Each week, we offer up the very best of the NFL on a given Sunday, kind of like the fantasy football team you wished you had.
All year, we’ve picked one quarterback, two running backs, two receivers and a tight end — OK, this sounds a lot like a super-hindsight fantasy football team. We’re also recognizing an entire offensive line, a few select defensive stars and even a special-teams standout of the week.
Let’s dive into Week 12.
Another dominant first half for Stafford, who was 19-for-23 for 210 yards and three touchdowns as the Rams built a 31-7 halftime lead on the Bucs. He came in leading the NFL with 27 touchdown passes against two interceptions, and his last five games are more ridiculous with 18 touchdowns and no picks in five Rams wins.
This is just the second game in NFL history where a player rushed for 200 or more yards and caught at least 10 passes. The other was Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, who ran for 220 yards and caught 11 passes, also in an overtime win.
Gibbs had a huge day for Detroit, rushing 15 times for 219 yards and two scores, including a 69-yard score on the first play of overtime. He also caught 11 passes for 45 yards and a touchdown as the Lions held off the Giants for a much-needed home win.
Jahmyr Gibbs rushes for ELECTRIC 69-YARD TD to SEAL Lions’ 34-27 win over Giants
It’s nice to get fresh faces in here.
Green Bay had to play without top rusher Josh Jacobs and didn’t miss a beat, with Wilson rushing for 107 yards and two touchdowns in an easy win over the Vikings. The third-year back has done this before, stepping up as an injury replacement. This was his first career 100-yard day and his first multi-touchdown game, though.
“JSN” is at a Jonathan Taylor level of consistency in how often he makes this team.
Sunday saw Smith-Njigba haul in eight catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns, putting him over 1,300 yards for the season. He has already set the Seahawks franchise record for receiving yards in a season with six games still left to be played.
Smith-Njigba is on pace to become the first NFL player to get 2,000 receiving yards in a season, and he’s gone over 100 in six of his last seven games.
Jaxon Smith Njigba’s SHATTERS Seahawks WR RECORD in Seattle’s win over Titans.
Pickens had so many huge catches Sunday – a touchdown before halftime to start the Cowboys‘ comeback from 21 points down, a 43-yard catch to set up the tying score in the fourth quarter, and a 24-yard catch in the final minute to set up the winning kick.
Pickens finished with nine catches for 146 yards and a score, and every week raises the astronomical cost of Dallas trying to re-sign him after this season.
TE Hunter Henry, Patriots
Henry was a central part of New England’s close win over the Bengals. He had the offense’s only touchdown and was easily the leading receiver, catching seven passes for 115 yards. His 13.1 yards per catch this season is his highest since he was a rookie way back in 2016, and he’s been Drake Maye’s most reliable target in their 10-2 start.
OL: Detroit Lions
They did give up three sacks, but that’s in 45 dropbacks for Jared Goff. The Lions offensive line line – from left to right: Taylor Decker, Kayode Awosika, Graham Glasgow, rookie Tate Ratledge and Penei Sewell – paved the way for a rushing attack that got 237 yards in an overtime win over the Giants. That’s a season high for Detroit, and the team average of 11.9 yards per carry is an NFL high this season, breaking the mark of 11.7 set by the Chargers against the same bad Giants run defense.
DL: Myles Garrett, Browns
Three more sacks in Cleveland’s win over the Raiders, giving him 18 for the season. He’s on course to obliterate the NFL season record for sacks, which is 22.5, held by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021). Garrett is on course to have 28, so he’d probably break it in 16 games, so he doesn’t even have that asterisk.
That the Browns are 3-8 shouldn’t diminish what Garrett has done this season. He’s a game-wrecker who is every opponent’s focus, still finding ways to get to the quarterback over and over each week.
DL: Will Anderson, Texans
There are a lot of worthy candidates, but we’ll go back to Thursday, when Anderson had 2.5 sacks and six tackles in Houston’s big win over the Bills. Houston has arguably the best defense in the NFL — fewest points allowed, fewest yards — and Anderson leads the way, so especially if they can make a playoff push in the next six weeks, he deserves to be recognized among the league’s best pass rushers.
LB D’Marco Jackson, Bears
Chicago had the rare luck of having its top three linebackers all sidelined by injury ahead of Sunday’s game against the Steelers, and they still won with a trio of backups in there.
Jackson led the way with 15 tackles. He had just 11 all season and was limited to just 32 defensive snaps this season, playing primarily on special teams.
We also should give a shoutout to another linebacker, Amen Ogbongbemiga, who had one tackle all season coming into this game and had 14 playing alongside Jackson.
DB: Marcus Jones, Patriots
There were actually several defensive touchdowns Sunday, but Jones may have had the most important.
The Bengals led 10-0 early, but New England got on the board with a Maye touchdown to Henry. On the next possession, Jones jumped a sideline throw by Joe Flacco and took it back 33 yards for a touchdown, giving the Patriots their first lead before halftime that they never let go of.
It was Jones’ third interception of the season, resetting his season high in four years in the league.
ST: Chimere Dike, Titans
DIke has quietly had a really good rookie season. The fourth-round pick from Florida got his second punt-return touchdown Sunday, a 90-yard return as Tennessee clawed back to make it a game against Seattle.
Dike added a touchdown reception as well from fellow rookie Cam Ward. Two touchdown catches give you a share of the team lead for the Titans in late November, which is telling about how their season is going.
Chimere Dike returns PUNT 90-yards for TD, shrinking Titans’ deficit against Seahawks | NFL Highlights
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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