NFL Player News

Making his first start since Week 8, Richardson posted a new career high for passing by 39. The two-touchdown day on the ground was also “just” the second of his career. He also conducted a picture perfect two-minute drill that led to what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. Richardson still had several mind-numbing misses — the shorter the pass is, the less accurate Richardson becomes — but he was in greater rhythm in the intermediate areas than we are used to seeing. He found three different pass catchers for at least three grabs, including Josh Downs and Michael Pittman for five a piece. A normal day at the office for a lot of quarterbacks, but genuine progress for Richardson. He was also a complete menace with the ball in his hands, looking scarily difficult to tackle on his two- and four-yard touchdown runs. This was much more like the quarterback the Colts wanted to see before they benched Richardson for Joe Flacco. That won’t be happening again any time soon, it appears. That being said, the Lions are a significantly more difficult matchup for Week 12, albeit at home.

Minshew game-managed his way to two field goals and a four-point deficit at halftime. The Dolphins started to pull away and Minshew initially looked capable of keeping up with a touchdown toss to Brock Bowers. The rookie did most of the work, catching the ball near the line of scrimmage before shedding a would-be tackler en route to a 23-yard score. Still, it was a solid drive for the offense that kept them in the game. Minshew again answered the call with another touchdown throw on the team’s next drive, this one another YAC-based completion to Ameer Abdullah. This is where the magic ended as Minshew threw a brutal interception on a possible miscommunication with Jakobi Meyers late in the fourth quarter, functionally ending the game. Minshew is still the Raiders’ best bet at quarterback, but that isn’t saying much. Head coach Antonio Pierce may still turn to Desmond Ridder for Vegas’s Week 12 matchup with Denver.

The Seahawks’ offensive line continues to be a significant problem for Smith but the 49ers lost DE Nick Bosa (hip/oblique) late in the game, giving Smith some breathing room. Smith’s interception occurred on a scrambling hero-ball attempt as a direct result of his poor pass protection. Smith saved his fantasy day by running all over the 49ers’ defense on the final drive, punctuating it with a 13-yard rushing score. Smith is a QB1 for the Seahawks’ Week 12 game against the Cardinals.

Williams took command of the Denver backfield a week after the team had seemingly turned to rookie Audric Estime. In Week 11, Williams scored the team’s lone rushing touchdown in a short-yardage scrum and was heavily involved in the passing offense. Estime had six carries and three receptions on the day for a total of 25 yards. Jaleel McLaughlin had four rushes for 19 yards. No one in the Broncos backfield is a candidate for a heavy workload, though Williams would seem to be the nominal lead back headed in Week 12 against the Raiders. He had 110 total yards in Week 5 against Vegas.

Wright out-carried Raheem Mostert once again, though he has been capped at six carries over his past five games. His increased involvement has largely rendered Mostert a value-less fantasy option. Wright himself isn’t seeing quite enough work to have any standalone value of his own. Wright is stuck in the RB5/6 range for Week 12 versus New England.

The Chargers are set to face the surging Bengals without one of their top pass rushers in Khalil Mack. Expect Will Dissly to once again serve as a near every-down tight end for the Chargers, while Gus Edwards’ return to health makes Vidal a game-day inactive.

It was Nix’s first 300-yard outing of his NFL career as the rookie averaged nearly ten yard per attempt against a Falcons defense that has struggled against the pass of late. Nix, who came into Week 11 with just ten touchdown passes, picked apart the Atlanta secondary on underneath passes and in the intermediate areas. Nix’s accuracy on short passes has improved immensely over Denver’s past couple games as his rushing attempts have dropped. Nix will be a top-12 fantasy option in Week 12 against a vulnerable Raiders defense. He had 206 yards and two touchdowns against Vegas in Week 4.

Brown will miss his third straight with knee and fibula injuries while Rankins will miss his fourth game of the season while dealing with multiple injuries. The Bengals get wide receiver Tee Higgins back after the veteran pass-catcher missed the previous three games.

Re-adjusting to life with an inaccurate Anthony Richardson under center, Downs made a diving 31-yard third down grab on the Colts’ opening series. His touchdown was a fourth quarter 10-yarder that required the wideout to dive for the plane. Richardson makes for a bumpy fantasy ride, but Downs has now had back-to-back useful outings with Ant under center. Week 12 could be a different story with the Colts likely to be in negative game script against a Lions defense that has been tidal waving opposing passers of late.

Hilariously, Conklin for some reason also took a fourth down direct snap that was stopped for no gain. Now held to one catch in three straight starts, Conklin is pure waiver wire fodder heading into the Jets’ Week 12 bye.