The 3M Report: Week 11

Matt Price

Welcome to the week 11 edition of the 3M report; a look back on the magic, mayhem, and mishaps of the weekend games.

Cam Newton versus Drew Brees is often a matchup that gives us some juicy fantasy production. Their last two matchups resulted in 41-38 games. The week 11 Thursday night game was a different story.  Cam took this one 23-20 in a game marred by injuries and disappointing fantasy production all round. Newton was a consensus top three play this week and he produced just 192 yards and one passing touchdown for his owners. Brees finished with a respectable 285 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception but it was his two turnovers in the first half that put his team in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.

Luke Kuechly was carted off the field in this one with tears streaming down his face. Reports are that he “only” suffered a concussion, but it was a devastating blow to a defense that looked like they might implode like they did against Kansas City when they allowed the Chiefs to score 17 unanswered points and steal a victory. They entered the fourth quarter with a 20-3 lead but allowed Brees to lead a comeback that ultimately fell three points short. In addition to losing Kuechly, Carolina also suffered a loss on the offensive line when All-Pro center Ryan Kalil went down with a shoulder injury and their best pass rusher, Mario Addison, was lost to a foot injury. It was a costly victory, but for now, Carolina is still on the fringes of the playoff hunt.

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In Minnesota, The Vikings snap a four-game losing streak, holding on to defeat Arizona 30-24. With 30 points on the board, you might think your Vikings players had a nice fantasy day. You would be wrong. Sam Bradford managed just 169 passing yards and a single touchdown so unless you played Adam Thielen you weren’t happy. After consecutive 13-catch games, Stefon Diggs managed just six catches for 37 yards against Patrick Peterson. The Vikings defense and special teams, especially Xavier Rhodes and Cordarrelle Patterson, won this game for Minnesota. Rhodes took one of his two interceptions to the house and Patterson took a kickoff 104 yards for another touchdown. The best hit of the game came from Linval Joseph when he leveled a Fox Network sound guy who didn’t realize the Vikings were coming out of the tunnel after halftime.

David Johnson continues to carry the Cardinals and fantasy teams. He ran roughshod over a studly Minnesota defense to the tune of 35 PPR fantasy points. Larry Fitzgerald caught six for 63 but is now 0-5 for his career in his hometown. Last week I said I was done with all the other Arizona wide receivers and that paid off in week 11. Michael Floyd led the trio with two catches for 21 yards. Neither John Brown or JJ Nelson gained a single yard on offense.

Eli Manning threw two touchdowns in the third quarter and led the Giants to their fifth consecutive victory. One of those touchdown passes went to rookie Sterling Shepard who led the team in receiving yards with five receptions for 50 yards. With other legit receiving options on his team there will be days like this for Odell Beckham. He disappointed his owners with just five catches for 46 yards.

Bears rookie Leonard Floyd suffered a scary neck injury where his neck was compressed. The latest reports are that he has no loss of movement, though, so here’s hoping for a full recovery. The offense sputtered again under Jay Cutler. It’s tough to place all the blame on him when his top receivers are Cameron Meredith and Marquise Wilson, but he certainly hasn’t been a positive for the team since his return. To make matters worse, Zach Miller left the game with what looked like a serious foot injury but not before netting his fantasy owners three catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. Rookie running back Jordan Howard continues to impress me and has completely changed my opinion on him as a talent. Perhaps there’s a chance that he survives the 2017 draft class and remains the starter next season.

winstonI was tilting pretty hard in the Bucs versus Chiefs game. I’m up to my ears in Mike Evans and Spencer Ware shares and watching multiple missed touchdown opportunities by both players had me up and stomping around my apartment. Evans had a nice touchdown reception punched out at the last second and Ware came up about three inches short on a carry inside the five-yard line. In the end, this was another game where guys nobody started got the scores. Alan Cross and Albert Wilson anyone? One interesting nugget from this game: Jameis Winston has now accounted for at least one touchdown in 53 straight games dating back to his time at Florida State University. On Sunday he also got his team a win and broke Kansas City’s five-game winning streak. Mike Evans continues to see a ridiculous number of targets. He got another 13 this week, catching six for 105 yards. Travis Kelce also had a nice game as the most targeted Chiefs pass catcher. He hauled in seven for 108.

The worst news of the day has to be AJ Green going down on his first target of the game to an apparent torn hamstring. He is scheduled for an MRI to confirm but this could be a season-ender for him, the Bengals, and his fantasy owners. Without Green in the lineup, rookie Tyler Boyd made several nice plays, including a one-yard touchdown reception. LeSean McCoy also left this game with a thumb injury, but not before getting into the end zone. It looks like Shady should be fine and ready to go for week 12. Robert Woods also left the game in the first half with a knee injury but the depleted Bills were able to hang on, get the 16-12 victory, and keep themselves alive for a wildcard spot.

Marcus Mariota continues his hot streak, tossing two touchdowns, one to Demarco Murray and another to rookie Tajae Sharpe, but it wasn’t enough to get the win against the division rival Indianapolis Colts. Rishard Matthews had a career-high 122 yards on nine receptions in a losing effort. Andrew Luck made one terrible throw resulting in an interception but largely looked more comfortable with his full complement of weapons. He threw scores to both TY Hilton and Donte Moncrief. Hilton’s touchdown was an acrobatic grab that went through the hands of Perrish Cox. Frank Gore had a nice receiving day as well with four for 71, including a 49-yard catch and run that set up Robert Turbin for a touchdown plunge.

It was a historically horrible kicking day in the NFL. Adam Vinatieri held the record for most consecutive field goals at 44 but on Sunday missed a 42 yarder wide right. There were also a record 11 missed PATs missed in week 11. The best kickers weren’t exempt from the calamity, as both Stephen Gostkowski and Steven Hauschka missed one on Sunday.

Blake Bortles continues to be a fantasy feast for team defenses, throwing two more interceptions today, one returned for a touchdown. Andre Roberts also gave the Lions a 55-yard punt return touchdown.  TJ Yeldon suffered an ankle injury in this one, handing a big workload to Chris Ivory who answered the fantasy call as the leading receiver with six receptions for 75 yards. Allen Robinson wasn’t much of a factor, catching only three passes for 18 yards, but he continues to score touchdowns and got another one late in the second quarter. I’ve long been an Eric Ebron hater but lately he has been changing my mind. He had a nice 61-yard reception in this one and took his first career rushing attempt into the end zone from the one-yard line.

The narrative all week for the Steelers was how they tend to play down to competition on the road. The problem with that narrative is that this is the 2016 Cleveland Browns we are talking about. Pittsburgh got the win but that didn’t equate to a great fantasy day for any Steeler except Le’Veon Bell. Ben Roethlisberger threw for just 167 yards and didn’t have a touchdown pass. You were fine with Antonio Brown’s eight for 76 on the day but it isn’t what we expected against a team as weak as the Browns. Cleveland’s rushing attack was lead by Josh McCown who had 11 yards. That tells you all you need to know about how the Browns played today. Terrelle Pryor continues to be the only option worth considering in fantasy. He gave his owners five for 97 in a 24-9 loss. This was a big win for the Steelers as it pushes them to 5-5 and a tie for the AFC North division with the Baltimore Ravens who lost to the Cowboys.

Steve Smith caught his 1000th career pass on his way to eight for 99 and a touchdown but it wasn’t enough to get a victory for Baltimore. Terrance West was running well in the first half with 42 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown run, but was curiously absent in the second half, getting just one carry for zero yards.

The rookie wunderkinds Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot continue to dominate the league. Best rushing defense in the NFL? Not a problem for Zeke and this offensive line. He didn’t quite hit 100 yards rushing but 97 on the ground and 30 in the air was enough with Dak surpassing 300 passing yards for the second straight game. As sad as Tony Romo’s press conference was, he was right. Dak deserves to be the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.

Dez Bryant’s dynasty value continues to rebound with two touchdowns in week 11. He took advantage of Jimmy Smith missing the game for the Ravens, but I don’t know if any cornerback in the league could have stopped him on either touchdown reception.goff

Jared Goff’s week 11 debut at home wasn’t nearly as disastrous as I thought it might be. He only threw for 134 yards but didn’t commit any turnovers and showed the arm strength Case Keenum was severely lacking. He had several nice connections with Kenny Britt and Lance Kendricks. Todd Gurley ran strong early, busting off a 24-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but the offense as a whole didn’t do enough to hold onto the 10-0 lead the Rams held entering the fourth quarter. The Rams defense ultimately let down their rookie signal caller, allowing Ryan Tannehill to throw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter He hit Devante Parker with 36 seconds left on the clock to give the Dolphins a 14-10 come from behind road victory. Jay Ajayi continues to run well and see a feature back’s workload. He was efficient today averaging 4.8 yards per carry but put up a mediocre fantasy line with 80 total yards and no touchdown.

Tom Brady traveled to his hometown and took revenge on the team that shunned him in the 2000 NFL draft. He threw four touchdowns to four different receivers in a 30-17 drubbing of the San Francisco 49ers. Rob Gronkowski missed the game and most of his targets went to Julian Edelman, not Martellus Bennett. Edelman finished with a whopping 17 targets on the day, converting eight of them into receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. LeGary Blount rampaged again for 124 yards but the league leader in rushing touchdowns didn’t get one today. Dion Lewis returned for the first game of 2016 and had a nice 12-yard run in a limited role. Rookie Malcolm Mitchell had a breakout kind of game with a 56-yard touchdown reception and eight for 77 total on the day.

Colin Kaepernick took the loss but continues to play well in the Kelly system for fantasy purposes. He tossed touchdowns to Vance McDonald, Shaun Draughn, and added 32 yards on the ground. Torrey Smith missed his first career game, snapping an 89-game streak to start his career. Smith sustained a shoulder injury in week ten that kept him out of this one.

Russell Wilson is back to the quarterback we knew before sustaining multiple leg injuries earlier this season. On one sick throw, he scrambled left and made a throw across his body, finding Jimmy Graham, who broke a tackle, ran 35 yards, and found the end zone for Wilson’s only passing touchdown of the day. Wilson also became the first quarterback in franchise history to catch a touchdown pass. He handed the ball off to Doug Baldwin on an end-around and Baldwin hit him for the 15-yard score. CJ Prosise had an amazing 72-yard rushing touchdown, but in his first game back, Thomas Rawls out-touched the rookie 17-6 and out-targeted him 4-3. Prosise is going to make some splashy plays if this shoulder injury is no big deal, but make no mistake, this is Rawls’ backfield. The Seahawks took this one 26-15 but Earl Thomas going to the locker room with a hamstring injury is a big blow to this defense if it becomes a long-term issue.

Carson Wentz played better than I’d expect a rookie to play on the road in Seattle. He threw two touchdowns and two interceptions and played well early in the game but struggled down the stretch. The Eagles suffered injuries to their top two running backs in the first half. Ryan Mathews left with a knee injury and Darren Sproles suffered a rib injury. Wendell Smallwood led the team in carries with 13 for 48 yards and adding four catches for 31 yards. Dorial Green-Beckham and Zach Ertz caught touchdown passes.

It’s been a rough season to be a Packer fan. After giving up 47 points to Tennessee last week, they followed that up with allowing 42 points to Washington in week 11 in a 42-24 loss. Whenever Kirk Cousins wanted to go deep he did so. Jamison Crowder went over 100 yards and caught a touchdown for the third consecutive game. Pierre Garcon also went over 100 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown. Aaron Rodgers lit up the fantasy scoreboard with 351 yards and three touchdowns but struggled at times. Rodgers also led the team in rushing once again with 33 yards on the ground. Next week I hope newly acquired Christine Michael is in the game plan because John Starks has shown multiple times he isn’t a feature back. He managed just 29 yards on nine carries against a bad Washington run defense. Jared Cook was back in the lineup and had a nice fantasy day but also had several key drops. Their fourth loss in a row has the Packers sitting two games behind the Vikings and Lions at 4-6.

I’ll be in the shower. See you guys in week 12.

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matt price