After being bludgeoned by Tampa Bay, the burnable Eagles’ may struggle against Calvin Johnson and the Lions

Hopefully, the tidbits reported here in advance of Week 11 helped you maximize your seasonal league or DFS roster output (or enabled you to pick a player or two in advance of this week’s waiver claim process).

With more big injuries in Week 11 (Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett, to name a couple), waiver claims will be huge for Week 12 and beyond. The bye weeks are now behind us, and we’re heading into the last two weeks of the fantasy regular season. With that being said, tidbits that shed light on historic performance and player trends should help you to make up your mind on a start/sit dilemma you may be having, enable you to maximize DFS lineup production and resolve a waiver claim question you may have.

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The Buccaneers’ 521 total yards in Week 11 against the Eagles were the second-most in Tampa Bay franchise history
This statistic is either evidence of an offense trending upward in Tampa Bay, or an indictment against a horrible Eagles’ defense. It is likely a combination of both. Although the Bucs didn’t put up a huge number of points against the Cowboys in Week 10, Mike Evans still had an 8-126 day, Jameis Winston threw for 264 yards and Doug Martin cashed in with 103 total yards.

In Week 11, the Buccaneers’ offense continued to roll, taking advantage of the suspect Eagles’ defense. We saw a historic performance from Martin, who ran for 235 yards and became the third player in NFL history since the NFL/AFL merger with two games of at least 235 rushing yards in a career (Corey Dillon and O.J. Simpson were the other two). Additionally, Winston threw for 246 yards with five TDs, and Evans, Vincent Jackson and Charles Sims all hit pay dirt with receiving TDs.

On the flip side, in Week 11 the Eagles became the second team since the NFL/AFL merger to allow 250+ rushing yards and five passing TDs in a single game, with the 1977 St. Louis Cardinals being the other infamous team to yield such offensive gains. In Week 12, the rolling Tampa Bay offense will face a suspect Indianapolis defense. Winston makes for a solid streaming option, while Evans, Martin and Jackson should be locked into lineups as an RB1, WR1 and WR3, respectively. Sims also makes for a sneaky cheap DFS tournament play and/or an RB3/flex play in deeper seasonal leagues. The Eagles, meanwhile, will travel to Detroit on Thanksgiving, which makes the Detroit offensive weapons, notably Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate and Matthew Stafford all very solid plays in seasonal leagues and certainly intriguing options for DFS purposes.

According to Pro Football Focus, Detroit CB Darius Slay has allowed just 15 receiving yards over the last three games
What makes this statistic even more impressive is the fact that over the past three games, Slay and the Lions’ defense have faced a Chiefs’ offense in Week 8 that has suddenly become hot in recent weeks. They dropped 29 points on Denver in Week 10 and 33 points on San Diego in Week 11.

This Lions’ defense held Aaron Rodgers and his offensive weapons to 16 points in Week 10, and stymied the previously rolling Derek Carr and Amari Cooper in Week 11, only allowing 13 points to Oakland. In Week 12, as mentioned above, the Lions host a struggling Eagles’ offense on Thanksgiving. As we have mentioned in this article over the past few weeks, the Eagles’ receiving weapons, particularly their WRs, are just not viable plays in any format right now.

A recommended Eagles’ WR fade is based not only on the QB situation in Philadelphia but also upon the way the Eagles are utilizing (or more precisely not utilizing) their WR corps. For example, Jordan Matthews put up a very forgettable 4-13-0 line against Tampa Bay in Week 11. This trend will likely continue for the Eagles’ WRs in Week 12, making the Detroit D/ST a potentially decent streaming option in DFS tournament formats.

In Week 11, Devin Funchess played the most snaps (79%) of any Panthers’ receiver
Those who picked up Devin Funchess off of waivers prior to Week 11’s contest against the Redskins looked brilliant when he put up a solid 4-64-1 line in what was a blowout game. More important than his line, Funchess was targeted a team-high eight times (tied with Ted Ginn Jr.) and played close to 80% of snaps with Corey Brown out. This showed the Panthers’ and Cam Newton’s willingness to utilize this talented receiver, who is beginning to regularly work his way into the Panthers’ gameplan.

While the potential for a breakout was there all season (Funchess was largely drafted in most standard leagues and then dropped), it appears that he is finally beginning to realize his potential. Funchess has surged over the last three games, amassing 176 yards and two TDs. In Week 12, the Panthers will face the Cowboys’ poor secondary, making Funchess an excellent DFS tournament option and a solid WR3/flex option in deeper seasonal leagues, even if Brown returns.

For those owners in dynasty leagues looking for potential keepers and/or WR depth, Funchess should also be considered a top priority add this week. In essence, you would potentially be claiming the most targeted WR (and WR with the highest snap count percentage) on an undefeated team almost 90% into the fantasy regular season. Such a waiver claim is a no brainer.

Tyler Lockett is the first Seahawks rookie with two receiving touchdowns in a game since Joey Galloway in 1995
While the receiving yards and reception numbers weren’t huge for Lockett in Week 11, he made the most of them with a 4-48-2 day, on five targets against the 49ers. So far in 2015, Lockett has primarily been a weapon used and/or watched by owners in standard-sized leagues where return yards are rewarded or in deeper leagues. However, Week 11 may have changed how owners view him going forward in more shallow leagues.

Russell Wilson likes to spread the ball around (just ask Jimmy Graham owners). With Lockett becoming a more reliable target for Wilson, it is very conceivable that Wilson will continue to target him in the red zone, obviously enhancing his value in all formats. In Week 12, the Seahawks will face the Steelers in what could amount to a high-scoring game. Lockett, criminally unowned in most leagues (10.2% in ESPN leagues and 12% in CBS leagues), should be a primary waiver target by owners who are in need of WR depth, but he should certainly be targeted by owners in dynasty formats as well. He is also worth a shot in DFS tournament formats based on his $5,600 price tag on FanDuel.

Per Pro Football Focus, Jonathan Stewart now has a league-leading 43 broken tackles on the season
In Week 11, Jonathan Stewart broke eight tackles against the Redskins, adding to this season high total of 43. While Stewart got off to a slow start on the season in terms of fantasy numbers, he has come on strong since Week 6, when he scored two rushing TDs against the Seahawks. Stewart has managed to rush for at least 78 yards every week since Week 6, except for Week 9 against Green Bay, and has scored five TDs in that span.

In Week 12, Stewart will face a Swiss cheese Dallas rush defense and should be considered a WR2 with a very high ceiling. He’s seventh on our current RB Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) in PPR formats for Week 12. While Stewart is always susceptible to a TD being vultured by Cam Newton or Mike Tolbert, his ability to break tackles and run after initial contact can’t be denied. Similar to last season, Stewart has come on strong when it counts the most in fantasy – the weeks leading up to the playoffs. Those who own Stewart would be wise to activate him, as he can provide a late-season boost to many seasonal teams at the RB position, given the rash of RB injuries that have burned a number of fantasy owners.

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Nicky Tapas is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Nicky, check out his archive and follow him @nickytapas71.