Week 11 Fantasy Football Studs and Duds
Week 11 in the NFL was full of exciting action. 10 of the 12 games played were decided by 5 points or fewer. These are the weeks that separate the great teams from the good ones. Can you close out those must-win games that come down to the final possession of the game? The same can be said of Fantasy Football matchups. Did you make the correct lineup decisions under pressure? With a little strategy, research and even some lineup tinkering hopefully the duds landed on your bench so that the studs could bring home the victory. Let’s find out which was which in Week 11.
Make sure you listen to the Week 11 Studs and Duds podcast.
Studs
Quarterbacks
Drew Brees vs PHI
363 passing yards, 4 TDs
Remember what I said about the close, one-possession, games in the NFL this week? This wasn’t one of them.
Cam Newton @ DET
357 passing yards, 3 TDs, INT
Cam was disappointed in his performance after the game, but his fantasy owners don’t mind.
Andrew Luck vs TEN
297 passing yards, 3 TDs
Luck led the stampede that left the Titans completely trampled in Indianapolis. His reconnection with T.Y. Hilton is something we want to see more of going forward.
Running Backs
Saquon Barkley vs TB
27 carries, 142 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 2 receptions, 10 receiving yards, TD
With Kareem Hunt and Todd Gurley playing on Monday Night Football, you’d think the RB section of the Studs would be lacking some of that top end star power. Not the case.
Ezekiel Elliott @ ATL
23 carries, 122 rushing yards, TD, 7 receptions, 79 receiving yards
Zeke single-handedly willed the Cowboys and many fantasy teams to victory.
Aaron Jones @ SEA
11 carries, 40 rushing yards, TD, 5 receptions, 63 receiving yards, TD
It isn’t often that you can use the success of a player as a compelling reason for a head coach to be fired but that’s exactly what we are seeing in Green Bay. Why wasn’t Aaron Jones handed this backfield sooner?
Phillip Lindsay @ LAC
11 carries, 79 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 4 receptions, 27 receiving yards
There was some concern that the return of Royce Freeman would cut into Linsay’s viability especially on the road against a tough opponent. I think those concerns can be laid to rest.
Mark Ingram vs PHI
16 carries, 103 rushing yards, 2 TDs
This is what a Mark Ingram Week looks like.
Leonard Fournette vs PIT
28 carries, 95 rushing yards, TD, 2 receptions, 46 receiving yards
Hey Leonard, glad you could make it. Better late than never, I suppose.
Wide Receivers
T.Y. Hilton vs TEN
9 receptions, 155 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 9 targets
Andrew Luck doesn’t have the success he had this week without getting T.Y. involved.
Mike Evans @ NYG
6 receptions, 120 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
The Bucs QBs keep playing musical chairs but that hasn’t stopped Mike Evans from making sweet music. This was his fifth 100-yard game of the season and his fifth game with a receiving TD.
Tre’Quan Smith vs PHI
10 receptions, 157 receiving yards, TD, 13 targets
When Drew Brees decides to call it a Hall of Fame career, the next signal caller is going to step into an offense that is full of young playmakers.
D.J. Moore @ DET
7 receptions, 157 receiving yards, TD, 8 targets
He was selected in the first round of the NFL draft for a reason. This is the first game where we got to see a glimpse of his ceiling.
Davante Adams @ SEA
10 receptions, 166 receiving yards, 12 targets
Alright… Alright! I get it, Davante. You’re good at football. You don’t have to rub it in.
Kenny Golladay vs CAR
8 receptions, 113 receiving yards, TD, 14 targets
After a few down weeks, this makes two in a row for Kenny Golladay. Providing the Lions with reassurance after they traded away Golden Tate.
Julio Jones vs DAL
6 receptions, 118 receiving yards, TD, 9 targets
Julio might’ve been the best offensive and defensive player on the field in this contest. Did you see that pass breakup?
Antonio Brown @ JAX
5 receptions, 117 receiving yards, TD, 13 targets
If you want to go back and rewatch this game, go ahead and skip ahead to the 3rd quarter. The Steelers didn’t get off the bus until halftime.
Keenan Allen vs DEN
9 receptions, 89 receiving yards, TD, 12 targets
In tight games, when Rivers needs someone to make a play, we all know where he’s going with the ball.
Stefon Diggs @ CHI
13 receptions, 126 receiving yards, TD, 18 targets
Diggs was busy in this game, but he wasn’t too busy to dance every time he got the ball. Every. Single. Time.
Tight Ends
Jordan Reed vs HOU
7 receptions, 71 receiving yards, TD, 11 targets
If you are concerned on the effect of the Alex Smith injury for Jordan Reed going forward, maybe this will ease your mind. He had 3 receptions for 20 yards and the TD with Colt McCoy in the game.
Antonio Gates vs DEN
5 receptions, 80 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
Death, taxes and Antonio Gates getting over on the Broncos.
Duds
Quarterbacks
Carson Wentz @ NO
156 passing yards, 3 INTs, 6 rushing yards
The garbage time points never came.
Ryan Fitzpatrick @ NYG
167 passing yards, 3 INTs, 14 rushing yards, TD
Ryan Fitzpatrick giveth and the Giants taketh away.
Deshaun Watson @ WAS
208 passing yards, TD, 2 INTs, 7 rushing yards
For the fantasy football fan, there is nothing worse than a QB who leads his NFL team to victory while pooping in his big boy pants for fantasy purposes.
Running Backs
Dalvin Cook @ CHI
9 carries, 12 rushing yards, 3 receptions, -2 receiving yards
That’s right. 12 total touches. 10 total yards.
Dion Lewis @ IND
10 carries, 24 rushing yards, 1 reception, 8 rushing yards
This is why you can’t chase the points.
Derrick Henry @ IND
9 carries, 46 rushing yards
And this is why you can’t start Derrick Henry.
Doug Martin @ AZ
10 carries, 52 rushing yards, 1 reception, 6 receiving yards
Let’s be clear. Doug Martin did not play poorly in this game. What’s unfortunate though is that, despite starting the game and getting 9 yards on his first carry, he was out carried by BOTH DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard.
Wide Receivers
Corey Davis @ IND
2 receptions, 30 receiving yards, 4 targets, -1 rushing yard
Corey Davis is just cruel. He tempts us with monster target shares and big performances and then completely disappears. Though in his defense, Mariota disappeared in the 2nd quarter and did not return to the game.
Alshon Jeffery @ NO
4 receptions, 33 receiving yards, 5 targets
The defending Super Bowl Champions are in trouble. Maybe they knew it, and that’s why they made the move for Golden Tate.
John Brown vs CIN
1 reception, 23 receiving yards, 1 target
I don’t care how good John Brown has been for the Ravens. You had a duty to pivot once Lamar Jackson was named the starter. You have no one to blame but yourself.
Amari Cooper @ ATL
3 receptions, 36 receiving yards, 5 targets
While this was a down game, Cooper has adjusted to his new offense remarkably well.
Devin Funchess @ DET
2 receptions, 39 receiving yards, 8 targets
Last season, the Panthers went away from Kelvin Benjamin because they wanted to get faster on offense. With the emergence of D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel, Funchess should be looking over his shoulder.
Demaryius Thomas @ WAS
nothing, 1 target
In their previous game, Thomas was only really involved in the scripted plays to start the game against his former team. This week he didn’t even get that much work.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling @ SEA
1 reception, 8 receiving yards, 3 targets
This was a huge letdown after MVS had been one of the hottest WRs in the league with 100 yards or a TD in 4 straight games. Unfortunately, this is the inconsistency that is all too common with rookie WRs.
Sterling Shepard vs TB
2 receptions, 22 receiving yards, 2 targets
In a game with 73 total points scored against a terrible defense, projections were much higher for Shepard this week.
Tight Ends
Eric Ebron vs TEN
nothing, no targets
If you had been following Ebron’s snap counts and appreciated this matchup for how tough Tennessee has been on TEs, you could’ve avoided this disaster.
Ricky Seals-Jones vs OAK
1 reception, 5 receiving yards, 3 targets
If you were without Gronk, Kittle or Njoku this week, hopefully, the TE roulette wheel didn’t land on Seals-Jones.
Austin Hooper vs DAL
4 receptions, 27 receiving yards, 8 targets
Hard to complain when your TE is getting 8 targets, but I think Hooper fans are going to anyway.
C.J. Uzomah @ BAL
3 receptions, 41 receiving yards, 5 targets
Without A.J. Green to threaten the Ravens defense, the jungle cats got smothered.