NFL Week 12 Recap: Immediate fantasy football takeaways from Sunday's games

• The Miami Dolphins passing attack is back: Jaylen Waddle achieved his second 100-yard game of the season, De’Von Achane caught two touchdowns, and Jonnu Smith caught nine passes.

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back hat trick: All three Buccaneers running backs found the end zone in their first victory in over a month.

• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!

Estimated reading time: 20 minutes

PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Carolina Panthers

Noah Gray: 4 receptions, 66 yards, 2 touchdowns
David Moore: 6 receptions, 81 yards, 1 touchdown

Jonathon Brooks’ very quiet debut: The second-round rookie only played five offensive snaps in his first NFL game.

Brooks tore his ACL last November, and it took over a year of recovery before the Panthers were comfortable playing him. His debut coincided with backup running back Miles Sanders landing on injured reserve due to an ankle injury. Given the Panthers’ 3-8 record, it wouldn’t be surprising if Sanders doesn’t return this season.

Brooks played two snaps in the middle of the second quarter and three in the middle of the fourth quarter, all in normal early down situations. Raheem Blackshear was the backup running back on passing downs.

Until we see a much larger role from Brooks, it’s safe to keep Chuba Hubbard in fantasy starting lineups, while Brooks needs to be left on the bench. If you’ve held on to him for this long, it makes sense to keep him at least for another few weeks.

Adam Thielen returns: The Panthers veteran wide receiver missed the last seven games due to a hamstring injury.

Thielen spent his career with the Vikings, primarily as an outside receiver. When he joined the Panthers last season, he moved to the slot in three-receiver sets while still playing in two-receiver sets. Under a new coaching staff this season, Thielen started the year as a slot-only player in three-receiver sets.

In his return, Thielen went right back to his role at the start of the season, consistently playing in the slot in three-receiver sets.

The big question now is what happens when Jalen Coker is back from his quadricep injury that left him inactive for this game. Coker has been playing well in the slot in recent weeks.

It’s worth noting that the Panthers made a subtle change at outside wide receiver. David Moore had been playing more of an X role while Xavier Legette plays more of a Z role, but those roles flipped this week after the bye. It seemed like the plan might be to keep Legette at X for the rest of the season, so either Thielen or Coker could play the Z role, allowing the Panthers to have their best receivers in the game. However, those plans could change after Moore caught six passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. That was the best wide receiver performance for a Panther outside of two games by Diontae Johnson earlier in the season.

Legette may be the only wide receiver in this group we’ll be able to trust, as he’s consistently on the field, and his 56 receiving yards this week against a strong Chiefs defense was his best-receiving total since September.

Monitor Ja’Tavion Sanders’ health: Sanders landed on his head while getting tackled late in the second quarter. He was carted off the field.

Sanders had movement in his arms, a positive sign after a scary scene. Like any injury, we are hoping for the best for Sanders and his health. Prior to the injury, Sanders was continuing his strong stretch of games with three catches for 49 yards, which led the Panthers receivers at halftime.

The bad news for Sanders from a fantasy football perspective is that Tommy Tremble was back. Tremble was inactive in four of the last five games due to injury. Tremble started his five games played this season, and Sanders was the backup in those games. This week, Sanders was the starter, but the two tight ends heavily rotated. Sanders only played 12 of the first 21 snaps. There were no strong run or pass tendencies as we see at times with other tight end rotations. Even with Sanders’ strong play, it’s hard to trust a tight end from a fantasy perspective when they are barely playing over 50% of their team's offensive snaps.

Tremble took over for the rest of the game and will be the Panthers' lead tight end for as long as Sanders is out. Tremble has only one game this season with more than 35 receiving yards in his career, so it’s best to leave him on the waiver wire despite his high playing time.

Chiefs settle into heavy receiver rotation: Travis Kelce was the only Chiefs wide receiver or tight end who played more than 65% of the team's offensive snaps.

For 2022 and most of 2023, the Chiefs rotated several receivers, making it hard to trust anyone, outside of Kelce, from a fantasy football standpoint. This was the second game of the year where Kansas City had both DeAndre Hopkins and JuJu Smith-Schuster. The Chiefs are only rotating four wide receivers this year unlike the five or six they rotated at times in recent seasons, but both Kelce and Noah Gray are playing more this year compared to last year.

Hopkins recorded the most receptions of the group but also ran the fewest routes. He had the one great game in a Chiefs uniform, but it will be hard to trust him going forward when the Chiefs are running more pass plays without Hopkins on the field.

Miscellaneous Notes

Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco practiced on a limited basis all week, but the Chiefs decided to keep him out one more week due to his ankle injury. The Chiefs have a short week next week with a Friday game, which may have contributed to Kansas City opting to wait.
Noah Gray has scored four touchdowns in the last two weeks, but his playing time decreased this week compared to his usual playing time. He has not caught more than four passes in a game this season. This was only his second game of the year with more than 40 receiving yards. While he hasn’t been consistent enough for redraft leagues this year, his dynasty value is rising.
Chiefs third-string tight end Peyton Hendershot left in the third quarter due to a calf injury and didn’t return. If Hendershot missed time, expect Anthony Firkser to be the Chiefs' third tight end. After spending some time with the New York Jets this season, Firkser has been on the Kansas City practice squad for the last few weeks.
The Panthers signed Deven Thompkins to the 53-man roster, rather than a practice squad elevation, to make him a top backup wide receiver for the rest of the season. Dan Chisena was a practice squad elevation with Jalen Coker out.

Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears

Jordan Addison: 8 receptions, 162 yards, 1 touchdown
D.J. Moore: 7 receptions, 106 yards, 1 touchdown

T.J. Hockenson is mostly back in a normal role: Hockenson’s playing time looked very similar to last season when he was healthy.

Hockenson tore his ACL and MCL at the end of last season, which kept him out the first eight weeks of this season. He returned in Week 9 but played under 50% of Minnesota's offensive snaps each of his first three games back.

Last week, Josh Oliver suffered an injury and Hockenson’s playing time didn’t increase. Johnny Mundt simply took the snaps that had been going to Oliver. Oliver didn’t practice this week due to both a wrist and ankle injury and was again inactive.

Hockenson played 38 of 42 snaps in 11 personnel this week, which was a big step up from recent weeks. He didn’t play at all in 21 personnel, which has been normal for him throughout his time with the Vikings. His snap rate was a little lower than most of last season, largely because the Vikings ran a lot of plays out of 21 personnel. In 12 personnel, he played nine of 13 snaps, losing a few Nick Muse, who was activated off injured reserve on Saturday.

He caught seven passes for 114 yards against a strong pass defense. His playing time has improved enough that he should be trusted in fantasy starting lineups for the rest of the year.

D’Andre Swift leads the backfield, but Roschon Johnson scores: Swift only scored one more PPR point than Johnson, but that is unlikely to be the norm.

Last week was the first week Thomas Brown served as the team’s offensive coordinator after Shane Waldron was fired. One notable change was Johnson consistently played in short-yardage situations. This is always noteworthy in fantasy because if a team has a short yardage back, they usually end up scoring the touchdowns.

Johnson did play a snap from the one-yard line snap this week, leading to a touchdown run, but it’s worth noting Johnson wasn’t consistently in at the goal line. In other short-yardage situations, it was consistently Swift on the field. While Johnson scored this week, in future weeks, it is just as likely that Swift will be the one scoring one-yard touchdowns.

The Bears added a new wrinkle to the offense this week with five plays where no running back was on the field. On those plays, the team used either four wide receivers and one tight end or three wide receivers and two tight ends. The Bears only had one other play this season with no running backs on the field. If this continues in future weeks, that will be a slight negative to the Bears’ running backs potential in the passing game.

Miscellaneous Notes

In recent weeks, Cam Akers was at a near-even split with Aaron Jones, which seemed to be injury-related. This week, Jones returned to playing most of the snaps and taking most of the running back opportunities.
Bears wide receiver Tyler Scott was a healthy inactive for the first time since Week 1. He was the Bears’ third wide receiver last season, but this year, he's fifth on the depth chart, while DeAndre Carter is the primary backup. He played, at most, three offensive snaps in a game this season and hasn’t had a consistent role on special teams.
Cole Kmet reportedly went to the medical tent earlier in the second quarter, but he didn’t miss an offensive snap. It was the fifth time in his career that he played 100% of his team’s offensive snaps, and the first time since 2022.
Gerald Everett played a season-low eight offensive snaps last week after the team fired his longtime coach Shane Waldron, who also coached him with the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks. His playing time decreased even further this week.

Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans

Tony Pollard: 24 carries, 119 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 receptions, 10 receiving yards
Nico Collins: 5 receptions, 92 yards, 1 touchdown

Tony Pollard shines without Tyjae Spears: The second-year back was inactive due to a concussion.

Pollard has been excellent for the Titans in their victories, finishing with at least 22 carries in all three of their wins for at least 85 yards. He’s also run at least 16 times in all of their losses that were by at least one score.

Spears missed a few games earlier in the season, and Pollard has played at least 80% of Tennessee's offensive snaps in each game. This was the first time in Pollard’s career that he played over 90% of Tennessee's offensive snaps, finishing with 94% in this game.

Ideally, Spears will be ready to play again next Sunday, so Pollard will be back to around 65% of Tennesse's offensive snaps, but Pollard will likely be a must-start regardless of Spears’ health.

John Metchie III reaches a new high in snaps: Metchie played in over 70% of Houston's offensive snaps for the first time in his career.

Stefon Diggs was consistently playing around 80-85 offensive snaps for the Texans until his season-ending injury in Week 8. Metchie tends to take Diggs’ snaps from the slot in 11 personnel while Robert Woods takes most of the 12 personnel snaps.

Those tendencies became stronger last week, as Metchie played all 38 of the Texans’ 11 personnel snaps. This week, he again played in 100% of the 11 personnel snaps. The main reason his snap count reached a career-high this week is due to the game script. The Texans spent most of the day playing from behind or with a small lead. This led to more 11 personnel than usual, giving Metchie more snaps than usual.

This only led to one reception on three targets for six yards, but it was generally a good sign he continues to play so much despite how many other talented Houston wide receivers are healthy.

Miscellaneous Notes

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has scored a touchdown in six of his last seven games, but he also only has two games all season with more than two receptions.
Chig Okonkwo set a new career-high in receiving yards today with 70. All 70 of his yards came from a game-winning touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. The Titans' schedule for tight ends is great over the rest of the season, but Okonkwo is averaging 2.2 receptions per game this season.
Cade Stover was the most productive of the Texans tight ends in this game with three receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown, but for now, Dalton Schultz remains the clear top tight end on the depth chart based on playing time and routes run.

Detroit Lions @ Indianapolis Colts

Jahmyr Gibbs: 21 carries, 90 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 receptions, 9 receiving yards
David Montgomery: 8 carries, 37 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 receptions, 36 receiving yards

Monitor all of the Colts wide receivers' health: Four of the Colts’ five wide receivers seemed to be dealing with an injury at some point during the game.

The Colts started the game relatively healthy at wide receiver. Both Michael Pittman (back) and Josh Downs (calf) were on the injury report but full participants in practice all week with no injury designations.

Pittman suffered a shoulder injury late in the first quarter. He was officially ruled questionable to return, but he was back to his usual amount of playing time to start the second drive. Alec Pierce was never officially reported with an injury, but he was spotted with the trainers. In the fourth quarter, Downs suffered a shoulder injury after a catch. He was able to return later in the quarter.

Backup wide receiver Ashton Dulin was the only player who couldn’t return to the game after suffering an ankle injury. Dulin has largely been used as a backup slot receiver this season who can also play out wide. If Dulin misses time, this could mean more snaps for Downs and Adonai Mitchell. It’s also possible Anthony Gould would be active on gamedays and play some snaps on offense.

Monitor David Montgomery’s health: Montgomery suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter and didn’t return.

The Lions used a fairly normal running back rotation in the first half. Gibbs played 16 snaps to Montgomery's 14. The injury occurred in the middle of the third quarter when the Lions were up by eight points, and a few minutes later, they were up by 15.

Gibbs took each of the first 17 snaps in the fourth quarter, while Craig Reynolds played the final three within the last two minutes. Gibbs is already a must-start, but his fantasy value could be even higher if Montgomery misses time. Luckily, Montgomery already said that he will be good to go for Thursday’s game.

Monitor Kalif Raymond’s health: Raymond suffered a foot injury early in the third quarter and was ruled out for the game.

Raymond has spent all season as the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart. While some backup wide receivers play a high percentage of their snaps on run plays, the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Raymond has played a high percentage of his plays on passing plays. The Lions’ third wide receiver Tim Patrick played 120 more offensive plays than Raymond coming into this week — just 30 more passing plays compared to 90 more blocking plays.

After Raymond’s injury, Patrick started taking a higher percentage of the snaps in 11 personnel. Allen Robinson II played just as much in the first half as he did in the second. If Raymond misses time, we can expect Patrick to be a bigger part of the offense. However, it probably won’t be a large enough role to trust him in fantasy football.

Miscellaneous Notes

Jonathan Taylor played 96% of the Colts' offensive snaps, which ties his season-high when from Week 1.
Sam LaPorta missed last week but was a full participant in practice all week this week. He played over 90% of Detroit's offensive snaps for just the second time this season.

New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins

Jaylen Waddle: 8 receptions, 144 yards, 1 touchdown
Jonnu Smith: 9 receptions, 87 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 carry, 0 rushing yards

Jonnu Smith’s role continues to expand: Smith’s role in 12 personnel has expanded significantly in recent weeks.

Smith started the season as a clear odd man out in 12 personnel, playing just 9% of the 12 personnel snaps in Week 1 and 21% in Week 2. That changed in Week 3, when he was up to 71%. He hovered between 70%-100% from Weeks 3-10, but for whatever reason, that was down the last two weeks. This week, he was back to playing 89% of 12 personnel snaps.

His role has similarly expanded in 11 personnel. He played 92% of the 11 personnel snaps last week, his second-best rate of the season. For most of this game, he was over 80%, which would have been his third-best game but too much run personnel in the fourth quarter dropped him below 80%. The only downside is 21 personnel, which Smith has consistently played 25% of snaps or less. Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold returned from the calf injury that kept him out the last two weeks, so the Dolphins were back to using more 21 personnel this week.

This expanded role makes it much easier to trust Smith in your fantasy starting lineup compared to earlier in the season where he was held to 20 yards or fewer in four of his first eight games.

Antonio Gibson receives another opportunity: Gibson led the backfield in offensive snaps at 30 and the team in rushing yards at 31.

Gibson began the season playing well and started in Weeks 5 and 6. After averaging 1.5 yards per carry against the Houston Texans in Week 6, Gibson has barely seen the field. Rhamondre Stevenson has been playing around 75% of New England’s offensive snaps, while Gibson has split the backup snaps with JaMycal Hasty. Stevenson’s playing time had been consistent regardless of the game script.

The Patriots made a clear adjustment to their plan in the first quarter. Stevenson played nine of 15 snaps compared to Gibson's seven. In the previous four weeks, Stevenson played 81% of the first-quarter snaps. Stevenson played slightly more in both the second and third quarters and then in the fourth quarter, the Patriots decided to split time between Gibson and Hasty.

Stevenson was restricted to 13 yards on eight carries and no receptions. This was supposed to be a relatively good matchup for Stevenson. The Patriots play the Indianapolis Colts next week, have their bye week, and then face the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers. While their next three teams have given up a lot to running backs this season, if the Patriots are playing from behind, a lot of those fantasy points could go to Gibson instead of Stevenson.

Miscellaneous Notes

The Dolphins started to put in backups early in the fourth quarter up 31-7, but a poor exchange from Skylar Thompson to Jaylen Wright led to a Patriots fumble return for a touchdown, forcing the Dolphins to put their starters back in the game with only a two-score lead.
Raheem Mostert had been restricted to passing down snaps in recent weeks. This week, he played a few snaps on early downs but still not as much as De’Von Achane or Wright.
Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte has played between 96-97% of offensive snaps in each of the last three games. He led the Patriots' skill players in snaps and routes this week, but it was also his lowest percentage of New England's offensive snaps in a month.
The Patriots elevated tight end Jack Westover from the practice squad for this game, giving them a fourth tight end.
K.J. Osborn was a healthy inactive for the third time in the last four games. He hasn’t caught a pass for the Patriots since Week 7.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New York Giants

Bucky Irving: 12 carries, 87 yards, 1 touchdown, 6 receptions, 64 receiving yards
Malik Nabers: 6 receptions, 64 yards

New York Giants rotate more at every position: The Giants made a clear move to look for the future after benching Daniel Jones. Quarterback isn’t the only position where they made a change.

The first change was at running back, where we saw more of a three-man rotation. This was likely partially due to the game script. Tracy played six of eight snaps on the first two drives where he ran the ball three times, but he only played twice on the other 10 plays in the half. Devin Singletary was the primary receiving back.

The Giants started the second half with Tracy, as he played seven of nine snaps on the first drive of the quarter and ran the ball four times. He only played nine of 32 snaps over the rest of the half, while both Singletary and Eric Gray received extended playing time. It is not great to see a former receiver having the third-most routes out of the backfield.

The Giants also made a change at wide receiver, as Darius Slay ton and Jalin Hyatt split routes. Slayton had played at least 82% of New York's offensive snaps in every game he’s been healthy since Week 1 and played at least 92% of snaps in each game from Weeks 7-9 before missing Week 10.

At tight end, Theo Johnson played 73% of the Giant's offensive snaps, which was his second-lowest rate in a game. Since Week 6, he has played in at least 85% of New York's offensive snaps. His loss in snaps was largely on passing plays, as Daniel Bellinger played his most snaps since Week 3.

The Giants have one of the best schedules for fantasy players over the rest of the season, but this game was very concerning, both in terms of the quality of the offense and the rotation among players.

Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan return: The Buccaneers were the closest to full strength at wide receiver in over a month.

Evas played his first game since Week 7, and his first full game since Week 5 as he’s been dealing with a hamstring injury. McMillan didn’t play in the last two games due to a hamstring injury.

Evans was back to being the primary X receiver. He was rotated out a little more than usual but was still on the field for the clear majority of Tampa Bay's pass plays. He led the team in receiving yards with 68 off five passes. McMillan returned to the Z receiver role with Sterling Shepard in the slot, which is what the Buccaneers have done every time both receivers have been healthy since Chris Godwin’s season-ending injury.

In general, Rakim Jarrett was Evans’ backup, Trey Palmer was McMillan’s backup, and Ryan Miller was Shepard’s backup. Each player earned a reception for double-digit yards. The heavy rotation will make it difficult to trust any of the wide receivers other than Evans.

Miscellaneous Notes

Bucky Irving got the ball to the one-yard line twice, while Sean Tucker entered the game for the one-yard opportunities. This was the first time all season Tucker was used in this way, as he hadn’t played a single snap within four yards of the end zone this season before this game.
Malik Nabers was held without a target for the entire first half but then earned nine targets all in the second half.
The New York Giants officially released Daniel Jones on Saturday and replaced him on the roster with Tim Boyle.

Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Commanders

Terry McLaurin: 5 receptions, 102 yards, 1 touchdown
CeeDee Lamb: 10 receptions, 67 yards, 1 carry, 1 rushing yard

Rico Dowdle is the clear early down back: The Cowboys' backfield in this game should be their backfield looks over the rest of the season.

The Cowboys started the season rotating running back by drive between Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott. Hunter Luepke eventually earned the passing-down role. Over the middle third of the season, Dallas lost Dowdle for a game, Elliott for a game and experimented with Dalvin Cook coming off the practice squad for a few weeks.

Most recently, the Cowboys abandoned their rotation to give Dowdle more snaps. His playing time rose even more last week, as Luepke was inactive due to injury. However, Dowdle only played 11 of 44 snaps in the second half last week, as both Elliott and Deuce Vaughn played more snaps than Dowdle in that half.

This week, things seem to have stabilized. Luepke was not given an injury status, Vaughn was back to being a healthy inactive, and Cook remained on the practice squad. Luepke was back to playing on clear passing downs, while Dowdle was the clear early down back. Elliott just played to give Dowdle a break. Dowdle ran 19 times for 86 yards and caught three passes. This will ideally be the role of the Cowboys running backs the rest of the way, which means Dowdle can be a fantasy starter more often than not.

Cowboys backup tight ends step up without Jake Ferguson: The Cowboys’ star tight end was inactive due to a concussion.

Last week when Ferguson went down, the Cowboys turned to both Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford. The two were used interchangeably, and there was a slight preference toward Schoonmaker being on the field.

This week, the Cowboys followed the same pattern. Schoonmaker led Spann-Ford in 11 personnel snaps 28-22. Schoonmaker was the main tight end during their three snaps out of 21 personnel, and the two shared the field in two tight end sets. Typically, teams will have a preference in the most obvious passing situations, but even on third downs, Schoonmaker was only ahead of Spann-Ford by a snap.

Schoonmaker caught three passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, while Spann-Ford caught two passes for 24 yards, making them two of Cooper Rush’s four favorite targets in terms of receiving yards.

There is a chance Ferguson will have to miss another game because the Cowboys play again on Thursday. It will be hard to consider either player a top-12 fantasy tight end heading into the week due to how much the two rotate in passing situations, but both tight ends have big-game upside if Ferguson is out again.

Monitor the Commanders' running backs’ health: Neither Brian Robinson Jr. nor Austin Ekeler was able to finish this game for the Commanders.

Robinson has spent a lot of the season dealing due to a hamstring injury. He’s been inactive for three of the last six games and has played under 55% of Washington's offensive snaps in the previous four games he was active. He didn’t appear on the injury report heading into this week.

He started this game and suffered an ankle injury on the first play. He was ruled questionable, jogged to the locker room and was able to return later in the first quarter. He continued to play until the middle of the second quarter and was again ruled questionable. He never ended up returning to the game.

This left Austin Ekeler as the primary running back with Jeremy McNichols also playing significant snaps. In the last 15 seconds, Ekeler handled a kick return in which he suffered a concussion. He was taken to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. This left McNichols as the only back for the final seconds of the game.

Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. was released on Saturday, as the Commanders didn’t think they needed a fourth healthy running back on the roster. It wouldn’t be surprising if he returns to the roster this week.

The Commanders face the Tennessee Titans this upcoming week. McNichols should be a clear waiver target in every league, and Rodriguez could be a target in some deep leagues.

Miscellaneous Notes

Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks has returned to practice and was limited all week. The Cowboys didn’t activate him to the 53-man roster this week, delaying his return. He has the talent to be the full-time starter once he’s fully healthy, but given the Cowboys' record, they may want more extended looks at their younger receivers.
The Cowboys made Jalen Brooks a healthy inactive last week. This week, he was back to being the team’s third wide receiver. He rotated heavily with Jonathan Mingo, KaVontae Turpin and Ryan Flournoy.
Princeton Fant was elevated from the Cowboys practice squad for a second straight week. Last week, they wanted a fourth tight end and this week, it was to give them a third option.
Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown had a season-low in receptions last week with one, and this week, he set a season-high with six.

Denver Broncos @ Las Vegas Raiders

Courtland Sutton: 8 receptions, 97 yards, 2 touchdowns
Jakobi Meyers: 10 receptions, 121 yards

Ameer Abdullah leads the Raiders’ backfield: Alexander Mattison (ankle) and Zamir White (quadriceps) were both inactive due to injury.

Abdullah was the last man standing for the Raiders last week. The 10-year veteran has largely been a receiving back since 2018, but he was used in an every-down role for this game. His career-high in offensive snaps in a game prior to this week was 40. He only had two games playing over 60% of his team's offensive snaps in a game in his career, and those games came in 2016 and 2017. He ran the ball eight times for 28 yards and caught five passes for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Sixth-round rookie Dylan Laube has been healthy but inactive for most of the season. He only played one offensive snap, during which he ran the ball and fumbled. While he took a kick return for 59 yards, which was great to see, he didn’t play a single offensive snap Sunday. Instead, Sincere McCormick, who was elevated from the practice squad for this game, was the primary backup.

McCormick has been with the Raiders since 2022. He spent his rookie season on injured reserve and most of the last two seasons on the practice squad. He was active for one game this season, in which he only played on special teams. He ran five times for 33 yards. It was only the third time this season a Raiders running back had five or more carries and averaged 5.0 yards per carry or more.

The Raiders have a short week, playing the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday. There is a chance the usual Raiders running backs miss another game. The Chiefs have been great at stopping running backs, so Abdullah would be an option for any fantasy manager who is desperate for anyone who could have volume.

Jaleel McLaughlin is this week’s hot hand: McLaughlin led the team in rushing yards at 44, while Javonte Williams had -2 rushing yards.

Williams started the game for the Broncos like usual, taking every snap on the first drive. McLaughlin started to mix in on the second drive. They turned back to Williams on the third, while Audric Estime saw most of his opportunities on the fourth drive.

At halftime, Williams had four carries for one yard, Estime recorded two carries for 11 and McLaughlin finished with two carries for 29. While Williams still led the team in snaps in the second half, McLaughlin had the most carries. Williams was the only halfback for the Broncos with a reception, catching two passes for six yards.

We’ve reached a point where the Broncos running backs are unplayable in redraft leagues, because any given week, it could be one of three players the Broncos choose to rely on in the second half. The Broncos also have one of the worst schedules for running backs over the rest of the season — three games against top-eight defenses at preventing fantasy points to running backs. They also still have their bye week in Week 14. It’s not out of the question to drop any Broncos running back you have on your roster.

Miscellaneous Notes

Broncos wide receiver Josh Reynolds was a full participant in practice all week after his hand injury but was still ruled out for the week.
Rookie Devaughn Vele caught a career-high 80 receiving yards, while Marvin Mims Jr. had his second-straight week with over 40 receiving yards after being held under 20 yards in every previous game this season.
Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew suffered a broken collarbone and is out for the season. Aidan O’Connell is eligible to return this week, but it’s unclear if he’s ready to return from his thumb injury. Desmond Ridder will be the starter at least until O’Connell is back.
Raiders third-string tight end Harrison Bryant was inactive for a second straight week due to an ankle injury.
Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers played over 90% of the Raiders' offensive snaps for the fourth straight week.

San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers

Josh Jacobs: 26 carries, 106 yards, 3 touchdowns
George Kittle: 6 receptions, 82 yards, 1 touchdown

Monitor Romeo Doubs’ health: The Packers' top outside wide receiver suffered a concussion and didn’t return.

The Packers started the game with their usual rotation of wide receivers, with Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson on the outside and Jayden Reed in the slot in three-receiver sets. Dontayvion Wicks was Watson's backup, and Bo Melton played slightly more than usual in Doubs' place in the first half. Doubs left the game late in the third quarter.

The Packers used their starting wide receivers for three more drives after Doubs’ exit. Watson played all 10 snaps, and Wicks played eight of 10. Melton played in the other two, while Reed continued in his 11 personnel role. This didn’t lead to a lot of receiving production because the Packers spent most of the time running the ball.

The Packers have a short week, playing on Thanksgiving, making it unlikely Doubs is able to return in time for that game. This makes Wicks the likely starter against the Miami Dolphins. While it’s not a perfect matchup, Wicks will have a lot of upside based on his high targets per route numbers during his career.

Deebo Samuel was limited: Samuel was rotated out more than usual in two-receiver sets.

Samuel typically plays in 75-90% of the 49ers' offensive snaps when healthy. He has appeared on the injury report several weeks this season due to rib, oblique, wrist and calf injuries as well as an illness. Despite this, he’s played in 77% of the 11 personnel snaps, 70% of the 12 personnel and 70% of the 21 personnel snaps, ignoring Week 3 when he was inactive.

In this game, he played 92% of the 11 personnel snaps, which is closer to what we would expect when Samuel was healthy. However, he didn’t play at all in 12 personnel and only 56% of the 21 personnel snaps. It was almost always rookie Ricky Pearsall taking his place. Samuel hasn’t appeared on the injury report since November 9, so this didn’t seem to be injury-related.

It’s possible the 49ers simply want to get Pearsall on the field for more than in just 11 personnel. This wouldn’t be great news for Samuel’s fantasy value over the rest of the season and not a great sign for his chances of staying on the roster in 2025.

Miscellaneous Notes

George Kittle missed last week due to a hamstring injury. He was back this week and led the team in receiving. His snap share was slightly lower than what we would expect from Kittle at 100%.
49ers backup rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing was inactive this week due to a concussion.
The Packers turned to several backups throughout the fourth quarter. While Malik Willis only played the final four snaps, all of the Packers' lead skill players played in less than half of the fourth-quarter snaps, impacting all of their playing time.
Josh Jacobs had to go to the locker room for an IV for cramping but was able to return to the game.

Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks

Trey McBride: 12 receptions, 133 yards
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 6 receptions, 77 yards, 1 touchdown

A.J. Barner sees a second-straight start: Noah Fant was inactive due to a groin injury.

Fant was officially questionable, and it wasn’t certain he wasn’t playing until inactives were announced 90 minutes before the game.

Barner’s role was similar to last week, where he played a clear majority of the snaps in 11 personnel as well as nearly all of the two tight end sets. He played in at least 84% of offensive snaps for three straight games. Fant hasn’t reached 84% at any point this season and hasn’t reached over 70% since Week 2.

Fant has a higher target rate, more yards per route run and a higher receiving grade this season. Since Barner has averaged 20 yards per game during this three-game stretch, it will be interesting to see if they rely more on the veteran tight end than they had earlier in the season as they pursue a division title.

Trey Benson leads the Cardinals in rushing: He gained 18 yards on his four carries compared to James Conner‘s eight yards from seven carries .

Conner was held to -6 yards before contact, so his 2.0 yards after contact per carry weren’t all that bad considering how quickly he was getting contacted. Benson was also stuffed in the backfield on 25% of his carries, but he had a little more success on his limited attempts.

Despite the difference in rushing yards, Conner remained the clear lead running back throughout the game. As usual, he didn’t play on some third downs in favor of Emari Demercado, but Benson hasn’t cut into Conner’s playing time.

Benson is still worth a waiver-wire pickup as one of the top handcuff options at the position, but we shouldn’t expect standalone value from Benson this season unless there is an injury to Conner.

Miscellaneous Notes

Trey McBride’s 133 receiving yards were the second-most by a tight end in a game this season. He is the only tight end with multiple 100-yard games this season.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba gained at least 70 receiving yards once in his first 25 career games. He’s achieved it in each of his last three games.
Seahawks backup tight end Brady Russell was inactive for a second straight week due to a foot injury. He’s mostly been a special teams player this season. Tyler Mabry was again activated off the practice squad.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Los Angeles Rams

Saquon Barkley: 26 carries, 255 yards, 2 touchdowns; 4 receptions, 47 receiving yards
A.J. Brown: 6 receptions, 109 yards, 1 touchdown

Eagles adjust without DeVonta Smith: Philadelphia's star wide receiver was inactive this week due to a hamstring injury.

Whenever one of the Eagles' top wide receivers misses a game, Jahan Dotson moves up the depth chart. In Week 4, both DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown were sidelined, leaving Parris Campbell and Johnny Wilson as the second and third receivers. This week, only Wilson consistently saw the field in three-receiver sets.

Britain Covey was activated off the practice squad on Sunday, serving as the fifth wide receiver behind Ainias Smith, who recently returned from injured reserve.

One of the advantages of the Eagles’ roster in recent seasons is their ability to maintain productivity when a star player is injured. Injuries often translate into more opportunities for players who are already fantasy starters. In this game, A.J. Brown, Saquon Barkley, and Dallas Goedert all recorded four or more receptions, while no other Eagle had more than one. If Smith misses additional time, it should only get fantasy managers more excited about the skill players already in their lineup.

Rams' tight end rotation gets worse for fantasy managers: All three Rams tight ends were significantly involved in passing situations.

The Rams began the season with Colby Parkinson as their clear lead tight end. However, from Weeks 7-9, Parkinson's role in two-tight-end sets diminished, leading to all three tight ends seeing double-digit snaps during that stretch. In Week 10, Davis Allen emerged as the lead tight end, but the team reverted to a more balanced rotation the following week.

This week, the Rams rarely used 12 personnel, instead rotating their tight ends more frequently in 11 personnel than a Sean McVay offense has since 2017. All three tight ends logged double-digit snaps in 11 personnel—a scenario last seen twice during the 2017 season. At that time, the Rams had Gerald Everett as a dedicated receiving tight end, Derek Carr ier as a primary blocker, and Tyler Higbee as a versatile option. In contrast, the current tight ends are being used interchangeably, with all three reaching double-digit snaps by the end of the third quarter.

Given this usage pattern, the Rams' tight ends should be avoided in fantasy formats, much like the tight ends of the Indianapolis Colts in recent seasons.

Miscellaneous Notes

Rams wide receiver Jordan Whittington was active and didn’t appear on the injury report this week, but he didn’t play a snap on offense.
The Eagles elevated C.J. Uzomah off the practice squad for the second straight week. The Eagles only have two other tight ends on the roster, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Uzomah ends up with a permanent roster spot in the next few weeks.

Table Notes

Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.