Cam Newton showed us that he doesn’t always need his legs to be dangerous

Here’s a look at the studs and duds of the eleventh week of the NFL season.

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*Points represent standard scoring

Week 11: Studs

Cam Newton – QB – CAR
21/34, 246 passing yards, 5 TDs, 4 carries, 16 rushing yards (30 points)

For all of those who were questioning Cam Newton and the Panthers’ undefeated start, I think it’s time you re-evaluate after one of the best pocket-passing performances of Newton’s career on Sunday. He had another solid performance in the completion percentage department and threw four of his five touchdowns passes in the first half on a Redskins’ secondary that had no answers all day, giving up 44 total points. All five of Newton’s touchdown passes came in the red zone with three of those coming on play-action near the goal line.

Newton looked comfortable and poised in the pocket all game long, and his decision making has improved in year five. Usually, the criticism of Newton comes from his inaccuracy in the pocket, but his last few outings have shown vast improvement. Newton also only carried the ball four times, the lowest of the season, which shows just how effective he was strictly as a pocket passer.

Moving forward: Newton had never thrown for more than three scores in a game in his career until Sunday when he eclipsed that in just one half. Newton has been flat out incredible this season and may even be putting himself into MVP consideration as he has led his team to this impressive undefeated start. Carolina has a plethora of red zone weapons to use to their advantage, and Newton exploited the Redskins’ defense over and over. Newton will be a must-start QB1 on Thanksgiving as the Panthers take on an average at best Cowboys’ defense.

Doug Martin – RB – TB
27 carries, 235 rushing yards (23 points)

It’s been an up and down 2015 for Doug Martin, but he ran all over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday for the most yardage by any running back this season. The Buccaneers’ offense had everything going for them as Martin gashed the Eagles’ defense for large gains while rookie quarterback Jameis Winston threw five touchdown passes. Martin’s performance was highlighted by a 58-yard run in the first half and then an 84-yard scamper in the second quarter, bursting through the line right up the gut only to be pushed out of bounds at the one-yard line.

Moving forward: After posting very unimpressive numbers the last few games prior, owners were pleasantly surprised with this huge performance. The only downside here was that he was unable to find the end zone, but it’s hard to complain with Martin’s second 200+ yard performance of his career. The Buccaneers’ offensive line was creating huge holes for the fourth-year back often, and his quick feet allowed him to find a lot of open field to pick up large gains. After this game, Martin now has 941 rushing yards on the season, which is good for second in the NFL behind Adrian Peterson. Martin will try to use this as momentum as a solid RB1 candidate next week as Tampa Bay takes on the Colts and their 21st-ranked run defense.

Thomas Rawls – RB – SEA
30 carries, 209 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 3 catches, 46 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD (36 points)

Marshawn Lynch was unable to go this week, giving the undrafted rookie from Central Michigan plenty of opportunities in the Seahawks’ dominant win over the 49ers. Rawls received 33 touches in the game and totaled a whopping 255 yards and found the end zone twice. He showed a lot of power and good bursts of speed gashing the 49ers’ woeful defense all game long. Rawls’ rushing score came near the goal line as he plunged in with some extra effort, and his receiving touchdown came on a beautiful wheel route from 31 yards out in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks’ offensive line had their best run-blocking performance of the year, and Rawls took advantage by breaking a ton of wimpy San Francisco arm tackles.

Moving forward: It’s amazing how many players the Seattle franchise picks up that come out of nowhere to be solid contributors, and Rawls looks to be another one. Some may expect people to overreact to just one performance, but he is averaging six yards a carry this season and now has three 100- yard games on the ground. If Lynch is ready to roll next week, Rawls will be more of a flex play, but if the veteran back is held out, Rawls will be a high-end RB2 play at home against the Steelers.

Honorable mentions: 

• Jameis Winston – QB – TB
• DeAndre Hopkins – WR – HOU
• Kyle Rudolph – TE – MIN

Week 11: Duds

Amari Cooper – WR – OAK
1 catch, 4 yards (0 points)

The first receiver taken in the 2015 NFL Draft has played really well in his rookie campaign, but was invisible on Sunday in the Raiders’ loss to the Lions. Cooper only saw four targets in this game, and to make it even worse, he caught only one of those for just four yards. This game on paper for the Raiders’ offense was heavily in their favor, especially with the Lions’ worn-down secondary.

However, the offense sputtered all game long, producing a disappointing 13 points. Cooper struggled to get open, and two of the three missed targets were counted as drops. Michael Crabtree received 11 targets compared to Cooper’s four, the largest gap in Crabtree’s favor of the season.

Moving forward: Nobody expected this from Cooper going up against the previously 2-7 Detroit Lions and their depleted defense. Cooper has shown his elite ball skills this season, but he has also looked like a rookie at times also. He is the type of player who deserves more than four targets a game, but the two drops didn’t help that case either. Cooper and the Raiders’ offense will look to rebound next week against the Titans and their stingy third-ranked pass defense. Overreacting to this game would be a mistake, but a modest WR2 label against a really good pass defense is only appropriate.

Chris Ivory – RB – NYJ
8 carries, 36 rushing yards, 1 catch, 9 receiving yards (3 points)

After having a nice start to the season, Chris Ivory has slowed down, receiving his lowest touch total of the season in a game where the Jets were forced to abandon the run because they trailed in the second half by multiple scores. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw the ball 39 times, and that hurt Ivory’s usage as teammate Bilal Powell got most of the looks in the passing game out of the backfield. Ivory had just four yards on three carries in the first half and looked sluggish all game. As the season goes on, Ivory may be in more of a two-down role, which is not good for fantasy owners if he can’t find the end zone.

Moving forward: Ivory was a hot commodity after such a strong start to the season, but has averaged under 45 yards per game on the ground in the last five games. During that span, Ivory found the end zone only twice, and only accumulated more than 50 yards one time. The Jets’ offense has struggled recently with Ryan Fitzpatrick banged up, but other running backs are also taking away touches from Ivory. Bilal Powell and Stevan Ridley received 14 total touches between the two of them with Powell being very active in the passing game. Things are looking brighter next week, though, where Ivory will be a solid RB2 as the Jets take on the Dolphins and their 31st-ranked run defense at home.

Derek Carr– QB – OAK
13/25, 169 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs (6 points)

After a poor performance with two turnovers the week prior, Derek Carr posted his first game without a touchdown pass since Week 1. He completed only 52 percent of his passes (his lowest of the season), and his 25 attempts were also the lowest since Week 1. The Raiders’ offense looked lethargic for the entirety of the game in the disappointing loss. Carr received little help from the running game and was sacked four times. Accuracy was an issue at times throughout the game, but drops also really hurt the rhythm of the offense.

Moving forward: Carr has had a phenomenal sophomore campaign, so try not to let this one game take away how good he has been. The Raiders have too much talent on offense to have another game like this. Amari Cooper needs to be getting more than four targets in a game, and if Latavius Murray can be more productive, Carr will benefit from a two-dimensional offense. The Raiders’ passing offense may have trouble again next week as they take on the third-ranked pass defense of the Tennessee Titans. While we can expect a much better performance from the Raiders’ offense next week, it would be wise to seek another option at quarterback with a tough matchup.

“Not So” Honorable mentions:

• Philip Rivers – QB – SD
• Lamar Miller – RB – MIA
• Jimmy Graham – TE – SEA

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Justin Dade is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Justin, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @jcdfantasy.