Some of it is based on my own philosophies with player evaluations and roster construction, while other takeaways are simply lessons learned from the 2025 season. There are always teaching points... if you look close enough. Coaching and scheme matter I view the game through a coaching and deployment lens. It means everything when evaluating talent, while also projecting a player's role in a specific offense.
The Buffalo Bills started things off by falling behind their AFC East rival New England Patriots by three touchdowns, yet they came back to win the game 35-31. Then QB Philip Rivers, who retired five years ago and is 44 years old, started for the Indianapolis Colts mere days after signing a contract -- and he nearly led his team to a stunning road win against the mighty Seattle Seahawks defense. Alas, the Seahawks won in the closing seconds.
Henderson scored 30.1 fantasy points, had a pair of 50-plus yard touchdowns on which he was clocked at faster than 20 mph on each, per Next Gen Stats, and ran for 105 more yards than expected on Sunday. In Week 10, he scored 28.0 fantasy points, had a pair of 50-plus yard, 20-plus mph touchdowns, and ran for 93 more yards than expected.
Throughout the season, we hit on the last-minute pickups in this space every Friday. Deeper-league targets, flex plays, WR3s and more. The late-week adds to give you a potential bump or positive streaming option in the lineup. But with the playoffs already rolling in ESPN standard leagues and plenty of formats kicking off their tournaments this week, I want to focus on the players currently being started in under 50% of ESPN leagues who can provide some upside.
With his 259.16 fantasy points so far this season, fifth most among quarterbacks and a larger total than he had in any of the previous three years, Matthew Stafford has leapfrogged Larry Fitzgerald, Matt Ryan and Philip Rivers to assume the eighth overall spot. Rivers' return could shake up the leaderboard: Stafford's entry into the top 10 pushed Rivers back to 11th in scoring. With Rivers signing with the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad on Tuesday, giving him a good chance at playing for the quarterback-starved team during the season's final four weeks, he has a chance to vault back into the top 10 in place of Matt Ryan.
The Week 13 schedule for the 2025 NFL season begins with a great slate of Thanksgiving Day matchups, and we have you covered for what should be an exciting holiday. According to ESPN Research, the average over/under point total of 51.2 is the highest for Thanksgiving games over the past 40 seasons. Buckle up. Ahead of the three matchups, our NFL Nation reporters take you inside each locker room with key storylines and a look back at each team's history playing on Thanksgiving.
Play-action is at the core of the Colts' offense; they use it on 33% of dropbacks, second most in the NFL. And it might be a particularly potent lever in Week 12, because the Chiefs -- while generally a solid defense that ranks 13th in EPA allowed per dropback -- have struggled mightily against play-action. They rank dead last in EPA allowed per play-action play (0.38) and have allowed a 62% success rate against play-action, second worst among all defenses.
This was projected to be the perfect running mate for second-team All-Pro wideout Terry McLaurin, giving quarterback Jayden Daniels a legitimate 1-2 punch to depend upon deep into the playoffs. That hasn't happened. McLaurin has been seldom seen due to injury. Daniels has played only six games and could be out for even longer with a dislocated elbow. Samuel, who was criticized for his conditioning and injury issues after the trade, has been the constant, missing just one game.
The Washington Commanders claim the earliest we could see electric-but-brittle starter Jayden Daniels back on the field is Week 13, though it is important to note that the organization did not place him on the injured list after he dislocated his non-throwing elbow in Week 9. That was a tad surprising. The Commanders have lost five consecutive games and are 3-7 entering this week against the Miami Dolphins.
The eighth Sunday of the NFL season featured the New York Jets mercifully earning their first win, while the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers suffered demoralizing blowout losses as part of the AFC dominating the NFC. Four star running backs and one tight end surpassed 30 PPR points, perhaps the most noteworthy option being struggling Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley, who enjoyed his season-best performance.
We're going to start with an ascending rookie tight end who is being schemed up in a versatile role -- and producing. There are multiple backfield rotations also worthy of your attention, and I also see an emerging wide receiver worth adding to rosters. Fannin is averaging 13.1 PPG over his past four games, but I still see more upside here for the rookie tight end because of his versatility in coach Kevin Stefanski's offense for the Cleveland Browns.
Each week in the NFL is its own story -- full of surprises, both positive and negative -- and fantasy football managers must decide what to believe and what not to believe moving forward. Perhaps we can help. If any of these thoughts come true ... don't be surprised! NOTE: All mention of fantasy points is for PPR formats, unless otherwise mentioned.
