Steelers 24 Browns 9
On a windy day in Cleveland, Ben Roethlisberger threw for just 167 yards with no touchdowns as the Steelers won an ugly game. Le’Veon Bell was the fantasy star piling up 201 total yards, eight catches and a touchdown.
Extra Points: Antonio Brown managed to put up a modest fantasy day catching eight passes for 76 yards…Terrelle Pryor continues to be a bright spot for the winless Browns. Pryor caught five balls for 97 yards on 10 targets…Corey Coleman saw a team-high 12 targets but managed just four receptions for 39 yards…Josh McCown came in for an injured Cody Kessler (concussion). McCown completed 14-of-27 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. If Kessler isn’t cleared to play by next week, the Browns merry-go-round at quarterback will continue this season.
Cowboys 27 Ravens 17
The beat goes on for Dak Prescott. Prescott threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cowboys to their franchise-best ninth straight win.
Extra Points: Ezekiel Elliott ran for 97 tough yards against the NFL’s top rated rush defense on 25 carries (3.9 YPC). Elliott also caught four passes for 30 yards. The Ravens did about as good a job as a defense can do containing Elliott and he still almost hit 100 yards on the day…Dez Bryant ate up the Ravens secondary catching 6-of-8 targets for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant has 196 yards and three touchdown catches in his last two games…Steve Smith caught his 1,000 career pass on Sunday. The veteran finished with eight receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown…The Ravens split carries between Terrance West (8/42/1) and Kenneth Dixon (6/40). Expect a similar timeshare going forward.
Lions 26 Jaguars 19
The Lions/Jaguars played a sloppy, turnover filled game. Matthew Stafford threw for 278 yards but no touchdowns. Stafford has now thrown for one or fewer touchdowns in four of his last five games.
Extra Points: The Lions rarely run the ball well but Sunday was bad by even their standards. Detroit rushed 21 times for a total of 14 yards (0.7 YPC). Ameer Abdullah is hoping to return to practice soon and if he’s cleared, he could be back in time for fantasy playoffs…As usual, Theo Riddick did his damage as a receiver and not a runner. Riddick caught eight passes for 70 yards…T.J. Yeldon (ankle) left the game early, allowing Chris Ivory to see 23 touches. Ivory finished with 114 total yards…Allen Hurns has completely fallen off the fantasy map. Hurns caught one pass for six yards. He has three receptions for 22 yards in his last three games.
Colts 24 Titans 17
The Titans lost their 11th straight game to the Colts but Marcus Mariota remains one of fantasy football’s hottest quarterbacks. Mariota threw for 290 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday. He has 13 touchdowns and two interceptions in his last five games.
Extra Points: DeMarco Murray was expected to have a big fantasy day but was held to just 70 yards on 21 carries (3.3 YPC) by the Colts defense. Murray did add a touchdown reception to help out fantasy owners…Rishard Matthews didn’t catch a touchdown this week but he did pull in 9-of-13 targets for 122 yards. Matthews has established himself as an every-week fantasy starter in the Titans offense…Frank Gore only rushed for 50 yards on 18 carries. However, Gore caught four passes for 71 yards as well. Gore and T.Y. Hilton (5/97/1) made up most of the Colts offense Sunday.
Bills 16 Bengals 12
The big fantasy story from this game is A.J. Green left with an apparent significant hamstring injury. Green will have an MRI on Monday but the initial diagnosis doesn’t sound promising for fantasy owners.
Extra Points: Rookie Tyler Boyd stepped up with Green out. Boyd caught 6-of-8 targets for 54 yards and a score. Boyd’s role in the offense will grow going forward if Green misses multiple weeks as expected…The Bills did what they do best against the Bengals: run the football. LeSean McCoy rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown on five carries (6.6 YPC). McCoy left with a thumb injury and Mike Gillislee came in and ran for 72 yards on 14 carries (5.1 YPC). As a team the Bills ran the ball 34 times for 183 yards (5.4 YPC) on the day.
Buccaneers 19 Chiefs 17
Jameis Winston threw for 331 yards and a touchdown to lead the Buccaneers to one of the biggest upsets of the season. Winston also rushed for 22 yards in one of his better performances this year.
Extra Points: When Winston throws for 300 yards it would be a major upset if Mike Evans doesn’t top the century mark. Evans caught 6-of-13 targets for 105 yards…Doug Martin got a heavy workload (24 carries) but was held to just 63 yards (2.6 YPC). Martin also caught three balls for 42 yards. The 27 touches is a good sign for Martin going forward…Spencer Ware had another average fantasy day. For all his high weekly rankings, Ware has only had three big fantasy performances this year and the last one was back in Week 7. Ware finished with his usual stat line of 17 carries for 69 yards and he got stuffed again twice at the goal line. He hasn’t scored a touchdown in his last three games.
Vikings 30 Cardinals 24
The Vikings stopped their four-game skid and Minnesota’s defense was a big reason why. The Vikings defense recorded four sacks, two interceptions and scored a touchdown. Carson Palmer threw for just 196 yards and was harassed all game long.
Extra Points: The Cardinals offense struggled on Sunday but David Johnson appears to be bulletproof. Johnson rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries (4.7 YPC). He also caught seven balls for 57 yards and a score. Remember when everyone was drafting wide receivers early?…With Patrick Peterson shadowing Stefon Diggs (6/37), Adam Thielen was the Vikings top receiver. Thielen caught all five targets for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Giants 22 Bears 16
The Giants haven’t had much of a running game this season but it was the Rashad Jennings show on Sunday. Jennings ran for 85 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries (4.0 YPC). He also caught five passes for 44 yards. Jennings’ 26 touches is a season high.
Extra Points: With the Bears focusing their attention on Odell Beckham Jr. (5/46), Sterling Shepard led the Giants with 11 targets. Shepard caught five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown…Jordan Howard was once again the Bears lead back. Howard carried the ball 17 times for 77 yards…There was no clear No. 1 receiver with Alshon Jeffery suspended, although Cameron Meredith caught all four of his targets for 49 yards. No Bears receiver can be trusted as a weekly fantasy starter with Jay Cutler under center.
Dolphins 14 Rams 10
There wasn’t much offense in this game until Ryan Tannehill led two late fourth quarter drives. Tannehill finished with 172 yards passing, two touchdowns and one interception.
Extra Points: Jay Ajayi ran for 77 yards but only carried the ball 16 times against the Rams tough defensive front. Ajayi averaged 4.8 YPC but the Dolphins offense stalled for much of the game. He’ll have better fantasy games in the coming weeks…DeVante Parker (8/79/1) had his second strong game in a row. Parker has caught 13 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown over his last two games…Jared Goff made his first career start. He’s well off the fantasy radar. Goff completed 17-of-31 passes for 134 yards. He averaged a dismal 4.3 yards per completion.
Patriots 30 49ers 17
Tom Brady didn’t throw a touchdown pass in last week’s loss at home to the Seahawks. He made up for it Sunday against the 49ers. Brady threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns, despite rain falling throughout much of the game.
Extra Points: LeGarrette Blount ran over the NFL’s last ranked rush defense. Blount carried the ball 24 times and finished with 124 yards (6.5 YPC)…Rookie Malcolm Mitchell had his best game of the year. Mitchell took advantage of Chris Hogan being out. He caught four balls for 98 yards and a touchdown on five targets. Mitchell should start seeing more snaps over the final month of the season…Martellus Bennett was a popular play with Rob Gronkowski inactive but he laid an egg. Bennett caught just one pass for 14 yards…Carlos Hyde finished with 110 total yards on 22 touches.
Seahawks 26 Eagles 15
C.J. Prosise burst on the scene last week and he was on his way to another big game Sunday. Prosise had gained 76 yards and scored on just four carries before leaving with a shoulder injury. Early reports say Prosise will be out around eight weeks with a fractured scapula. It’s a big blow to both fantasy owners and the Seahawks offense.
Extra Points: Thomas Rawls took over once Prosise went out. Rawls rushed 14 times for 57 yards (4.1 YPC). Rawls will take over as the Seahawks lead back with Prosise out…The Eagles have their own running back injuries. Both Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles left the game and didn’t return. Wendell Smallwood took over as the feature back. He carried the ball 13 times for 48 yards (3.7 YPC). Smallwood and Kenjon Barner will handle touches if Mathews and Sproles are out for Week 12…The Seahawks secondary suffocated the Eagles receivers until garbage time. Jordan Matthews was held to just five catches for 59 yards on 10 targets.
Redskins 42 Packers 24
Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers put on a show Sunday night. Rodgers threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Cousins was even better. He threw for 375 yards and three scores. The two combined for 71 pass attempts and didn’t throw an interception.
Extra Points: The Redskins had two 100-yard receivers. Pierce Garcon caught 6-of-7 targets for 116 yards and a touchdown, while Jamison Crowder caught all three of his targets for 102 yards and a score…Robert Kelley has firmly established himself as the Redskins starter. Kelley ran for 137 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries (5.7 YPC). Kelley has carried the ball 20+ times in three straight games…Rodgers spread the ball around to seven different receivers but it was tight end Jared Cook playing for the first time since Week 3 who led the way. Cook caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown on a team-high 10 targets.
