It takes me a couple hours to write the Monday morning column, so let's get to it. DFS 50/50 Lineup of the Week? Big winner, moving me to 5-5-1 on the season. Contrarian bargains and busts--the kinds you won't hear in most corners of the fantasy universe? 6-of-10 right, including warning against Gerald Everett and Tom Brady and propping up the consensus-unstartable Kendrick Bourne and Ted Ginn. I'm now 75-46 (62%) on the season.
And now, as always, the biggest fantasy storylines of Sunday's teams:
Cowboys -- Michael Gallup blew up, and Tony Pollard proved once again he can be a weekly fantasy starter if Zeke Elliott goes down. As regular readers know, I've been high on Gallup all season as a better-than-projected asset. If there were no Amari Cooper on this team, Gallup would be a top-16 WR.
Lions -- Bo Scarbrough will head into Week 12 as the fourth must-roster Detroit RB in the past four weeks. Ty Johnson is officially droppable.
Jaguars -- Fantasy-wise, Nick Foles was fine. But I still think Jacksonville's offense would be better with Gardner Minshew at the helm. Still, can't argue with the fact that D.J. Chark doesn't care who's throwing to him.
Colts -- Marlon Mack's fractured hand was the biggest injury story of the day. On the one hand, I picked the wrong month to unload Jordan Wilkins. On the other hand, that's moot: Jonathan Williams will be the biggest free-agent add of the week.
Bills -- Beyond the brilliant play of Josh Allen and John Brown, Devin Singletary out-carried Frank Gore by only four attempts. Singletary's two fumbles--though neither were lost--were a little concerning. And his fantasy playoff schedule is even more concerning.
Dolphins -- 23 rushing yards. But we already knew this backfield is irrelevant. The bigger news is Ryan Fitzpatrick's chemistry with DeVante Parker, one of my top preseason WR bargains. Parker has now exceeded even my lofty expectations as a top-25 scorer on the season.
Broncos -- Apologies for urging some folks to sit Courtland Sutton. I didn't buy into Brandon Allen, and his abysmal numbers reinforced that concern. But he found his top receiver five times for 100+ yards. The more interesting story is the guy I hyped in my DFS 50/50: Tim Patrick. He wasn't even an option on Draft Kings. He should be added in all deep leagues.
Vikings -- Another apology: Stefon Diggs helped spearhead an impressive comeback after being mostly silenced. On the flip side, one of my two favorite Week 11 bargain TEs, Kyle Rudolph, went off and now has five touchdowns in his past five games. With Adam Thielen likely returning after the bye, it's a great time to sell high on Rudolph.
Saints -- Pushed Brees hard all week as a huge bounce-back performer, and he came through with a solid 21 fantasy points. Interestingly, 60% of his passes went to Michael Thomas or Alvin Kamara. They're #1 and 2 in team targets, and that's not likely to change.
Buccaneers -- Jameis Winston now has 19 touchdowns and 22 turnovers. In his last five games he has eight scores and 17 turnovers. It's a wonder he hasn't been benched. Meanwhile, someone named Scotty Miller led all wideouts. Meanwhile, O.J. Howard was cast aside after bobbling a pass that was picked off, thus threatening his fantasy viability for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Week 10 breakout Ronald Jones was neutralized on only six touches. What an odd game and troubling team.
Jets -- This isn't just a highlights columns. Sure, Sam Darnold took care of business against a weak defense. Great stuff. But my eye's on Robby Anderson's continued decline and veteran Bilal Powell's continued rise as a ready-to-roll handcuff if Le'Veon Bell sits.
Redskins -- The Redskins have finished in the top half of the NFC East only twice in 14 seasons. Fantasy-wise, Dwayne Haskins is now entrenched as a "show us what you can do" rookie who, sadly, won't show very much the rest of the year.
Falcons -- These past two weeks, somehow Atlanta has outscored New Orleans and Carolina on the road by a combined score of 55-12. This after giving up 31.3 points per game. The unpredictability of sports. Biggest story: Calvin Ridley. I traded for him a couple weeks ago, then got "lucky" (obviously not celebrating injuries) when Austin Hooper went down. He was in my DFS 50/50 for a reason. Few #2 receivers have such massive upside.
Panthers -- You all know my thoughts on Kyle Allen, and why QB win-loss record sometimes has nothing to do with quarterback play (just look at San Francisco). At best, Allen is a young and capable QB with a bright future. At worst he'll be the biggest reason why Carolina won't reach the postseason.
Texans -- A forgettable effort. With Kenny Stills and Keke Coutee combining for 10 targets, I'm most interested in seeing how things shake out if Will Fuller returns next week.
Ravens -- Gus Edwards had the game I thought he'd have last week in Cincinnati. Baltimore's capacity to blow out opponents makes Edwards a fantastic streamer most weeks, including in weeks 15 and 16 against the Jets and Browns.
Cardinals -- Kenyan Drake out-touched David Johnson 22-0. That's the most important stat line of this game.
49ers -- It makes me a bit uncomfortable to say that Jimmy G. is now the 15th highest-scoring fantasy QB. One of my top preseason QB bargains, he's on a nice little run despite looking sub-par by NFL starter standards.
Bengals -- Joe Mixon's surprising turnaround continues, and he's now posting low-end RB2 numbers on the season. Meanwhile, if Auden Tate's neck injury is serious, it could open the door for . . . Who am I kidding. Ryan Finley was atrocious. This team is going nowhere. 2022 can't come soon enough.
Raiders -- All of the key offensive players did what was roughly expected of them. Derek Carr has great command of this offense and finally has a great running game, meaning he doesn't have to do too much for Oakland to win.
Patriots -- Nine of Tom Brady's 10+ receivers caught at least two balls. If you're still thinking Mohamed Sanu will meet or exceed his production while in Atlanta, think again. Back to Brady: this was his third letdown in four contests. For context, Jimmy G. is one more big game away from passing him on the fantasy leaderboard. Meanwhile, Phillip Dorsett's head injury opened the door for rookie N'Keal Harry.
Eagles -- I dropped Carson Wentz for Derek Carr on Saturday for this very reason. And I warned many of you about Miles Sanders; Bill Belichick knows how to adjust after a loss, and the Patriots' D proved why it can shut down an offense that had been averaging 27 points per game at home (although it certainly helped not having to face Jordan Howard or Alshon Jeffery).
Bears -- Chicago's final four games are against Dallas, Green Bay, Kansas City, and Minnesota. They probably have no shot in any of them. I keep saying this, and will continue to say it: There's no reason to keep trotting out Mitch Trubisky. With Chase Daniel closing out the game, perhaps head coach Matt Nagy is ready to make that call. Also notably, Tarik Cohen made it five respectable games in his past seven, while David Montgomery has been middling-to-bad in five of his past eight.
Rams -- Yes, Jared Goff was down two of his top three receivers. And Todd Gurley actually enjoyed his first 100+ yard game since Week 1. On the fantasy spectrum, it appears Malcolm Brown's reclaimed the handcuff role, leaving Darrell Henderson on the pine. Only a couple weeks ago it appeared Henderson was making a play for a sizable role down the stretch. Finally, back to Goff: although a penalty erased it, his fourth-quarter bomb to Josh Reynolds was perfect. He actually made several terrific throws in the final frame. Whatever's wrong, I still believe it's fixable.
And now, as always, the biggest fantasy storylines of Sunday's teams:
Cowboys -- Michael Gallup blew up, and Tony Pollard proved once again he can be a weekly fantasy starter if Zeke Elliott goes down. As regular readers know, I've been high on Gallup all season as a better-than-projected asset. If there were no Amari Cooper on this team, Gallup would be a top-16 WR.
Lions -- Bo Scarbrough will head into Week 12 as the fourth must-roster Detroit RB in the past four weeks. Ty Johnson is officially droppable.
Jaguars -- Fantasy-wise, Nick Foles was fine. But I still think Jacksonville's offense would be better with Gardner Minshew at the helm. Still, can't argue with the fact that D.J. Chark doesn't care who's throwing to him.
Colts -- Marlon Mack's fractured hand was the biggest injury story of the day. On the one hand, I picked the wrong month to unload Jordan Wilkins. On the other hand, that's moot: Jonathan Williams will be the biggest free-agent add of the week.
Bills -- Beyond the brilliant play of Josh Allen and John Brown, Devin Singletary out-carried Frank Gore by only four attempts. Singletary's two fumbles--though neither were lost--were a little concerning. And his fantasy playoff schedule is even more concerning.
Dolphins -- 23 rushing yards. But we already knew this backfield is irrelevant. The bigger news is Ryan Fitzpatrick's chemistry with DeVante Parker, one of my top preseason WR bargains. Parker has now exceeded even my lofty expectations as a top-25 scorer on the season.
Broncos -- Apologies for urging some folks to sit Courtland Sutton. I didn't buy into Brandon Allen, and his abysmal numbers reinforced that concern. But he found his top receiver five times for 100+ yards. The more interesting story is the guy I hyped in my DFS 50/50: Tim Patrick. He wasn't even an option on Draft Kings. He should be added in all deep leagues.
Vikings -- Another apology: Stefon Diggs helped spearhead an impressive comeback after being mostly silenced. On the flip side, one of my two favorite Week 11 bargain TEs, Kyle Rudolph, went off and now has five touchdowns in his past five games. With Adam Thielen likely returning after the bye, it's a great time to sell high on Rudolph.
Saints -- Pushed Brees hard all week as a huge bounce-back performer, and he came through with a solid 21 fantasy points. Interestingly, 60% of his passes went to Michael Thomas or Alvin Kamara. They're #1 and 2 in team targets, and that's not likely to change.
Buccaneers -- Jameis Winston now has 19 touchdowns and 22 turnovers. In his last five games he has eight scores and 17 turnovers. It's a wonder he hasn't been benched. Meanwhile, someone named Scotty Miller led all wideouts. Meanwhile, O.J. Howard was cast aside after bobbling a pass that was picked off, thus threatening his fantasy viability for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Week 10 breakout Ronald Jones was neutralized on only six touches. What an odd game and troubling team.
Jets -- This isn't just a highlights columns. Sure, Sam Darnold took care of business against a weak defense. Great stuff. But my eye's on Robby Anderson's continued decline and veteran Bilal Powell's continued rise as a ready-to-roll handcuff if Le'Veon Bell sits.
Redskins -- The Redskins have finished in the top half of the NFC East only twice in 14 seasons. Fantasy-wise, Dwayne Haskins is now entrenched as a "show us what you can do" rookie who, sadly, won't show very much the rest of the year.
Falcons -- These past two weeks, somehow Atlanta has outscored New Orleans and Carolina on the road by a combined score of 55-12. This after giving up 31.3 points per game. The unpredictability of sports. Biggest story: Calvin Ridley. I traded for him a couple weeks ago, then got "lucky" (obviously not celebrating injuries) when Austin Hooper went down. He was in my DFS 50/50 for a reason. Few #2 receivers have such massive upside.
Panthers -- You all know my thoughts on Kyle Allen, and why QB win-loss record sometimes has nothing to do with quarterback play (just look at San Francisco). At best, Allen is a young and capable QB with a bright future. At worst he'll be the biggest reason why Carolina won't reach the postseason.
Texans -- A forgettable effort. With Kenny Stills and Keke Coutee combining for 10 targets, I'm most interested in seeing how things shake out if Will Fuller returns next week.
Ravens -- Gus Edwards had the game I thought he'd have last week in Cincinnati. Baltimore's capacity to blow out opponents makes Edwards a fantastic streamer most weeks, including in weeks 15 and 16 against the Jets and Browns.
Cardinals -- Kenyan Drake out-touched David Johnson 22-0. That's the most important stat line of this game.
49ers -- It makes me a bit uncomfortable to say that Jimmy G. is now the 15th highest-scoring fantasy QB. One of my top preseason QB bargains, he's on a nice little run despite looking sub-par by NFL starter standards.
Bengals -- Joe Mixon's surprising turnaround continues, and he's now posting low-end RB2 numbers on the season. Meanwhile, if Auden Tate's neck injury is serious, it could open the door for . . . Who am I kidding. Ryan Finley was atrocious. This team is going nowhere. 2022 can't come soon enough.
Raiders -- All of the key offensive players did what was roughly expected of them. Derek Carr has great command of this offense and finally has a great running game, meaning he doesn't have to do too much for Oakland to win.
Patriots -- Nine of Tom Brady's 10+ receivers caught at least two balls. If you're still thinking Mohamed Sanu will meet or exceed his production while in Atlanta, think again. Back to Brady: this was his third letdown in four contests. For context, Jimmy G. is one more big game away from passing him on the fantasy leaderboard. Meanwhile, Phillip Dorsett's head injury opened the door for rookie N'Keal Harry.
Eagles -- I dropped Carson Wentz for Derek Carr on Saturday for this very reason. And I warned many of you about Miles Sanders; Bill Belichick knows how to adjust after a loss, and the Patriots' D proved why it can shut down an offense that had been averaging 27 points per game at home (although it certainly helped not having to face Jordan Howard or Alshon Jeffery).
Bears -- Chicago's final four games are against Dallas, Green Bay, Kansas City, and Minnesota. They probably have no shot in any of them. I keep saying this, and will continue to say it: There's no reason to keep trotting out Mitch Trubisky. With Chase Daniel closing out the game, perhaps head coach Matt Nagy is ready to make that call. Also notably, Tarik Cohen made it five respectable games in his past seven, while David Montgomery has been middling-to-bad in five of his past eight.
Rams -- Yes, Jared Goff was down two of his top three receivers. And Todd Gurley actually enjoyed his first 100+ yard game since Week 1. On the fantasy spectrum, it appears Malcolm Brown's reclaimed the handcuff role, leaving Darrell Henderson on the pine. Only a couple weeks ago it appeared Henderson was making a play for a sizable role down the stretch. Finally, back to Goff: although a penalty erased it, his fourth-quarter bomb to Josh Reynolds was perfect. He actually made several terrific throws in the final frame. Whatever's wrong, I still believe it's fixable.