So you went through your fantasy football draft. You made a trade or two, picked up a guy off the waiver wire. But then before everything went live ... something didn't feel right. Maybe you had a player who was a game-time decision. Or there was a match up that wasn't in your favor. Whatever the reason, you decided it was time to make a bold choice. You know what they say ... No Guts, No Glory. So this column is for you. Every week here, we'll salute the outside-the-box thinking that was rewarded with big fantasy production. Fortune favors the bold, so here's to you. We sent out the call early Monday morning, and here's what you came back with. Congratulations to those of you who are looking at a Week 11 win!
Seattle running back Thomas Rawls had himself a day against the 49ers. With Marshawn Lynch inactive with an abdomen injury, savvy fantasy owners fired up Rawls for the afternoon games and were handsomely rewarded for their last-minute roster changes. The Seahawks running back took advantage of San Francisco's poor defense, rumbling his way to 255 total yards and a touchdown on 33 touches. Let's just say he won a lot of fantasy matchups for a lot of owners as the top scoring player of the week at the end of Sunday's games (37.50 fantasy points). With news Monday morning that Lynch may need surgery to repair a sports hernia, Rawls instantly becomes a top waiver wire add and will be an RB1 for the rest of the season if Beast Mode does have to miss time.
Rookie wideout Devin Funchess had the best game of his short career on Sunday against Washington. The fact that Cam Newton was handing out touchdowns like they were candy probably had something to do with it. Either way, with Corey Brown inactive Funchess got his first NFL start and was targeted a season-high eight times and caught four passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Funchess also had 71 yards and a touchdown back in Week 9 against the Packers, so this makes two of the last three games where he has been a solid fantasy play. Starting any Panthers receiver in fantasy this season takes some guts, but tossing Funchess into your lineup was still one of the riskier moves of the week. It worked out nicely though as he posted a solid 12 fantasy points in standard leagues.
The Buccaneers D/ST had its strongest performance of the season in Week 11 against the Eagles and finished as fantasy's second-highest scoring defense with 18 points. Tampa Bay tallied a season-high four takeaways, posted three sacks and allowed Philadelphia to score just 17 points against them. Mark Sanchez's poor play as the Eagles starting quarterback had a lot to do with it. He threw three interceptions including one returned for a touchdown. Don't say we didn't warn you. You wouldn't think it, but Tampa Bay's defense has been on quite a roll lately and makes for a solid matchup-based streaming option from week to week. Right now, the unit is only owned in 6.7 percent of NFL.com fantasy leagues, so if you were one of the gutsy owners who rolled them out this week against the Eagles, you're reaping the rewards on Monday morning.
Yeah, he probably is. But his Steelers had the week off, so we'll have to wait until next Sunday for some more of his hot takes on Pittsburgh.
Matt Franciscovich is an associate fantasy editor at NFL.com. He can't stop listening to Borns lately. Hit him up on Twitter **@MattFranchise** for music recommendations and fantasy advice.
