Fantasy Football Booms and Busts: Trevor Lawrence, Calvin Ridley headline Week 11 comeback stories

It's Week 11 of the fantasy football season. Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Soon it will be Black Friday, then December, and the end-of-year holiday season.

So it was about time Trevor Lawrence joined the party.

Lawrence was just about perfect in Sunday's 34-14 romp over the Titans. He completed 262 yards on 24-for-32 passing, without a turnover, and he accounted for all of Jacksonville's touchdowns — two rushing, two throwing. It added up to a 32-point haul in Yahoo basic scoring, the first time Lawrence has made it past 20 points all year.

The highlights are pretty. Lawrence had ample time to throw (he was sacked just once) and the throws were accurate, the decisions crisp. Roll the tape, see what you make of it.

The Lawrence comeback intersects with Calvin Ridley's blowup game. Ridley snagged 7-of-9 targets for 103 yards and two scores, and added an 18-yard run just for fun. The Jacksonville coaching staff talked Ridley up all week, knowing he could find operating room against a spotty Tennessee secondary. And fantasy managers might have been oddly comforted by the return of Zay Jones; coincidence or not, Ridley's best stuff this year has come when Jones is on the field. Sunday's touchdowns broke a five-game scoring drought for Ridley.

If you coveted Jacksonville production in this game, you needed to be on the Lawrence-to-Ridley stack. Christian Kirk was quiet on six targets (3-48-0), Evan Engram continued his end-zone allergy season (4-29-0), and Travis Etienne (14-52 rushing, 3-7 receiving) was kept out of the end zone, too. To be blunt, Etienne's strong fantasy season has been largely about touchdown deodorant. He's under four yards a carry, and his yards per touch is down about a yard from last year. If Etienne isn't spiking, fantasy managers aren't happy.

Lawrence is set up for a fun showdown game next week, heading to Houston to match throws against rookie sensation C.J. Stroud. After that, it's a tricky road — Cincinnati, at Cleveland, Baltimore. But if you need Lawrence for fantasy purposes, you have to like the reemerging chemistry with Ridley. For the Jaguars to be a major AFC threat, they need their X receiver to win on the outside.

The Lawrence and Ridley narrative fit the overall Week 11 theme, where comeback players were everywhere. Big names like Tony Pollard, Saquon Barkley, DJ Moore, and Davante Adams had their strongest showings in weeks.

I suppose we should be somewhat muted on Pollard — an 80-yard day against Carolina isn't worthy of a parade. But Pollard scored his first touchdown since Week 1, and it was on a physical, extra-effort run. He handled 16 touches for the game. And Thursday Pollard draws another beatable matchup, the Washington defense.

Barkley torched those Commanders on Sunday and sparked the New York upset, racking up 140 total yards (14-83, 4-57) and a couple of receiving touchdowns. It's easily Barkley's best game of the year, and pushed him to the top of the Week 11 running back board. With the Giants looking like a legitimate NFL team (Tommy DeVito took an absurd nine sacks but also kept the offense moving), Barkley maintains his set-and-forget fantasy status. He gets the Patriots at home next week.

Adams didn't break the game in Week 11 (7-82-1), but it's encouraging to see him produce with new quarterback Aidan O'Connell. Adams absorbed 13 targets at Miami; no other Raider had more than seven.

Moore's snappy 7-96-1 line at Detroit came with a returning quarterback, Justin Fields. The Bears didn't make good on their upset attempt, but Fields was mostly a positive, throwing for 169 yards, running for 104 more, and taking just two sacks. He was not intercepted, and had a late fumble to end the game.

For Adams, it was his best game and first touchdown since Week 3. On Moore, it was his first spike since Week 5.

There's plenty of room for more comeback stories in Week 12. The entire NFL plays during Thanksgiving week, with games on four different days. Get your tables set and your pies in the oven.

Note: This story will continue to be updated with Week 11 fantasy takeaways.

0
Comments on this article
0
On Air106.1 BLI - Long Island's #1 For All The Hits! Logo

The 106.1 BLI Insider Newsletter

mobile apps

Everything you love about wbli.com and more! Tap on any of the buttons below to download our app.

amazon alexa

Enable our Skill today to listen live at home on your Alexa Devices!