benson’s status). Michael Wilson saw another 15 targets, catching 10 passes for 118 yards, and he has a silly 25-303 receiving line over the past two weeks.

EAGLES @ COWBOYS

• The Cowboys won by scoring 24 unanswered points after trailing by 21 early in the second quarter on the back of a monster George Pickens (9-146-1) performance. Not much else to report here, Dallas remains a fantasy-friendly offense where we know who the ball is going to. They host the Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day.

• Similar story for the Eagles. Their top performer in this one was A.J. Brown (8-110-1), but all of their key offensive options remain weekly fantasy starters.

FALCONS @ SAINTS

• Kirk Cousins tossed a couple of TD passes and an early pick-six, but the Falcons led throughout and were able to feed their talented RB duo 29 touches in a divisional win on the road.

• Darnell Mooney (3-74-1) caught a long TD pass and led the Falcons in receiving yards, acting as Atlanta’s top receiving option in Drake London’s injury absence.

• Alvin Kamara left the game with a knee injury, affording rookie RB Devin Neal (7-18 rushing, 5-43 receiving) and TE/gadget-man Taysom Hill (10 carries for 17 yards) plenty of work.

• TE Juwan Johnson caught six of seven targets for 46 yards and now has 10-138-1 receiving in the last two weeks, often operating as a slot-receiving option. An interesting option at a thin position in PPR formats.

BUCS @ RAMS

• Matthew Stafford tossed three TDs and the Rams defense added a pick-six of Baker Mayfield in a lopsided first half. It was business as usual for the Rams. They moved the ball with their split backfield and Puka Nacua and threw TDs to Davante Adams and TEs.

• Mayfield left with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder in the second half, with Teddy Bridgewater taking over from there in a week that Chris Godwin finally made his own return to the lineup. A situation to monitor for a usually solid fantasy QB option.

• Sean Tucker handled the majority of RB touches for Tampa Bay but had just 46 scoreless yards on his 13 touches. Rachaad White had 42 yards on his eight touches. Bucky Irving seemed close to a return this week and should provide a spark for the Bucs’ running game when he does.