Sunday Recap: Week 12

Bucs @ Colts

The veteran Matt Hasselbeck remains undefeated this season, and he did it airing out the ball. He threw for 315 yards, and two scores, both of them going to T.Y. Hilton. He finished the day with a 6-95-2 line, and saw 12 targets. Donte Moncrief saw nine targets, for a 8-114-0 line. With Tampa's stout rush defense over the last few weeks, it was no surprise to see Indy air it out. It was a surprise to see how well they did it. The matchups were clearly in the Colts' favor coming into the week, and if you took a shot with them in GPP's, they paid off handsomely. Frank Gore saw 19 carries, but for just 24 yards. Since the firing of Pep Hamilton, Gore has seen workhorse like games, which is encouraging at his price. Indy's defense had five sacks, and an interception late in the game. They bottled up the Bucs in the red zone, and finished as one of week 12's best scoring defenses.

The Bucs came in red hot, but the offense quickly cooled off. Jameis Winston was under pressure much of the day, and struggled to finish drives. Vincent Jackson, and Mike Evans both saw ten targets, but Cameron Brate was on the end of the only touchdown pass. This is the second decent game Jackson has put up, and the second game Evans has taken a step back in. Jackson has hindered Evans upside a little bit since returning. With Evans price tag up there after a few outstanding games, I rather take shots elsewhere for tournaments. Did Doug Martin find the end zone this week? Yes, but it was called back on a holding penalty. He ripped off a 56 yard run, and finished the day with 97 yards, but no score. Martin is cruising along this season with a YPC over five, but the lack of touchdowns lead to me doubting him each week.

Raiders @ Titans

This was not a high scoring game, but it did feature a combined six touchdowns in the air. Derek Carr had the week we all thought he would have last week, throwing for 330 yards, with three scores. Amari Cooper had a monster day, with a 7-115-0 line, on a team leading 12 targets. It was Seth Roberts who really had a day, with a 6-113-2 line, just as we all predicted. Carr spread the ball out, hitting ten different receivers. This game restored my faith in the Oakland offense as a whole, and let me tell you why. In addition to the big passing numbers, Latavius Murray saw 22 carries. He finished with 59 yards, against a decent run defense. We have been asking for this volume from Murray for some time. Oakland will have a few tough games heading out, facing Kansas City twice, Denver, and Green Bay. It looks like the Oakland DFS train has made it's last stop, well unless you play them against the Chargers on that Thursday slate coming up.

Tennessee continues to be a dysfunctional offense, putting up 18.5 points per game this season. The run game is an easy avoid, as I have been saying all season long, and their receiving core is abysmal. We all love to take Marcus Mariota shots in tournaments, because it has worked this year, but it is still not my favorite move. He threw for 218 yards, three touchdowns, and two picks. The three touchdowns were disappointing, due to him throwing to receivers nobody had, like Delanie Walker. The tight end finished the day with six catches, for 91 yards, but just lacked that touchdown. He was targeted eight times, and remains Mariota's go-to-guy. Tennessee already played the Saints once, so let's stop using them.

Bills @ Chiefs

Two cream of the crop defenses looked very mediocre this week in Arrowhead. Both teams had over 800 yards of offense, but it was the Chiefs coming out on top. There was an abundance of value running backs this week, and Spencer Ware was one of them. He finished with 114 yards, and one score, seeing 19 carries. He also had three catches for one yard, which gave him some cheap points on DK. Javorius "Buck" Allen plays tonight, but Ware looks like the best value back out of week 12. Thomas Rawls had a nice game, while T.J. Yeldon disappointed. Not only did the Chiefs run the ball well, Alex Smith threw for 255 yards, and two scores. The Bills secondary is one of the best in the league, and Jeremy Maclin ran right through them, with a 9-160-1 line. Travis Kelce also had an impressive 4-69-1 line, who has been quiet for most of the season. Kansas City is starting to look like a threat to ruin someone's season in that wild card round. This Chiefs' offense has a great schedule the rest of the way, and clicking like this, I might be clicking them into my cash games.

The Bills came out and said Sammy Watkins needs more targets, and well he did. He saw ten targets, and finished the day with a 6-158-1 line. However, Watkins was either taken out by the Chiefs at halftime, or the Bills resorted to their old ways. Watkins had those numbers all in the first half, and finished the day with the same stat line. This is two games in the last few weeks where a Tyrod Taylor - Sammy Watkins duo would of paid off big time. Taylor finished with 291 yards, and three touchdowns, with the other coming to LeSean McCoy. Shady had over 100 all purpose yards, and found the end zone. He is on a nice stretch of games, against some very tough defenses. They play three NFC East teams in the last four games, who all have been atrocious on defense.

Giants @ Redskins

This game featured one of the chalkier wideouts of the weekend, Odell Beckham Jr. It was slow and steady wins the race with him, as he outscored DeAndre Hopkins, and Julio Jones this week. The game flow in this game setup OBJ for a big day, racking up 18 targets, and a 9-142-1 line. He also made another phenomenal catch, and one you can add to his highlight reel. There was not much better than watching the Giants force feed OBJ trying to come back from three scores. It was an ugly game, and as good as the matchup was, Eli Manning could not get it together. He finished with 321 yards, two scores, and three picks. It took garbage time to get him to where he finished at. The Giants still are one of the overlooked high volume passing attacks. Giants rank 9th in passing attempts per game, they just lack the second option behind OBJ.

Washington is going to win the NFC East, and Kirk Cousins is going to deliver this team a Super Bowl. Okay, maybe I am pushing it, but we saw "You Like That" Kirk Cousins this week again. He was 20/29, with 302 yards, and a touchdown. He also ran for one, upping his value for week 12. He linked up with DeSean Jackson on a long touchdown pass, as he finished with a 2-66-1 line. You are always hoping for the home run play with Jackson, as Jordan Reed continues to be the reliable target man. He had an 8-98-0 line, on nine targets. Alfred Morris made an appearance this week, rushing for 78 yards, on 23 carries. This run game is still way too unreliable to trust. When Kirk Cousins plays bad defenses, he is a lock to be a solid DFS QB.

Saints @ Texans

Any QB/WR duo against the Saints is a good play, except when New Orleans can't keep it close, which we saw this week. Brian Hoyer had a solid game, but our expectations were much higher. He finished with 207 yards, and two scores, but none going to DeAndre Hopkins, who was the biggest dud of week 12. Hoyer decided to find Cecil Shorts, and Ryan Griffin instead, as Griffin finished with a 4-72-1 line. Houston took control of this one early, and which led to 38 carries on the ground, between four running backs. Alfred Blue led the way with 16 carries, for 77 yards, and one score. Houston is still a team I do not want to target on the ground.

DeAndre Hopkins should not disappoint like this again.

The Saints, I have not much to say about them. Mark Ingram continues to look great when he gets touches, but still is lacking touches given his success this season. He rushed for 52 yards, on just nine carries, and had six catches, for 45 yards. New Orleans was held to six points, and for a vertical attack style team, they failed to accomplish anything in even garbage time. New Orleans is one of those boom-or-bust teams, and will be off my radar against the Panthers next week.

Vikings @ Falcons

The Minnesota Petersons came to play in Atlanta, as AP took over in the dome. He had 158 yards, on 29 carries, for two touchdowns. I was hesitant on Peterson this week, due to the possibility of Atlanta coming out and getting ahead, which did not happen. He is the offense in Minnesota, and there is nobody else. He has a 4.9 YPC this season, and five touchdowns in the last four games. If there was anybody else worthy of a mention from this game, it is Kyle Rudolph. He is on a nice little run himself, and saw 10 targets this week. He caught seven, for 53 yards. Teddy Bridgewater loved Rudolph during the offseason, talking him up, but now he is starting to look his way more and more.

Is there a team DFS worthy worse than Atlanta? Julio Jones is your best player, and when Roddy White, and Jacob Tamme are hovering around the same amount of targets, something is wrong. He finished with a 5-56-0 line, as Matt Ryan looked just about as bad as he has been all year. Atlanta tried to come back with the run game, which was successful this week. Tevin Coleman ran for 110 yards, on 18 carries, but had a crucial fumble.

Julio Jones should not disappoint like this again.

Rams @ Bengals

This game went just about as expected, as the Rams scored more fantasy points for the opposing defense, as they did their own selves. Nick Foles was picked off three times, and one was returned for a touchdown. Tavon Austin rushed for 63 yards, and a score, who is about as predictable as what Donald Trump will say next. The only player worthy, Todd Gurley, will see the Lions, and 49ers for respectable matchups in two of the next four weeks. Then we pack it in, and thank Gurley for his 2015 services.

Andy Dalton came out and dominated this game, throwing 233 yards, and for three touchdowns. This is the first time all year, A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert caught a touchdown pass in the same game. Green had a 6-61-2 line, and Eifert posted a 3-40-1 line. Cincy did not need to do much, as Jeremy Hill saw 16 carries, for 86 yards. St. Louis is a top five defense, and putting these offensive numbers up with ease caught me off guard. They will get Cleveland next week, so we should see Cincinnati thrive yet again. If Hill bounces back from his injury knock, he could be in a similar position for touches, against one of the worst run defenses in the league.

Chargers @ Jags

Welp. This one did not go as planned for T.J. Yeldon owners. Philip rivers came out to play, throwing for 300 yards, and four touchdowns. This setback Jacksonville, who moved the ball, but settled for field goals. When Blake Bortles has three less carries than your starting RB, that might be a problem, but I am not an NFL coach. Bortles tacked on some garbage time points, linking up with Julius Thomas, and Allen Robinson for a score. This was the first big game for Thomas, as he had a 9-116-1 line. They both saw double-digit targets. Allen Hurns left the game, after a brutal hit, thankfully only having a concussion at the end of it all. With the matchup, price, and point spread for Yeldon, I would of taken him nine times out of ten. It looks like I need to take into consideration 90% of the NFL coaches are morons moving forward.

It was the Rivers show in Florida, and this was coming off of a dud last week. He linked up with Stevie Johnson, and Dontrelle Inman for scores, but it was Antonio Gates who found the end zone twice. Johnson saw 10 targets, Inman 9, and Gates 6. Even though Melvin Gordon rushed for 60 yards, on 14 carries, the high volume passing attack prevailed. San Diego will have some friendly matchups in the next few weeks, when they are not playing the Broncos.

Dolphins @ Jets

The Jets were the team everyone loved this week, but didn't really play much of. Ryan Fitzpatrick tossed four touchdowns, and threw for 277 yards. He even tacked on 21 rushing yards. Miami's defense is in such a disarray, you could link them to the Saints strategy, of playing passing attacks against them. Brandon Marshall had the big day, with a 9-131-2 line, while Eric Decker found the end zone yet again. He posted a 5-62-1 line. Everything was clicking, and Chris Ivory 87 yards, and a score. This was another week of him seeing 20+ carries, after looking a bit worn out the last few weeks.

Miami had zip on the ground this week, and scored 20 second half garbage points. Jarvis Landry racked up a monster day of 13-165-1 line, with rookie DeVante Parker posting a 4-80-1 line as well. Both saw double-digit targets this week. Miami fired their offensive coordinator, so once again who the hell knows with them going forward. Landry seems like the safest option going forward.

Cardinals @ 49ers

Welp. This was another game we expected one team to dominate through the air, and did not. Carson Palmer did not throw for a touchdown, but did rush for one. He still did not pay off his price tag, which was a shocker in this matchup. Arizona ran the ball 29 times, which is another strategy to go with against San Fran, but only had 70 yards on the ground. David Johnson was the other touchdown, as he continues to troll us every now and then. Larry Fitzgerald dominated targets, with 14, catching 10 for 66 yards. It was a decent game for him, but nothing compared to their first matchup.

San Francisco held in there as long as they could against a good defense, and if you played Vance McDonald, well good for you. He had a 6-71-1 line, crushing value at his price. If you are taking wild shots at this team, you are either blindly clicking players, or just are playing a lineup with each football team.

Steelers @ Seahawks

69 combined points, from two teams who used to have good defenses, but things have changed of late. Big Ben had a great day yardage wise (456), but threw just one touchdown, and two picks, before leaving the game. This sets up Landry Jones possibly playing next week against Indy, setting something we are all familiar with. I loved the Steelers wideouts this week against a Seattle secondary that is just not that good. They made some timely interceptions, and really played bend don't break defense in the passing game. Antonio Brown finished the day with a 6-51-0 line, on 12 targets. I will say he was held in check. Martavis Bryant had a 5-69-0 line, but did find the end zone on an 11 yard run. It was Markus Wheaton who broke out with a 9-201-1 line, on 13 targets. Even with Jones likely under center next week, these wideouts have great matchups, especially Bryant.

It was Russell Wilson's birthday yesterday, couldn't you tell? He threw five touchdowns, and had 345 yards. Doug Baldwin had a 6-145-3 line, on just eight targets. Jermaine Kearse had a 4-47-2 line. Both of these players should see an uptick with the Jimmy Graham injury. Thomas Rawls was a popular play, but with a touch matchup he came through still. His volume was there, with 21 carries. He finished the day with 81 yards, and a score, but no receptions. Rawls should be a top tier RB play for the rest of the way, and maybe, just maybe you can trust Doug Baldwin a little more.

Patriots @ Broncos

The perfect season is done, and the '72 Dolphins are close to popping champagne yet again. The Pats had another injury, but it is still unsure how severe it is for Rob Gronkowski. If he is out, New England might be taking up that Terrell Owens offer for a tryout. Brady still managed to throw for 280, and three touchdowns. Gronk, Brandon Bolden, and Scott Chandler all found the end zone. The wideouts had a tough matchup, but still lacked targets, and efficiency, outside Brandon Lafell. I am not sure at these New England prices how much they will be in my lineups.

The Broncos played almost the perfect game against New England. They ran the ball well with both backs, as C.J. Anderson had 115 yards, and two scores. He scampered off for a 48 yards for the game winner. Ronnie Hillman had 14 carries, 59 yards, and a touchdown. The passing game is still limited, with Demaryius Thomas catching one ball, of 13 targets. Emmanuel Sanders had the big game, with a 6-113-0 line, torching Butler for a long 40 yard catch. I am curious to see what happens if Manning comes back.