Team of the Week

 

QB: Jared Goff, DET

Goff was a clear QB1 this week, but the lone “concern” was Detroit destroying Jacksonville and keeping the ball on the ground; of course, that didn’t happen with the Lions going off until the starters were pulled in the fourth quarter, and Goff threw for 412 yards and four touchdowns (plus another four carries for 21 yards) to finish with 34.58 fantasy points.

 

RB: Saquon Barkley, PHI

Washington did a quality job bottling up Barkley for much of the game last Thursday night, but his talent eventually won out—exploding for 28 touches for 198 yards and two touchdowns in the 26-18 victory. Now heading into a couple of big road games (@ LAR, @ BAL), look for Barkley to be fed again as a high-end RB1.

 

RB: Breece Hall, NYJ

Hall hadn’t been given huge workloads in recent weeks with 18 or fewer touches in every game since Week 6, but he was the primary source of offense for New York yesterday—rushing 16 times for 78 yards and a touchdown while catching seven passes for 43 yards and another score. The Jets sit at 3-8 heading into the bye, so we’ll see how much Hall is featured down the stretch.

 

WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET

Jacksonville’s struggles defending the middle of the field made St. Brown going off no surprise, and he was perfect by catching all 11 of his targets for 161 yards and two scores. With a touchdown in eight consecutive games and a trip to face Indy next weekend, St. Brown probably won’t be slowing down for the Lions or fantasy owners.

 

WR: Cooper Kupp, LAR

The return to dominance for Kupp continued in the win over the Patriots with six receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns—and the veteran has gone for lines of 14/110/1, 5/51/1, 11/104, 7/80, and 6/106/2 in five healthy games this season. He’ll be the toughest test yet for the remade Philadelphia secondary next Sunday night.

 

TE: Taysom Hill, NO

The lack of options at wide receiver for New Orleans led to Hill being featured at a new level this week, and he had a career day by rushing seven times for 138 yards and three touchdowns with eight receptions (on 10 targets) for 50 yards as a receiver. The only negative was an interception and a lost fumble, but Hill had an 18-yard completion on the other pass attempt to finish with a whopping 37.52 fantasy points.

 

FLEX: Tee Higgins, CIN

Higgins’ return to the lineup didn’t lead to a Cincinnati win, but it likely led to plenty of Sunday night comebacks for fantasy purposes—as the big-bodied wideout caught nine passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. The highlight was a 42-yard touchdown where he split bracket coverage, and Higgins should be well rested following a Week 12 bye.

 

D/ST: Minnesota Vikings

There wasn’t really a huge D/ST performance this week, but Minnesota sacked Will Levis five times and picked him off once to co-lead the position (with Denver) by totaling 12.0 fantasy points. On the season, the Vikings have gone for 10.0+ fantasy points in all but two games.

 

K: Chris Boswell, PIT

Boswell scored every point for Pittsburgh in an 18-16 win over Baltimore—hitting all six of his kicks—including three from 50+ yards—for 24.0 fantasy points. Since Russell Wilson took over as the starter for the Steelers, Boswell has reached 14.0 fantasy points in three-of-four outings.

 

Surprise of the Week: Javonte Williams

Williams leading the Denver backfield isn’t a major surprise by any means, but he rushed nine times for 59 yards and a touchdown (with four receptions for 28 yards) just a week after being limited to three touches for seven scoreless yards in the loss to Kansas City—speaking to the uncertainty about the situation on a week-to-week basis. We did have Williams as the preferred option over rookie Audric Estimé, but the pecking order could easily flip again next week in Las Vegas.

 

Disappointment of the Week: Travis Kelce

Kyle Pitts (1.4 fantasy points), Tucker Kraft (0.0), and others could have been chosen here at tight end, but Kelce (1.8) was contained by a Buffalo defense that didn’t have standout linebacker Matt Milano—and you could sense his frustration as the game progressed. Making matters worse for fantasy owners, Noah Gray caught two touchdowns with Kelce being contained.

 

Rookie of the Week: Bo Nix

The confidence for Nix has grown every week, and he absolutely torched Atlanta by completing 28-of-33 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns on his way to 28.78 fantasy points. Denver’s franchise quarterback had displayed an ability to shred opponents both with his arm and legs this season, and he’ll be a QB1 next week against the Raiders—who he scored 23.14 fantasy points against in Week 5.

 

Week 11 MVP: Taysom Hill

There is no debate to be had about the Week 11 MVP, as Hill had one of the best fantasy performances ever by a tight end—showing his cheat code status by doing everything for New Orleans. In addition to the obvious value as a runner, Hill seeing career-highs in targets (10) and receptions (eight) is extremely encouraging for his outlook down the stretch following a Week 12 bye.