Browns Edge Myles Garrett injured his left shoulder in Sunday's loss to the Broncos. He said afterward that he felt something pop, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Garrett did re-enter the game late but left the stadium with his arm in a sling. We'll see what his Monday MRI says. Losing Garrett for any time would obviously be a big blow to one of fantasy's -- and real life's -- best defenses.
Ravens DL Justin Madubuike entered the league concussion protocol after Sunday night's win over the Chargers. Fortunately for his return timeline, Baltimore gets a Week 13 bye. We'll watch Madubuike's status heading into a Week 14 home date with the Rams. Most players have made it back after missing a single game this season.
Bills RB James Cook logged a season-high 22 touches in Sunday's loss to the Eagles: 16 carries and a season-high 6 receptions. It marked the third time this season he has reached 20 touches and the second such game in a row. So does that mean his role is growing? No. Cook's carry and opportunity shares have not increased the past two weeks, following the team's OC switch. In fact, Cook's 51.6% share of RB carries against Philly was his second-smallest of the season. His 53.5% opportunity share (carries + targets) was his fourth-lowest. Cook benefited in each case from high team play volume. The Bills ran a season-high 92 plays at Philadelphia and 76 in the Week 11 win over the Jets, their third-most plays of the year. Buffalo RBs, though, have also seen a boost in target share over the past two games. A 21.9% share against the Jets was the highest since the season opener -- until Sunday's 23.5% share. If that continues, Cook's fantasy numbers would certainly benefit. He has caught four passes in two straight games after reaching that number just twice through the first 10 weeks. Buffalo now heads into a Week 13 bye. Then come matchups with the Chiefs and Cowboys that should support RB targets, because each ranks among the league's toughest WR defenses. Then comes Cook's best remaining matchup (Chargers) and a Week 17 rematch with New England. The Patriots afforded him 102 total yards and a TD at 6.4 yards per touch in their first meeting. Cook should be a solid PPR contributor the rest of the way. He won't be a lock for strong touch counts, though. Latavius Murray actually played 1 more snap vs. Philly, ran six more routes, and trailed Cook by just 1 target. Ty Johnson has also worked in for 6 touches each of the past two weeks. Leonard Fournette, meanwhile, has yet to be called up from the practice squad a month after signing.
NFL Network's James Palmer reports that Eagles TE Dallas Goedert "will push to play" against the 49ers next Sunday. That would put him four weeks beyond the forearm fracture he suffered in the Week 9 win over Dallas. Palmer adds: "We'll see if that's possible as the week goes. It does seem very realistic for him to be on the field in two weeks" for the rematch with the Cowboys. The takeaway: You might get Goedert back for Week 13, but make sure you have another TE option available. He'll likely be on track for your Week 14 lineup. Obviously we'll keep watching Goedert's situation right up to each game's inactives.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring) will not play vs. the Bears tonight, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Jefferson is "very close," per Pelissero, but the Vikings will continue to play it safe and hold him out through the Week 13 bye. "Jefferson is expected to be 100% after the bye, practice fully, and play Dec. 10 at Las Vegas," Pelissero adds. Fantasy teams that are all but assured a playoff spot at this point should take one more running at trading for Jefferson this week. He should be an easy WR1 from Week 14 on.
Cardinals WR Marquise Brown racked up 88 yards in a Week 12 loss to the Rams. Brown led the way with 12 targets on a day that found Kyler Murray attempt 45 passes in a blowout loss. Call it a nice turn of events for Brown, who entered the weekend questionable with a heel injury. In the post-game, Brown suggested he almost didn’t suit up. "We got into like a throwing match at the end, so I don't really look at it like we had a good connection because we lost the game," he said. "It took a lot for me to even play in this game, so for us to not come out of this game with a win, it hurts." Arizona travels to Pittsburgh for a fine matchup in Week 13. Then, they’ll be one of two teams on bye in Week 14.
The Panthers fired HC Frank Reich. He didn't even make it a full season in Carolina, going 1-10 in his 11 games. An offensive-minded coach, Reich's Panthers offense sits 30th in yards per game, 29th in points per game, and 31st in offensive DVOA. A poor group of skill-position players didn't help the cause, but Reich did very little to elevate the offense or rookie QB Bryce Young. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will finish out the season as interim HC, while OC Thomas Brown takes back over as play-caller. We'll see if the moves lead to any changes in player usage, but don't expect the offense to be noticeably better.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield injured his right ankle on a QB sneak in the first quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Colts. He was able to return and finish out the game, completing 20 of 30 passes for 199 yards, two TDs, and one INT. But Mayfield took six sacks and was clearly missing his usual mobility. Neither Mayfield nor HC Todd Bowles would guarantee afterward that Mayfield will be able to play vs. the Panthers this weekend. “I’ll have to wait until he gets checked out and see how bad it is after the game once he puts it up. That’s going to be the tell-tale sign," Bowles said. We'll look for further updates on Mayfield's injury and track his practice participation this week. QB Kyle Trask would get the start if Mayfield is out.
Now is not the time to hit the panic button, but it's fair to be slightly worried about Chargers RB Austin Ekeler. The veteran struggled on Sunday night, logging 64 total yards on 16 touches with a lost fumble in Week 12's loss vs. the Ravens. Ekeler has now failed to reach double-digit PPR points for the second week in a row. But the issues he's experienced lately stem from a downtick in passing game production and a lack of TDs. Ekeler averaged 19 receiving yards per game over the past two weeks; by contrast, he'd averaged 40.2 yards over his prior five games since returning from an ankle injury. Also, 30.6% of Ekeler's 98 PPR points he's scored since Week 6 have come from finding the end zone. However, don't get too caught up in these concerns. Ekeler has the easiest remaining RB schedule against a string of phenomenal matchups per our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Even though he's dangerously close to deserving a "TD-or-bust" label, it's tough to bet against a guy who ranks seventh in RB opportunity share and faces the Broncos (31st in run defense DVOA) twice between now and fantasy championship week. It may be a bumpy ride, but keep holding on.
Sunday night saw an interesting shift occur in the Ravens’ backfield. Rookie RB Keaton Mitchell led the team with 64 rushing yards on 9 carries in Week 12 vs. the Chargers. Mitchell also roped in 2 catches for 25 yards as a pass-catcher. His teammate Gus Edwards wasn’t too far behind in the box score (8 carries, 26 yards), but the veteran appeared on 26.7% of Baltimore’s offensive snaps. By contrast, Mitchell saw a season-high 46.4% snap rate and played on 59.5% of the Ravens’ early downs. Has Mitchell become the Ravens’ RB1? It’s tough to say as of now, and they are set to go on bye in Week 13. Still, this’ll be a situation worth monitoring approaching the fantasy playoffs.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith tallied 7 receptions for 106 yards and a TD in Sunday's win over the Bills. The yardage marked his highest output since Week 2 but also the third time in the past four games that the delivered 99+ yards. Smith's 8 targets trailed WR A.J. Brown by one. But the pair combined to draw a target on 54.8% of QB Jalen Hurts' pass attempts. It was the second straight game that TE Dallas Goedert missed, which likely helped Smith's target count. Goedert is expected to remain out for the Week 13 clash with the 49ers but has a chance to return for a Week 14 visit to Dallas.
Eagles lead WR A.J. Brown caught five passes Sunday for just 37 yards. But he snagged one of three TD passes from QB Jalen Hurts in an inconsistent passing performance against the Bills. And his 9 targets edged WR DeVonta Smith for the team lead, in a game that saw the two wideouts draw a target on 54.8% of Hurts' pass attempts. It wasn't the kind of performance you expect from Brown, but the output shouldn't concern you going forward -- especially considering the rainy conditions. Philly's remaining schedule holds a negative Week 14 spot against the Cowboys, but the other four games all feature positive ratings by our adjusted fantasy points allowed.
Bills WR Gabe Davis tallied 6 receptions for 105 yards and 1 TD in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. That marked his best fantasy line of the season in an upside spot. It also marked just the fourth time all year that Davis caught more than three passes. The matchup made Davis a better option, but his lack of consistent targets and production made him a risky option. Sunday marked just the fifth time in 12 games that Davis drew more than 4 targets. He'll return from the Week 13 bye to face a tough Chiefs D in Week 14 and then a tough Dallas pass D in Week 15. Davis looks potentially usable against a bad Chargers pass D in Week 16 but then closes out the fantasy season (for most leagues) against a Patriots defense that allowed him just 1 reception in their first meeting. If your league plays through Week 17, then Davis will close out against Miami. That matchup's fine, but Davis drew just 3 targets (12% share) in the first round this season.
Jaguars RB Travis Etienne managed just 56 yards on 20 carries in Sunday's win over the Texans. That marked his sixth straight outing with less than 4.0 yards per carry and the fourth straight game in which Etienne failed to score on the ground. He did still continue to dominate backfield work, handling 71.4% of Jacksonville's RB carries and 86.7% of total RB opportunities. That will keep Etienne a strong option for the Week 13 matchup with Cincinnati and in Week 17 against the Panthers. But three straight negative RB matchups lie in between: Cleveland, Baltimore and Tampa Bay. Etienne's workload will keep him in starter territory for most fantasy football teams for those weeks, but don't be afraid to sit him if you have stronger options.
Texans WR Tank Dell posted a 5-50-1 receiving line in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. That trailed WR Nico Collins (7-104-1) and marked the second straight game in which he drew fewer targets than Collins. But Dell had another target negated by penalty, and it came on a key play. Dell caught a 62-yard pass that would have been the team's longest play by 28 yards, but an illegal-shift penalty negated the play. That wiped out a target that would have tied Dell with Collins for the team lead and eliminated a catch that would have given him the slight edge over Collins. Dell remains a strong target bet and should be in most fantasy lineups the rest of the way.
Texans RB Devin Singletary remained the backfield leader in fantasy scoring in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. But it came from his lead in receiving work. Singletary ranked second on the team in receptions (6) and receiving yards (54) and third in targets (7) in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. He split the rushing work near-evenly with Dameon Pierce in the latter's return from injury. Pierce carried five times to Singletary's six and drew 1 target. (He caught it for 4 yards.) The receiving lead makes Singletary the play over his backfield mate. But the split makes Sinlgetary unattractive as a fantasy option.
Texans WR Nico Collins has led the team in targets in each of his two games since returning from injury. He led the team in targets (9), receptions (7), and receiving yards (104) in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. Collins also scored for the second time in three games. He has caught seven passes in two straight games. Collins gets negative matchups with the Broncos and Jets the next two weeks. But he gets a high-upside matchup with the Titans in two of the final three fantasy weeks.
The Raiders’ offense hung tight against the Chiefs in Week 12. The QB Aiden O’Connell-led unit paced Kansas City in total offensive yards (358 and 360, respectively) and did considerable damage through the air. WR Jakobi Meyers recorded a 6-79-1 receiving line with teammate Davante Adams not too far behind (5 catches, 73 yards). Since firing former HC Josh McDaniels ahead of Week 9, Adams has taken off with an average of 11 targets, 80.6 yards, and 16 PPR points per game in that span. Both guys have stellar chances to keep their success rolling as the Raiders’ remaining schedule ranks 11th-easiest for WRs per our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Fantasy managers will have to wait until after Las Vegas’ Week 13 bye to get Meyers and Adams into lineups. Still, their next two opponents (Vikings, Chargers) are top-10 fantasy matchups for wideouts.
Congratulations to all the fantasy managers out there who waited patiently for the breakout game from Chiefs WR Rashee Rice. The rookie hauled in 8 of his team-high 10 targets in Week 12 vs. the Raiders for 109 receiving yards and a TD. What’s exciting here is that his 71% route participation rate and 31.3% target share from this contest are Rice’s highest marks this season. Some of this bump in usage can be attributed to the fact that his teammate Mecole Hardman landed on IR with a thumb injury, and Kadarius Toney (ankle, hip) was inactive on Sunday, but that shouldn’t discount the fact that Rice stepped up to the plate for a Chiefs’ offense that’d been struggling of late. It’ll be intriguing to see if the Chiefs will maintain his usage next week in a decent matchup vs. the Packers (24th in pass defense DVOA in 2023). At the very least, Rice will be worth keeping on the flex monitor in lineups.
Texans QB C.J. Stround threw for 304 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. He added 47 yards and a TD on the ground. Stroud ranked fourth among fantasy QBs heading into the Sunday night game. If he can finish among the top 6 fantasy QBs for the week, it would mark the third such finish for the rookie among the past four weeks. Stroud looks like a QB1 for the Week 13 matchup with Denver. He'll also be a good option for matchups with Tennessee in weeks 15 and 17. But you'll want to find another option for Week 14 (Stroud faces the Jets) and Week 16 (Browns).
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