What You Need to Know From Week 11

Photo: Imagn Images

NE @ ATL

• The Patriots defense is putting the clamps on bad offenses. Next week they face the now bad Titans offense.
• Without Cordarrelle Patterson, the Falcons were nearly powerless to move the ball. This offense is teetering toward fantasy black hole status without Calvin Ridley, even against an opponent like Week 12’s Jacksonville.
• Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson split the backfield, rendering neither a great play as the Patriots settled for field goal after field goal. They’re both what the heck flexes with upside.
• Mac Jones might be a rookie sensation from the NFL media’s perspective, but for fantasy he is underwhelming and can’t create a consistent fantasy option in the passing game outside of Hunter Henry’s touchdown efficiency, which broke bad in this game due to a mixup on the one end zone target.

BAL @ CHI

• Tyler Huntley is good enough to move the ball and put together a game-winning drive on the road. He made himself some money and career longevity with this performance. Lamar Jackson should be back from his illness this week.
• Devonta Freeman got the bigger part of the workload, including at the goal line, and looked like he deserved to going forward on the occasion of the return of Latavius Murray, who was mediocre and straightforward on his runs.
• Justin Fields left with a rib injury and will miss Week 12, a Thanksgiving game with the Lions. Andy Dalton was his usual competent self and dished a 60-yard score to Darnell Mooney on a wide receiver screen and a 49-yard touchdown on 4th and 11 in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, so the passing game outlook is improving.

GB @ MIN

• Aaron Rodgers played through pain and merely posted maybe his best game of the season. This could be the beginning of a hot second half or a mirage that will collapse with the state of Rodgers toe injury, which he said was worse than turf toe.
• Marquez Valdes-Scantling converted a 75-yard score that tied up the game late in the fourth quarter and deserves Week 12 consideration against the Rams.
• Justin Jefferson was unstoppable and had the look of a player ready to go on a record-breaking run. He was tackled at the one on a potential third touchdown.

IND @ BUF

• Jonathan Taylor is performing at an historic level. He extended his streak of 100+ scrimmage yards with a score to eight games, matching Ladainian Tomlinson. He is going to create a lot of league winners, but potentially short circuit the Colts passing game. We’ll see if he can keep this up against the Bucs front seven this week. Buffalo’s defense got punked.
• Josh Allen was off from the get go and pressed more and more the farther the Bills fell behind. It appears the variance in his game is not going away after the Jaguars loss revived it. His secondary receivers are less attractive options with this in mind. Dawson Knox did benefit from his struggles as the safe middle of the field option.
• Matt Breida isn’t going away. We have a three-headed monster and Breida is the one worth giving a shot at the end of your roster.

DET @ CLE

• D’Andre Swift is good enough to break a long run and grind out a good game even when the opponent knows he’s all the Lions have.
• Tim Boyle isn’t good, but he at least can find T.J. Hockenson consistently.
• Baker Mayfield looks hurt and erratic, Jarvis Landry is hurt again, and the Browns passing game is flatlining. Kareem Hunt could be coming back this week to give the offense a shot in the arm.

WAS @ CAR

• Taylor Heinicke played maybe the best game of his career and fostered value for Terry McLaurin.
• Antonio Gibson is running stronger after the bye and deserves our trust as an RB2 again.
• Cam Newton looks as good as he has since Week 2 against the Seahawks last year and could get even better as he gets reacquainted with familiar surroundings. D.J. Moore and Christian McCaffrey will benefit from his presence.

HOU @ TEN

• Tyrod Taylor had two rushing scores, but they were set up by great field position. The Texans offense was otherwise impotent, including Brandin Cooks, who is losing our trust completely if he does nothing against the Jets this week.
• A.J. Brown left the game twice with injuries and wasn’t able to overcome being the focus of the defense. Nick Westbrook-Ikhene was the best backup option and fourth round pick Dez Fitzpatrick redeemed himself after being cut at the end of camp with a touchdown. The Titans offense is in shambles heading into a matchup with the Patriots.
• Dontrell Hilliard dominated backfield touches and snaps with the offense in passing mode. The Titans said he has earned more opportunities.

SF @ JAX

• The 49ers offense is humming and creating opportunities for all the key pieces, including Brandon Aiyuk, who is back in our circle of trust.
• Jeff Wilson was inefficient with his numerous touches, but he got wide open in the end zone and would have had a fantasy game-making touchdown catch, but Garoppolo missed him. He’s still worth a start in Week 12 if Elijah Mitchell is out.
• Deebo Samuel got more touches as a runner than as a receiver to help add durability to his weekly value.
• James Robinson got a garbage time score to save his day, but otherwise the offense was atrocious.
• Jamal Agnew left with a season-ending hip injury. Laviska Shenault fumbled but also got more opportunities in a sign of potential value growth if Trevor Lawrence can get anything straightened out.

MIA @ NYJ

• Tua Tagovailoa continues to play well enough to be viable against poor defenses like the Jets and keep Mike Gesicki and Jaylen Waddle’s value intact. The Panthers, Miami’s Week 12 opponent, don’t have a poor defense, but Taylor Heinicke was great against them last week.
• Myles Gaskin scored on a reception and got a feature back workload. He’s a safe RB2 start until further notice.
• Joe Flacco became the third quarterback other than Zach Wilson to create value in this Jets passing game and feed Elijah Moore, who is a must start until further notice.
• Michael Carter looked good before going down with an ankle injury. Ty Johnson is the back you want here as Tevin Coleman has been underwhelming and unreliable.

NO @ PHI

• Trevor Siemian once again was asleep for most of the game and awakened long enough to create some garbage time stats for the Saints passcatchers. Taysom Hill didn’t play in an odd development, but the Saints signed him to a contract that contemplates him eventually becoming the starting quarterback, so it stands to reason that he could start soon with a return to a full (simulated) practice on Monday.
• Alvin Kamara missed another game with his knee injury and Thanksgiving isn’t looking a great. Mark Ingram should get another start.
• The Eagles running game is rolling, eviscerating the #1 rush defense in the NFL going into the game. Jalen Hurts got three rushing scores or there was more there for the running backs.
• Miles Sanders was the lead back but fumbled and was replaced by Jordan Howard, who was outstanding carrying the ball 10 times in 13 snaps for 63 yards before leaving with a knee injury that will likely sideline him for at least a week. Sanders value is on the rise and Boston Scott is back to being a rosterable backup for now.
• DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert are benefiting from a lower volume but higher efficiency pass offense. A penalty and being tackled at the one prevented Goedert from having two scores.

CIN @ LV

• Joe Burrow struggled and everyone in the passing game except Tyler Boyd also underperformed. The Steelers are up next, watch to see if T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, or Joe Haden will be back.
• Joe Mixon is peaking and the Bengals seem ready to let him carry the offense.
• Derek Carr and the offense is in a major slump, but Darren Waller is starting to awaken with Desean Jackson drawing coverage and opening up the middle of the field.

DAL @ KC

• Dak Prescott had problems with the blitz and lost CeeDee Lamb (who is likely out for Thanksgiving with a concussion). The Chiefs defense is surging and deserves credit for creating a miserable afternoon for the Cowboys pass offense. Dalton Schultz was the only decent fantasy option.
• Ezekiel Elliott got banged up again. The team might be best served going to a 50/50ish split between him and Tony Pollard.
• Patrick Mahomes II didn’t exactly slice and dice the Cowboys still viable defense. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce’s ceilings are low against solid defenses and there’s no hope of life among secondary options.
• Clyde Edwards-Helaire got fewer than half of the snaps, but still collected most of the production and can be trusted in fantasy lineups again.

ARI @ SEA

• Colt McCoy looked like Kurt Warner against a Seattle defense that is one we should target when setting our lineups.
• Zach Ertz was effective and used creatively, especially in the red zone. He’s a sleeper to be one of the 2-3 most valuable tight ends down the stretch.
• Russell Wilson got Tyler Lockett going and might be creating some value for Gerald Everett, but we can’t put him in our fantasy lineups until he makes us regret benching him. He’ll try to do that at Washington this week.
• Rashaad Penny promptly got hurt when he got an opportunity and Deejay Dallas impressed and scored on his one drive to indicate a potential developing trend in the backfield.

PIT @ LAC

• Ben Roethlisberger is still not what he used to be, but he was good enough to make all three of his main targets - Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and Pat Freiermuth - worth starting.
• Justin Herbert made mincemeat of the Steelers defense sans T.J. Watt, Joe Haden, and Minkah Fitzpatrick, including a potential slump breaking 53-yard touchdown to Mike Williams to win the game.

NYG @ TB

• Daniel Jones and the Giants offense was bad enough to get Jason Garrett fired. Where Jason Garrett isn’t, there is hope.
• Kadarius Toney got 12 targets in an indication that the Giants might be open to using one of their best players more often. Kenny Golladay got two in an indication that they might not be.
• Rob Gronkowski looked healthy again and was winning the ball, getting open, and running hard after the catch. He’s back in fantasy lineups going forward.