Happy Thanksgiving! This week should be filled with food, family, and football. This past week, we saw Old Tappan alumni Jordan Fuller pick off Tom Brady to save the game for the Rams. We also saw Ceedee Lamb make a ridiculous catch against the Vikings to put the Cowboys in the win column. The Titans showed that Derrick Henry truly owns the Ravens as he put the game away in overtime. Week 12 looks like another great week, so let’s jump right into it. 

Injuries: 

Joe Burrow (Bengals, QB) – The big story of Cincinnati’s contest against the Washington Football team was the first overall and second overall pick squaring off. Joe Burrow against Chase Young. However during the middle of the third quarter, Burrow dropped back to throw a pass within the Bengals’ ten yard line. The Bengals offensive line collapsed (as expected) and Burrow was hit awkwardly–one Washington player hitting his leg in one direction, and another Washington player coming from the other side leaving Burrow’s upper body in the opposite direction. The result? A torn ACL, a torn MCL, and structural knee damage. Burrow was carted off the field and will be out for the season. 

Mark Ingram II & JK Dobbins (Ravens, RBs) – Two running backs from the Ravens tested positive for Covid-19 which means that they will sit out the primetime Thanksgiving game. The Ravens will truly miss their presence this week. The Covid list has been subject to many player absences this year. We hope that the players continue to practice social distancing and respect all guidelines. 

Starts: 

Todd Gurley (Falcons, RB) – The matchup is much better this week though, as the Falcons host the Raiders. Their defense has struggled to stop the run, allowing 14 total touchdowns and the fifth-most points to opposing running backs. What’s more, five different backs have scored at least 18 fantasy points, and another three have scored more than 15 points against them in 2020. 

Taysom Hill (Saints, QB) – Hill, a jack of all trades, drew the start last week and had two rushing touchdowns and more than 24 fantasy points in a win over the Falcons. Next up is a date with the Broncos, who have struggled to stop quarterbacks. Their defense has allowed 18-plus fantasy points to the position seven times, including four games with over 20 points.

Chase Claypool (Steelers, WR) – Claypool’s matchup against the Ravens doesn’t look great on paper, but he’s emerged into a virtual must start in the Steelers pass-laden offense. He’s scored at least 13 fantasy points in four straight games and six of his last seven, including 13.2 points versus the Ravens in week eight. Their defense has also given up 14-plus fantasy points to eight receivers this season.

Sits:

Tee Higgins (Bengals, WR) – Higgins has been a tremendous asset for fantasy managers this season, but we fear the loss of Joe Burrow is going to be the end of his run of consistent production. The Broncos are going with Brandon Allen this week, which is better than starting Ryan Finley, but it’s still a huge downgrade.

Ryan Tannehil (Titans, QB) – Tannehill rebounded for fantasy fans last week, scoring 21.9 fantasy points despite a tough matchup in Baltimore. He’ll draw another tough assignment this week, the Colts, who held Tannehill to a mere 10.8 fantasy points just two weeks ago. Overall, Indianapolis has held opposing quarterbacks to fewer than 13 points in games at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Melvin Gordon (Broncos, RB) – Gordon went off last week, as he posted 84 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Dolphins. So while he is tough to sit, we’ve tempered expectations against the Saints. Their defense has been tough on running backs, allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to the position. Also, keep in mind that Gordon and Phillip Lindsay split snaps and touches almost equally against Miami, so a featured workload is unlikely.

Waiver Wires:

Browns D/ST (Browns, D/ST) – The Browns have been on a roll recently and a major reason for their success this season is their defense. Myles Garret has truly emerged as a superstar defensive presence and the Browns feed off of his energy. This defense picked off Carson Wentz twice and even found the endzone. This week, the Browns play the Jaguars. The Jaguars have had constant QB struggles for the past few weeks, so expect the Browns defense to boom this week as well. 

Gus Edwards (Ravens, RB) – The Ravens announced on Monday afternoon that both Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins was heading to the COVID/Reserve list and neither running back will be available for the Thanksgiving day contest with Pittsburgh. While Dobbins was the best of the bunch last week and Edwards was barely present (three carries for six yards), there have been times when Edwards was the most effective, including Week 8. That happened to be the first time the Ravens met the Steelers Defense, which Edwards ran on for 87 yards and a TD.