What a week fantasy owners were treated to in Week 11, just another lesson in why this game can be hard to predict at times. As we near the final month of the regular season, we are still seeing plenty of variety among the best performances week-to-week.
Of course there are some lessons we continue to see, like you don't have to take a quarterback early in the draft, despite people routinely doing it every year. This week's top-10 performances was largely made of quarterbacks and running backs, with just one wide receiver putting up big numbers.
Now let's take a look at the top-10 performances from Week 11.
1. Thomas Rawls, Running Back, Seattle Seahawks
Stats: 30 carries, 209 rushing yards, three receptions, 46 yards and two total touchdowns
Points: 37.5
Early this morning, it was still expected that Marshawn Lynch was going to play, but just hours before the afternoon games kicked off, it was reported that Lynch was going to be inactive. His absence opened the door for Rawls to face a spotty San Francisco 49ers defense and he took full advantage of it.
Rawls, who rushed for 169 yards in his first career start earlier this year, put that performance to shame with a 255-total yard game. It wasn't just one or two big runs that did it for Rawls, his longest run was a 30-yard gain, he was just constantly finding holes in the 49ers' front-seven and ripping off sizable chunks. The undrafted rookie out of Central Michigan has shown an excellent balance of vision, power and quickness this season, paving the way for him to be Seattle's workhorse back next season if Lynch retires.
2. Cam Newton, Quarterback, Carolina Panthers
Stats: 21/34, 246 passing yards, 15 rushing yards and five passing touchdowns
Points: 31.44
Newton had fun on Sunday, which should result in more angry letters to the Charlotte Observer. Against Washington, Newton feasted on its secondary, picking them apart for big plays time and time again. Midway through the second quarter, Newton already had four touchdowns and it didn't take him long to pick up his fifth in the third quarter.
While the yardage wasn't as big as you'd expect from a five-touchdown performance, Jonathan Stewart and the Panthers' defense provided Newton with great field position. After that Newton just spread the ball around, making sure five different targets found the end zone. Newton and the Panthers will have a quick turnaround to Thursday's game against the Dallas Cowboys, but it's a great opportunity for Newton to have another top-10 performance.
3. Jameis Winston, Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Stats: 19/29, 246 passing yards and five passing touchdowns
Points: 29.84
Winston's performance was quite similar to Cam's, though one of Winston's teammates also made it into the top-10 performances of the week. The rookie quarterback shined against the Philadelphia Eagles. Time after time he came up big inside the red zone, delivering perfect strikes to his targets, resulting in touchdowns to five different receivers.
Winston has had an up-and-down season, but that's to be expected from rookie quarterbacks and this type of game showed the promise he has. Winston had just 10 passing touchdowns through nine games before this so it's hard to expect more big outings but he remains a great QB in dynasty leagues and a mid-tier QB1 with some of his upcoming matchups.
4. Russell Wilson, Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks
Stats: 24/29, 260 passing yards, 30 rushing yards and three passing touchdowns
Points: 25.4
What a week it was for quarterback-running back combos across the NFL. Facing the 49ers, Wilson went to work through the air, gashing up a 49ers' secondary that was already banged up and trying to help their run defense. While Rawls picked up the big yards, both on the ground and a little as a receiver, Wilson picked his spots and found a connection with Tyler Lockett, hooking up for two scores.
It was a much needed performance for fantasy owners with Wlson, who has seen Seattle's offense sputter. Wilson had just 10 passing touchdowns to seven interceptions entering Sunday's game and there weren't many postive signs for fantasy owners to indicate things were going to get better. This is the performance that many needed to provide some optimism with just a few weeks remaining before the fantasy playoffs.
5. Carson Palmer, Quarterback, Arizona Cardinals
Stats: 20/31, 317 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and two interceptions
It was a tale of two halves for Palmer in his "#RevengeGame" against the Cincinnati Bengals. Palmer's first two drives in the first quarter resulted in 22 passing yards and two interceptions. It was a dreadful start and considering how baffling the two interceptions were, there was reason to wonder if he felt too much pressure against his former team.
The second half went much better, including a phenomenal third quarter where Palmer threw three touchdowns. Palmer and the Cardinals' offense had no problems moving the ball down the field and Palmer was a big pat of that, finishing with over 300 yards and four touchdowns.
6. DeAndre Hopkins, Wide Receiver, Houston Texans
Stats: Five receptions, 118 receiving yards and two touchdowns
Points: 23.8
On Sunday, "Revis Island" was destroyed by Nuk. It started early in the game with Hopkins beating Darrelle Revis deep for what should have been a 70-plus yard touchdown, but T.J. Yates overthrew him. Revis wasn't much of a problem for Hopkins in this game, if anything it was Yates who prevented him from having an even bigger game.
When Revis left the game with a concussion, Hopkins continued to torch every other cornerback New York threw at him. Hopkins was not considered to even be a top-five wide receiver before the season, but given his play under terrible quarterback conditions, he is clearly one of the best in the business.
7. Doug Martin, Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Stats: 27 carries and 235 rushing yards
Points: 23.5
Looking at Martin's stat line from Sunday's game leaves you staring in amazement and wonder. He had over 170 yards midway through the second quarter. The absurdity of that can't go unnoticed, especially against an Eagles' run defense that was well-respected coming into the game.
Martin finished with 235 rushing yards, a number that could have been even higher if Tampa Bay didn't rest him late in the blowout, without finding the end zone. He would carry the team inside the five-yard line and then Winston would score the touchdowns. This could have been a historic fantasy performance for Martin, instead it was just great.
8. Spencer Ware, Running Back, Kansas City Chiefs
Stats: 11 carries, 96 rushing yards, five receiving yards and two touchdowns
Points: 22.1
Everyone was excited for Charcandrick West to rip apart the San Diego Chargers league-worst run defense. Everyone had him in daily fantasy sports and he was going to potentially be a top-five fantasy running back this week. West ripped off a 47-yard catch and run early in the game to fuel the excitement, things went south after that before he exited with a hamstring strain.
Ware replaced him and displayed why everyone loved the matchup. The little-known running back, who surpassed Knile Davis on the depth chart, delivered a powerful performance. He picked up two goal-line touchdowns in the second half, displaying a powerful punch to oncoming defenders. Ware also added a 52-yard run for good measure, helping push him over the 100-total yard mark for the game on just 12 touches. If West is unable to play, Ware could be a RB1 next week against a Buffalo Bills defense that has allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to running backs over the last four weeks.
9. Andy Dalton, Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals
Stats: 22/39, 315 passing yards, 34 rushing yards and two passing touchdowns
Points: 22
Sometimes a good fantasy performance isn't always a great indicator of a great football performance, but that really doesn't matter for fantasy owners as long as their player puts up the numbers. Dalton was not sharp against the Cardinals, he may have not turned the football over, but he completed just 56 percent of his passes and relied on Giovani Bernard for 40 percent of his total yardage.
Bernard and a blown coverage on A.J. Green made up most of Dalton's points but in the red zone he once again looked to the reliable Tyler Eifert to make plays and pick up two touchdowns. With so many weapons around him, Dalton should continue to put up nice numbers, but "bad Dalton" will show up again.
10. Matthew Stafford, Quarterback, Detroit Lions
Stats: 22/35, 282 passing yards, 31 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown
Points: 20.38
The top-10 winds down with another odd performance. If you said before Sunday's action that Stafford would have a top-10 performance, it would have easily been believable. But if you said he did it while throwing for under 300 yards and without throwing a touchdown, many would wonder what went wrong in Week 11.
Stafford and the Lions' offense still hasn't looked very sharp in Jim Bob Cooter's offense. The running game is still struggling to find any momentum and Stafford hasn't cracked 300 yards in his past three starts despite 35-plus attempts in each of the three games. The Lions' offense could not come through against a weak Raiders' secondary, so expecting another top-10 performance from any Lions' player seems wishful thinking.