Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Week 12 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers (2018 Edition)

Quarterback 
MVP: Deshaun Watson (Texans) 
The dual threat capabilities of the Texans signalcaller were on full display last night as he gashed the Titans overrated defense for 210 YDS and a TD through the air and 70 YDS and a TD on the ground. Watson will look to keep rolling in a favorable matchup against the Browns this Sunday.
Honorable Mentions: Kirk Cousins (Vikings), Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Baker Mayfield (Browns)

LVP: Aaron Rodgers (Packers)
Rodgers hasn't looked like himself recently and that troubling trend continued with a very poor performance in a must-win game against the Vikings on Sunday night. The star QB threw for just 198 YDS and 1 TD in a crushing 24-17 loss that dropped the Packers to 4-6-1 on the year. As disheartening as the last few weeks have been, a return to Lambeau Field to square off against a sad Cardinals defense could very well prove to be the cure for what ails #12.
Dishonorable Mentions: Carson Wentz (Eagles), Matthew Stafford (Lions), Eli Manning (Giants)

Running Back
MVP: Christian McCaffery (Panthers)
It's kind of insane that the Panthers managed to lose a game where McCaffery was borderline unstoppable. The sophomore running back picked up a ridiculous 237 scrimmage YDS (125 rushing, 112 receiving) and 2 scores on 28 touches against the Seahawks feisty albeit not overly talented defense. McCaffery has been a beacon of light during the Panthers current 3-game losing streak and it would be a huge shock if the current warpath he's on came to a halt against the Bucs league-worst D in Week 13.
Honorable Mentions: Saquon Barkley (Giants), Nick Chubb (Browns), Leonard Fournette (Jaguars)

LVP: Jordan Howard (Bears)
With starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky out with a shoulder injury and a prime matchup against a Lions defense that has consistently struggled to stop the run, this seemed like the perfect game for Howard to break out of his nearly season-long funk. In a not-so-surprising twist, he squandered the opportunity by only gaining 15 YDS on 8 touches. Howard has been a massive letdown after rushing for over 1,000 YDS in each of the past 2 seasons and if it wasn't for the trash depth at the position, he wouldn't even be a rosterable player in 10 team leagues.
Dishonorable Mentions: Dion Lewis (Titans), Duke Johnson Jr. (Browns), LeSean McCoy (Bills)

Wide Receiver 
MVP: Amari Cooper (Cowboys)
Cooper had one of his semi-annual explosions against the Redskins reeling secondary on Thanksgiving, registering 180 YDS and 2 TD's on 8 receptions. His owners can probably expect a nice 2 catch/30 YD line on Thursday night when the Cowboys take on the Saints.
Honorable Mentions: JuJu Smith-Schuster (Steelers), Corey Davis (Titans), Adam Thielen (Vikings)

LVP: Michael Thomas (Saints)
A combination of multiple Falcons turnovers, stronger-than-usual dedication to running the ball and rando receivers getting into the endzone on 4 separate occasions resulted in Thomas getting just 4 catches for 38 YDS on Thanksgiving. While the Cowboys have a sneaky good secondary, I believe Thomas has solid odds of putting up better numbers this week.
Dishonorable Mentions: Allen Robinson (Bears), Jarvis Landry (Browns), Alshon Jeffrey (Eagles)

Tight End
MVP: Eric Ebron (Colts)
Divine redzone entity Ebron returned to his home in Week 12 after a mysterious disappearing act last week against the Titans, hauling in a pair of scores that propped up his otherwise unexceptional statline (5 REC for 45 YDS) versus the Dolphins. The co-league leader in receiving TD's will look to find paydirt once again when the scorching hot Colts square off against a Jags D that seems to be getting more and more deflated by the week.
Honorable Mentions: Zach Ertz (Eagles), David Njoku (Browns), Rob Gronkowski (Patriots)

LVP: Trey Burton (Bears)
Going into last Thursday's game with the Lions, Burton looked like he was going to be the focal point of the passing attack due to his familiarity with Chase Daniel from their time together with the Eagles. Instead, Taylor Gabriel led the team in receiving and Burton had himself an ugly afternoon that included a couple of inexcusable drops and a brutal fumble that derailed a potential scoring drive in the 2nd quarter helped turn an underwhelming fantasy day (4 REC/28 YDS) into a truly disastrous one. He'll remain a boom-or-bust TE1 when the Bears travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the Giants in Week 13.
Dishonorable Mentions: Greg Olsen (Panthers), Vance McDonald (Steelers), Austin Hooper (Falcons)

Defense/Special Teams
MVP: Ravens
Scores on a punt return and their lone takeaway against (a fumble recovery by Terrell Suggs) catapulted the Ravens, who also got 3 sacks and allowed 17 points in a victory over the Raiders, to the top of the D/ST leaderboard. They'll be a low-upside start for this Sunday's road tilt versus the Falcons.
Honorable Mentions: Saints, Bears, Broncos

LVP: Jaguars
Reason #12,014,953 why the Jags D have lost their mojo: They failed to show up against the F'n Bills. That's right, the unit formerly known as Sacksonville got 0 sacks or takeaways and surrendered 24 points to the most generous offense in all of fantasy football. If you've been blindly holding onto this band of stiffs with the hope that they were going to get their swag from a year ago back at some point this season, it's time to sever the god damn ties.
Dishonorable Mentions: Colts, Steelers, Packers

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