Week 12 in the NFL was another wild one! Sure, there were a few duds like Arizona’s 6-16 loss to the Seahawks, which was a dud on all accounts, game and fantasy alike. But the week started with an amazing win by the Browns over the Steelers, and took off from there. You had the Panthers forcing the Chiefs to heroically get into field goal range with less than a minute to win the game, the Bears erasing an 11 point deficit to the Vikings with less than a minute left, and the Cowboys taking a 10-9 lead into the 4th quarter and eventually winning 34-26 in regulation. Let’s take a look at what it all means for fantasy!
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Quarterbacks
Studs:
Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders – A huge chunk of Daniel’s passing yards came with time expiring and down 7 to the Dallas Cowboys. He then connected on a short pass to WR Terry McLaurin who took it 86 yards for a TD. Unfortunately the Commander’s kicker missed the extra point, failing to tie the game and eventually lost 26-34, but Daniel’s final stat line of 275 yards passing and 2 TDs, adding 74 yards rushing and 1 TD, earned him QB1 for week 12.
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs – 207 of Mahomes’ 269 passing yards and 2 of his 3 TDs, both going to TE Noah Gray, came in the 1st half. The Panthers sacked Mahomes 5 times and pressured him all day, but when the Chiefs needed him most, with less than a minute left to go, Mahomes scrambled for 33 of his season high 60 rushing yards, setting up the game winning field goal to get the win 30-27.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins – I’m not a Dolphins fan, but I’m rooting for Tagovailoa after a series of concussions he has suffered in his 5 year career. I also recommended him last week when asked about possible sleepers for week 12. So I was happy to see Tua pass for 317 yards and 4 TDs in Miami’s beat down of the New England Patriots, 34-15.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears – In his second game since the Bears changed offensive coordinators, the rookie signal caller had his 2nd best statistical game of the season, passing for 340 yards and 2 TDs, adding 33 yards rushing. Williams put in a heroic effort to tie the game after being down by 11 with less than 1 minute left in the game. Minnesota eventually kicked a game winning field goal in OT, handing the Bears their 7th loss, 27-30.
Honorable Mentions:
Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings – 22/34 passing for 330 yards and 2 TDs
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos – 25/42 passing for 273 yards and 2 TDs
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams – 24/36 passing for 243 yards and 2 TDs
Duds:
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions – It’s tough to call the QB of a team that just beat the Colts 24-6, but in fantasy, this was a bit of a stinker for Goff owners. It was really all about the ground attack for the Lions in this one. Goff threw for a respectable 269 yards, but had no TDs to add to his stat line.
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals – Murray finds himself on the duds list once again. In weeks 4 & 6, he just didn’t play that well. In week 9, the Cardinal’s run game was more than enough to beat Chicago, 29-9, so Murray didn’t need to contribute much. The following week, he made the studs list by rushing for 2 TDs, but I shared skepticism on how Murray will finish the season. Here he is in week 11, passing for a solid 285 yards, but 0 TDs, and rushed only twice for a mere 9 yards and 0 TDs, in a lousy 6-16 loss to the Seahawks, where Murray’s tough pick 6 in the 3rd quarter changed the tides of the game.
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Wide Receivers
Studs:
Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings – On the other side from Williams, and part of the reason the Bears got behind, was Addison, making a good Vikings secondary pay for putting most of their focus on WR Justin Jefferson, hauling in season highs of 8 receptions and 162 receiving yards, and scoring a TD in the 2nd quarter, boosting him to WR1 status for week 12.
Courland Sutton, Denver Broncos – After a week 7 target-less game, Sutton and rookie QB Bo Nix seem to have found their chemistry. In their 5 games since, Sutton has recorded 36 receptions for 467 yards and 3 TDs. Sutton had his best fantasy day of the season Sunday, hauling in 8 passes for 97 yards and 2 TDs, in the Broncos 29-19 win over the Raiders.
Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins – Like Addison, Waddle also had season highs of 8 receptions and 144 receiving yards, adding a TD in the 3rd quarter. All the Dolphin pass catchers are happy to have their quarterback on the field again, including Waddle, who stole the show in a home victory of the the Patriots.
DJ Moore, Chicago Bears – As I mentioned with QB Caleb Williams, the Bears made a move at their offensive coordinator position, and it seems to be working, thus far. Moore, who has been disappointing to Bears fans and Moore fantasy owners alike, has had 2 consecutive respectable games since the move. Sunday, in a drama filled game, Moore contributed 7 receptions for 106 yards and 1 TD.
Honorable Mentions:
A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles – 6 receptions for 109 yards and 1 TD
Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders – 5 receptions for 102 yards and 1 TD
Nico Collins, Houston Texans – 5 receptions for 92 yards and 1 TD
Duds:
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers – Yes, the 9ers were without starting QB Brock Purdy going into Lambeau Field to play the Packers, and a team playing without their starting QB always makes it tough on the pass catchers. Part of this debacle for Samuel is on HC Kyle Shanahan for not finding ways to get him more involved. Regardless, Samuel was only able to haul in 1 of his 4 targets for 21 yards. Samuel coincidentally had exactly 21 total yards last week as well, but missed the duds list because there were other WRs with even tougher games than what he had.
Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers – Reed, on the other side of this game, did have his starting QB, but just didn’t get it done for his fantasy owners. He has eclipsed 100 yards receiving 3 times this season, but just finished back to back games of under 30. In week 11, Reed’s Packers may have won the game by a landslide, 38-10, but he himself brought in 3 receptions for only 26 yards.
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings won the game in OT, 30-27. Minnesota’s QB, Sam Darnold, threw for 330 yards and 2 TDs. If you knew nothing about the dramatic finish to this game, and just checked scores, it might lead you to think that Jefferson probably had a pretty good day. Strangely enough, quite the contrary. 2 receptions for 27 yards is all his stat line reads.
Running Backs
Studs:
Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles – Ok, this game was just stupid. Barkley looked like a man among boys Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. He rushed for a personal best, and franchise record setting 255 yards. His two TDs both came from 70 or more yards out. Adding 4 receptions for 47 yards, Barkley easily had his highest fantasy point total of the season, landing him in the RB1 slot for the 3rd time this season.
Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers – The 49ers haven’t been made to look this bad in a long time. Jacobs broke tackle after tackle on his way to rushing for 106 yards. He especially made them look bad in goal line situations, getting in the end zone 3 times, as the Packers dominated SF 38-10.
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions – I had Gibbs ranked as my #4 fantasy RB in my preseason rankings. Currently he is ranked 3rd, so I feel pretty good about that one. On Sunday, in a convincing win over the Colts 24-6, Gibbs rushed for a season high 21 times for 90 yards and 2 TDs. Gibbs may spit time with David Montgomery, but there has been plenty to go around for the Lions this season.
Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – This rookie RB had personal highs in touches, and yards from scrimmage (151) in the Buc’s dominant win over the Giants, and has taken over the role of lead back from last year’s break out RB Rachaad White. Irving rushed for 87 yards and 1 TD, with the opportunity of 2 more, but was vultured by fellow rookie RB Sean Tucker. He also caught all 6 of his targets for 64 yards receiving.
Honorable Mentions:
Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans – 119 yards rushing and 1 TD
Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns – 59 yards rushing and 2 TDs
De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins – 32 yards rushing; 24 yards receiving and 2 TDs
Duds:
Rhamodre Stevenson, New England Patriots – I had little expectations for Stevenson, simply because I thought their offense will be atrocious. I admit, I was a little off, but only a little. Stevenson has had respectable games, with good fantasy numbers. But not Sunday. He only had 8 carries for 13 yards, one of those going for 9 yards alone.
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts – This is a guy who was an absolute fantasy darling in 2021, but has been plagued with injuries ever since. Many thought that 2024 would be a bounce back year for Taylor. He started strong, missed 3 weeks with injury, and has been pretty inconsistent since. This week he rushed 11 times for a mere 35 yards.
Joe Mixon, Houston Texans – Mixon has been phenomenal all season long, until he hit a wall known as the Tennessee Titans. The Titans are not a good football team, but the defense has been good for the most part. They certainly were Sunday, holding Mixon 22 yards on 14 rushing attempts.
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers – Even though he managed to compile 100+ yards from scrimmage in each of his past 2 games, after missing the first 8 games with bilateral Achilles tendinitis, McCaffrey doesn’t look quite right. I’m not sure he’s fully ready to return, but the 9ers pushed him through even though Jordan Mason had been running the ball well. In Sunday’s beat down by the hands of the Packers, McCaffrey rushed for 31 yards and had 37 yards receiving, but hindered what little fantasy point total he had accumulated with a lost fumble.
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Tight Ends
Studs:
Noah Gray, Kansas City Chiefs – For a 2nd consecutive week, Gray hauled in 2 TDs, these two coming from 35 and 11 yards out, respectively. Gray had a total of 4 receptions for 66 yards, and has earned a spot at the TE1 position for week 12. He now has more yards and TDs through 11 games then he has had for a total season in his previous 3 years.
Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins – Smith has been a wrecking ball these past two weeks, and is having a career year in yards and TDs. He led his team in receptions (9) that went for 87 yards and 1 TD. I would say as long as QB Tua Tagovailoa stays healthy and on the field, Smith will finish as a top 5 fantasy TE for 2024.
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers – Even though he missed 2 games due to injury, Kittle is still fantasy’sTE1 for the season going in to week 13 by a pretty good margin. His efficiency is phenomenal, catching almost everything that comes his way. Week 12 was no different for Kittle, as he hauled in all 6 of his targets for 82 yards and 1 TD.
Honorable Mentions:
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals – 12 receptions for 133 yards
Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans – 1 reception for 70 yards and 1 TD
Duds:
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions – What happened to Sam LaPorta? Last year as a rookie he finished 5th in receiving yards (889) and 1st in TDs (10) among TEs leading him to the TE1 title for 2023. He has had over 4 receptions in only 1 game all year thus far. In Week 12 he only mustered 3 receptions for 19 yards.
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns – His team got the W over a really good Pittsburgh Steelers team, but Njoku himself was only able to contribute 1 catch for 9 yards. This marks his worst stat line since week 5, the first game back after missing 3 games due to injury.
Defense/Special Teams
Studs:
Dallas Cowboys – In one of the wildest games of the season, the Cowboy’s special teams ended up scoring 2 TDs, one of them on Washington’s attempt of an onside kick, and the other was from Kavontae Turpin taking a kick return to the house after he initially booted catching it. The defense also added 4 sacks, 2 INTs and a fumble recovery.
Duds:
Los Angeles Rams – The Rams defense let RB Saquon Barkley just run wild all over them, allowing him to set all kinds of personal and franchise records. They allowed 37 points to the Eagles and only accounted for 1 sack.
Thanks for checking out this week’s edition of fantasy’s studs and dud! I hoped you enjoyed the read and can use the information for your future fantasy endeavors! I always enjoy some fantasy football talk, so please feel free to leave any opinions and/or comments below!
Hey Mike,
Week 12 definitely kept us on our toes! Jayden Daniels was a standout with his clutch performance, even though his team came up short. But it’s frustrating seeing guys like Kyler Murray and Christian McCaffrey not living up to expectations. Fantasy football can be so unpredictable, and these up-and-down weeks make it feel like you’re always chasing the right players. I guess that’s what keeps it exciting, though!
Hey Zachary! Thanks for checking out my weekly edition of fantasy football’s studs and duds. I appreciate the time you spent to leave a note!
Yes, some guys can be very frustrating when they under perform, and you’re right, it’s very easy to get caught up in chasing a player who did well the week before. The NFL can be very unpredictable at times. My advice to those playing fantasy football is to look for trends. If a WR gets a good amount of targets week in and week out, even if he has an off day, I’ll probably look to try him again the next week.
The unpredictability is what keeps it exciting though! Good luck with all your fantasy football endeavors!