NFL Fantasy Football Reactions: Week 11

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I am grateful for each of you who continue to read this column as part of your fantasy football routine. Let's look at Sunday's NFL action.

Reactions

• The Jaguars had a favorable matchup for their passing attack against the Tennessee defense. Trevor Lawrence showed up in a big way. He had a pair of touchdowns on the ground and two more through the air. The only receiver who had a strong performance was Calvin Ridley. The veteran produced 103 yards and caught both of Lawrence's touchdown passes. It was difficult to recommend Ridley as a starting option when answering fantasy lineup questions this week. He's had plenty of good matchups during the season, but he still came up small. It's difficult to know if this was a game that Ridley can build on, or if it's just another one of those flashy games that he's had every once in a while. For the second week in a row, Travis Etienne continued to lose significant work to both of his backup running backs. The lack of volume has definitely hurt Etienne's fantasy output during those games. Obviously, Etienne's an automatic start each week. However, if the work distribution remains in its recent form, much of Etienne's upside could disappear.
• C.J. Stroud showed us the highs and lows that rookie quarterbacks, even emerging superstars, often have. Stroud continued to be a dominant fantasy performer with 336 yards and two touchdowns. However, he also threw three interceptions, and had the Houston defense not come up big, it could have cost the Texans the win. The only receiver who went off was Tank Dell. Dell should be considered a top-30 receivers each week, and we can't worry about the down games that will occur. Surprisingly to me, Devin Singletary had his second consecutive 100-yard game. With defenses having to worry about the Houston passing attack, it's possible that Singletary continues taking advantage of favorable matchups. 
• Ugh! Many of us were extremely excited to see De'Von Achane return after missing the last four games with a knee injury. Unfortunately, two touches and five yards later, he was done for the day with another knee injury. Otherwise, the Miami offense left plenty of opportunities on the field against the Raiders. The only players to have big games were Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill. Obviously, the only thing that matters for Miami is winning. Fantasy managers who were expecting to get big production from many of the Miami players were left disappointed. As talented as Jaylen Waddle is, with the offense running through Hill, Waddle will have a boom-or-bust profile in pretty much each matchup. 
• The distribution of work in Arizona has been odd since Kyler Murray returned last week. Marquise Brown again saw few targets. This week, Greg Dortch led the team in receiving with eight targets after seeing only a handful of targets the entire season. Also, after Rondale Moore had eight targets last week, he had one this week. Fortunately for those who chose to start Moore, he caught a 48-yard touchdown pass early in the game. Oddly, James Conner is getting few targets. Again, he ran for more than four yards per carry, but he was a non-factor in the passing game. It was even more surprising to see Tony Jones in on some passing downs. Aside from Trey McBride, I'm not sure there's a single Arizona player I can confidently project to have a high fantasy scoring floor each week. 
• Justin Fields made his return to the lineup after missing four games due to a thumb injury. His road matchup against the Lions was difficult. Fantasy managers had to be pleased with the bottom line. Fields rushed for 104 yards while passing for another 169 and a touchdown. The only other Chicago player to have a big game was DJ Moore. The superstar recorded 96 yards and a touchdown. Moore now has at least 96 yards in four of his last five games that Fields started and finished. As long as Fields is in the lineup, I project Moore as a top-12 WR.
• Surprisingly, the Lions trailed the Bears until the final moments of this game. In what many expected to be a run-heavy script by Detroit turned into one that was a bit more pass heavy. it also didn't help that Jared Goff threw three interceptions in one of his least impressive performances he's had in the last couple years. But give the veteran quarterback some credit. He ended up throwing a pair of touchdown passes and helped lead his team to victory. As usual, the best fantasy producers were Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. None went off, but each had solid fantasy performances. There's not much to add about this team for fantasy. Start the main players with confidence each week.
• The Steelers had few answers against an elite Cleveland defense. The one area in which the Browns were vulnerable was allowing explosive plays to running backs. Fortunately, Jaylen Warren took advantage of that weakness and had a 74-yard touchdown run to give Pittsburgh a chance. Ultimately, Kenny Pickett threw for just 106 yards, and the Steelers lost in the waning moments of the game. Aside from Warren and Najee Harris, it's tough to have confidence when placing Pittsburgh players in fantasy lineups. Certainly, George Pickens and Diontae Johnson will have their share of solid performances, but they are far from being players to automatically start each week due to the QB play.
• As many anticipated, the Browns were limited on offense with Dorian Thompson-Robinson facing an outstanding Pittsburgh defense. The most productive player was Elijah Moore, who caught six passes for 60 yards. Jerome Ford scored a short touchdown to salvage his fantasy day, but he was limited to 39 scrimmage yards. Thompson-Robinson did look much better in this game than he did in the emergency start he made against the Ravens earlier in the season. Certainly, the competition will be significantly easier in most games for the rookie QB. I still expect that Amari Cooper and David Njoku can be counted on in weekly lineups, though both their floor and ceiling potential must be lowered. I expect defenses will sell out to stop the run and make the young quarterback beat them. That could limit the upside for both Ford and Kareem Hunt. 
• If it wasn't for a trick play that led to a 43-yard touchdown for DeAndre Hopkins, the Titans offense would have been mostly invisible the entire game against the Jaguars. The offensive line issues are problematic. Those issues keep the Tennessee running game from succeeding. Then, on obvious passing downs, Will Levis has little time to throw. In addition, there is enough film on Levis that teams can look to take away his primary read and force him to work deeper into his progressions. It likely will take time before the young quarterback makes those adjustments on a routine basis. This offense is bordering stay-away status for fantasy.
• Although coach Antonio Pierce is doing a great job motivating the Raiders while keeping them competitive, this team likely will have plenty of struggles when facing the better defenses in the league. The only offensive player who had reasonable success in this game was Davante Adams. Unfortunately, many fantasy managers considered sitting him due to the team around him. Adams overcome the matchup, posting 82 yards and a touchdown. However, his 13 targets might not be sticky. The main problem is that when the Raiders are playing competitive football, it's become clear that they want to run Josh Jacobs more than 25 times per game. Since the Raiders trailed most of this game, Jacobs only rushed 14 times. At this point, Jacobs and Adams are the only players we can have any level of fantasy confidence. 
• While Dallas was blowing out Carolina, they were able to have a casual approach on offense. Although Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb cooled from their recent hot streak. Prescott had a pair of TD passes, one of which went to Lamb. Obviously, this duo will continue to be a high-end option. Although Tony Pollard finally found the end zone for the first time since Week 1, he again continued to put up modest yardage with his opportunities. He remains a volume-based top-20 running back.
• The Panthers were definitely going to be outmatched in their matchup against the Cowboys. it ended up being just about as bad as most had expected. The only player with a serviceable fantasy performance was Adam Thielen. Fortunately, he had plenty of opportunities to catch passes in the middle of the field. Thielen easily led the team with 11 targets, catching eight of those for 74 yards. Although the veteran receiver may not have the same upside he had earlier in the season, in PPR leagues he remains an excellent starting option each week.
• Aside from Keenan Allen, the Chargers' skill players didn't have big fantasy days against the Packers. And even though Allen caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, he should have had a much better day. He dropped two passes at the goal line. Not only could he have had a monster fantasy day, but he also could have propelled Justin Herbert to a big day as well. Although Austin Ekeler gained 6.4 yards per carry on his 10 rushing attempts, he only caught two passes for six yards. He ended up with an underwhelming fantasy performance. Regardless, this remains a team where the non-stars are often shaky lineup options.
• It has been a frustrating season for Aaron Jones. After missing significant time earlier in the season with a hamstring injury, he suffered a knee injury in the first half Sunday. Sadly, Jones is likely in the last years of his career, and we rarely got to see him used in a way that showcased what an incredible player he could have been. Hopefully, the injury is minor. In terms of the passing game, Jordan Love had one of his better performances of the season. The quarterback didn't throw an interception while also passing for 322 yards and two touchdowns. He spread out the passing production, as seven receivers posted at least 21 yards. Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs both scored touchdowns, and they both have been impressed in finding the end zone for much of the season. Although the touchdowns can dry up at any time, both should be considered around the top-40 receivers each week. However, both have a boom-or-bust element to their weekly profiles. Despite his impressive performance, Love seems best suited for use in superflex leagues. If Jones misses time, AJ Dillon becomes a volume-based weekly fantasy starter.
• If we didn't know this before, benching Saquon Barkley is a bad idea. The concern for many fantasy managers was that defenses would have no respect for the passing game with Tommy DeVito at QB. As a result, teams would commit as many bodies as possible to stopping Barkley. It certainly helped that DeVito surprised with an incredible performance, but Barkley needed only 18 touches to go for 140 yards and two receiving touchdowns. As for  DeVito, I give him credit for showing up in a big way. However, I worry that after this game, defenses might take him seriously, and it may lead to some rough levels of passing production.
• Sam Howell has been a fantasy football revelation this season. Even though he's been successful in most games, he has struggled more than usual in his matchups against the Giants. Fortunately he ran in a touchdown to give him two scores on the day. However, from an NFL standpoint, it was a terrible game, as Howell threw three interceptions, including a pick-six when the Commanders were trying to drive for a game-winning touchdown in the waning moments. Regardless, Howell remains in the discussion as a weekly fantasy starter, due to his incredible volume and production. Brian Robinson took full advantage of Antonio Gibson's absence. Robinson led the team with nine targets. That led to the running back posting 131 scrimmage yards and seven receptions. If Gibson continues to miss time, look for Robinson to continue seeing elevated targets in addition to his rushing work.
• The 49ers were up against the struggling pass defense of the Buccaneers. Brock Purdy took full advantage of the matchup with an excellent fantasy performance. Brandon Aiyuk had the best day of the skill players, and among his big plays, he roasted the defense on a 76-yard TD. George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey also scored. Of the receiving trio on the 49ers, any can be left out of the weekly game plan. Regardless, leaving any of the 49ers' superstars out of fantasy lineups is usually not a winning strategy.
• The Buccaneers' offense was outmatched on the road against the 49ers' defense. Although Tampa Bay trailed throughout, it got a reasonable level of fantasy production. Baker Mayfield, Rachaad White and Mike Evans performed reasonably well despite the matchup. Obviously, this offense won't face the San Francisco defense each week. Its main offensive weapons should continue to have solid scoring floors each week. Mayfield should remain a strong superflex option. White, Evans and Chris Godwin should remain weekly fantasy starters.
• You don't need me to tell you that the Jets' offense is a mess. The Bills came out hot on defense and gave up little production. Buffalo did what few opponents have done, and that was hold down Garrett Wilson, who has overcome terrible quarterback play all season. Although Breece Hall couldn't get anything going on the ground, he was active in the passing game and gave the Jets a rare touchdown. I will continue to recommend fantasy managers start Garrett Wilson. In terms of Hall, it largely depends what other options are on your fantasy roster when making start-sit decisions. Defenses have often put all their resources to slow the star runner, which has led to production issues.
• Even though Josh Allen had an impressive performance against a tough Jets defense, he didn't carry his top receivers along with him. The main reason is that Buffalo was in control of this game throughout and never needed to be overly aggressive on offense. With touchdowns going to Ty Johnson, Khalil Shakir and James Cook, there wasn't much left for the primary receivers. Stefon Diggs has his second straight disappointing performance. It's fair to blame this one on game script. It still makes sense to consider Diggs an autostart unless his two-week downward trend continues another week or two.
• Seattle was playing a divisional rematch against the Rams. It was apparent that Los Angeles had a solid game plan to attack the offense. Even before Geno Smith was forced from the game with an elbow injury, the offense sputtered. (It should be noted that Smith returned for the last drive of the game.) The only offensive player who made a consistent impact was DK Metcalf, who scored a TD and led the team in receiving. Of course, his effectiveness dropped once Smith departed. After Kenneth Walker left the game with an ankle injury, Zach Charbonnet took over. Although he had plenty of volume, he was unable to help the Seahawks sustain a rushing attack. This has been a tough offense to figure out each week for fantasy. Metcalf has had a high floor and should be in most lineups each week. Of course, we'll need to see the situation with the injuries to Smith and Walker. If they both miss time, it could impact everyone in the offense.
• The Rams couldn't get their passing game going against Seattle. Losing Cooper Kupp to an ankle injury was massive. Puka Nacua didn't see a target until late in the first half. When he finally did, he got into the end zone. The rookie was still set for a disappointing fantasy day going into the half, but he came alive late in the third quarter through the fourth quarter. He ended up catching four passes for 70 yards and a TD. Hopefully, the Rams will get Kyren Williams back from his ankle injury next week. Williams should go back to being a strong weekly fantasy starter. If Kupp is going to miss time, we have to move Nacua back into the WR1 discussion.

Injuries

The following players injured and did not return:

• De'Von Achane sustained a knee injury in the first quarter, resulting in added work for Salvon Ahmed.
• Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle injury. Austin Trammell saw a significant increase in snaps.
• Aaron Jones injured his knee. An MRI is scheduled on Monday to determine the extent of the injury.
• Kenneth Walker sustained an oblique injury and was quickly ruled out. Zach Charbonnet took on the lead role in Walker's absence.
• Geno Smith had an injury to his elbow. Drew Lock took over until the last drive of the game when the Seahawks were trying to mount a game-winning drive.
• Darius Slayton suffered an arm injury.
• D'Onta Foreman injured his ankle, leading to an expanded role for Roschon Johnson.