And that's all she wrote, folks. After a grueling 10 Weeks of between FanDuel users and Rotowire experts to qualify for the final round, the winner of the Rotowire & Fanduel Fantasy Football Championship was crowned in Week 11.
The RotoWire Staff competition rolls on with some serious competition at the top. Tate McIntyre (tamc10) maintained the poll position with a solid 94.38-point effort in Week 11, but just 50 Fanduel points separate the top 5. Last Week's big winner, Shannon McKeown (rotoshannon) piled up 124.28 points with a strong team effort. McKeown's squad was led by a monstrous day from Doug Martin who sliced his way through a fading Eagles defense while also getting 20+ point contributions from Matthew Stafford and Julio Jones. McKeown's Week 11 effort pushed him to the No. 3 spot in the season-long competition. Here is how the top-10 shakes out as Week 12 begins (see the full leaderboard).
- Tate McIntyre (tamc10) 1,395.74
- Peter Schoenke (rotopeter) 1,363.88
- Shannon McKeown (rotoshannon) 1,352.68
- Peter Merrill (black26) 1,348.64
- Brian Pelowski (brianp) 1,347.90
- Josh Collacchi (JCollacchi) 1,339.34
- Jesse Siegel (damon3nba) 1,334.62
- Tony Goldenstein (trookie83) 1,318.40
- Joel Bartilotta (joelbartilotta) 1,311.40
- Ed Kensik (chicagoed) 1,307.76
As you shake off that turkey coma and look ahead to Sunday's NFL action there are a number of intriguing matches heading into the weekend. The top two teams in the AFC face off in what is shaping up to be a nasty Sunday evening matchup. Even without the Manning/Brady factor, the prospect of a depleted Patriots offense going to work against the stout Denver defense should make for some excellent football.
Value Plays
QBBrian Hoyer: Houston Texans vs. New Orleans Saints
Price: $7,100
New Orleans dumped defensive boss Rob Ryan before the bye week, and while a change in leadership certainly cannot hurt the struggling unit, it also won't turn this band of misfits into the steel curtain. Through 10 games, New Orleans is allowing a league worst 24.1 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, nearly 5 point per game more than next team. Hoyer has tossed multiple touchdowns in five of his seven starts this year and really has a pretty simple path to success this week: chuck it to Deandre.
QBJosh McCown: Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens
Price: $6,300
McCown steps back into a starting role after Johnny Manziel was grounded for misbehaving over the bye week. It's rarely pretty, but McCown's aggressive approach can get it done for owners against a pitiful Ravens secondary. McCown's surprising elevation into the starting lineup also makes him dirt cheap for the week.
RBTevin Coleman: Atlanta Falcons vs. Minnesota Vikings
Price: $6,200
Now that Devonta Freeman (concussion) has been ruled out, Coleman becomes a nice little discount play for the Week 12. Coleman has failed to truly impress when given opportunity so far this weekend and the matchup with Minnesota also represents a challenge, but it's the volume that you're paying for here.
RBThomas Rawls: Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Price: $6,300
Similar to Coleman, Rawls draws the start thanks to an injury ahead of him but is also faced with a tough matchup against a Steelers team that has allowed just 10.5 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. Rawls' 253-yard effort on 33 touches in Week 11 is going to be tough to duplicate, but the lead back in Seattle's run-heavy scheme is as must start each and every week.
WRMartavis Bryant: Pittsburgh Steeler @ Seattle Seahawks
Price: $6,700
Few players at the wide receiver position posses the scoring upside of Bryant, whose elite playmaking ability has made him the No. 3 overall fantasy wideout on a points per game basis. While Antonio Brown draws the attention of Richard Sherman on Sunday, Martavis will get opportunity to add to his impressive numbers.
WRStevie Johnson: San Diego Chargers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Price: $5,500
The last man standing in Philip Rivers' receiving corps, Johnson has been a PPR asset over the past couple of weeks, turning 18 targets into 14 receptions for 122 yards. He hasn't hit the end zone since scoring in back to back games to open the season, but Johnson is a nice volume play with upside.
TEJordan Reed: Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants
Price: $5,800
Remarkably, the Redskins could move into first place in the NFC East with a Sunday victory of the Giants as Kirk Cousins squares off with one of the league's worst secondaries. The Giant's have allowed seven touchdowns to opposing tight ends on the year and rank 31st in the league in fantasy points allowed to the position. Reed has been steady when on the field, posting 23 catches (on 32 targets) for 165 yards and a whopping five touchdowns over the last four games.
High risk/High Reward
WRDeandre Hopkins: Houston Texans vs. New Orleans Saints
Price: $9,400
Hopkins is the highest salary wide receiver for the week, perhaps making him a "High Risk" play, but the guy is never really a risk. He's got a fantastic matchup against the league's worst secondary and after scoring four times in his last three games, he's the top play at the position in Week 12 and well worth the price of admission.
Steer Clear
QB Tom Brady: New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos
Price: $9,000
It's really never a good idea to doubt Tom Brady's ability to find success on the gridiron. But if there was a week to fade the top-priced QB is its this one. Brady heads into a matchup with the league's best defense while dealing with some seriously depleted weaponry and will likely need to rely on the likes of Keshawn Martin and Chris Harper for critical roles in the Pats' offense. With a number of intriguing and affordable options on the Sunday slate, pass on Brady's price tag in Week 12.