Need to know:
- Brissett’s volume and matchup make him a high-floor, high-ceiling play
- Patriots weapons get a huge boost against the league’s worst defense
- Daniel Jones, Sean Tucker and Browns receivers are risky plays; Eagles receivers a go
This is the point in the fantasy football season where things get dicey, where one wrong decision can send you packing. Luckily, this week's byes won't kill you, as we won't have the Broncos, Chargers, Dolphins and Commanders — hardly a murderer's row for fantasy purposes, with apologies to the De'Von Achane owners among us.
Maybe it sucks if you have Justin Herbert as your QB1, but most managers should survive this week. And if you do need a quarterback, make sure Jacoby Brissett isn't lingering on your waiver wire. With that out of the way, here are the Week 12 plays that actually matter.
Start: QB Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are letting Brissett sling the ball all around the field in the absence of Kyler Murray. Is it necessarily contributing to winning? No, not really! But is it a lot of fun to watch and also a huge boost for fantasy managers? Yeah!
Brissett has made five starts for Arizona. He's finished as a fantasy QB1 in all of them, including last week's finish as the overall QB4 against San Francisco, a game where Brissett set the NFL record for completions.
His current volume gives him a high floor, and this matchup against a Jaguars defense that allows the fifth-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks gives him a high ceiling as well.
Sit: QB Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
I don't necessarily think this is a must-win game for the Chiefs, but I have a feeling Kansas City thinks it is. If there's ever a time for Jones to crash back to earth, it's against an angry Steve Spagnuolo defense that's allowed just nine passing touchdowns from opposing quarterbacks this season.
It's also fair to speculate if Jones is starting to hit a wall. Of his four weekly finishes outside the top 12 in fantasy, two have come in the team's past two games, and against Pittsburgh he finished as the QB17 despite throwing 50 pass attempts.
That's not to say the magic has dried up or anything, but this is probably the one week where I'd play it safe and go with someone else as my starting quarterback in fantasy.
Start: RB TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
The Cincinnati Bengals have a historically bad defense. Like, I'm talking bad bad. There's a good chance Cincinnati ends this season with the worst scoring defense in league history.
So, it's probably a good idea to start all your Patriots this week. That's especially true with running back TreVeyon Henderson against a defense that's been gashed by just about every running back they've faced. The gap between the Bengals, the team allowing the most fantasy points to running backs, and the Bills, the team allowing the second-most, is about the same as the gap between the Bills and the Saints — the team allowing the 15th-most fantasy points to RBs.
Henderson, meanwhile, comes in off back-to-back finishes as a top-five fantasy running back. You can make a strong argument that he's the No. 1 overall play this week, and an even stronger argument that he's at least a top-five running back in fantasy for Week 12.
Sit: RB Sean Tucker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sean Tucker was a great story last week. The third-year back out of Syracuse recorded two rushing scores and caught a touchdown as well, putting together the best game of his NFL career.
But some context is needed. The performance came against a Bills defense that's really struggled against opposing running backs in 2025, and this week's game is against a Rams defense that's been very good against the run. The Bills allow the second-most fantasy points to the position; the Rams allow the third-fewest.
Also complicating things? The potential for Bucky Irving to return. It's not a guarantee, but the Buccaneers' starting running back has been back at practice, which could indicate this backfield being a bit of a mess heading into a rough matchup.
Start: WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
It feels like facing the Cowboys defense might not be quite as much of a cheat code as it was earlier in the year, but you should still go ahead and play any viable receivers who face Dallas. This week, that means playing both Eagles stars.
Yes, inconsistency has plagued each of them, with A.J. Brown's post-bye finishes being WR79 and WR41 and DeVonta Smith's being WR17 and WR95. But if there's a week to stop hemming and hawing about which Eagle will be good and to just play whichever you want to play, this is it. Just ignore that Dallas shut down both guys in Week 1. That was a long time ago.
Sit: WR Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns
First, I hope you don't need me to tell you to not play rookie Shedeur Sanders as he makes his first NFL start. Even with a full week to practice, I don't expect much, though he can't be worse than he was after replacing the concussed Dillon Gabriel last weekend.
But even if Sanders improves, I want no part of any of his pass-catchers this weekend. Even against a Raiders defense allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers, there's no reason to use Jeudy, who has just one top-20 fantasy finish all year and will likely see a lot of off-target targets from a quarterback whose completion rate last week was a robust 25 percent.
Start: TE Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
31 NFL teams have allowed seven or fewer touchdowns to tight ends this season. The one exception? The Bengals, who have allowed 12 touchdowns to tight ends. TWELVE! 96.9 percent of the league has allowed a number of touchdowns that FanSided's style guide says should be spelled in words and only one team has allowed so many touchdowns that I'm supposed to just write out in numerals.
That makes Hunter Henry a pretty clear must-start this weekend. He has just two top-20 fantasy finishes over the past seven games, but he also didn't play the Bengals in any of those seven games. This week, he does. Pretty solid reasoning, IMO!
Sit: TE Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
Juwan Johnson was a top-10 fantasy tight end in Weeks 1 and 2, then wasn't again until Weeks 9 and 10. I bring that up to say that just because Johnson was very good for two consecutive games doesn't mean he'll sustain that based on his overall track record this season.
It also doesn't help that he faces Atlanta this week. The Falcons give up the second-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends and have allowed just one touchdown to the position. Of his four top-10 weekly finishes this year, three featured Johnson finding the end zone, so he's a lot less appealing against a defense that doesn't let tight ends score.