Team of the Week

 

QB: Patrick Mahomes, KC

Mahomes facing the Cowboys on Thanksgiving always seemed like a blow-up spot for him, and that’s exactly what happened with 261 yards and four touchdowns through the air—with another three carries for 30 yards on top of it. The performance came after a cold stretch for Mahomes, but he’s the overall QB2 on the season and might be the first quarterback to reach 20.0+ fantasy points versus Houston next Sunday night.

 

RB: Bijan Robinson, ATL

The Falcons fed Robinson yesterday, and he took full advantage with 28 touches for 193 total yards and a touchdown to give him 27.8 fantasy points despite what might have been a season-ending loss for Atlanta. Next week against Seattle will be tough, but the Falcons will likely play through Robinson again as they look to somehow salvage a 4-8 record.

 

RB: D’Andre Swift, CHI

Swift was entering what seemed like a difficult matchup versus the Eagles on Black Friday, but the Bears ran all over his former team—with the starter turning 18 carries into 125 yards and a touchdown. Outside of the disappointment last week with 1.4 fantasy points, Swift has reached 8.0+ fantasy points in every other game this season.

 

WR: A.J. Brown, PHI

Philadelphia has finally played through Brown over the past couple of games—following up an 8/110/1 line versus the Cowboys in Week 12 with a season-best 10 receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to Chicago. With double-digit targets in three consecutive outings, Brown should be a more confident WR1 over the final few weeks.

 

WR: Rashee Rice, KC

Rice has continued to operate as a high-end WR1 since his return to the field, and Thanksgiving was his best performance of the year with eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Through six games this season, Rice is averaging 18.3 fantasy points per game—which ranks above Jaxon Smith-Njigba (18.2).

 

TE: Brock Bowers, LV

Increased usage for Bowers in the first game since the Raiders fired Chip Kelly didn’t happen with just four targets—but he made the most of his opportunities by converting two of them into a touchdown. The latter was a highlight grab in contested coverage, and Bowers finished with a 4/63/2 line as he gets another shot versus Denver in Week 14.

 

FLEX: Dontayvion Wicks, GB

For anyone who took a random shot at Wicks on Thanksgiving, he paid off in a massive way with nine receptions for 94 yards and two touchdowns (plus a six-yard carry) in a career day for him. We’ve seen Wicks emerge in the past only to cool off—and the team will get Jayden Reed (collarbone) back soon—but he’ll at least be someone to look at if byes hit your roster next week.

 

D/ST: Seattle Seahawks

There was hope in Minnesota about undrafted rookie Max Brosmer providing a spark on offense, but that didn’t happen with the top-ranked Seattle defense coming through with 28.0 fantasy points. Overall, the Seahawks limited the Vikings to 162 total yards in a shutout win, and they compiled four interceptions, a fumble recovery, four sacks, and a touchdown.

 

K: Evan McPherson, CIN

McPherson has started to catch fire over the past few weeks, and he was able to lead all scorers on the highly anticipated Bengals-Ravens matchup with 24.0 fantasy points. Next week in Buffalo might be tougher, but McPherson nailed all six of his field goals on Thanksgiving and is suddenly a top-five kicker for the season.

 

Surprise of the Week: Adonai Mitchell

Marcus Mariota or Bryce Young drew consideration here with big games versus difficult opponents, but Mitchell went off as the Jets again featured him—catching eight-of-12 targets for 102 yards and a touchdown in a win over Atlanta. Mitchell has seen rising targets (six > seven > 12) in three games since being traded to New York, and he’ll be on the FLEX radar next week against Miami.

 

Disappointment of the Week: Zay Flowers

Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) being held without a catch and leaving early to begin Thanksgiving (or Justin Jefferson having four yards yesterday) were other obvious choices here—and Flowers was in a difficult spot facing DJ Turner II. However, getting negative fantasy points (-0.4) on Thanksgiving Night is rough, and there were some plays to be had for Flowers with the Baltimore offense struggling.

 

Rookie of the Week: RJ Harvey

Running room was difficult to come by for Denver last night, but Harvey was able to come through with two touchdowns—including the overtime winner. Plus, it was encouraging that Harvey saw 16 touches in the win, and the rookie’s lack of efficiency on the ground (2.7 yards per carry in both games as the starter) is boosted by his usage as a pass-catcher in Sean Payton’s offense.

 

Week 13 MVP: A.J. Brown

If you’ve stuck with Brown through the early struggles and are still in playoff contention, he came through with a week-best 30.2 fantasy points on Black Friday—and he’s now the overall WR13 on the season with the talent emerging in back-to-back games as a featured target. Look for Brown to again be a top play next Monday night versus the Chargers.