Welcome to this week’s edition of fantasy fallout! Each week, I’ll be bringing you instant feedback on the Sunday afternoon slate of games to prepare you for the upcoming week in fantasy. Week 12 was a return to normal following Week 11’s blowouts, and we don’t have too many injuries to discuss. Let’s jump in!

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Top Storylines

The Steelers won without their QB1, QB2*, RB1, and WR1.
Story: *QB2 Mason Rudolph got benched after he struggled against the Bengals. Instead, Pittsburgh rolled with Devlin Hodges to beat the winless team. Pittsburgh was also forced to play without James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Tomlin declared both Conner and Smith-Schuster out after they missed a full week of practice, and I’d recommend taking a wait-and-see approach with regards to their status for Week 13.

Fallout: Who benefits if Conner and Smith-Schuster miss more time? Well, Benny Snell put together a 98-yard day on 21 carries without Conner in the backfield. He’s a must-add on waivers this week, although you should prioritize Rashaad Penny and Darrel Williams above him. You can read more about that here. James Washington and Diontae Johnson would serve as Pittsburgh’s top-two wideouts without Smith-Schuster, but I’m not confident that either Rudolph or Hodges can get them the ball reliably. Sure, Washington caught a deep touchdown pass from Hodges this week, but you shouldn’t chase those points. Pittsburgh’s ineptitude through the air will benefit whoever they start in the backfield.

Rashaad Penny (RB – SEA) looked good. Chris Carson (RB – SEA) did not.
Story: This story came out of nowhere. Penny had looked terrible earlier in the year, and it seemed like Carson had left his fumbling issues in the past. That wasn’t the case this week, however, as Rashaad Penny earned 129 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Meanwhile, Chris Carson lost the ball on back-to-back plays. It’s not obvious from the stat sheet, as he recovered the first fumble, and the second fumble got charged to Russell Wilson. Also, Carson ran for just 26 yards and added only 31 yards through the air.

Fallout: Carson won’t lose his job to Penny after this performance, but the Seahawks may tinker with how they split the workload between their two backs. Carson was already a lower-end RB1, and he’ll be closer to a high-end RB2 after this disastrous performance. On the other side, Penny might just enter the flex conversation, although we’ll need to see if this was just a fluke. Penny is worth a speculative add if he’s on waivers in your league.

Baker Mayfield (QB – CLE) and the Browns are turning things around.
Story: The Browns have had an up-and-down year, but it’s been mostly ups since their Week 9 loss in Denver. They’ve now won three-straight games, having logged victories against Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Miami. While some had written off the team that was once favored to win the AFC North, it looks like they could be putting together a wildcard run.

Fallout: Let’s look at Baker Mayfield’s first six games compared to his last five.

If Mayfield can keep this up, he’s back in the QB1 discussion. We’ll have to see if his last few games, which came against somewhat weak opponents, are part of a trend. That said, the Browns have some more soft matchups coming up. They play Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Arizona, Baltimore, and Cincinnati again to wind out the year. If Mayfield can keep things up, that’s a good sign for Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham. Both are trending toward low-end WR1 or high-end WR2 status after their rough starts to the year.

Jeff Driskel (QB – DET) disappointed, but Bo Scarbrough (RB – DET) came through.
Story: Driskel tossed only 207 yards and one touchdown in the loss to Washington, and he also threw three interceptions. It was his worst game filling in for Matthew Stafford, who could get shut down despite his desire to return this year. Meanwhile, despite Driskel’s struggles, Bo Scarbrough logged an impressive 98 rushing yards on 18 attempts.

Fallout: Some had mistakenly thrust Driskel into the QB1 conversation after his pair of good starts, and his value should now return to normal. Driskel is a low-floor QB2/Superflex option whose value gets inflated by speedsters Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones. While Driskel trends downward, Scarbrough should retain his current RB2 value after this week. The Lions get the Bears next on Thanksgiving, and Chicago’s defense has become increasingly friendly to running backs without Akiem Hicks. Driskel will have a tougher task against their strong passing defense.

Amari Cooper (WR – DAL) failed to catch a pass in New England.
Story: Cooper failed to catch either of his two targets. Stephon Gilmore shut the star receiver down this week, and Dak Prescott opted to throw more to Randall Cobb and Michael Gallup. The other two receivers combined for just eight receptions and 141 yards in an ugly game against New England.

Fallout: It’s safe to call this an outlier for Cooper. The combination of Gilmore and bad weather nerfed Cooper’s fantasy value this week, and he won’t have to deal with both of those issues again. That said, it’s worth noting that Cooper plays worse on the road. He’s topped 50 yards just once in Dallas’ six road games this year. He plays on the road in Weeks 14 and 16, so Cooper owners will be betting against some trends by starting him during the fantasy playoffs.

D.J. Moore (WR – CAR) is playing like a WR1.
Story: The Panthers’ No. 1 wide receiver has exploded in recent weeks. While the wideout hadn’t earned 100-plus yards in any game before his Week 7 bye, he’s done so three times in his five games since then. This week, Moore got 126 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions. He’s performed strongly even while quarterback Kyle Allen has struggled, although both of them looked good this week.

Fallout: Moore should remain in the WR1 conversation moving forward. The Panthers host the ‘Skins next week, and the home team should be early favorites. Ron Rivera will have to coach even more aggressively to stay in the playoff hunt, and Moore could benefit from that development.

Anthony Miller (WR – CHI) is playing like a WR2.
Story: The Bears’ second-string receiver started 2019 slowly. Before Week 11, he had only been targeted more than three times in two games. In the two games since, he’s gotten 20 targets. He earned nine of those this week, turning them into six catches for 77 yards.

Fallout: Some in the fantasy industry had high hopes for Miller entering 2019. He put together some good games last season, as he finished the year with 33 receptions, 423 yards, and seven touchdowns. Miller still is yet to earn a touchdown this year, but his 12 catches over the last two games speak to his increasing fantasy value. If you need a fill-in receiver, he will make a smart waiver add, especially since he takes on the Lions’ weak secondary this Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t rely on him after that, however, as he’s got a string of bad matchups against Dallas, Green Bay, and Kansas City.

Both Chris Godwin (WR – TB) and Mike Evans (WR – TB) have now put together 1,000-plus yard seasons.
Story: It’s just Week 12, and two of Jameis Winston’s receivers are up over 1,000 yards. Evans only needed seven yards to crack 1,000, and he got 50 on four receptions. He now joins Randy Moss as the second-ever player to earn 1,000-plus yards in his first six NFL seasons. On the other hand, Chris Godwin has put together his first 1,000-yard season. He caught seven passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns to do so.

Fallout: It’s the first week since the bye that Godwin earned more yards than Evans. It was beginning to look like Evans would be the better option each week, and we’ll have to see if Godwin’s big Week 12 was a fluke. While Godwin would still be a WR1 even as the clear-cut number two to Evans, it should reassure his owners that he can still beat out Evans. The Buccaneers have a date with Jacksonville up next, and their defense looked terrible against the Titans this week. You can expect Evans and Godwin to have big weeks again.

Sam Darnold (QB – NYJ) looks like a QB1.
Story: Darnold pounded the Raiders on Sunday, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another. He completed 20 of his 29 passing attempts, and he did not throw any interceptions. The quarterback has turned things around from earlier in the year, as he’s thrown for fewer than 250 yards just once since Week 9.

Fallout: I’m comfortable saying this about Darnold because of his easy schedule moving forward. The Jets take on the Bengals, Dolphins, Ravens, Steelers, and Bills to wind out the season. If he’s on waivers in your league, and you had been rolling with someone like Matthew Stafford, Josh Allen, or Tom Brady, he could make an excellent starter to finish the year.

Derrick Henry (RB – TEN) is (almost) a 1000-yard rusher.
Story: Henry finished his Week 12 game against Jacksonville with 159 yards, putting him at 991 for the season. In the process, Henry has even scored 12 touchdowns.

Fallout: Henry has proven that he can be a weekly RB1, and his big games have come against more than just the Jaguars. Last week, he broke the Chiefs for 188 yards and two touchdowns on Monday night. He’ll have three more easy matchups to destroy opponents in this season, and they come in Weeks 14, 15, and 17. If you’re a Henry owner, ride him through the fantasy playoffs. If you’re not a Henry owner (and your league’s trade deadline hasn’t passed), see if you can pry him away from whoever’s got him. His streak of two-touchdown games might balloon his value past what you can reasonably afford, however.

Frank Gore (RB – BUF) is now the NFL’s third all-time leading rusher.
Story: Frank the Tank now has 15,289 all-time rushing yards, surpassing Barry Sanders’ mark of 15,269. He’ll need 1,437 more yards to pass Walter Payton for second place. Gore has now logged 541 rushing yards on the season.

Fallout: There aren’t many fantasy implications to this story. Devin Singletary isn’t going to lose his control of the Buffalo backfield, and his 21-carry, 106-yard performance against Denver should prove that. However, Gore would re-enter the RB2 conversation if anything happened to Singletary, and he remains a touchdown-dependent desperation play at RB3/flex.

Josh Gordon (WR – SEA) didn’t do much for Seattle.
Story: Some had hoped that Flash Gordon would emerge as a fantasy-viable option on the Seahawks after their Week 11 bye. However, Gordon caught just one of his two targets for ten yards. He’s now logged four targets, three receptions, and 37 yards as a Seahawk.

Fallout: If you picked up Gordon in hopes that he’d break out for Seattle, you can safely put him back on waivers. He just doesn’t have a role to play in their offense. Yes, he’s fast, but so are Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. And while he may have better hands than Metcalf, he doesn’t have the rookie’s height or his chemistry with Wilson. There are better options at receiver on waivers like Anthony Miller, A.J. Brown, or Russell Gage.

Touchdown Celebration of the Week

BIG MAN TD!

OL Dennis Kelly scores for the @Titans! #TitanUp #JAXvsTEN

📺: CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app
Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/YLI9jW8U5W pic.twitter.com/5zQG71DOLP

— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2019

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Isaiah Sirois is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Isaiah, check out his archive and follow him @is_sirois.