When the most notable Sunday injury happened to Dwayne Haskins, playoff-bound managers can breathe a sigh of relief. (Julio Jones returned after his shoulder injury, so not as concerned there.) On the full-transparency front, I hit 6-of-13 contrarian bargain-bust predictions, bring my season total to 82-for-134 (61%). And my DFS 50/50 Lineup of the Week scored 135.24. With a couple exceptions this year, that would have been enough to win in past weeks. But it's looking more like a loss so far.
So if you used my lineup, whether you won or lost, please tell me how you did so I can log it accurately.
Now, as always, here's the biggest fantasy storyline of each Sunday team:
Buccaneers -- It was Chris Godwin's turn. Most notably, Ronald Jones outperformed Peyton Barber but out-carried him only 12-11. With one exception Week 10, Barber's lingering presence continues to hamper Jones's fantasy outlook.
Falcons -- I've used Matt Ryan twice in DFS, and both times yielded season-worst performances. Beyond that, Russell Gage is the new Mohamed Sanu, and might end up being better.
Broncos -- Phillip Lindsay continued his backfield takeover vs. Royce Freeman.
Bills -- John Brown scored on Chris Harris, which probably officially makes him defense-proof.
Giants -- We all know Saquon Barkley hasn't been 100%. But what a disaster for those who waited patiently for him to return.
Bears -- My Jesper Horsted call fell flat. My promotion of Allen Robinson and, to a lesser extent, Tarik Cohen did not. Robinson helped Mitch Trubisky keep his job for another week.
Steelers -- I was asleep on this one, thinking Jaylen Samuels would lead the way. Instead, rookie Benny Snell took over, while fellow rookie Kerrith Whyte looked sharp as the #2. If you think James Conner is returning as the bellcow, better hold your breath.
Bengals -- Tyler Boyd scored only his second touchdown of the year. On a team full of busts, he's somehow on pace for over 1,000 yards and incredibly is the #22 fantasy WR.
Dolphins -- Several questions yesterday on whether to start Kalen Ballage. Hopefully yesterday reinforced my answers. He should have been dropped weeks ago.
Browns -- The game some of us circled weeks ago--when Baker Mayfield would finally dominate. Expect the opposite result next week in Pittsburgh.
Panthers -- Kyle Allen looked far better than I gave him credit for heading into the weekend. And D.J. Moore is now officially a low-end WR1 on the season.
Saints -- Latavius Murray's early work worried many Alvin Kamara fans on Twitter. By the end, everything returned to normal. Most interestingly, Jared Cook has a touchdown in four of his past five games. After a forgettable September, he's been the mid-range TE1 some had expected when New Orleans signed him.
Raiders -- A disaster for anyone leaning on Oakland players this week. There are no takeaways here, except that Derek Carr should be fine for Week 13.
Jets -- Sam Darnold did it again, and one week after pointing out Robby Anderson's decline, I was hit with the reality of Anderson leading the charge. Between him, Jamison Crowder, Demaryius Thomas (a first-quarter TD called back), and Ryan Griffin (solid red-zone target), it's getting tough to gauge which guy. Heading into yesterday, I had thought Crowder was fairly reliable.
Seahawks -- Um, Rashaad Penny. One game after netting two yards and a lost fumble, he rushed for 129 yards and a score on 14 carries. That said, with only limited passing-game appeal, he remains nothing more than a desperation start as long as Chris Carson's healthy (and not fumbling).
Eagles -- It's not fair to say Carson Wentz hit rock bottom; he was missing his top three wideouts and his starting RB. He'll turn things around the next three weeks against the Dolphins, Giants, and Redskins.
Lions -- Bo Scarbrough was the clear-cut lead back for the second straight week, though he also lost a fumble. More ominously. he's not involved in the passing game. Even more ominously, he caught only 21 balls in 31 college games. And most ominously, his remaining schedule features Chicago, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Denver, and Green Bay.
Redskins -- Derrius Guice continues to get acclimated to the NFL, and Adrian Peterson still isn't going anywhere.
Jaguars -- You all know my fantasy views on Nick Foles and why Gardner Minshew shouldn't have lost his job. So no need to repeat it. If Foles struggles early next week against the Bucs, I wonder whether Minshew will see the field again.
Titans -- This was Ryan Tannehill's first four-TD performance in more than four years, and was the first time he's run for two scores. I'm over-generalizing, but since taking over the starting job, Tannehill's shown how bad Marcus Mariota was, and how bad the Dolphins were during Tannehill's time there.
Cowboys -- Plenty of tough questions yesterday morning regarding the seemingly unbenchable Amari Cooper. I recommended benching him almost every time. In fact, I was pretty blunt with some of you on Dak Prescott and Michael Gallup. Playing in New England this season is treacherous from a fantasy perspective.
Patriots -- It was Sony Michel's turn, though he didn't do enough to please fantasy managers. And very interestingly, Jakobi Meyers trailed only Julian Edelman with a season-high nine targets. If somehow Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett remain out next week, Meyers (and N'Keal Harry) would be startable in many leagues against a beatable Houston secondary.
Packers -- Davante Adams surprised. The rest of the Packers did not against a charged-up Niners defense fighting for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Most notably, Aaron Jones had this third sub-5-point performance of 2019--and his second in three contests. In that other recent game (Week 9), Green Bay was also playing from behind. And in both cases, Jamaal William earned a large passing-game role in catch-up mode. Something to potentially watch for Week 16 in Minnesota.
49ers -- Despite the impressive win, I'm putting this team at less than 50-50 to claim the top seed. Their remaining schedule include road games in Baltimore, New Orleans, and Seattle. Fantasy-wise, Raheem Mostert proved me wrong with his fourth very impressive outing of the season. And he earned only three second-half carries, so it wasn't merely mop-up duty. He now has 7-8 touches in three straight and will remain a fantasy dart throw until Matt Breida returns.
So if you used my lineup, whether you won or lost, please tell me how you did so I can log it accurately.
Now, as always, here's the biggest fantasy storyline of each Sunday team:
Buccaneers -- It was Chris Godwin's turn. Most notably, Ronald Jones outperformed Peyton Barber but out-carried him only 12-11. With one exception Week 10, Barber's lingering presence continues to hamper Jones's fantasy outlook.
Falcons -- I've used Matt Ryan twice in DFS, and both times yielded season-worst performances. Beyond that, Russell Gage is the new Mohamed Sanu, and might end up being better.
Broncos -- Phillip Lindsay continued his backfield takeover vs. Royce Freeman.
Bills -- John Brown scored on Chris Harris, which probably officially makes him defense-proof.
Giants -- We all know Saquon Barkley hasn't been 100%. But what a disaster for those who waited patiently for him to return.
Bears -- My Jesper Horsted call fell flat. My promotion of Allen Robinson and, to a lesser extent, Tarik Cohen did not. Robinson helped Mitch Trubisky keep his job for another week.
Steelers -- I was asleep on this one, thinking Jaylen Samuels would lead the way. Instead, rookie Benny Snell took over, while fellow rookie Kerrith Whyte looked sharp as the #2. If you think James Conner is returning as the bellcow, better hold your breath.
Bengals -- Tyler Boyd scored only his second touchdown of the year. On a team full of busts, he's somehow on pace for over 1,000 yards and incredibly is the #22 fantasy WR.
Dolphins -- Several questions yesterday on whether to start Kalen Ballage. Hopefully yesterday reinforced my answers. He should have been dropped weeks ago.
Browns -- The game some of us circled weeks ago--when Baker Mayfield would finally dominate. Expect the opposite result next week in Pittsburgh.
Panthers -- Kyle Allen looked far better than I gave him credit for heading into the weekend. And D.J. Moore is now officially a low-end WR1 on the season.
Saints -- Latavius Murray's early work worried many Alvin Kamara fans on Twitter. By the end, everything returned to normal. Most interestingly, Jared Cook has a touchdown in four of his past five games. After a forgettable September, he's been the mid-range TE1 some had expected when New Orleans signed him.
Raiders -- A disaster for anyone leaning on Oakland players this week. There are no takeaways here, except that Derek Carr should be fine for Week 13.
Jets -- Sam Darnold did it again, and one week after pointing out Robby Anderson's decline, I was hit with the reality of Anderson leading the charge. Between him, Jamison Crowder, Demaryius Thomas (a first-quarter TD called back), and Ryan Griffin (solid red-zone target), it's getting tough to gauge which guy. Heading into yesterday, I had thought Crowder was fairly reliable.
Seahawks -- Um, Rashaad Penny. One game after netting two yards and a lost fumble, he rushed for 129 yards and a score on 14 carries. That said, with only limited passing-game appeal, he remains nothing more than a desperation start as long as Chris Carson's healthy (and not fumbling).
Eagles -- It's not fair to say Carson Wentz hit rock bottom; he was missing his top three wideouts and his starting RB. He'll turn things around the next three weeks against the Dolphins, Giants, and Redskins.
Lions -- Bo Scarbrough was the clear-cut lead back for the second straight week, though he also lost a fumble. More ominously. he's not involved in the passing game. Even more ominously, he caught only 21 balls in 31 college games. And most ominously, his remaining schedule features Chicago, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Denver, and Green Bay.
Redskins -- Derrius Guice continues to get acclimated to the NFL, and Adrian Peterson still isn't going anywhere.
Jaguars -- You all know my fantasy views on Nick Foles and why Gardner Minshew shouldn't have lost his job. So no need to repeat it. If Foles struggles early next week against the Bucs, I wonder whether Minshew will see the field again.
Titans -- This was Ryan Tannehill's first four-TD performance in more than four years, and was the first time he's run for two scores. I'm over-generalizing, but since taking over the starting job, Tannehill's shown how bad Marcus Mariota was, and how bad the Dolphins were during Tannehill's time there.
Cowboys -- Plenty of tough questions yesterday morning regarding the seemingly unbenchable Amari Cooper. I recommended benching him almost every time. In fact, I was pretty blunt with some of you on Dak Prescott and Michael Gallup. Playing in New England this season is treacherous from a fantasy perspective.
Patriots -- It was Sony Michel's turn, though he didn't do enough to please fantasy managers. And very interestingly, Jakobi Meyers trailed only Julian Edelman with a season-high nine targets. If somehow Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett remain out next week, Meyers (and N'Keal Harry) would be startable in many leagues against a beatable Houston secondary.
Packers -- Davante Adams surprised. The rest of the Packers did not against a charged-up Niners defense fighting for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Most notably, Aaron Jones had this third sub-5-point performance of 2019--and his second in three contests. In that other recent game (Week 9), Green Bay was also playing from behind. And in both cases, Jamaal William earned a large passing-game role in catch-up mode. Something to potentially watch for Week 16 in Minnesota.
49ers -- Despite the impressive win, I'm putting this team at less than 50-50 to claim the top seed. Their remaining schedule include road games in Baltimore, New Orleans, and Seattle. Fantasy-wise, Raheem Mostert proved me wrong with his fourth very impressive outing of the season. And he earned only three second-half carries, so it wasn't merely mop-up duty. He now has 7-8 touches in three straight and will remain a fantasy dart throw until Matt Breida returns.