Fantasy Football Reaction: Winners, Losers, Surprises From Week 12
Jaylen Waddle and Leonard Fournette lifted a lot of fantasy owners to Week 12 wins
We’ve already completed 12 weeks of the NFL season, which means the fantasy football playoffs are right around the corner for many leagues.
Here are our winners, losers and surprises from Week 12. Of note, all statistics are courtesy of SportRadar and depict for full-point PPR leagues.
Winners
Leonard Fournette, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay running back on Sunday was on the opposite sideline as Jonathan Taylor, the highest-scoring player at the position this season, and put together a performance that rivaled many of Taylor’s. Fournette, who entered the slate as Yahoo’s 14th-ranked running back, finished with four touchdowns (three rushing) en route to 44.10 points in full-point leagues. He was the highest scoring player across all positions. Fournette averaged 1.84 points per touch, which was the most among running backs with five or more touches. He saw 24 touches from scrimmage.
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
The rookie wideout was the highest scoring player at the position as he went off for 2.87 points per target on 10 targets, which were tied for the second most among receivers. The difference, though, is that Waddle recorded a full point per target more than any of the other of the nine receivers to see 10 targets. Waddle turned his nine touches from scrimmage into 144 yards and one touchdown while compiling five receptions of 10 or more yards. He was Yahoo’s WR22 entering Sunday’s game against Carolina.
Mac Jones, QB, New England Patriots
It wasn’t a perfect day for the Patriots quarterback, but the numbers looked great for fantasy owners. Jones, who entered the week as Yahoo’s QB21, was the fifth-highest scoring QB after completing a league-best six passes of 20 or more yards en route to a career-high 310 yards passing. Jones, who threw for a pair of touchdowns without an interception, finished with 21.50 points in full-point leagues, which was his second-best output of the campaign.
Losers
Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
Perhaps the star running back was playing injured during Carolina’s Week 12 game against the Dolphins, but one way or the other, McCaffrey left a lot to be desired. He entered the slate as Yahoo’s RB1 and finished in a tie for RB54 in total scoring. McCaffrey recorded a brutal 0.35 points per touch on 10 touches from scrimmage. He had just one rush of 10 or more yards before finishing with 35 yards of offense.
Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Hurts previously was the fourth-highest scoring signal-caller dating back to Week 8, and it earned him recognition as he entered Week 12 as Yahoo’s fourth-ranked QB. Hurts, though, put up an absolute clunker with just one completion of 20-plus yards and three interceptions. He finished as QB27 in total scoring behind Trevor Siemian and Ben Roethlisberger. Hurts, who led the Eagles in rushing touchdowns (eight) failed to do much of anything with his legs, too, depicted by his mere 206 total yards (129 passing).
Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
The rookie wideout had a very pedestrian day despite the fact the Bengals dominated the Steelers to the tune of 41 points on offense. Unfortunately for Chase’s fantasy owners, he didn’t do much of anything as he finished with three catches on three targets for 39 yards. Chase, who entered Week 12 as the seventh-ranked wideout, finished 50th in total scoring on just 6.90 points — his lowest output of the season.
Surprises
Kendrick Bourne, WR, New England Patriots
Perhaps we should stop being surprised by New England skill players? Bourne now has put together two strong performances in the last three contests. The first-year Patriot was the fourth-highest scoring receiver behind 3.85 points per target on six targets. It was the most points per look among any wideout with six or more targets. Bourne wasn’t exactly used as a deep threat as he recorded just 4.8 air yards per reception, but his 7.40 average yards after catch turned his five touches into 61 yards and two touchdowns.
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
Jackson could probably land in this loser category as well given the fact he entered Week 12 as Yahoo’s second-ranked quarterback and finished QB23 in total scoring. Jackson threw three interceptions while 62.5% of his passes were deemed catchable (caught or dropped). He completed just one pass of 20 or more yards and his completion rate of 25% on passes of 20 or more air yards ranked in a tie for 21st among all signal-callers.
