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The eleventh week of fantasy football is in the books. There were some clear busts, like Darren Sproles only putting up 40 yards, or Jordan Reed with 12 yards. There were some surprises, like Carson Palmer putting up over 400 yards and two touchdowns (even though it was against the Jacksonville Jaguars). I provide for you the week eleven All Fantasy Team for the week’s top performers.
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger
Most people in fantasy land were already aware that the Detroit Lions defense was nothing to write home about, but I’m not sure many people thought that Big Ben was going to throw for 367 yards, four touchdowns and almost 40 fantasy points, leading all scorers this week. It is games like this that keep Roethlisberger on the QB2 radar. Despite the slow start to the season, Roethlisberger has turned it on late, averaging the fifth most fantasy points per game over the last four weeks and is now 12th in quarterback scoring on the season.
Wide Receivers: Calvin Johnson & Antonio Brown
Megatron’s game was a tale of two halves. After catching six of 10 targets for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, Johnson was held to zero catches on a mind boggling three targets during the second. Either way, Johnson is so dominant that 179 yards and two touchdowns was still the best fantasy outing by a wide receiver on the week. He is without question the best receiver since Jerry Rice, and possibly the best player in all of football.
On the opposite sideline, Brown showed that while he may not be as good as Johnson, he is definitely a top tier receiver. Brown also had 13 targets on the day, turning them into 147 yards and two touchdowns. Unlike Johnson, both of Brown’s scores came on short passes that Brown made multiple defenders miss on. He has been one of the most consistent receivers in fantasy this season.
Running Backs: Bobby Rainey & LeSean McCoy
Rainey will undoubtedly be one of the top waiver wire adds this week (owned in 25 percent of Yahoo! leagues) after he rushed for 163 yards and had two touchdowns while finishing week 12 as the second leading scorer in all of fantasy. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could have a very good problem next season as both Rainey and Mike James have run very well in the absence of Doug Martin.
McCoy has been leading the league in rushing yards and has had a hefty lead on all purpose yards all season, but the touchdowns just hadn’t come through. The yardage continued as Shady rushed for 77 yards and added 73 through the air, but this time the touchdowns were there. McCoy found pay dirt twice in week 11, and is second in running back scoring on the season to Marshawn Lynch.
Tight End: Garrett Graham
The name Graham is usually on this list, but this time it was Garrett, not Jimmy that gets the nod. After totaling 142 yards and no scores in his last five games, Garrett Graham had seven catches for 136 yards and one touchdown. If the Houston Texans stick with quarterback Matt Schaub over Case Keenum then Graham could be a sneaky play going forward, as Schaub has a tendency to use his tight ends more than Keenum does. I wouldn’t expect the Texans to go with Schaub however.
Kicker: Dan Carpenter
I wish there was more to say about the kicker of the week, but there isn’t too much analysis needed. This week, Dan Carpenter was the leading kicker in fantasy, going perfect on the day while connecting on field goals of 40, 42 and 43 yards along with hitting four point after attempts.
Defense/Special Teams: Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals continue to roll on despite losing several key players over the last month of the season. This week the defense was on point, registering four sacks, three interceptions, a fumble recovery, a blocked kick and two defensive touchdowns. Surprisingly, the special teams didn’t do much damage this week, but with the way the defense played, they didn’t have to. The Bengals are on bye this week, but should remained owned as they have a great schedule to finish the year.
As always, I welcome your comments. If you think I’m wrong, I’m willing to listen. Just back it up with some facts and solid evidence. Thanks for reading and good luck this season.
Dustin Manko is an author at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustinManko, ”Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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