• Tyreek Hill scores twice and moves closer to 2000 yards: Hill gained over 150 receiving yards for the fourth time this season and only needs to average 104 receiving yards per game to achieve the first 2,000-yard receiving season.
• December Derrick Henry arrives: Henry also seems to play better as the season progresses. He scored twice and gained over 100 yards, making this his third game with 100 yards, second-straight game with two touchdowns and first game of the season with both.
• Injuries put a damper on the early slate: Kenny Pickett, Rhamondre Stevenson, Brian Robinson Jr., Tank Dell and C.J. Uzomah were all ruled out around halftime or early in the third quarter of their games due to various injuries. Derek Carr, Derrick Henry and Josh Whyle also suffered injuries in the fourth quarter of their games.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2023.
Denver Broncos @ Houston Texans
- Nico Collins: 9 receptions, 191 yards, 1 touchdown
- Courtland Sutton: 2 receptions, 77 yards, 1 touchdown
Monitor Tank Dell’s health: Dell suffered a fractured fibula in the first quarter and was ruled out by halftime. He will be placed on injured reserve, knocking him out for the rest of the fantasy football season.
- Both Dell and Noah Brown were questionable for this game, but both were active. This marked the first time since Week 1 that Dell, Brown, Nico Collins and Robert Woods were all healthy.
- The Texans were happy enough with the health of their wide receivers coming into the game that sixth-round rookie wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson was a healthy inactive for the first time all season.
- The four wide receivers were together for three drives.
- The Texans ran seven plays out of 11 personnel in that time. Collins and Dell played all seven of those snaps. Woods played in six-of-seven with Brown, replacing Woods for the one play.
- Houston used 21 personnel for the other 10 plays. Brown and Collins were the primary wide receivers in this group, playing nine and eight snaps respectively. Dell was in for the other three while Woods wasn’t playing at all in 21 personnel.
- Dell had his leg rolled up on during the touchdown run on the third drive, which required him to get carted off the field.
- After the injury, Collins, Brown and John Metchie III were the primary players in 11 personnel with Woods not playing as much while Brown and Collins remained the main players in 21 personnel.
- Brown didn’t catch a pass on his two targets but was the clear No. 2 receiver in terms of playing time, and he made two 150-yard games just before his recent injury. He should be one of the top wide receiver targets off the waiver wire this week.
- The Texans have two games against the Tennessee Titans and games against the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns over the next four weeks. Those are two great matchups and two terrible matchups for wide receivers, giving Brown two weeks where he could be a high-upside fantasy starter.
Devin Singletary sees a reduced role: The Texans backfield played out similarly to earlier in the season rather than where it was in recent weeks.
- Singletary played 80% of Houston's offensive snaps last week, playing nearly every passing down and the clear majority of early downs.
- Dameon Pierce was back to playing over half of the early-down snaps like he was doing before his injury. Pierce ran 15 times compared to Singletary's eight even though Singletary averaged more yards per carry.
- Dare Ogunbowale was active instead of Mike Boone for the second straight week. Ogunbowale was the receiving back in Week 2 and played a single snap in Week 11 but has done enough in practice to be the third-down back again.
- Ogubowale caught a 14-yard pass and that alone was good enough to be third on the team in receiving yards.
- It will be difficult to put Singletary back in fantasy starting lineups with this role. He should be kept on fantasy rosters since there is a chance Singletary will earn more time again.
Brevin Jordan shines without Dalton Schultz: The Texans’ usual starter missed this game due to a hamstring injury and could miss more time.
- Jordan started the season as the backup receiving tight end. He missed time in the middle of the season but had played well given his opportunities.
- He started to get rotated in more last week and played a lot near the end of the game, presumably because Schultz was injured.
- Jordan played 100% of 11 personnel snaps but only eight-of-25 in 21 personnel, which is roughly the same as what Schultz would play.
- The team never used 12 personnel in this game due to the lack of depth at tight end.
- He was only targeted four times but made a few big plays, leading to 64 receiving yards on three targets.
- The Texans have a fine matchup against the New York Jets next week, so Jordan could potentially be an option if Schultz misses more time.
Marvin Mims’ playing time is on the decline: Mims missed some time in the second quarter due to injury, but his time has steadily fallen over the last month.
- Mims was rotating with Brandon Johnson for most of the early parts of the season.
- He played more snaps in the middle parts after Brandon Johnson landed on injured reserve.
- Johnson was activated off injured reserve for this game and was eased back into action.
- Lil’Jordan Humphrey has been part of the wide receiver rotation all season, and he’s slowly taken time from Mims these past few weeks. Humphrey played his highest share of offensive snaps since Week 1.
- Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy were the only wide receivers with over 15 receiving yards, as they finished first and second on the team in receiving yards like usual.
- Mims probably won’t have fantasy value this year, and at this point, his stock for 2024 just keeps dropping.
Miscellaneous Notes
- C.J. Stroud was taken out of the game to be evaluated for a concussion after a quarterback sneak. He missed two plays. Davis Mills took his place, but Stroud returned for the rest of the game.
- Lucas Krull was elevated from the practice squad for the second time this season. Similar to Week 10, he took over as the primary receiving tight end, taking significant playing time from Adam Trautman. Also similar to Week 10, he was held to one target and still hasn’t made his first career reception.
Los Angeles Chargers @ New England Patriots
- Ezekiel Elliott: 17 carries, 52 yards; 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards
- Keenan Allen: 5 receptions, 58 yards
Monitor Rhamondre Stevenson’s health: The Patriots starting running back needed help off the field due to an ankle injury and was ruled out by halftime.
- The Patriots started with Stevenson playing every snap on their first two drives. The first drive was a three-and-out. Stevenson’s injury occurred on the last play of the second drive.
- Ezekiel Elliott has spent all season as the team’s backup running back and was the only other true running back on the active roster today. He took over for the rest of the game.
- Ty Montgomery has been a running back/wide receiver hybrid. He took three snaps from Elliott in the third quarter.
- The Patriots relied heavily on Elliott, as he set season-highs in both rushing attempts and receiving yards.
- The Patriots’ only other running backs on the roster are JaMycal Hasty, who was claimed off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars a few weeks ago, and Kevin Harris on the practice squad.
- If Stevenson misses time, expect Elliott to be the Patriots' clear leadback with Hasty either taking a few drives or some third-down situations.
- Even if Stevenson only misses one game, he should be among the top waiver wire targets for the week.
Patriots deal with injuries at wide receiver: Both sixth-round rookie wide receivers Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte were inactive.
- JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton played every snap in 11 personnel. DeVante Parker took the majority of snaps in that group. Jalen Reagor occasionally took his place.
- Smith-Schuster and Parker were the primary players in 12 personnel while Thornton also played significant snaps in that personnel grouping.
- Parker was the only one who was close to mattering for fantasy football purposes with four receptions for 64 yards, which led the Patriots.
- Both Smith-Schuster and Reagor were limited to a reception each while Tyquan Thornton was left without a catch.
- The Patriots might be stuck with some of these receivers in 2024. Both Parker and Smith-Schuster wouldn’t give much cap savings if released, even as post-June 1st moves.
Quentin Johnston returns to the Chargers starting lineup: There was some question to Johnston’s role after he left last week due to an injury.
- The medical staff cleared Johnston to return last week, but the team didn’t want to play him if he wasn’t 100%.
- There were additional questions after Alex Erickson was signed to the 53-man roster. Erickson was playing snaps recently when Jalen Guyton missed a game due to injury, and Erickson took Johnston’s place last week.
- Johnston played in 77% of the Chargers' offensive snaps, which was a slightly less than in recent weeks, but this was his best game in terms of receiving production
- He set or tied career highs in targets (seven), receptions (five) and receiving yards (52).
- Johnston might not be a factor in fantasy football leagues this season, but he can at least build some momentum for 2024, especially considering Keenan Allen and Mike Williams count a combined $67 million against the cap next season, so the team may move on from either receiver.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Austin Ekeler averaged 1.3 yards per carry. This was the third game this season he’s run 14 or more times and was held under 30 rushing yards. He’s only averaged above 3.6 yards per carry once in the last eight games.
- Gerald Everett gained over 40 yards in back-to-back games for the first time this season and is one of the better waiver options at tight end given the Chargers' schedule.
- Mike Gesicki has almost completely been phased out of the Patriots offense. He played at least 30 offensive snaps in eight of the first 10 games, but he only played 18 snaps last week and five Sunday. He’s averaged 0.78 yards per route run this season.
Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints
- Sam LaPorta: 9 receptions, 140 yards, 1 touchdown
- Alvin Kamara: 14 carries, 51 yards, 2 touchdowns; 6 receptions, 58 receiving yards
Saints dig down wide receiver depth chart: Rashid Shaheed was inactive with a thigh injury while Michael Thomas is on injured reserve.
- Chris Olave was also questionable for this game while in concussion protocol, but he ended up being active.
- This meant the passing game relied very heavily on Olave, who caught five passes for 119 yards. This was his second-best game of his career in terms of receiving yards after making his third-best game last week.
- A.T. Perry has been a top-three receiver for New Orleans since Thomas’ injury while Lynn Bowden, who’s been a rotational receiver for the Saints all season, stepped up as well.
- Perry caught his only target for 30 yards while Bowden caught a five-yard pass while rushing once for four yards and again for -10 yards.
- Marquez Callaway, who started the year with the Denver Broncos and then spent some time with the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad, was signed to the Saints practice squad recently after Thomas' injury and was brought up to the active roster for this game.
- Callaway had spent three years with the Saints, but was only the fourth receiver in passing situations in this game and didn’t see a target.
- Ideally, Shaheed will be able to return for next week.
Jameson Williams scores for the Lions: Williams has been a bigger part of the Lions offense over the last three weeks.
- His touchdown was on a reverse where he gained 19 yards for the score. He also caught his only target for 11 yards.
- He’s touched the ball exactly twice in seven of his eight games this season. The one exception was against the Baltimore Ravens where he ironically set a career-high in targets at six but didn’t catch any passes.
- The Lions’ passing game was largely the Sam LaPorta and Amon-Ra St. Brown show, as they combined for 189 yards and Jared Goff only threw for 213 yards.
- He played in 77% of 11 personnel snaps, which was his second-best rate of the season. His playing time was only down this week because of the game script.
- Ideally, Williams can start taking some more time from Josh Reynolds. The Lions’ starter was held to 15 receiving yards or less for the fifth straight game. Hopefully, that also comes with more opportunities to get the ball in his hands considering he is one of the faster players in the league.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Derek Carr left this game, is in the concussion protocol and dealing with shoulder and back injuries. Jameis Winston took over for the rest of the game. Whoever is the Saints’ starter will be one of the best waiver options at the position, as their next four games are all against teams with losing records.
- Juwan Johnson was one of the top waiver adds at tight end last week due to the Saints’ wide receiver injuries and the matchup. Johnson didn’t catch any of his three targets.
- Jimmy Graham had been a healthy inactive each of the last four weeks but was the Saints' fourth tight end in this game. He caught his only target, which was a touchdown to the dismay of anyone who started Johnson.
- Jahmyr Gibbs has typically been the Lions' third-down back when both running backs are healthy, but in this game, David Montgomery played eight of 12 third-down snaps. Gibbs played a slightly higher percentage of early down snaps to make up for it.
- Sam LaPorta’s 140 receiving yards was the third-most by a tight end in a game this season. It was also the most by a rookie tight end since Kyle Pitts put up 163 receiving yards against the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 of 2021. His 29 PPR points are the most by a rookie tight end in a game since 2006 when Owen Daniels caught nine passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns in a game.
Atlanta Falcons @ New York Jets
- Xavier Gipson: 5 receptions, 77 yards
- Bijan Robinson: 18 carries, 53 yards; 3 receptions, 26 receiving yards
Jets adjust running back rotation: There were reports before the game that Dalvin Cook would receive more carries this week, which ended up being true.
- Cook ran the ball nine times, which was a season-high since Week 1. He ran two times or less in four of his last five games.
- The Jets spent most of the season with Breece Hall and Cook sharing the early down role while Michael Carter played third down. Hall was slowly but surely taking more time away from Cook.
- Once Carter was released, Cook became the primary third-down back, which meant the release meant little change for Hall.
- This week, Cook was back to taking a higher percentage of snaps on early downs. In return, Hall still received the most work on early downs but also was the third-down back.
- Hall was completely ineffective in the run game with 16 yards on 13 carries, but he caught six of his eight targets. It was just the fifth time in his career that he caught six or more passes.
- This move will probably be a positive change for Hall’s fantasy value. It might mean fewer carries but more targets, which are more valuable for fantasy points.
Tyler Allgeier sets career-low in snap share: Allgeier was the Falcons' clear third back in terms of playing time.
- Bijan Robinson played 75% of Atlanta’s offensive snaps.
- Typically, Robinson’s playing time will be somewhat dependent on the game script. He’s played between 61-72% of snaps in their victories outside of the game where he had a headache and 74-81% of snaps in their losses outside of Week 9. This was the highest rate Robinson has played in a victory.
- Cordarrelle Patterson has also been more involved in the offense in recent weeks. Sunday was the most that Patterson has played outside of the game where Robinson had a headache.
- This has mostly left Allgeier out of the running back rotation. Allgeier averaged 4.9 yards per carry throughout his rookie season, but he’s been held under 4.0 yards per carry in all but two games this season. He was the Falcons’ most effective rusher Sunday at 3.3 yards per carry.
- The Falcons' next four games are all against teams that are in the bottom 10 in PFF run defense grade, unlike the Jets, so all of the Falcons' running backs should be more effective in the next month. They seemed like games where both Robinson and Allgeier could dominate, but after Sunday, these might just be games where Robinson is a league winner.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Jets tight end C.J. Uzomah suffered a knee injury on the first drive and didn’t return. He only played 10 offensive snaps over the last two weeks after falling behind Jeremy Ruckert on the depth chart.
- Third-year tight end Kenny Yeboah has spent all season on injured serve and was designated to return in Week 11. If Uzomah misses time, expect Yeboah to take his spot on the depth chart.
- Tim Boyle was benched in this game for Trevor Siemian, who wasn’t any more effective in the offense. Any of the Jets' three quarterbacks could start next week.
- Allen Lazard was a healthy inactive last week. He returned to the 46-man gameday roster this week but rotated throughout the game with Jason Brownlee rather than taking his starting job back. He didn’t catch his only target.
- Randall Cobb took Lazard’s place on the game-day roster last week, but he was back to being a healthy inactive this week.
- MyCole Pruitt caught the only touchdown in this game despite only running three routes. He now has as many touchdowns as Kyle Pitts this season.
- Parker Hesse was brought up from the practice squad for the third time this season as a run blocker. This meant less playing time for Jonnu Smith again. The Falcons will need to sign Hesse to the active roster if they want to use him again this season.
- Mack Hollins missed his third straight game due to an ankle injury. This left Van Jefferson, KhaDarel Hodge and Scott Miller splitting time opposite Drake London. None of them recorded a catch while Hodge had the only target.
Arizona Cardinals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
- James Conner: 25 carries, 105 yards, 2 touchdowns
- Trey McBride: 8 receptions, 89 yards, 1 touchdown
Monitor Marquise Brown’s health: The Cardinals' top wide receiver left the game at the start of the second half due to an ankle injury and didn’t return.
- The Cardinals came into the game down at wide receiver. Their other outside starter, Michael Wilson, missed his fourth game in the last five weeks due to a shoulder injury. His backup, Zach Pascal, missed the game after the birth of his child on Friday.
- Greg Dortch had been playing a lot more recently with the Wilson injury, and he led the team in snaps and routes run. Andre Baccellia started playing more snaps once Brown left due to injury.
- The Cardinals spent nearly all of the fourth quarter in 13 personnel where Baccellia was the only wide receiver on the field most of the time as Arizona just ran out the clock. This is why both Dortch and Moore didn’t play nearly as much as you would expect.
- The more the Cardinals wide receivers get hurt, the more we can expect the offense to prioritize Trey McBride.
Monitor Emari Demercado’s health: Demercado left the game early to be evaluated for a concussion and a neck injury. He didn’t return.
- Demercado has spent most of the season as the Cardinals’ third-down back when healthy.
- James Conner and Michael Carter ended up splitting this role for Arizona. Carter was a third-down back for the Jets to start the season, but it seemed like the Cardinals view Carter more as Conner's primary backup.
- The receiving role didn’t matter much because the Cardinals spent most of the game with a lead, so they ran the ball much more than they passed. Over half of the team’s receiving yards went to Trey McBride.
- Conner didn’t catch either of his targets while neither of the other running backs were targeted.
- If Demercado misses time, this should raise the floor for Conner. It could also open the door for Carter to be more involved in the offense.
Najee Harris leads Steelers backfield despite game script: Jaylen Warren was expected to have a larger role in the Steelers offense after his big games and the change in offensive coordinator, but that hasn’t been the case.
- Warren and Harris tend to run a similar amount of pass routes each week. Harris sometimes runs more when they are winning and Warren typically runs more if they are losing.
- In this game, Harris ran more than twice as many despite the Steelers playing from behind.
- The two were also very close in terms of carries from Week 9-11 before Matt Canada was fired. Warren ran 35 times for 317 yards in that time while Harris ran 44 times for 186 yards.
- Harris was the better runner last week as they remained pretty split in terms of carries, but in this game Harris ran twice as many times as Warren despite Warren averaging more yards per carry, converting twice as many of his carries into first downs and breaking more tackles.
- To this point, the firing of Canada has hurt Warren’s fantasy value more than it’s helped.
Miscellaneous Notes
- After Trey McBride received half of the Cardinals' targets, he’s up to 2.2 yards per route run on the season. He joins Travis Kelce and George Kittle, who are all between 2.2-2.3 with no other tight ends above 2.0.
- Kenny Pickett suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter and didn’t return with Mitch Trubisky taking over at quarterback.
Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans
- Derrick Henry: 21 carries, 102 yards, 2 touchdowns; 1 reception, 18 receiving yards
- Michael Pittman Jr.: 11 receptions, 105 yards, 1 touchdown
Zack Moss dominates shares in the Colts’ backfield: Moss’ played nearly every snap for Indianapolis like he was doing at the start of the season.
- Trey Sermon played one passing play in the second quarter while Tyler Goodson took three in the third quarter.
- Moss wasn’t all that effective in the game, averaging 2.7 yards per carry while catching two passes for six yards.
- There were reports before the game that Taylor’s injury is going to last three-to-five weeks, which means we’ll see a minimum of two more games with Moss.
- Even if Taylor does return for the end of the fantasy playoffs, there is a chance we see a 50-50 split or even one where Moss is leading the backfield as Taylor is eased back in.
- The Colts will largely be a part of competitive games over the rest of the season, but Moss at least has a very favorable matchup next week against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Monitor Derrick Henry’s health: Henry took a hit to his helmet early in the fourth quarter and didn’t return to the game.
- Tyjae Spears was the only other running back on the gameday roster, and he played 21 of a possible 23 snaps in the fourth quarter.
- He played in 24-of-50 snaps in the first three quarters. His playing time had generally been declining the last two weeks, but he was already playing more than those two games before Henry’s injury.
- Spears ended the day with a solid 75 rushing yards on 16 carries and 13 receiving yards on four receptions.
- He’s been one of the highest-graded backup running backs all season and consistently the top waiver target at running back among handcuffs.
- Each of the Titans’ next four games are ones where Spears could be used a lot regardless of Henry’s health as they are all against teams with winning records. If Henry misses next week, Spears will likely be worth a start even though he’s facing the Miami Dolphins defense.
- The Titans don’t have another running back on the 53-man roster and Jonathan Ward is the only one on the practice squad. Ward would likely join the active roster if Henry misses time, but it’s possible Spears plays over 80% of offensive snaps.
Titans shake up wide receiver room: Treylon Burks was back to the Titans after missing six of the last eight weeks due to injury.
- The former first-round pick only played 10 offensive snaps spread out throughout the game
- The Titans’ other second-year wide receiver Kyle Philips was a healthy inactive. Philips consistently played significant snaps in 11 personnel in the slot when healthy this season, and was less than a month removed from back-to-back 60-plus-yard games.
- This left DeAndre Hopkins, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Chris Moore as the three wide receivers in 11 personnel while Hopkins and Westbrook-Ikhine were the main pair in two receiver sets.
- This generally left the trio of receivers with more playing time than usual.
- Hopkins led the receiving room as usual with five receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown. No other wide receiver had more than one reception.
- It’s likely that Burks will play more snaps as he gets closer to 100%, but there is no guarantee Burks will receive a major role in this offense at any point over the rest of the season.
Chigoziem Okonkwo season might finally be here: Okonkwo caught three passes for a season-high 62 yards.
- This is after catching four passes for a previous season-high 45 yards last week.
- He was playing an ideal amount of snaps early in the season but wasn’t seeing the targets.
- A few weeks ago, the Titans started to get Josh Whyle more involved in the passing game, which meant fewer snaps for Okonkwo.
- Whyle left the fourth quarter due to a knee injury and was quickly ruled out. If Whyle misses playing time, that means his snaps will likely go back to Okonkwo, and his playing time could be similar to what it was earlier in the season.
- Two of the Titans’ next four games are against the Houston Texans, where they will need to throw the ball a lot. Also, the Texans have allowed the second-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.
- This could make Okonkwo a decent waiver wire option at the position.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Alec Pierce had his best game of the season with three receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. His role didn’t change and his target share also didn’t change this week, so it’s unlikely this will be a big change in Pierce’s fantasy value going forward.
- Andrew Ogletree had missed the last two games with injury, but he was back Sunday. In that time, Will Mallory had emerged as a receiving option for Indianapolis. This left the four Colts tight ends to all take roughly 25% of the team’s pass routes in the most ugly rotation you will find at the position in a game.
- Kylen Granson gained 72 receiving yards which was the best for a Colts tight end in a game this season, but any Colts tight end could have a big game any given week.
Miami Dolphins @ Washington Commanders
- Tyreek Hill: 5 receptions, 157 yards, 2 touchdowns
- De’Von Achane: 17 carries, 73 yards, 2 touchdowns; 3 receptions, 30 receiving yards
De’Von Achane returns to the Dolphins: The third-round rookie had missed five of the last six games due to a knee injury.
- Achane was electric from Weeks 3-5 with 455 rushing yards on 37 carries and five touchdowns before suffering his injury. He played only three snaps in Week 11 before aggravating the injury.
- Raheem Mostert remained the starter and was ahead of Achane for the first half. The two were used interchangeably with both running backs playing snaps on each drive of the half. Mostert played 19 of a possible 29 snaps while Achane only played 12.
- Mostert had 35 yards on nine carries and a touchdown in that time while Achane ran three times for one yard and caught two passes for nine yards.
- The Dolphins were up 31-7 at halftime and turned the backfield over to Achane for the second half. Achane played 23 snaps compared to Mostert's four.
- This allowed Achane to overtake Mostert in rushing attempts and yards. It also led to two rushing touchdowns.
- Jeff Wilson Jr., who was a major part of the Dolphins offense last week, was restricted for five fourth-quarter snaps, four of which were in the last six minutes of the blowout win. He can be dropped from most leagues.
- The Dolphins face the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets the next two weeks; both games the Dolphins should easily win. This means both running backs should be viable for fantasy football purposes for at least these two games.
Monitor Brian Robinson Jr.’s health: Robinson suffered an ankle injury early in the second quarter and was ruled out by the early third quarter.
- The Commanders fell behind very early in this game, so Antonio Gibson was already playing more snaps than usual.
- Gibson became the main running back over the rest of the game with Chris Rodriguez Jr. giving Gibson a play off here and there. Rodriquez was also playing some snaps even before the Robinson injury.
- Gibson ended the day with 35 yards on 10 carries and four receptions for 37 yards.
- Rodriguez wasn’t far behind with seven carries for 29 yards, but three of those seven carries were to close out the game in the last two minutes. Gibson was the clear runner and receiver before garbage time.
- Gibson would be worth a waiver wire pickup assuming the Robinson injury is serious, but he might not be worth a start at any point even as the lead back.
- The Commanders have their bye week next week and then face the Los Angeles Rams, New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers. They are three of the top-11 teams in run defense grade this season.
Miscellaneous Notes
- All seven wide receivers on the Dolphins’ 53-man roster were healthy for the first time in a long time. Robbie Chosen was a healthy inactive while Chase Claypool was active but didn’t play despite the blowout.
- Given the blowout, most Dolphins starters didn’t play much in the fourth quarter. Tua Tagovailoa (five fourth-quarter snaps), Raheem Mostert (one), Tyreek Hill (one), Jaylen Waddle (four) and Durham Smythe (four) all missed the majority of the 18 snaps in the quarter.
- Dolphins undrafted rookie running back Chris Brooks had his 21-day practice window open up earlier last week, but he wasn’t elevated for this game.
- This was only the second game of Terry McLaurin’s career where he was held without a catch. The other was 2021 Week 14 against the Dallas Cowboys where he played in less than half the game.
- This was also the second time that Logan Thomas was held without a reception since joining the Commanders. His other game was 2022 Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Chuba Hubbard: 25 carries, 104 yards, 2 touchdowns
- Mike Evans: 7 receptions, 162 yards, 1 touchdown
D.J. Chark Jr. splits playing time: Chark didn’t appear on the injury report but played less than half of the Panthers’ offensive snaps.
- Chark had rotated in and out of games before, but that was usually due to injury.
- The Panthers fired head coach Frank Reich this past week, so it wasn't surprising to see some changes.
- Mike Strachan was recently signed to the 53-man roster and was the primary player rotating in and out with Chark. Even Ihmir Smith-Marsette took some of the snaps in the third receiver spot.
- Despite the reduced role, Chark still finished second on the team in receiving yards with 56 from three receptions.
- Chark signed only a one-year contract with the Panthers, and it seems like this could be his only year with the team.
- Terrace Marshall was a healthy inactive for a third straight game.
Buccaneers lean harder on Rachaad White: The second-year back has established himself as one of the better options at the position.
- He’s consistently played a high majority of offensive snaps all season, but his workload has been particularly high over the last two weeks.
- He ran 20 times for 84 yards and a touchdown and finished second on the team in receiving yards, catching three passes for 22 yards.
- This was the second straight game in which he has averaged over 4.0 yards per carry. He hadn’t achieved that in back-to-back games in over a year.
- White was up to seventh on the season in terms of PPR points at the position heading into today. He has a chance to reach the top five after this performance.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Chris Godwin was questionable coming into the game, but his injury did not impact his playing time.
- Cade Otton didn’t see a target despite running 30 routes. He becomes only the third tight end this season to run more than 30 routes in a game and see no targets.
- Rookie wide receiver Jonathan Mingo set career highs in targets (10), receptions (6) and receiving yards (69).
- The Panthers were without their top two tight ends in Tommy Tremble and Hayden Hurst. This left Ian Thomas and Stephen Sullivan as the two tight ends. Thomas played more in running situations, and Sullivan more in passing situations. They each caught one pass.
- The Panthers fired Frank Reich and running back coach Duce Staley, who both had connections to Miles Sanders. Despite that, Sanders’ playing time was very similar to last week. The Panthers generally relied more on the running backs than usual.
Cleveland Browns @ Los Angeles Rams
- Puka Nacua: 4 receptions, 105 yards, 1 touchdown; 2 carries, 34 yards
- Cooper Kupp: 6 receptions, 39 yards, 1 touchdown
Kyren Williams dominates the Rams backfield: Williams played all but four of the Rams' offensive snaps, playing a role similar to the one he had earlier in the season.
- Williams played at least 45 snaps in each of the first six games of the season before landing on injured reserve.
- He returned from injured reserve last week and played a season-low 61% of the snaps. However, that was still 41 total snaps because of how much the Rams offense was on the field.
- They didn’t run as many plays as usual in this game. They had plenty of short drives that ended in punts, and three of their four touchdown drives needed just five or fewer plays.
- This meant Williams didn’t need much time off. He took three consecutive plays off in the second quarter and took one play off in the third.
- Williams played well enough last week to be a must-start fantasy option, regardless of the opponent. Now, he will have top-10 upside going forward as long as he doesn’t suffer another injury.
Puka Nacua shines despite injury: Nacua missed nearly all of the second quarter of this game with a rib injury.
- The Rams started the game as usual, with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua taking nearly every snap while Tutu Atwell and Demarcus Robinson rotated in and out. Three of Nacua’s four receptions occurred in the first quarter.
- When Nacua left, Ben Skowronek took Nacua’s role. He played 21 of the 22 snaps in the second quarter while Atwell and Robinson continued rotating for one spot.
- Nacua’s playing time was back to normal in the second half, as he played 24 of the 26 snaps. He didn't catch a pass in the half, but he did run the ball twice.
- It will be worth watching how much Nacua practices before Week 14.
- Robinson dominated the second-half snaps over Atwell at 20 to 5. Robinson ended up second on the team in receiving yards (55) and caught a touchdown. Atwell caught only one pass for 9 yards.
- The chances are that Atwell and Robinson will continue their rotation, making it impossible to trust either for fantasy football.
Monitor Tyler Higbee’s health: The Rams' longtime tight end left this game with a concussion and didn’t return.
- Higbee played his usual role, rarely leaving the field until his concussion late in the third quarter.
- Brycen Hopkins has played the second-most snaps among Rams tight ends this season, but he’s recently been inactive. Hunter Long, who spent most of the season on injured reserve, has taken over as the primary backup.
- Long played all 15 snaps in the fourth quarter and would likely see the vast majority of snaps if Higbee misses a game.
- The Rams play the Baltimore Ravens next week. The Ravens are in the top quarter of the league at preventing fantasy points to tight ends.
- This means Long shouldn’t be considered in the vast majority of leagues, considering he’s caught only one pass in his NFL career, and that was in 2021.
Monitor Amari Cooper’s health: The Browns' top receiving option left the game with a concussion and didn’t return.
- Cooper played his usual role before the concussion and was targeted on five of his 15 routes. He caught three of those passes for 34 yards.
- Marquise Goodwin missed his fourth straight game with a concussion. He still isn’t practicing, which is concerning.
- This left David Bell as the next man up at wide receiver. Bell caught two passes for 12 yards.
- Elijah Moore became the focal point of the offense. He was targeted 11 times, bringing in four passes for 83 yards.
- There was speculation that Moore would be more involved in the offense today, regardless of injuries, given how well he played with Joe Flacco when the two played together on the New York Jets.
- If Cooper misses time, expect Moore to remain the focal point of the passing game.
Miscellaneous Note
- David Njoku was held to two receptions for 17 yards, while backup Harrison Bryant caught five passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. Njoku’s playing time wasn’t all that different in this game, but Bryant played more than usual because of the injuries at wide receiver.
San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles
- Deebo Samuel: 4 receptions, 116 yards, 2 touchdowns; 3 carries, 22 yards, 1 touchdown
- DeVonta Smith: 9 receptions, 96 yards, 1 touchdown
Monitor D’Andre Swift’s health: Swift took a big hit late in the fourth quarter and didn’t return to the game.
- Swift went to the medical tent after the hit. The Eagles ran only two more plays after the injury, so even if Swift was immediately cleared, there wasn’t time for him to return to the game.
- At the time of writing, there have been no reports as to the extent of the injury, so this could be nothing, serious, or anywhere in between.
- Swift wasn’t playing as much as usual, even before the injury. Kenneth Gainwell has been the Eagles' passing-down back, and the Eagles were playing from behind all game, which is the opposite of their usual game script.
- Gainwell is worth a speculative waiver wire addition, regardless of Swift’s health.
- The Eagles have a huge game against the Dallas Cowboys next week, but the following three games will come against the Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals — three of the top nine teams at allowing fantasy points to running backs.
- Some of those games could be blowouts where Gainwell gets significant playing time. That could be even higher if Swift isn’t 100%.
Monitor the Eagles’ third wide receiver spot: Julio Jones played a significant role in the first quarter but didn’t play over the rest of the game.
- The Eagles ran 24 plays in the first half, with Jones (10), Olamide Zaccheaus (10) and Quez Watkins (9) all getting significant playing time. They ran a few snaps out of 10 personnel, rotated the three a lot in 11 personnel and A.J. Brown took five plays off in the quarter.
- Jones did not play a single offensive snap over the rest of the game. There was no reported injury, but that’s the most logical reason for his absence.
- Watkins played 37 of 48 snaps over the last three quarters, with Zaccheaus taking 14 of 48 snaps. Watkins caught three of his four targets for 28 yards, finishing fourth on the team in receiving yards.
- The Eagles' third option at wide receiver was always going to struggle to be fantasy-relevant, given the weapons the team has on offense. It is even less likely if that spot has some kind of rotation.
Christian McCaffrey isn’t slowing down: McCaffrey has run the ball at least 17 times in each of the last three games.
- McCaffrey started the season as a dominant runner. He ran at least 18 times in each of the first five games. He wasn’t as involved in the passing game in most of those games. He caught three or fewer passes for 30 or fewer yards in three of those five games.
- He then went through a four-game stretch where he didn't run as much but instead saw more targets. He ran between 11 and 16 times in each of those four games but had two games with six receptions, and he caught a touchdown in three of those four games.
- He’s been a more complete running back the last three weeks. He’s run at least 17 times and has at least 7.0 PPR points from receiving in all three games.
- He accomplished this against the Eagles despite the team running less than 60 plays and the 49ers playing backups at the end of the game.
- He’s been the top fantasy running back this season by a distance, and he may end the season with 100 more fantasy points than the next closest running back.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Jalen Hurts left the game late to be evaluated for a head injury, but he was able to return to the game.
- Albert Okwuegbunam took over as the Eagles' primary receiving tight end. He played 31 of a possible 53 snaps out of 11 personnel, while Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra took the rest of the snaps, along with snaps from 12 personnel.
- Dallas Goedert could be returning from injured reserve as soon as next week. He returned to practice on Friday but as a limited participant.
Kansas City Chiefs @ Green Bay Packers
- Christian Watson: 7 receptions, 71 yards, 2 touchdowns
- Isiah Pacheco: 18 carries, 110 yards, 1 touchdown; 3 receptions, 13 receiving yards
Isiah Pacheco shines without Jerick McKinnon: Pacheco has scored three rushing touchdowns in the last two games after scoring just three times over his first 10 games.
- McKinnon missed a second consecutive game because of a groin injury.
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire primarily took McKinnon’s snaps in passing situations, but Pacheco took most of the snaps in goal-line situations. These are the same roles the two backs had last week.
- McKinnon typically serves as the third-down back so the Chiefs can run passing plays near the goal line.
- With Pacheco taking these snaps, he’s scored three times from the 1-yard line in the past two games.
- Pacheco was ejected for throwing a punch with less than a minute left in the game, allowing Edwards-Helaire to get more time in the last minute.
- McKinnon was a limited participant in practice late in the week, so there is a chance he will be back next week.
- Pacheco can still be a fantasy starter even if he’s not scoring the touchdowns, but his ceiling won’t be as high.
Monitor Christian Watson’s health: Watson suffered a hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter and didn’t return.
- Watson didn't get off to a great start to the season, missing the first three games due to injury and recording fewer than 40 receiving yards in six of his first seven games.
- His play started to improve, as he has scored at least one touchdown in each of his last three games. He recorded 94 receiving yards last week and 71 this week.
- The injury is particularly concerning because he was dealing with a hamstring injury as a rookie and at the start of this season.
- Rookie Dontayvion Wicks played in place of Watson when he was injured to start the season and has been the primary backup to Watson and Doubs all year. He will take over as the starter if Watson misses time.
- This should mean more targets for Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed if the injury is serious.
- Both were generally top waiver options each week, given their ability to have big games, and that will especially be true with this injury.
Packers shift offensive strategy: Green Bay used several players on offense who don’t typically get much playing time.
- Henry Pearson is the only fullback Green Bay has used this season. The undrafted rookie was activated for Week 11 and was eased into offense with two offensive snaps.
- He played more in this game, with the team using more 21 personnel in this game than any other game this season.
- Ben Sims, another undrafted rookie, was the Packers' second tight end who caught his first career touchdown. He got more playing time with Luke Musgrave on injured reserve and Josiah Deguara absent for the second straight game because of an injury.
- The use of personnel groups geared toward running helped them drag out long drives, with the team producing at least two first downs on each drive, thus shortening the game.
- The Packers are also missing Aaron Jones. A.J. Dillon was the main rushing back, and Patrick Taylor was the main receiving back like last week, but James Robinson made his Packers debut as the third running back.
- The game script allowed the Packers to use more run formations, which left less playing time than usual for Jayden Reed. Reed has consistently played in 11 personnel and not in other personnel groups. Fewer snaps in 11 personnel meant less work for Reed.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Chiefs wide receiver rotation was relatively similar to last week. Skyy Moore took some snaps from Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
- Rashee Rice played 69% of offensive snaps which is a new career high, although it’s only slightly higher than his other games from November.
- Kadarius Toney returned after missing last week with an ankle and hip injury, but he only took a few snaps on offense.
- Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed has shadowed an outside wide receiver each week this season. In this game, he shadowed Romeo Doubs, making it surprising Doubs managed to lead the team in receiving yards at 72 off four receptions.
Table Notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
- Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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