• Welcome to Fantasy Football Blueprint
Uncategorized

Monday Night Showdown

By Chris Emrick

“Pitt by a million”

Not going to have a ton to write about this showdown slate. Look the Steelers are reeling currently, their defense isn’t what it once was due to injury. That all being true, this match-up against the Bengals is a huge get right spot for them. I watched the entire half of football that Ryan Finley played against the WFT when Burrow went down and it was bad. Sure, he’s likely had far more practice time since then, but I can’t imagine they get much going even against this reduced Steelers defense. The idea is going to be fit as many Steelers into your lineup, whether that be 4 or 5 and find the one piece of Bengals that allows you to play those guys. 

(You could take the contrarian anything can happen route and play 3-4 Bengals too, it could happen… The Jets did win yesterday, so there’s that.)

Favorite Plays

Ben Roethlisberger ($11,800)

Pricey, but the Steelers throw the ball A LOT. Even when they’re ahead they throw the ball and for that reason playing Ben in the Captain or Flex is almost a must. 

Diontae Johnson ($10,200)

Seemingly he’s conquered his injury bug issues from earlier in the year. However, along with the ability to stay healthy has come a case of the drops. Ben keeps going to him while he’s on the field, so we need to keep considering rostering him

JuJu ($10,000)

If Diontae sees a reduced target share it’s likely because JuJu or Claypool ($8,600) got those targets. Heck maybe even both of them did. I lean JuJu even with the higher price and likely will be my favorite stack companion with Ben. (If I’m picking just one WR)

Eric Ebron (6,400)

My favorite play of the slate. Ebron is likely rubbing off on the WR’s and that’s why they’re dropping the ball so much. All jokes aside, his price being so much lower than the rest of the guys makes him an attractive play. Given that he has a similar market share target wise to the Pitt WR2/3 for any given game makes him an auto-lock for me.

Recent News

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports Mike Evans (hamstring) is expected to play in Week 12 against the Giants.
Evans reportedly planned to play in Week 12 as early as Monday and was a full participant in practice by Thursday. However, the Bucs downgraded him to a limited practice on Friday before listing him as questionable. Head coach Todd Bowles also hedged Evans' status by saying, "We'll play him as long as he's healthy and fresh." It sounds like Bowles and the team were just being cautious. Evans should be good to go for Week 12, putting him in the WR2 mix for the first time since he aggravated his lingering hamstring injury in Week 7.
(Nov 24 -- NBC Sports)

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the 49ers are "optimistic" LT Trent Williams (ankle) will play in Week 12 against the Packers.
Williams was listed as questionable for Week 12 on Friday. He was a game-time call because of the ankle issue last week and ultimately suited up after pre-game warmups. That has always been the expectation this time around as well. It's an all-hands-on-deck situation for San Francisco as they prepare to take on the Packers sans Brock Purdy. Williams will be tasked with protecting Brandon Allen for the first time this year.
(Nov 24 -- NBC Sports)

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the 49ers believe Brock Purdy (shoulder) "should be able to return" in Week 13 against the Bills.
Even Schefter, who is presumably getting this info from a source inside the 49ers' building, had to add some words of caution to his report. He noted, "Then again, they also thought he would be able to start today at Green Bay before he couldn't." Kyle Shanahan and the entire 49ers organization have made a habit of downplaying the severity of injuries this year, so it can't be taken for granted that Purdy will be back next week. Assuming Brandon Allen can't pull off the upset versus Green Bay today, San Francisco's Week 13 matchup with the Bills could be a make-or-break game as they fall behind in the NFC West.
(Nov 24 -- NBC Sports)

NFL Week 12 odds, predictions, expert picks: Best bets, teasers, survivor picks, where to watch every game
CBSSports.com and SportsLine break down every single NFL game in Week 12
(Nov 24 -- CBS Sports)

Keenan Allen, D'Andre Swift are expected to play for Bears
The Bears listed a couple of key offensive players as questionable for Sunday's game against the Vikings and word is positive about both of them on Sunday morning.
(Nov 24 -- ProFootballTalk.com)