As many bad breaks and bounces as I have endured over the previous two seasons, enough of them are going my way so far this campaign that I have made a very unlikely wobbling climb into fifth place. I know. I can't believe it either.
I had zero players going in any of the three games on Thanksgiving, but I watched PW's squad mount a respectably healthy 44.40 points from three players and his kicker. I was saved a bit in that Pollard had his numbers kept in check by the return of a Zeke Elliott and that somehow Saquon Barkley was limited to only 52 yards and a single TD when he was expected to run hog wild. Underperforming or not, forty-four points is a decent sized hole to overcome.
My Sunday began with my two starting RBs,
Derrick Henry and
Samaje Perine, facing off against each other. When Joe Mixon went down I was the lucky one able to scoop up Perine from the waiver wire. He did not have the three-touchdown performance he did against Pittsburgh last week, but he did well with 93 combined yards and a TD (17.30). On the other side, King Henry was kept in check almost all day until a highlight/lowlight/highlight play where he streaked for 69 yards on a short pass. He seemed end zone bound, but on the ten yard line Bengal cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt caught him and punched the ball free - only Henry's second fumble of the year. Luckily for Tennessee the ball continued forward into the end zone and their rookie WR Treylon Burks, who was trailing the play, recovered for the TD. Bad news for me and other Henry fantasy owners, we could have used those ten yards and ESPECIALLY that TD. He finished with just 48 additional yards beyond that play and did not score, which left him at 13.20 versus his 17.54 projection.
I had a third RB in my FLEX spot, Baltimore's
Gus Edwards, finally able to return to the lineup. He had some decent pushes and a TD, but The Ravens catastrophically failed in the red zone over and over again, eventually giving the game away to The Jaguars, and Edwards' hurt his fantasy number when he lost a fumble. Still got me an OK 9.20.
Justin Tucker picked up his slack with 15.00 on an extra point, three short field goals, and one 55-yarder. He tried to break his own record to give Baltimore the win. His 68-yard attempt was on line but about three yards shy. Those five extra points would have come in handy.
Both of my WRs had quiet days.
Christian Kirk had four catches (6.10) in The Titans' loss and
Deebo Samuel had only three plus two runs for zero yards (5.80). Neither scored.
It really came down to the 4:00 window and our QBs. He had Geno Smith leading Seattle against Vegas, I had
Justin Herbert's Charger's battling Arizona. Geno had another solid game though lost thanks to Josh Jacobs' record-setting day, landing a few points over his 20.74 projection. But Herbert tossed for 274 yards and three TDs, plus ran for another 38 including a 2-point conversion which gave him 34.76 fantasy points and me a five and-a-half point margin of victory.
That will land me in fifth place, when the dust settles on Week 12.
I don't have a lot of confidence moving forward to what may be a playoff birth. Perine is only viable as long as Mixon is out.
Raheem Mostert was a scratch this week in what could have been some very easy sledding versus Houston, but even when he returns he is fighting with Jeff Wilson for playing time. Which means I may have to hope Baltimore can course correct their red zone issues and Gus Edwards can rack up some points while not blowing out his hamstring again. Wide Receiver wise I have a couple options. Deebo and Kirk are reliable enough plays, though McCaffery is definitely stealing some of Samuel's thunder. I left 19.30 and 16.80 points on the bench this week with Bill
Ian McKenzie and Charger
DeAndre Carter. But The Bills have so many viable offensive options that you can't tell who the hot hand will be week-to-week and now that Keenan Allen is back Carter's targets may decrease severely. Tight End wise I have that hole thanks to
Darren Waller's lost season.
Cole Kmet had been surging, but he is unplayable as long as Justin Fields is out. I started Waller's replacement
Foster Moreau today and he did have three short catches, one of them a TD. But Vegas's offense is so shaky, fantasy wise, once you get past Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs. Even so, if Henry has some big games with multiple TDs (which he seems overdue for) and Herbert can light it up a bit...who knows? I didn't think I would make it THIS far.
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