Panthers WR Adam Thielen caught only 1 of 3 targets for 2 yards in Sunday's loss to the Titans. Tennessee refused to let Thielen beat them, which easily resulted in his worst game as a Panther. Bryce Young fired off 31 passes, so Thielen's target share of 9.6% fell well shy of his average (27.9%). Week 13 turns up a bounce-back spot at Tampa Bay. But that’s the last favorable spot on his schedule until Week 17 at Jacksonville.
Colts WR Michael Pittman racked up 10 catches for 107 yards in the Week 12 win over the Bucs. His 13 targets tied for the team lead and were 31.7% of QB Gardner Minshew's 41 total attempts. Pittman has now averaged 10.8 targets, 7.5 catches, 81.2 yards, and 0.33 TDs in his last six games with Minshew. He has a chance to continue delivering WR1 level production the next three games with plus matchups against the Titans, Bengals, and Steelers.
Colts WR Josh Downs tied for the team lead with 13 targets in Sunday's win over the Bucs. He caught just five of them for 43 yards. QB Gardner Minshew wasn't very good in this one and had multiple misfires and miscommunications with Downs. One of them resulted in a Carlton Davis INT. It was a frustrating outing from Downs -- but encouraging for his going-forward outlook. The rookie has now averaged 8.4 targets per game over his last five healthy outings with Minshew. Downs gets three straight plus matchups the next three weeks against the Titans, Bengals, and Steelers.
Bucs WR Chris Godwin again played second fiddle to WR Mike Evans in the Week 12 loss to the Colts. While Evans tallied a big 6-70-2 line on 9 targets, Godwin caught just three of his seven targets for 45 yards. He's now been held under 60 yards in eight of 11 games this season. And he remains stuck on one TD. Godwin now has more weekly PPR finishes of WR40 or worse (5) than top-30 finishes (4). He can't be considered more than a WR3 going forward, especially with three straight negative matchups coming up against the Panthers, Falcons, and Packers.
Bucs RB Rachaad White did not seem at all inhibited by the knee issue that landed him on the injury report ahead of Sunday's game vs. the Colts. He took 15 carries for a season-high 100 yards, highlighted by a 38-yard rip in the fourth quarter. White was quieter than usual in the passing game, catching both of his targets for 10 yards. But White has now totaled 98+ yards in five of his last six games. He gets another plus matchup in Week 13 against the Panthers' 30th-ranked RB defense. White's schedule toughens from that point on, with negative matchups against Atlanta, Jacksonville, and New Orleans between Weeks 14 and 17. But White's passing-game role will keep him comfortably in fantasy-starter range in those games.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams is questionable to return to Sunday's game vs. the Browns with a neck injury. We'll update his status when we know more. Williams' absence leaves Denver's backfield to Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin.
Update: Williams returned on Denver's second possession.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase totaled 81 scoreless yards in a Week 12 loss to Pittsburgh. He tallied 2 catches for 45 yards on a pair of fluky, tipped balls. Jake Browning’s play proved up and down in his starting debut, but there’s a silver lining here. Cincinnati’s WR schedule looks favorable going forward, starting next week vs. Jacksonville. We’ll see if Tee Higgins makes it back for that one.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth racked up 9 catches for 120 yards in Sunday’s win over the Bengals. He had 5 catches for 89 yards at halftime. In fact, Kenny Pickett set a single-game career-high in combined TE yardage… in the first half alone. Clearly, this was a point of emphasis for new play-caller Mike Sullivan. Freiermuth will be back on the streaming radar next week in a nice scoring matchup at Arizona.
Patriots WR Demario Douglas was knocked out of Sunday's game vs. the Giants with a head injury. He took a shot to the head on a punt return in the fourth quarter and will likely land in the concussion protocol. We'll track the rookie's progress through the protocol this week, but consider him unlikely to play vs. the Chargers next Sunday.
Saints WR Chris Olave has been ruled out of Sunday's game vs. the Falcons with a concussion. That ends a big day for Olave, who had caught seven of nine targets for 114 yards. This is his third documented concussion. We'll track Olave's progress through the protocol this week, but he's more likely than not to miss Week 13.
Browns LB Anthony Walker Jr. (hamstring) is inactive for today's game against the Broncos. S Juan Thornhill (calf) is active. We've had Walker out of our Week 12 IDP rankings since early in the week. Thornhill is merely a low-level option.
Raiders LB Robert Spillane (ankle) is active for today's game against the Chiefs. Use him as planned in your IDP lineups.
Raiders Edge Maxx Crosby (knee) is active for today's game against the Chiefs. He becomes the second player this year to be active after being listed as doubtful, following Giants WR Darius Slayton earlier today. There's obviously still risk of re-injury and/or limited playing time. But Crosby's available if you were waiting for him in your IDP lineup.
Patriots QB Mac Jones was yanked in favor of QB Bailey Zappe at halftime of Sunday's game vs. the Giants. Jones went 12-of-21 for 89 yards, 0 TDs, and two INTs over the first 30 minutes, producing 0 points. We'll see how Zappe fares and what the Patriots do at QB going forward. It'll remain a situation to avoid in fantasy lineups.
Saints WR Rashid Shaheed suffered a thigh injury in the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. He's officially questionable to return. With WR Michael Thomas on IR, Shaheed's absence leaves New Orleans with WR Chris Olave, A.T. Perry, Lynn Bowden, and Keith Kirkwood.
Cardinals RB Emari Demercado (toe) is active for today’s game vs. the Rams. It’ll be his first action since Week 8. RB Michael Carter will also make his Arizona debut today, while RB Keaontay Ingram is a healthy scratch. James Conner should still operate as the Cardinals’ clear lead back.
Cardinals WR Marquise Brown (heel) is active for today’s game vs. the Rams. He was limited in Wednesday’s practice and then sidelined on Thursday and Friday, so it’s safe to assume that he won’t be at 100% for this one. That leaves Brown as a risky WR3 play in Week 12 fantasy lineups.
Jaguars RB Travis Etienne suffered a chest injury in the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Texans and is questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more. Etienne's absence leaves Jacksonville's backfield to D'Ernest Johnson and Tank Bigbsy.
Update: Etienne returned with a little less than five minutes to go in the second quarter.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield suffered an apparent right knee injury on a QB sneak in the first quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Colts. He's been replaced by QB Kyle Trask. We'll update Mayfield's status when we know more.
Update: Mayfield returned on Tampa Bay's next possession.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero hears that Rams RB Kyren Williams will return as the lead back vs. Arizona today but that RB Royce Freeman will stay involved. "They wanna be careful about not overworking" Williams, Pelissero says. "Look for a roughly 2-to-1 ratio between Williams and Royce Freeman. Game flow is gonna dictate a lot of that." Our current projections have Williams for 16.7 carries to Freeman's 7.5 -- close to that 2-to-1 split. Williams should handle the majority of the passing-down snaps, though, and remains a strong RB2 play today. Freeman is really only in play in non-PPR fantasy leagues.
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