FFB Week 11: Twelve Takeaways

Last week, a former employee of the Fantasy Football Boys Fantasy Football Department crafted a very terse introduction that was not a reflection of our values. It came off as rushed and somewhat rude. Fortunately, that employee (a bad hire) has since been terminated. 

He sent the below photo in a an email to the entire department about an hour after he was escorted from the premises so now we have a restraining order on him. We should've known not to hire a goth off Craigslist. 

Whatever. WELCOME BACK we’re SO GLAD YOU’RE HERE! 

It's that time of the year. Scott Hanson is always blabbing about the "Witching Hour" where wins become losses and whatever else. 

We're actively in that stage of the fantasy calendar. It's imperative to take care of business right now so that you can start planning ahead for the postseason. If you're mathematically eliminated already? Play the spoiler. Ruin your best friends' fantasy dreams and destroy their season. There's joy to be found in that as well. 

It's another Wednesday so HERE are the Twelve Takeaways from Week 11. 

1. 

"Oops, didn't see ya there."

Daniel Jones: overpaid, underwhelming, benched. Tommy Cutlets: Italian, hot, new starting quarterback for the New York football Giants. 

It was time. The Giants are 2-8 and Daniel Jones has thrown 8 touchdowns and 7 picks in 10 starts. Daboll's job was hanging by a thread with Daniel Jones holding the rusty scissors like the old skanks from Hercules. Not a great situation to be in, may as well go with the fan favorite.

It's officially official, Daniel Jones’ time as a Giant may have finally come to a close. The Mara's paid Dimebag Daniel money and instead got Dildo Dan. 

So what now? Is Tommy DeVito the guy? I struggle to believe he'll be a worse option than what Daniel Jones has been, I'll give him that. He's 3-3 in six games as a starter, he's been competent at times, but he's far from the long-term answer. He would have to be exceptionally shitty to not exceed Daniel Jones’ production. 

Now, is his agent a certified megastar? Absolutely. That puts the Giants at 1-for-2 in this equation so we'll consider it a win in a season filled with embarrassing losses.   

2. Jayden Daniels hits a snag.

Perhaps the ribs are still a bit tender, but this game was the first time I've felt like Jayden Daniels has hit a plateau as a rookie and teams are less surprised by him.

More than halfway through the season, coaches are able to scheme around him and suppress him, and that showed on Thursday as Vic Fangio’s defense kept him under wraps. It's a small sample size, but the Kliff Kingsbury method seems to die off as teams evolve and adapt, especially in the NFL, so we’ll see how Jayden looks down the stretch. 

With that said, Jayden Daniels is still QB6 on the year for fantasy and current front-runner for Rookie of the Year.

Here at the Fantasy Football Boys Fantasy Football Department, we give credit where it's due. The Eagles defense showed up in a big way to throw some cold water on Commanders fans, bringing Jayden Daniels back down to earth in the process. Quinyon Mitchell is quite possibly the best cornerback in the league 10 games into his NFL career shutting down the league's best, Jalen Carter has become the terrifying force in the backfield that was promised, and there’s a slew of other young killers including Zack Baun, who is a budding star. 

Offensively for the Eagles, it was mostly ugly, but Saquon is inevitable. 

He finished with 198 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns that were separated by a mere 20 seconds. He's comfortably nestled in as fantasy's RB2, nipping at the heels of Derrick Henry. 

Out of an abundance of courtesy to Giants fans, I won't mention that the Giants chose to pay Daniel Jones instead of Saquon Barkley, that would be very mean. Kudos to me for being polite. 

3. The Lions performed a Fatality on the Jaguars.

The Lions showed zero mercy and flopped 645 total yards on the lifeless foreheads of the Jaguars. It's not unreasonable to believe that this was the final nail in Doug Peterson's coffin and Trevor Lawrence may soon be welcoming his third head coach in just his fourth year as a pro.

Dan Campbell has the lions looking unstoppable. Jared Goff had a QB1 week, throwing for 412 yards and 4 TDs, strengthening his sneaky candidacy for MVP. 

I made the foolish mistake of saying Amon-Ra St. Brown was "slow and steady" last week, so he exploded catching all 11 targets for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns (33. 2 fantasy points, WR1 on the week). He went from averaging 11.4 FPPG to 14.2 in one week. Silly me, it was only a matter of time. 

We're not done yet! The Lions backfield continues to shred. David Montgomery ran 15 times for 75 yards and 2 TDs (RB4 for the week), and Jahmyr Gibbs carried 11 times for 69 yards and a TD (RB6).  

For those keeping count at home, that's a QB1 week for Goff, a WR1 week for St. Brown, RB4 for Montgomery, and RB6 for Gibbs. Not to mention a TE3 week for Sam Laporta who caught 3 passes for 66 yards and a TD. To say the Lions offense has been sexual would be an understatement and they're flat-out dominant right now. 

Here's an obligatory "Jahmyr Gibbs running fast" video. He apparently reached 21.8 mph on this catch and run.

4. The Patriots have their guy, but more importantly: THICC-6!

My favorite play in all of football. A beef-lord doing something out of the ordinary. 

It's only fitting the Patriots get their robust lads involved in the red zone passing game. Dan Connolly would be proud. 

Your eyes do not deceive you, this is top-10 stuff we're seeing from the rookie with a shoddy O-line and questionable play at receiver. They lost to the Rams on Sunday, but they're getting closer and Drake Maye was 30-for-40 for 282 yards, 2 TDs, and an INT to go with 27 yards rushing on 3 carries. As I said, from week 6 onward, Drake Maye has been fantasy's QB10.

5. The Steelers are for real. 

Holding Lamar Jackson to 253 total yards and 1 touchdown is a win in and of itself. To stifle that offense and take command of the AFC North in the process is doubly impressive. 

The Steelers have strung together 5 straight games wins and won 18-16 thanks to six field goals from Chris Boswell. As for the likes of Russell Wilson, Najee Harris, and George Pickens, there were no offensive touchdowns to speak of. 

In the least shocking news ever, Derrick Henry scored a touchdown and remains RB1, and Zay Flowers caught a pass for six. Other than that, not much to report on! 

If I'm being honest, this spot in the blog is dedicated to George Pickens because he's insanely talented but  can't stop doing hilarious shit in-game. Here we have him catching a pass and fighting for what he signaled and believed to be a first down (it was a two yard gain). 

6. Bo Nix Glow-Up

Let’s be honest: the development and progression that lots of folks expected for Caleb Williams has mostly been seen in his rookie counterparts, and Bo Nix is at the top of that list. He endured the growing pains to start his rookie season, but has only gotten better as the season’s matured and guys around him are prospering.

Last week, he was 28-for-33 for 307 yards passing and 4 TDs. 31.58 fantasy points, a QB3 week, boosting him to QB7 on the season, one spot behind Jayden Daniels. 

Somehow, he’s still just hanging out there in ~50% of leagues depending on where you play your fantasy football, and part of me feels like he’s flying under the radar a bit. If you wanted to sit down with me, buy me a cup of coffee, and make a case for Bo Nix as offensive Rookie of the Year, I’d listen.  

The offensive improvements have been nice to see if you're part of Broncos Country (let's ride), but let's not overlook the good work being done on the defensive side of the ball.

7. The Chiefs finally lost. 

The Bills did it. They were the ones to hand the Chiefs their first loss of the 2024 regular season thanks to a heroic late scramble by Josh Allen to seal the deal. A late turnover sealed the deal and Josh Allen walks away the victor in this one, 30-21. 

Josh Allen and James Cook have been as advertised, if not way better, this year. Allen has an interception is each of his last four games, but he's tallied 23 total touchdowns to just 5 INTs so far. This week's performance allowed him to leapfrog Baker Mayfield into the QB4 spot and if he can ensure ball security the way he has, we'll be looking at yet another top-5 season and a deep playoff run. Cook has broken the curse and has found the endzone 11 times, more than his first two years combined, just 10 games into the season. 

Let's talk accountability. I know Travis Kelce has turned it on lately (TE5 in half-PPR leagues) to salvage his ghastly start, but this is unacceptable. I'm sure he's reading this, so here's a little word of advice for the pretty-boy: You're traving effing Kelce, you date Taylor Swift, how are you settling for 4 targets. Think of the fantasy owners you're sabotaging! Have you no decency?

I guess this was bound to happen and the Chiefs have narrowly avoided disaster a time or two, but the larger issue is Patrick Mahomes. Are folks not even remotely worried? When are we allowed to talk about it? 

The offense is reliant on the brilliance of Patrick Mahomes. That's not some wild abnormality, especially with Mahomes, but he's been markedly less brilliant. It's weird to say when they're 9-1 and he's made timely plays to win games, but he's been very, very average. This isn't me saying he's "washed" or anything crazy like that, but 15 TDs and 11 INTs leaves the Chiefs vulnerable. He's on pace for the worst statistical season of his career and it's been overshadowed by the fact that the Chiefs were undefeated. 

8. This version of Anthony Richardson: FUN

AR5 is good at football again! The Colts even snuck a win over the Jets to stay alive in the AFC South race, and if this is what we get out of Anthony Richardson, I'm not hating their chances to catch the Texans. 

This is exactly what fantasy owners had in mind for Richardson. Limiting mistakes as a passer, hitting open guys, and punishing runs deep in the red zone. Can you imagine trying to make this tackle? I know it'd be a bad look, but probably safer to just get out of his way and not even put yourself in harm's way. 

He was 20-for-30 passing for 272 yards and a touchdown, a respectable line. He carried the ball 10 times for 32 yards and two rushing touchdowns, which catapulted him to 28.08 fantasy points, QB4. He's at his best when the Colts are using him correctly, which they did on Sunday, and if they can replicate this then he's still very much a (very volatile) top-5 fantasy option the rest of this season. 

Yeah, I said it.  

Meanwhile... the Jets have fired their GM and Aaron Rodgers is harpooning their chances of success on what is an objectively talented roster. They axed the wrong guy! 

9. The Cowboys (and their stadium) are collapsing.

“That metal fallin'? Oh, that's all part of the stadium's design when we open the roof, nothin' wrong with it a'tall. In fact, I don't plan to do nothin' about that because it's an advantage to us if'n ye think about it. Don't you dare question me.” -Jerry Jones, probably

First it's the sun, destroying the retinas of Cowboys players. Now we've got ten-foot long deadly sheet metal careening down from the rafters threatening to decapitate media members during pre-game.

This has been, hands down, the most hilarious season in the Cowboys' illustrious history.

If you can believe it, Cooper Rush wasn't able to come through and the Cowboys lost again. CeeDee Lamb was able to catch 8 of 12 targets for 89 yards, so it wasn't all death and desolation. 

Joe Mixon was the story of this game and scored almost 20 points in the first quarter alone, including this VERY rude touchdown run.

He finished with 34.30 fantasy points, totaling 133 all-purpose yards and 3 TDs. Week 11's RB1 and RB5 overall.   

The game can be more or less summed up in one play. 

This all happened after a 64-yard field goal was taken off the board when Derek Barnett slapped someone's helmet (which is a penalty). The Cowboys ended up gaining yardage and going for it on 4th down, so they turned 3 points into zero. Then, Derek Barnett (VFL) redeemed himself with the rare and elusive strip-sack-fumble-fumble-scoop-and-score. 

10. Josh Jacobs had the second rudest run of the week.

He's just inside the top-15 as fantasy's RB14, so it's been a bit of a slog for the 2022 rushing title holder, but he's on a good trajectory averaging 19 FPPG in half-PPR leagues from week 7 to 11. 

11. Worst luck ever?

Joe Burrow is playing his dick off and Ja'Marr Chase is on a heater. They've lived up to the expectations and are QB2 and WR1, respectively. Tough luck if you're the Bengals at 4-7, but who cares? They're giving fantasy owners all we could hope for and then some! Also, I'm not sure how the math works out on this but the Bengals are now +350 to make the playoffs and Joe Burrow has been playing out of his mind. 

12. Brock Bowers is going freak-nasty mode.

TE1. Bowers fantasy owners:

BONUS: What the...?  

BONUS II:

WEEK 12 WIN THE WAIVER WIRE sponsored by Olive Garden:

Thank you to our new sponsor, Olive Garden, for believing in us here at the Fantasy Football Boys Fantasy Football Department. 

"When you're here, you're family™"
1. Drake Maye/Bo Nix - Lots of byes this week, and these two are playing like top-10 fantasy options.
2. Taysom Hill - Not sure whether to classify him as a quarterback, running back, or tight end after last week, but he's back on his bullshit. Swiss-Army Taysom is back. 
3. Roschon Johnson - Red zone touchdown vulture with a new OC
4. Cam Akers - He's getting more involved, playing over a third of the snaps and caught a TD pass last week. Good handcuff to have down the stretch.
5. Quentin Johnson - Jump on now or get left behind. The breakout is upon us and he's caught a TD pass in three straight games.
6. Christian Watson - Led the Packers with a 23.5% target share and busted some big plays. Seems to be gaining steam.
7. Elijah Moore - Cedric Tillman is the first option, but Elijah Moore has seen 35 targets in their last four games and scored a touchdown last week. 
8. Nick Westbrook-Ikinhe - Know this: relying on the arm of Will Levis is a daring fantasy tactic, but NWI has scored 5 touchdowns in the last 6 weeks. 
9. Marquez Valdes-Scantling - Not particularly a strong volume play, but where Rashid Shaheed left off making big plays, MVS is picking up. In his last two games he has 5 catches for 196 yards and 3 TDs. 
10. Jonnu Smith - Slight boom or bust here, probably best served as a streamer if you've got guys on bye weeks, but he's emerged as a weapon for Tua and scored twice last week. Roll the dice! 
11. Will Dissly - Again, roughly a 5-6 target guy in a reinvigorated offense with Justin Herbert playing at a high level. 

DO IT. WIN THE WAIVER WIRE. We're getting to the point in our seasons where we're making playoff pushes, securing our spots in the postseason. Don't pinny-pinch and get your guys. Thanks for reading!

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