Happy Turkey Week! I sincerely hope that everyone who takes a moment to read my weekly columns has a wonderful Thanksgiving on Thursday, surrounded by their friends and family. I seemingly say it each year, but it feels like I just blinked and the past 11 months have flown by. Selfishly, I was hoping that feeling would slow down with age, but it seems to have spun in the opposite direction instead.
Week 11 kicked off with Houston flat-out embarrassing Buffalo on Thursday Night Football, generating eight sacks on Josh Allen and pummeling him at every opportunity. The surging Texans now suddenly have a shot to overtake Indianapolis in the AFC South, led by backup quarterback Davis Mills, who has led them to three consecutive victories.
Chicago continues to find a way to scrape out last-second victories, improving to 8-3 on the year after defeating a Pittsburgh Steelers team without Aaron Rodgers at Soldier Field. I don’t think that the Bears are nearly as good as their record suggests, but I will tip my cap to a team that finds a way to pull out victories at the end of games (rather than blowing them each week, like my New York Giants).
Dallas pulled off an improbable come-from-behind victory against Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, erasing a 21-point deficit en route to a 24-21 win. Though they were embarrassed early and appeared to be the same old Cowboys defense that allows opponents to walk all over them, they managed to right the ship and tighten up, forcing multiple turnovers in a clutch win over the defending Super Bowl champions.
Several players continued to perform at a high level (a special nod to Matthew Stafford, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jaxon Smith-Njigba on that front) while others continued to flounder (Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson and Breece Hall). Hopefully, your players managed to pull through and carry your team to victory, as we enter the final few weeks of the fantasy football regular season.
Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 12
Quarterback
It pains me to write about Jameis Winston, since his heroic effort came amidst yet another fourth-quarter collapse by Big Blue. Thankfully, the team opted to fire defensive coordinator Shane Bowen this morning, although that move came two months too late. But I digress.
Winston finished the afternoon completing 18-of-36 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns, catching another touchdown from wideout Gunner Olszewski in the fourth quarter on a magnificent play where he broke out of a tackle. Rookie Jaxson Dart is expected to return from concussion protocol for Week 13 against New England, but it was still encouraging to see Winston perform well behind a Giants offensive line that held Detroit in check all day long.
Coming off consecutive quiet outings after Philadelphia’s bye in Week 9, I had tempered my expectations for what the Eagles’ offense could do, even though they were playing against a beleaguered Dallas secondary. Thankfully for Jalen Hurts’ managers, the Eagles came out throwing the ball all over the field, and they actually set a season-high with 39 pass attempts on the afternoon. Hurts passed for 289 yards and a touchdown on the afternoon, rushing for 33 yards on seven carries, with two tush push touchdowns at the goal line.
It was encouraging to see Hurts feel comfortable scrambling again, as he has primarily been a non-factor running the ball since Week 4 against Tampa Bay. Philadelphia squares off against the upstart Chicago Bears at home during Week 13 and will need to pull out a victory to ensure a high playoff seed in a few weeks. Expect this team to continue finding its footing.
The silver lining for Baltimore is that they were able to win their contest against the New York Jets 23-10 (marking their fifth consecutive victory), and they now sit atop the AFC North division. That said, Lamar Jackson did little to help carry his team, and he seems off after his month-long absence with a hamstring injury. The Ravens have been intentionally taking things slow with Jackson, limiting his practice reps and not asking him to run much on designed scrambles during games.
This kid-glove treatment has allowed him to stay healthy (for now), but has severely sapped his fantasy upside. Jackson has rushed for more than 50 yards just once this season, and that came in Week 1 (he hasn’t eclipsed 36 yards since Week 4). He has two get-right games coming up against Cincinnati, where he will be asked to pick up the pace dramatically.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, Buffalo fell flat yet again on the road, looking entirely out of sorts in a 23-19 loss against Houston. The Texans’ defensive front consistently pressured Allen all afternoon, and the Bills’ lack of a true alpha receiving option is becoming more noticeable each week. Allen has begun to revert to a hero mode style of play, forcing passes into tight windows, with Buffalo becoming increasingly reliant upon him to carry the offense to victory single-handedly.
Allen has thrown four interceptions over the past two weeks and will face another strong front-four against Pittsburgh in Week 13 on the road. Buffalo is now 7-4 and several games behind New England in the AFC East, so they will need to string together some victories to retain position in the Wild Card standings.
Running Back
Any running back needing a get-right game hopes to square off against the New York Giants, who have surrendered nearly 2,000 rushing yards through the first 12 weeks of the season, by far the most in the NFL. Jahmyr Gibbs went nuclear on Sunday, rushing for 219 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries, and catching a career-high 11 passes on 12 targets for 45 yards and a score as a receiving threat.
Woefully inept tackling was primarily to blame for several extended plays, but I’m perfectly fine tipping my cap where it is due — Gibbs was fantastic. After Sunday’s explosion, Gibbs is second in the league with 10 rushing touchdowns and ranks third with 951 rushing yards. His dual-threat ability is unparalleled, and the scary thing is that he is just getting started.
Josh Jacobs who? This week’s top waiver wire addition in most leagues, Emanuel Wilson, rewarded managers who added him with a phenomenal effort, rushing for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, adding another two receptions for 18 yards through the air.
Even though this was a one-week performance and he will be back to “handcuff with upside” territory as of Week 13, it was still encouraging to see his success. Jacobs was pleading with the team to let him start on Sunday, and he will surely be healed enough for the crucial road game on Thanksgiving against Detroit. Wilson remains a stash candidate for managers who happen to have an extra bench slot available.
It was expected that Jonathan Taylor would run into stiff competition in Week 12, traveling to Kansas City in a must-win game for the Chiefs. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo made it a point to bottle up and contain Taylor at every possible juncture, holding him to just 58 rushing yards on 16 carries.
This was just the third time since Week 3 that Taylor didn’t score a rushing touchdown. Though Indianapolis has enough receiving weapons to carry them through most contests (especially with Alec Pierce and Josh Downs’ performances of late), the team functions much more smoothly with Daniel Jones when they can work off of play-action passing instead. The Colts have another tough contest in Week 13 against Houston, as the Texans rank fifth in the NFL in rushing defense.
D’Andre Swift rushed for a season-low eight carries and just 15 yards against Pittsburgh on Sunday, losing a fumble in the process and being a complete non-factor. More importantly, rookie backfield running mate Kyle Monangai finished with four more carries and was much more successful when provided the opportunity, finding the end zone for the third consecutive game.
At this point, it appears to be a clear changing of the guard in Chicago, with Monangai earning double-digit carries for the third time in the past four games. For the Bears to maximize the strengths of both players, Monangai should continue to see the majority of short-yardage and goal-line touches, with Swift operating as the change-of-pace and receiving back. Swift’s days of being a low-end RB1 option for fantasy are likely over, with this being a full-blown committee situation moving forward.
Wide Receiver
The scary thing about Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s insane production this season? Defensive coordinators know that he represents the bulk of Seattle’s passing game. They have double- and triple-covered him the majority of the year, and he’s still producing at an elite level. On the heels of an 8/167/2 performance against Tennessee on the road, Smith-Njigba is now up to 80 receptions for 1,313 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
To put that into context, the next closest option at the position in terms of yards is George Pickens with 1,054, and third is Puka Nacua with 947. Smith-Njigba is an unstoppable force at the moment who has a real shot of setting NFL records this year. Just sit back and enjoy history.
The primary beneficiary of the Giants’ decision to switch to veteran Jameis Winston over Russell Wilson has been Wan’Dale Robinson, who currently sits as the WR8 on the season so far. On Sunday, Robinson caught nine of his 14 targets for 156 yards and a touchdown, on a play where he blew past the Lions’ secondary during the opening series.
Robinson has drawn 45 targets over the past four games, and with Malik Nabers out for the remainder of the year with his ACL tear, Robinson is Big Blue’s top chain-moving threat at receiver. With Jaxson Dart expected to return in Week 13 against New England, the Giants will likely revert to a more balanced approach on offense, but Robinson still warrants low-end WR2 upside on a team that surrenders points in droves, and will need to pass to remain competitive.
For as fantastic as Emeka Egbuka was during the first five weeks of the regular season, things have come to a screeching halt in short order. Since Week 6, he has eclipsed double-digits in a full PPR format just once, and things appear to be grim for the short term, with quarterback Baker Mayfield dealing with a shoulder injury.
The lone positive is that his target volume remains strong and he is unquestionably the top receiving threat for Tampa Bay, but the lack of a running game, an excess of defensive attention and the possibility of backup Teddy Bridgewater under center for the short term have me worried. The Buccaneers have two fantastic matchups against Arizona and New Orleans on the horizon.
I’m hopeful that even if Bridgewater is under center, Egbuka can find the end zone a time or two during that span to propel his managers into the fantasy playoffs.
New England scored 26 points and quarterback Drake Maye threw for nearly 300 passing yards on Sunday against Cincinnati, so clearly Stefon Diggs must have had a strong outing, right? Not so much. Maye concentrated on peppering tight ends Hunter Henry (7/115/1) and Austin Hooper (3/39) all afternoon, to the detriment of Patriots wide receivers. Diggs finished with just two receptions for 20 yards on three targets, tying him for a season low.
The good news? New England is at home against a beleaguered New York Giants secondary in Week 13, a unit that gives up yards in droves to No. 1 WRs. The Giants rank dead last in yards allowed (4.62) and are the third-worst in points per game allowed, with nearly 28. Diggs might have disappointed his managers last week, but he’s primed for a bounce-back.
Tight End
How awful has the tight end position been in 2025? Consider this. Before Sunday, Hunter Henry had scored nine points or fewer in seven consecutive weeks, with just one touchdown reception during that span. After Week 12’s effort, he is still the TE5 overall on the season. Yeesh. As mentioned in the Diggs blurb above, Henry broke out for a 7/115/1 afternoon on 10 targets, the most looks he has seen since Week 3.
How much are we buying into this breakout? Only a little. Cincinnati has been historically awful in guarding tight ends this year, and quarterback Drake Maye seems more comfortable pushing the ball downfield on the perimeter instead, when possible. Henry has the opportunity for another strong game against New York in Week 13, before the Patriots go on hiatus with their bye the following Sunday.
Curiously, Dallas Goedert would be such an afterthought in a game when Philadelphia attempted a season-high in pass attempts, but I digress. With wideout A.J. Brown being vocally hostile about his displeasure with the way Philadelphia currently runs the offense, targets have been increasingly funneled towards the receivers, with himself and DeVonta Smith being the main beneficiaries.
Goedert saw a season-low two targets on Sunday afternoon, despite the Eagles trying to reinforce their lead in the second half and Dallas making a desperate comeback. I’d argue that it would be worth pivoting towards an alternative option instead at this point, but outside of George Kittle, Trey McBride, Brock Bowers and Tyler Warren, who can managers rely on at this point? Goedert will remain a boom-or-bust option that is maddeningly inconsistent.
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