Week 12 Fantasy Football Matchup Winners

Every week, I do the dirty work for you and dig into every Sunday matchup to determine who is the player from each team to spotlight. This involves looking at Fantasy Points Per Game (PPG) and yardage allowed by defenses, along with looking at player usage and performances. I will always have hits and misses, but I will also always have detailed reasoning behind the points I am making.

Week 11 Hits

Below are some hits that had huge weeks or simply out-produced their expectations in Week 11.

• Calvin Ridley – 31.1 Fantasy Points
• Brock Purdy – 26.7 Fantasy Points
• Davante Adams – 21.2 Fantasy Points
• Justin Fields – 21.2 Fantasy Points
• Jordan Love – 20.9 Fantasy Points
• DK Metcalf – 20.4 Fantasy Points
• Devin Singletary – 19.8 Fantasy Points
• James Cook – 19.2 Fantasy Points
• Puka Nacua – 18.7 Fantasy Points
• Breece Hall – 18.3 Fantasy Points
• Darius Slayton – 18.2 Fantasy Points
• Tony Pollard – 18 Fantasy Points
• Joshua Dobbs – 17.9 Fantasy Points
• Adam Thielen – 15.4 Fantasy Points
• Mike Evans – 15.3 Fantasy Points

Week 11 may have been my best week yet for this article series.

Some notable misses include players like Terry McLaurin, Jerome Ford, Austin Ekeler and Sam LaPorta. I feel great at this point for my positive hit-to-miss ratio on the year for these articles.

Let’s keep cooking, and win you your Fantasy Football matchups and maybe even some DFS cash. We have quite the interesting Thanksgiving week ahead. Below are my player highlights for Week 12 – let’s get it!

Thanksgiving Thursday Fantasy Football Matchup Winners

Packers vs. Lions

• Jayden Reed: The Lions allow the 12th most Fantasy PPG to wide receivers this season. Jayden Reed has finished as the WR11 for Fantasy Football in back-to-back games, scoring 19.4 then 19.2 Fantasy Points in them. Reed caught all five targets for 84 receiving yards and a touchdown in Week 10. In Week 11, Reed caught four of his six targets for 46 receiving yards and also rushed the ball three times for 46 yards and a touchdown. Week 11 marked the third time the second-round rookie has scored 19-ish Fantasy Points this season, and you have to figure he is earning himself a significant role in the Green Bay offense.
• David Montgomery: The Packers allow the 11th most Fantasy PPG to running backs and the fifth most rushing yards per game this season. After missing two games, David Montgomery returned to the lineup in Week 10 following the Week 9 BYE. Montgomery rushed 12 times for 116 yards and a touchdown in Week 10, then rushed 12 times again but for 76 yards and a touchdown in Week 11. Both weeks resulted in 17.6/17.8 Fantasy scoring playing 38% then 40% of the snaps. Jahmyr Gibbs out-touched Montgomery in Week 10 17 to 12 but the two had even touches in Week 11 with 14. Montgomery out-carried Gibbs 12 to eight. Montgomery has scored eight rushing touchdowns this season, with three weeks over 100 yards rushing. Fun fact via statmuse.com is that David Montgomery has 124 carries for 575 yards and has scored six touchdowns in eight games against Green Bay. Book Week 12 to be another big Monty week.

Commanders vs. Cowboys

• Logan Thomas: The Cowboys are a rough matchup for Fantasy Football in terms of what they allow to each position, but they are the most friendly to tight ends in comparison to the other positions (18th in PPG allowed). Against a tough defense, the easy outlet for Sam Howell in this game could be Logan Thomas early and often. Thomas was targeted eight times in Week 11, which is the fourth time this season Thomas has earned that or more targets in a game. Thomas is tied for ninth in targets for the position this season. 58 receiving yards in Week 11 were a season high for Thomas, who has finished six weeks with 40+ receiving yards.
• Dak Prescott: The Commanders allow the most Fantasy PPG to quarterbacks and the third most passing yards per game this season. Down Week 11 for Dak Prescott for Fantasy Football, but in the prior four games Dak finished as the QB1, QB2, QB3 and QB1 going backwards to Week 6. Dak has finished three games with over 300 passing yards (404 in Week 10) and five games with multiple passing touchdowns. Dak is currently ninth in passing yards, but tied for third in passing touchdowns on the year. Smash matchup to get right back on track.

49ers vs. Seahawks

• Christian McCaffrey: Obviously Christian McCaffrey is in your Fantasy Football lineups every single week, but that does not mean he is in your DFS lineups if you play weekly. The Seahawks allow the sixth most Fantasy PPG to running backs this season and are a middle-of-the-road sort of Fantasy matchup to quarterbacks and wide receivers. Christian McCaffrey has finished as a top-six Fantasy running back for four straight weeks and has been a top-seven running back in eight of his 10 games played. CMC ranks second in carries (174), second in targets (52), first in red zone touches (48), first in rushing yards (825), second in receptions (43), first in receiving yards (364), first in total touchdowns (14) and first in total Fantasy Points on the year.
• DK Metcalf: The 49ers allow the eighth most Fantasy PPG to wide receivers this season. DK Metcalf is coming off of his best Fantasy Football week of the season, catching five of his nine targets for 94 yards and a touchdown for 20.4 Fantasy Points. DK finished with 98 receiving yards in the game prior, showing a positive receiving-yard trend in the last two weeks. What stands out the most for me is the target volume since returning from a missed Week 7: 14, 4*, 12, and 9 targets across the last four weeks. Positive matchup against a tough offense for a player who is definitely trending up.

Friday Football?

Dolphins vs. Jets

• Raheem Mostert: The Jets allow the 10th most Fantasy PPG to running backs and the third most rushing yards per game this season. De’Von Achane re-aggravated his knee upon his Week 11 return last week. Raheem Mostert did not necessarily light it up for Fantasy Football, but he did rush the ball a season-high 22 times and finished with 86 rushing yards. Mostert has finished five games this season with 82 or more rushing yards, with highs of 121 and 115 yards on the year. Mostert has 13 touchdowns on the season and has finished three weeks as a top-five Fantasy Football running back. Expect the veteran to see plenty of volume against a defense letting opposing running backs run all over them this season.
• Garrett Wilson: The Dolphins allow the 10th most Fantasy PPG to wide receivers this season. Tim Boyle will replace Zach Wilson as the Jets’ starting quarterback in Week 12, which is an impact unknown to us all. Despite some mediocre quarterback play, Garrett Wilson has still managed three top-20 Fantasy finishes for the position across the last four games following the BYE. Wilson ranks sixth in targets (103) for wide receivers, averaging 10.6 per game, and is top 20 in receiving yards (651) and yards after the catch. Regardless of who the quarterback is, the targets should continue to flow to Wilson, who is obviously a huge part of the weekly game plan. The hope is that Wilson makes the most of a positive matchup and the target volume for Week 12.

Week 12 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Half-PPR by Position | Flex Rankings | Positional Ranks w/ K & DST | Dynasty | Superflex Dynasty

Sunday Slate Standouts

Buccaneers vs. Colts

• Rachaad White: The Colts allow the fourth most Fantasy PPG to running backs this season. Since Week 7, Rachaad White has finished as the RB12, RB10, RB1, RB11, and RB14 ranging from 15.9-27.9 Fantasy Points during this stretch. White is currently the RB6 overall for the year, averaging 15 Fantasy PPG. A ton of White’s Fantasy production has come through the air, with White ranking third in receptions (41) and second in receiving yards (354) on the season. Four weeks of five or more receptions on the year. Another major perk has been the workhorse role, with White playing 70%+ of the snaps in every game this season and at 80%+ of the snaps in four weeks. Solid matchup to continue rolling.
• Josh Downs: The Buccaneers allow the fourth most Fantasy PPG to wide receivers and the second most passing yards per game this season. The easy player to point to is Michael Pittman Jr., but I want to get spicy here with my “bounce-back of the week”. Josh Downs has trended in a poor direction, playing just 20 and 25% of the snaps in his last two games prior to the BYE, earning just four targets. The context of that, is Downs has been dealing with a knee injury that he has continued to play through. Downs had a hot stretch from Weeks 3-8 where he ranked 19th in targets, 13th in receptions 13th in receiving yards and tied for 14th in total Fantasy Points. Gardner Minshew played a majority of all but one of those games. I have a feeling the Week 11 BYE is what Downs’ knee needed, and that in Week 12 he gets back to playing heavy snaps and capitalizes on a plus matchup.

Patriots vs. Giants

• Rhamondre Stevenson: The Giants allow the seventh most Fantasy PPG to running backs and the fourth most rushing yards per game this season. Rhamondre Stevenson exited briefly in Week 10 with a back issue that came back clean following tests and ended up with season highs in rushing attempts (20) and rushing yards (88). Stevenson has rushed for 87 and 88 yards in the two games prior to the Week 11 BYE. Three weeks of five or more receptions and three games of 40+ receiving yards for Stevenson this season. Positive matchup to land on following the Week 11 BYE.
• Darius Slayton: The Patriots allow the 11th most Fantasy PPG to wide receivers this season. My dart throw of the week in last week’s article was Darius Slayton, who ended up finishing with 18.2 Fantasy Points. A true sleeper hit for the week, and in a Fantrax graphic, I predicted four receptions for 70 receiving yards and a touchdown for Slayton to finish with four receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. The asterisk here is that Slayton left the game after landing on his arm. This is news we have to keep tabs on. Slayton caught four of his five targets for 82 receiving yards and a touchdown last week. Six games of five or more targets while playing a majority of the snaps pretty much all year makes it clear Slayton has a sticky role in this offense that Tommy DeVito just had a great game in. If Slayton ended up on the injury report, take a look at Wan’Dale Robinson. 

Steelers vs. Bengals

• Pat Freiermuth: The Bengals allow the fourth most Fantasy PPG to tight ends this season. Pittsburgh fired their offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, on Tuesday which hopefully means a turning point in this Steelers passing offense. Pat Freiermuth returned to the lineup in Week 11 after missing four games due to injury. Freiermuth only earned one target in 53% of the snaps played. Freiermuth did open up the season scoring two touchdowns across the first three games, which matched his 2022-23 total. Freiermuth was a big part of the Steelers’ offense last season, finishing two targets shy of 100 for the year and producing 732 receiving yards. Rookie season, Freiermuth scored seven touchdowns. Week 12 could mean a further step in being healthier, and re-establishing his role in the Steeler’s offense.
• Joe Mixon: The Steelers allow the 12th most Fantasy PPG to running backs and the 10th most rushing yards per game this season. The Bengals will be without Joe Burrow for the rest of the season after he tore a ligament in his throwing wrist last week. A backup quarterback and potentially another week without Tee Higgins could emphasize Joe Mixon continuing to be important to the passing game. Mixon rushed for 69 yards and caught five passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. Since the Week 7 BYE, Mixon has finished as the RB8, RB9, RB22, and RB6 for Fantasy Football. Four total touchdowns during this stretch and two weeks of five or more receptions show some safety to his scoring floor. With three top-10 finishes across the last four games, look for Mixon to continue to see volume and stay producing in Week 12.

Panthers vs. Titans

• Adam Thielen: The Titans allow the sixth most Fantasy PPG to wide receivers and the 13th most passing yards per game this season. Even in a tough Dallas matchup last week, Adam Thielen still produced catching eight of his 11 targets for 74 receiving yards for 15.4 Fantasy Points. Since the BYE, Thielen caught a cold Fantasy Football stretch for three games but Week 11 looks like a step in the right direction. Thielen has finished as a top-five Fantasy wide receiver in three weeks this season, with those weeks ranging from 27.7 to 31.5 Fantasy Points. The volume is what is most intriguing to me when it comes to Adam Thielen, who averages 9.7 targets per game with six games of double-digit targets this season. A positive matchup paired with consistent volume should equal a solid Week 12.
• Derrick Henry: The Panthers allow the second most Fantasy PPG to running backs and ninth most rushing yards per game this season. A bounce-back week is incoming here for Derrick Henry, who has finished with under six Fantasy Points in back-to-back weeks with 12 or fewer touches in each of those games. Last week’s blowout loss to the Jaguars 34-14 meant only 38 offensive plays (via rotowire) for the Titans. The week prior, the Titans lost to the Buccaneers 20-6. These two game scripts were terrible for Derrick Henry. Henry has finished as the RB7 (Week 4), RB5 (Week 6), RB12 (Week 8) and RB6 (Week 9) this season. Henry has rushed 22 or more times in three games this season, and in such a positive running matchup against the 1-9 Panthers, I feel the Titans will lean much more on their veteran running back over Will Levis this week.

Jaguars vs. Texans

• Evan Engram: The Texans allow the second most Fantasy PPG to tight ends this season. Evan Engram has had a down last two games following the Week 9 BYE but has finished as a top 12 tight end in seven games and a top seven tight end in five games this season. One of those top-seven finishes came in Week 3 against Houston, where he caught seven of his eight targets for 67 receiving yards. Engram has earned seven or more targets this season in eight games, showing a very consistent role and importance for the Jaguars. Week 12 will be the bounce-back week in the second-best Fantasy matchup for Engram’s position.
• CJ Stroud: Jacksonville allows the 10th most Fantasy PPG to quarterbacks and the fourth most passing yards per game this season. Back in Week 3, CJ Stroud finished as the QB12 against the Jaguars throwing for 280 yards and two touchdowns in the first matchup. Stroud has finished as a top 12 quarterback five times this season, with a huge ceiling game of 41.8 Fantasy Points in Week 9. Across the last three weeks, Stroud leads all quarterbacks with 1,162 passing yards with the second quarterback trailing by 195 yards during this span. Stroud has also scored the second most Fantasy Points and thrown the second-most touchdowns during this three-game stretch. Stroud ranks second in passing yards for the year (2,962) and is averaging 19.6 Fantasy Points this season. Round two in the Jacksonville matchup looks bright.

Saints vs. Falcons

• Taysom Hill: The Falcons allow the eighth most Fantasy PPG to tight ends this season, which may or may not apply to Taysom Hill who has been a true unicorn Fantasy Football players to roster this season. Week 10 was a down week prior to the Week 11 BYE, but in the games prior Hill finished as the TE6, TE6, TE3, and TE6. In Week 6 Hill caught seven of his eight targets for 49 yards. In Week 7 Hill caught four of his five targets for 50 yards and rushed for a touchdown. In Week 8 Hill rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns. In Week 9 Hill caught four of five receptions with one being a touchdown, he rushed for 52 yards and then threw a touchdown. A lot going on there, I know. We are unsure if Derek Carr will clear concussion protocol this week, and if there is a chance we see Jameis Winston. I have a feeling that Hill will be part of the game plan regardless.
• Kyle Pitts: The Saints allow the 12th most Fantasy PPG to tight ends this season, and are a tougher Fantasy matchup to all other positions. Kyle Pitts continues to disappoint vs. the expectations of a “generational” talent as a prospect. The positive note to mention is the consistent targets, earning five or more in six straight games. Maybe those weeks have not been huge volume, but at least he is not floating under that mark. Pitts has finished two weeks as the TE8 (Week 5) and TE3 (Week 6) scoring 15+ Fantasy Points in those two weeks. The hope here is that Pitts can see similar volume to Week 3’s nine targets, or Week 5’s 11 targets, in a matchup other tight ends have found some success.

Rams vs. Cardinals

• Kyren Williams: The Cardinals allow the third most Fantasy PPG to running backs and the seventh most rushing yards per game this season. Kyren Williams is expected to return to the lineup, after missing the last four games due to injury. The last time Kyren Williams played was Week 6 against the Cardinals, where he rushed the ball 20 times for 158 yards and a touchdown finishing with 21.8 Fantasy Points as the RB3 for the week. Williams has finished as a top-10 running back in four of his six appearances this season, with two games over 100 yards rushing and five total touchdowns. Returning against the team he already tore up this season feels like the way to come back.
• Trey McBride: The Rams allow the 10th most Fantasy PPG to tight ends this season. 9.3 Fantasy Points last week felt like a disappointment for Trey McBride, but that ended up meaning a TE11 finish for the week. In Kyler Murray’s return, Trey McBride led the Cardinals in targets with nine and caught eight of them for a massive 131 receiving yards. That meant a TE2 finish with 21.1 Fantasy Points in Week 10. Back in Week 8 with Joshua Dobbs, McBride finished as the TE1 for the week scoring 25.5 Fantasy Points guided by 10 catches on 14 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown. Two games over 21 Fantasy Points across the last three weeks is a ton of upside for the tight end position, and Week 12 presents an opportunity for another splash week.

Browns vs. Broncos

• Jerome Ford: The Broncos allow the most Fantasy PPG to running backs and also the most rushing yards per game this season. It has been a handful of weeks since Jerome Ford had a super useful week, but we can draw some positive signs: a rushing touchdown in Week 12, 107 rushing yards in Week 10, 64% of the snaps played Weeks 9-10, 20 rushing attempts in Week 9 and five or more targets in two of his last three games. Ford has finished three weeks as a top 10 Fantasy running back, and Week 12 is a good opportunity in the best possible matchup to have another one of those weeks.
• Courtland Sutton: The Browns are a bad matchup for wide receivers, but I have to plug Courtland Sutton here. Five straight games with a receiving touchdown has been a great streak for Sutton’s fantasy stock, and he has eight on the season. I feel that with this sort of streak and category upside, he should stay in lineups until he cools. 16 targets across the last two games is another positive sign for Sutton’s role in the Denver offense.

Bills vs. Eagles

• Stefon Diggs: The Eagles allow the most Fantasy PPG to wide receivers and the fifth most passing yards per game. After catching just seven passes for 61 yards the last two weeks combined, it is time for the Stefon Diggs bounce-back week. This will be needed in order to match the 90-1 Eagles’ offense. Diggs has finished as a top-five wide receiver in three weeks, and as a top-10 wide receiver in five weeks this season. Six games of 11+ targets, five games over 100 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns this season. The Bills are going to prioritize getting Diggs the ball in Week 12, and I have a feeling it will be another top-five week for him.
• D’Andre Swift: The Bills allow the 13th most Fantasy PPG to running backs this season. Following the Week 10 BYE, D’Andre Swift finished as the RB9, scoring 19.,7 Fantasy Points on Monday Night Football. Swift rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on 12 rushing attempts, and caught three passes for 31 yards in that game. Swift has had Fantasy Finishes of the RB4 (Week 2), RB12 (Week 4), RB10 (Week 5), RB9 (Week 6) prior to Week 11. Games of 175 and 130 rushing yards and two weeks of six or more receptions show the true dual-threat ability of Swift, who will look to stay hot in Week 12. Swift has played 62+% of the snaps in seven games this season and is thriving as “the guy” for Philly.

Chiefs vs. Raiders

• Isiah Pacheco: The Raiders allow the fifth most Fantasy PPG to running backs and also the fifth most rushing yards per game this season. Isiah Pacheco has finished outside the top 20 Fantasy running backs for three straight weeks this season, but there are underlying positives even in the down Fantasy weeks. Back-to-back games above 60% of the snaps, 16 then 19 rushing attempts, and 66 then 89 rushing yards the last two games. Pacheco has played above 50% of the snaps in seven straight games, has had three games of 20+ touches, and has scored 15+ Fantasy Points in four games. Week 12 is a great game to bounce back for Fantasy Football in a great matchup that Patrick Mahomes will not have to chase.
• Davante Adams: The Chiefs offense is one that many teams will have to end up chasing in games, and that should be the game script for the Raiders in Week 12. Adams has been targeted by rookie Aidan O’Connell 13 times in back-to-back games, which have resulted in 86 and 82 receiving yards. A touchdown scored in Week 11 meant Adams had his first top 10 Fantasy finish since Week 3. The upward trend for Adams is positive, and he should continue to earn double-digit targets this week.

Sunday Night Football

Ravens vs. Chargers

• Zay Flowers: The Chargers allow the second most Fantasy PPG to wide receivers and the most passing yards per game (by over 20 yards per game) this season. Zay Flowers has finished outside the top 20 Fantasy wide receivers for five straight weeks now, which has been disappointing as the Ravens leader in receiving yards (588) and targets (72). The 2023 first-rounder finished as the WR16 in Week 1, and WR14 in Week 6, and has shown signs of positive target volume and receiving upside. With Mark Andrews out for the season and Odell Beckham Jr. banged up, look for Lamar Jackson to target Flowers 10+ times in Week 12.
• Austin Ekeler: After finishing as the RB6, RB4, and RB4 in Weeks 9-11, Austin Ekeler had a down Week 11. Ekeler did manage to rush for 64 yards on just 10 carries but had a poor receiving day in terms of receptions (two) and yardage (6). Across the last four weeks, Ekeler has scored four total touchdowns and had three games of seven or more targets. The Ravens game will surely be a week Ekeler will get back to being a big part of the passing game in a tough matchup.