Only three weeks remain in the fantasy football regular season as we enter week 12. The Titans faltered against the Texans and the Lions are still without a win. Austin Ekeler did his best Jonathan Taylor impersonation on Sunday night as the Chargers Steelers game was a thriller. Around the BBL, postseason spots are still up for grabs as the playoff race tightens.
On to the recaps!
Sahara Sandstorms 118.14 – 110.09 Philly Special
Sandstorms- In the closest matchup of the week, the Sandstorms edged out Philly Special 118-110. With unimpressive starts during Sunday afternoon, the Sunday night trio of Dionte Johnson, Najee Harris and Mike Williams all played well and gave the Sandstorms a size-able lead going into Monday night. That lead held as the Sandstorms moved to 7-4 on the year. The Sandstorms almost gave it away after starting Devin Singletary and Christian Kirk, but they survived Saquon Barkley on Monday. However, we can already scribe an 8-4 record on the stone because they get a free win next week against the Heroes.
Solid Starts: Mike Williams (16), Dionte Johnson (16), Najee Harris (13)
Bad Starts: Devin Singletary (4), Christian Kirk (3)
Benched: Taylor Heinicke (29)
Special- Needing 14 points from Saquon Barkley on Monday night to win, Barkley got six points and sealed the loss for Philly. Self-inflicted wounds hurt Philly, with six starters scoring in single digits, including Patrick Mahomes. They got off to a great start on Thursday night with kicker Nick Folk and also got good performances on Sunday from Kirk Cousins and Myles Gaskin but just could overcome the rest of the roster. They fall to 6-5.
Good Starts: Kirk Cousins (31), Myles Gaskin (16), Nick Folk (16)
Tough Starts: AJ Brown (5), Saquon Barkley (6), DK Metcalf (3), Seattle defense (5)
Benched: DeVonta Freeman (15), Adam Thielen (15)
Hurts so Good 149.30 – 133.19 All I do is Winston
HSG- HSG put up south of 150 points to get their sixth win of the year to move to 6-5. Jalen Hurts, Justin Jefferson and Nick Chubb all had big afternoons to contribute on the high scoring day. Luckily starting the Buffalo defense didn’t hurt them, as they scored negative one point after getting destroyed by the Colts. Otherwise only one other position player scored single digits in the win. HSG has set themselves up for success for a playoff push.
Excellent Starts: Jalen Hurts (31), Justin Jefferson (30), Nick Chubb (22)
Terrible Start: Buffalo defense (-1.5)
Winston- The five-game winning streak is over, as Winston drops to 6-5 on the year. Joe Mixon was a great start this weekend, in addition to solid performances from Deebo Samuel, Mike Evans and James Conner. Daniel Jones cost them this week only scoring nine points against the Buccaneers on Monday. If they would have started Trevor Siemian on the bench, they would have won this matchup. With a strong point differential, they are still essentially a lock to make playoffs.
Great Starts: Joe Mixon (25), Deebo Samuel (16), Mike Evans (15), James Conner (17)
Bad Starts: Daniel Jones (9), Zane Gonzalez (3)
Benched: Trevor Siemian (26)
Everglade Squatches 163.87 – 127.58 Tropical Thunder
Squatches- The Squatches can thank two players on their roster for the win this week. Jonathan Taylor had himself a day early Sunday afternoon, torching the Buffalo Bills for five touchdowns and over 200 yards from scrimmage. If that wasn’t enough, Justin Herbert followed that up with 382 yards through the air, 90 on the ground and three touchdowns Sunday night. Those two players overshadowed the other five starters that scored in single digits. With another 160 points added to this team’s point differential and a 6-5 record, the Squatches would have to have a historically bad December to miss the playoffs.
Week Winning Starts: Jonathan Taylor (52), Justin Herbert (41)
Bad Starts: Dak Prescott (2), Josh Jacobs (6), Kyle Pitts (3), Jason Sanders (5)
Thunder- The Thunder broke the 115-point mark for the fifth time this season. That stat would be a little more impressive if it was week 5, but it’s week 11. Consistently mediocre, the Thunder have scored over league average (130) just three times this year. When you put it that way, mediocre is a compliment. Frantically trying to piece the roster together, they rolled out Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger, who shockingly combined for 58 points and was a bright spot for the team. No other starters cleared the 15-point mark with five starters in single digits. The loss drops them to 5-6 with a terrible point differential. While only one game out of a playoff spot, the horrid point differential will immediately put to bed any tiebreaker chances for the Thunder in making the playoffs.
Great Starts: Cam Newton (30), Ben Roethlisberger (28)
Bad Starts: Jeff Wilson Jr. (7), TJ Hockenson (5), Ezekiel Elliot (7), Tyler Bass (1)
Tundra Icecaps 133.04 – 101.71 GalensWinningWinners
Icecaps- Thanks to the Patriots defense, the Icecaps earned a win this week taking out GWW. DaVante Adams and DeAndre Swift also had great weeks that significantly helped the Icecaps. You know who didn’t help the Icecaps? Everybody else, especially the quarterback position. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields combined for 11 points and almost put the outcome of this game in doubt. But they played GWW, so it wasn’t a threat this week. They move to 8-3 on the year.
Great Starts: DaVante Adams (24), DeAndre Swift (20), New England defense (31).
Bad Starts: Russell Wilson (8), Justin Fields (3)
GWW- Quietly on a three-game winning streak coming into this matchup, GWW had a great opportunity to make it four. Unfortunately, they barely scored over 100. They made a late Sunday morning adjustment since Lamar Jackson was declared inactive and started Tyler Huntley who got 11 points but that wasn’t the only problem with the roster. Receivers Brandin Cooks and Tee Higgins combined for two points while waiver wire pickup kicker Randy Bullock almost prompted another rant on abolishing kickers. Austin Ekeler tried his best Jonathan Taylor impression on Sunday night scoring 36 points, but wasn’t nearly enough for a win, which shows you how the rest of the lineup was. At 5-6, they still have a shot at the playoffs, but it’s must win territory.
Great Starts: Austin Ekeler (36)
Terrible Starts: Derrick Carr (10), Tyler Huntley (11), Brandin Cooks (1), Tee Higgins (1), Randy Bullock (0)
Benched: Tyler Lockett (12)
Amazon Piranhas 146.18 – 71.86 Hipple’s Heroes
Piranhas- Again, when you get the luxury of starting Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook, you should never lose. Playing against a nonexistent team makes it even easier as the Piranhas did not even have to try to win this week. The aforementioned Brady, Rodgers, Cook and McCaffrey along with Darren Waller alone dominated the point values this week. It’s a step in the right direction for the Piranhas as they try to climb their way into a playoff spot. The winning streak was extended to two games with the win over the weekend. They will get a more substantial opponent next week when they battle the Squatches.
Great Starts: Aaron Rodgers (41), Dalvin Cook (21), Christian McCaffrey (18), Darren Waller (12)
Bad Starts: Rashod Bateman (3), Miami defense (7)
Heroes- The Heroes barely scored over 70 points this week. They are on a historically bad pace for lowest average score per week. They are 2-9.
Quality Start: Tamp Bay defense (18)
Bad Starts: Rest of team
Week 12 Matchups
Tundra Icecaps 8-3 vs. Philly Special 6-5
Amazon Piranhas 4-7 vs. Everglade Squatches 6-5
Tropical Thunder 5-6 vs. All I do is Winston 6-5
Hurts so Good 6-5 vs. GalensWinningWinners 5-6
Sahara Sandstorms 7-4 vs. Hipple’s Heroes 2-9
Around the League
As previously mentioned, only three weeks remain in the fantasy regular season! No team has mathematically clinched a spot but that will change in the coming weeks. Good luck to all in the final weeks until the playoffs.
Cheers!
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