Doc’s Fantasy Football Week 11 Prescription Notes

New England def New York Jets 27-14

TreyVeon Henderson was outstanding, scoring three touchdowns to lead the Patriots to their eighth straight win. Drake Maye threw for 281 yards and a touchdown, and Stefon Diggs had nine catches for 105 yards. The biggest question for the Patriots is what happens with Henderson when Rhamondre Stevenson returns from his injury? Henderson has earned the playing time to be a starter, but I doubt that Mike Vrabel will pull a Rico Dowdle and replace Stevenson entirely. The Jets still continue to struggle on offense as Justin Fields only completed 15 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Fields had more rushing yards than any other player on the Jets roster, but now that Garrett Wilson is on the IR, the lack of competent receivers is even more glaring than usual.

Miami def Washington 16-13 OT

Just last week, we praised Miami for playing an inspired game against Buffalo; this week, Miami could barely get its offense started as Tua Tagovailoa only threw for 171 yards and didn’t have a touchdown pass. De’Von Achane led the offense with 120 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving. He would be having an MYP-type season if Miami were playing better. Washington continues to struggle on offense as injuries have decimated their team. Deebo Samuel led their receivers with seven catches for 74 yards and a touchdown, and Marcus Mariota played credibly once again with 213 yards passing and a touchdown to go along with 49 yards rushing. For some reason, Washington decided to use Chris Rodriguez Jr as their main running back, which is a little confusing since Croseky-Merritt is better, and that’s something to monitor moving forward.

Green Bay def New York Giants 27-20

This game may have been very costly for the Packers in that Josh Jacobs left the game with a knee injury, which might require him to miss the next 1 to 4 weeks. his replacement, Emanuel Wilson, led Green Bay with 40 yards rushing and a touchdown in Jacobs’ absence. Jordan Love left the game for a little bit with a rib injury, but came back and threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Jameis Winston may not have led the Giants to a win, but at least they played some inspired football. Tyrone Tracy led the Giants with 139 yards from scrimmage and looked every bit the player that he was last year. Devin Singletary ran for two touchdowns and could be a very good goal-line threat moving forward.

Pittsburgh def Cincinnati 34-12

Aaron Rodgers left the game with a wrist injury, and Mason Rudolph played the second half and  threw for 127 yards and a touchdown. Jaylen Warren left the game with an injury, but Kenneth Gainwell showed his receiving chops and had seven receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns. If Warren misses any time, Gainwell will be a must-add on waivers. Cincinnati’s season is effectively over as they are now 3-7. Joe Flacco looks old and injured, and he only threw for 199 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers held Ja’Marr Chase to three receptions for 30 yards, but Tee Higgins did score a 28-yard touchdown. The only Bengal who looked good was Chase Brow,n who had 99 yards rushing and 28 yards receiving.

Jacksonville def Los Angeles Chargers 35-6

This game was an absolute disaster for Los Angeles, who mustered relatively no offense. Justin Herbert was under siege as he was pressured all game long, which is very unusual for Jacksonville, which is a team that doesn’t really get a lot of pressure. Herbert finished with 81 yards passing on the day and was removed early in the fourth quarter for general ineffectiveness. Jacksonville played excellent football, rushing the ball 47 times for 192 yards and four touchdowns. Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten were a fantastic one-two combination until Tuten left the game with an ankle injury.  If Jacksonville can run the ball like they did today and if their defense can continue to get sacks, they could be a sneaky contender in the AFC.

Buffalo def Tampa Bay 44-32

In one of the most exciting games of the day, Josh Allen had three passing touchdowns to go along with three rushing touchdowns to help Buffalo defeat Tampa Bay. Allen threw touchdowns to three different receivers and really took big shots downfield, including one to Tyrell Shavers, who had a 43-yard touchdown. The Bills run defense was still terrible as they let up over 200 yards and three touchdowns to Tampa, and that’s something that they are going to have to work on if they want to make it far in the playoffs. Sean Tucker exploded for Tampa Bay with 19 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns to lead the team. Tampa really couldn’t get a lot done passing, as Baker Mayfield only threw for 173 yards and a touchdown, but the bigger problem was that Tampa Bay’s defense did not sack Josh Allen once. When Tampa can’t get pressure on the opposing QB, they’re never going to win, considering they don’t play tight enough coverage in the back end.

Chicago def Minnesota 19-17

Kudos go out to Ben Johnson and the Bears, who are now 7-3, as a big kickoff return by Devin Duvernay set up the game-winning field goal. Caleb Williams finished with 193 yards, but what he really did well was show some escapeability when the Vikings pass pressure was on him. JJ McCarthy continued to struggle, only completing 16 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. Moreover, he had two interceptions and overthrew his receivers on numerous occasions. Justin Jefferson was only able to get five catches for 61 yards and looked frustrated once again on the sideline. The Viking coaching staff needs to make it easier on McCarthy, as they need to simplify their offense.

Houston def Tennessee 16-13

This game felt like the Texans were playing down to their competition. Davis Mills played well for the second straight week, throwing for 274 yards and a touchdown, including throwing to Nico Collins, who had nine receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown. Woody Marks underperformed, only getting 44 yards rushing, but he did out-touch Nick Chubb 18 carries to 3. The Titans lost Calvin Ridley with a broken fibula, and he’s out for the season. That being said, the Titans hung in there and played very well defensively. The big problem is that the Titans have no running game to speak of, as Tony Pollard only rushed 10 times for 22 yards.

Carolina def Atlanta 30-27 OT

Bryce Young was absolutely fantastic as he threw for 448 yards and three touchdowns to lead Carolina to the overtime win. Rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan had eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and Xavier Legette had four receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown as they both torched the Falcons’ secondary. The Panthers did not really run the ball very effectively, only averaging 2.7 yards per carry. Atlanta was doing a very good job in the first half of the game, leading 21-10 at halftime, but Michael Penix Jr left the game with a knee injury, and Kirk Cousins could not muster much offense in the second half. Bijan Robinson had 23 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns as well as 39 yards receiving. Drake London led the Falcons with seven receptions for 119 yards but left the game with a leg injury in the second half. He will have an MRI early this week. Fantasy managers need to be absolutely concerned because losing London would be a disaster for Atlanta.

Los Angeles def Seattle 21-19

Two NFC heavyweights met in Los Angeles, and it was the defenses that won out. The Rams intercepted Sam Darnold four times and pressured him all game long, even though they didn’t have a sack. The Rams couldn’t get much done offensively as Matthew Stafford only threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns, but they did just enough to get the win. Davante Adams only had one catch for one yard and a touchdown, so it remains to be seen whether or not his injury is affecting him. Seattle could not have played any worse, and they still had a chance to win at the end of the game. Sam Darnold reverted back to the player that we saw last year in the playoffs, who couldn’t connect with his receivers when under pressure, and he threw for 279 yards and no touchdowns with four interceptions. Seattle used tight end AJ Barner extensively as he had 10 receptions for 70 yards because the Rams funnel a lot to the tight end. Kenneth Walker looked very explosive for the first time in weeks.

San Francisco def Arizona 41-22

Brock Purdy returned to the 49ers lineup and threw for three touchdowns in the victory. Purdy was efficient and made very few mistakes on the day. George Kittle caught two touchdowns, and Christian McCaffrey ran for two touchdowns and caught another. But it was the 49ers defense that really stepped up and had two interceptions and played very aggressively throughout the game. Jacoby Brissett had an incredible stat line: 47/57 for 452 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Once again, the Cardinals did not do him any favors as they got off to a very poor start and were behind by 15 points at halftime, so he was slinging it for pretty much the entire game. Michael Wilson was fantastic, replacing Marvin Harrison Jr with 15 receptions for 185 yards, and Trey McBride was once again phenomenal with 10 receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown. Even Greg Dortch played well in the slot, catching six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. The big problem for Arizona is that their defense is awfu,l and their running game was non-existent as they only averaged 2.6 yards per carry.

Baltimore def Cleveland 23-16

Baltimore won a very sloppy game as Lamar Jackson had two interceptions and only threw for 193 yards. What really helped the Ravens was that their defense once again played exceptionally well, with three sacks and pressured Cleveland’s quarterbacks throughout the game. When Dillon Gabriel left the game, it seemed like the entire Stadium lit up as they were excited to see Shedeur Sanders get on the field. Sanders was completely underwhelming, completing 4/16 passes for 47 yards and an interception, looking overmatched. On a positive note, the Browns defense was amazing with five sacks and two interceptions, and kept the game close.

Denver def Kansas City 22-19

Denver won another close game at home behind the 4th quarter heroics of Bo Nix, who threw for 295 yards. Nix made the important completions when he needed to, including a few to Courtland Sutton in the 4th quarter to seal the deal for Denver. RJ Harvey only ran for 30 yards, but Denver did most of its damage through the air as Troy Franklin had 84 yards receiving and Pat Brian had 82 yards receiving. Denver’s defense played really well against Patrick Mahomes, sacking him three times and intercepting him late in the game. Right now, Kansas City’s playoff hopes are hanging by a thread as the Chiefs are 5-5 on the season. The Chiefs were not able to run the ball effectively as Kareem Hunt only had 59 yards rushing, and Mahomes was not able to scramble at all. The best receiver for Kansas City was Travis Kelce, who had nine receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown as Denver was able to shut down Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. Denver did this without Patrick Surtain so the Chiefs have a lot of work to do before these teams meet again later this season.

Philadelphia def Detroit 16-9

Another week, another disastrous game for the Eagles offense. Jalen Hurts finished with 135 yards passing with no passing touchdowns. AJ Brown saw 11 targets, but he only finished with seven receptions for 49 yards. The number of receptions was predictable, considering he was complaining all week about not getting enough touches. Saquon Barkley was only able to average 3.2 yards per carry, which has been an issue all season. The Eagles are headed towards the playoffs, but without fixing this offense, they may not go very far. This was a disappointing game for Detroit, as we are always used to seeing them scoring tons of points, but they just couldn’t get anything started against the Eagles. Jared Goff was under pressure all night and finished with 255 passing yards and only one touchdown. The vaunted Lions running game was stymied by the Eagles as Gibbs and Montgomery were only able to rush for 66 yards on 18 carries. Gibbs excelled in the passing game with five receptions for 107 yards, but if the Lions want to get to the Super Bowl, they’re going to have to figure out how to beat the Eagles, which is not going to be easy, as they don’t match up well against them.

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