🔥Monday Morning Fantasy Football Recap

Week 12 was not a great slate for a number of fantasy football stars. Managers already dealing with one of two six-team bye weeks this season also had to watch as Jonathan Taylor, Justin Jefferson, Sam LaPorta, Josh Downs, and Brock Bowers (among others) were held to five points or less. However, fantasy teams that were able to navigate the bye weeks and fire up players like Josh Jacobs, Jaylen Waddle, and Tony Pollard are likely leaving the week with a win.

Thanksgiving week will bring us all 32 NFL teams in action and also the penultimate week of the fantasy football regular season. Before we fill up our plates and stuff our faces, let’s take one more look at Week 12 and the players who were able to make or break fantasy rosters.

The Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter will hit your inboxes four days a week this season and each Monday I will bring you the highlights, lowlights, injury reports, and Monday Night Football look-ahead all here in one place.

First up are the top fantasy football headlines from a wild Week 12.

🐬 Tua Tagovailoa Shines Against the Patriots

After throwing for 317 yards and four touchdowns against New England, Tua Tagovailoa now has seven touchdowns and over 600 passing yards over the last two games. The difference between the Miami Dolphins when Tua is in versus out of the lineup is like nothing we have ever seen, and they put up so many points in a hurry. He carried Jaylen Waddle to 144 yards and a touchdown and De’Von Achane tossed in a couple of touchdowns as well.

Now the Dolphins travel to Lambeau Field for Thanksgiving where Tua is looking to “kill the narrative” that he can’t perform in cold-weather games.

⭐ Three Rookie Quarterbacks Dominate On the Same Day

Of the top six fantasy scores among quarterbacks, three of them were rookies. Jayden Daniels (32.4 points), Caleb Williams (26.9), and Bo Nix (19.5) all had at least 273 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, even though only Nix was able to come away with a win. The 2024 season has been one of the best for rookie quarterbacks in a long time, and all three have cemented their place as starters in 12-team leagues. The most volatile has been Caleb Williams, but his game is maturing and he was able to add 33 rushing yards to his 340 passing yards and two passing touchdowns on Sunday.

🧀 Josh Jacobs Leaps for Three Touchdowns in Lambeau

In a highly-anticipated game against the San Francisco 49ers, it was running back Josh Jacobs who stole the show with over 100 total yards and three rushing touchdowns in Lambeau Field. The 49ers could do nothing to stop his bruising rushing style in this game and he was able to beat them at every level. Jacobs already has more rushing yards than he did in 2023 and is just a few yards short of 1,000 for the season despite playing in only 11 games so far.

🦅 Saquon Barkley Runs Over, Around, and Through the Rams

Before the fourth quarter of the Sunday Night Football game even started, Saquon Barkley had more than 200 total yards including a 70-rushing touchdown. He would eventually finish with 255 rushing yards (a top-ten number all time, according to the telecast), 47 receiving yards, and TWO 70-yard rushing touchdowns. Los Angeles looked like a junior varsity high school team trying to stop Barkley drive after drive. Saquon Barkley now has more rushing yards than the entire dumpster-fire New York Giants franchise and he has also set a new career-high in rushing yards (1,392 yards through 11 games) with six games still to go. With the hindsight of three months of football to help us, it should have been clear all along that Barkley was the top player in fantasy drafts this offseason.

🟣 🟡 Jordan Addison Ascends, Justin Jefferson Stumbles

Against bitter rival Chicago, Minnesota was able to pull out a hard-fought overtime win at Soldier Filed thanks in large part to the performance of Jordan Addison. Heading into Monday Night Football, Addison was leading all wide receivers in half-PPR fantasy points with his eight receptions, 162 yards, and receiving touchdown. Sam Darnold found him in open spots in the defense all day.

However, Justin Jefferson did almost nothing to help his fantasy managers. He caught just two balls for 27 yards in a game that lasted 67 minutes. The Bears double-teamed and bracketed him all game and he could barely make anything work with his five targets.

🐎 Courtland Sutton Continues Fantastic Streak

Ever since Courtland Sutton missed a game on October 17th, he has been absolutely unstoppable in his five games since. He has been averaging just under 10 targets, six catches, and 95 yards per game in that span. He has three receiving touchdowns in that span including two in Week 12 after catching eight balls on 10 targets. Bo Nix has been playing at an All-Pro level and he has decidedly made Courtland Sutton his wingman, just smothering him with targets every game.

🐦 Trey McBride Smashes Without a Score Again

Does Trey McBride have the worst touchdown luck in all of football? After another 15 targets, 12 receptions, and 133 receiving yards, Trey McBride trails only Noah Gray in tight end fantasy scoring in Week 12. However, it continued a 10-game streak to start the season with McBride not visiting the end zone. It has to be just a matter of time before McBride gets a touchdown, but fantasy managers can’t complain too much with this kind of ultra-elite usage. With 28 receptions in his last four games, this is starting to look like his end-of-season stretch last year.

David Montgomery had to leave the game against Indianapolis after taking a hard hit to the neck and shoulder area. It was officially listed as a shoulder injury, and David Montgomery told reporters he could have gone back in the game if he was needed. Signs point to him being available on Thanksgiving Day for the Lions game.

Ja’Tavion Sanders was rushed to the hospital after taking a hit that forced him to land on his head. He was tested and it was determined he had feeling and movement in all of his extremities. Later in the afternoon he was released from the hospital and sent back to be with the team. Sanders could be looking at anything from a concussion to a spine injury to a neck injury. A timetable will be announced when the team has more information.

Brian Robinson Jr. suffered an ankle injury in the first half of the game against the Dallas Cowboys but was able to return later in the game after tests and getting the ankle taped up. More information is needed to determine if this ankle injury is serious enough on the day after his game to force Robinson to miss any more time.

Austin Ekeler took a very hard hit to the head on a kickoff return late in the game against Dallas and was forced to leave the game. He was able to walk off on his own power but clearly looked like he was woozy or wobbling. To be safe, Austin Ekeler was sent to the hospital for evaluation and the team will surely be providing more information early in the week as to whether Ekeler will have to miss any time.

Romeo Doubs was another player to suffer a concussion on Sunday, as he was tackled on an attempted catch in the end zone, only to land on his head and then have a player land on him. He was immediately taken to the locker room and subsequently ruled out for the game. This looks like a situation where Doubs will have to miss the Thanksgiving games, but the Packers should update his availability on Monday.

Gardner Minshew was tackled and thrown down on his left shoulder late in the game against the Denver Broncos. He stayed down for several minutes and was eventually removed and quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game. After the game ended, it was reported that Minshew broke his collarbone and will be out for the rest of the season. Either Desmond Ridder or Aidon O’Connell (currently on IR) will be the quarterback when the Raiders play again on Friday.

Monday Night Football Play on Bleacher Nation Fantasy.

Passing Yards: Justin Herbert OVER Lamar Jackson (+19)

We know the Baltimore Ravens want to run the ball as much as possible with Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, and Lamar Jackson. They rank second in the NFL with 177.2 rushing yards per game and fourth in rushing play percentage (50.1%). Lamar Jackson certainly has the ability to out-gun Justin Herbert, but the Ravens are going to want to run the ball and control the clock playing on the road Monday night.

Meanwhile, the Chargers have been slinging the ball lately with Justin Herbert. The Chargers average 204 passing yards per game this season, but have bumped that up to over 230 yards over the last three games, including 280 last week. With the Ravens projected to win this game, the Chargers could be turning to Herbert’s arm quite a bit in the second half of this game. The risk of a J.K. Dobbins revenge game is real, but I see Herbert trying to attack the weak Baltimore secondary whenever he can.

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Here are the latest articles on 4for4.com discussing all things Week 12 in the NFL. Check back throughout the week for much more.

Week 12 Recap

Week 12 Injury Report

Week 12 Starts and Sleepers