Fantasy Football: Biggest Week 11 takeaways

Cam Newton and Jameis Winston both threw five touchdown passes Sunday, but those weren't the most notable performances in Fantasy, according to Scott White. He shares his thoughts on Thomas Rawls, Eddie Lacy and others.

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Chris Towers is sitting out this week's recounting of major football events -- he already had his say and then some Sunday -- which gives me free rein over all 10 of our good-for-nothing takeaways.

It's a big responsibility because it makes me the last line of the defense. All those other weeks if I skipped something important I could just say, "Oh, well I thought Chris had it." Not today!

So as way of apology to those hoping to derive meaning from the meaningless -- since the purpose of this piece isn't just to rehash what happened but to determine what we learned -- here's what I'm not going to talk about ...

Cam Newton's five touchdown passes

Why? Because while it was arguably the best game of Newton's career, I'm not sure the needle can go any higher for him. We already knew he's too valuable sit, having contributed multiple touchdowns of one kind or another in every game but Week 1, and sure enough, he was started in 93 percent of CBSSports.com leagues this week. So whether he threw one, three or five touchdown passes against the Redskins, it's fair to say you wouldn't be benching him for Matt Ryan next week.

Jameis Winston's five touchdown passes

Why? Because while I think Winston has the weapons for this sort of performance and is generally having a fine rookie season, the fact of the matter is he had zero touchdown passes in his previous two games. Of course, like Newton, he also contributes some with his legs, but the threshold for a Fantasy-relevant quarterback is so high that a player needs more than a coin flip's chance of contributing multiple scores in a game to reach it. Now, if Winston throws for three scores next week, you can bet it'll be featured here.

Derek Carr's zero touchdown passes

Why? Like with Winston, the performance is too out-of-character to classify as a trend. The timing was unfortunate since the matchup against the Lions seemed like the perfect opportunity to try him out in Fantasy, but instead, the second-year quarterback decided to use it as a learning experience, helped in no part by a receiving corps that dropped several of his passes. Ultimately, having the fourth-most touchdown passes in the NFL should count for more than one disappointing afternoon, and you never had reason to question Carr's consistency before this game. It was only his third this season without multiple scores.

Now then, on to the performances that actually revealed something.

1. Thomas Rawls is the best running back in Seattle

We already had reason to suspect it after Rawls rushed for 169 yards when Marshawn Lynch was last inactive in Week 5, so a little bit of a heads-up from the Seahawks would have been appreciated since only 22 percent of CBSSports.com owners actually benefited from Sunday's 255-yard, two-score performance. But owning him is half the battle, and he's still available in nearly half of all leagues. No telling yet if Lynch will miss Week 12, but the rumor is he has a sports hernia that may or may not require surgery. Given that he has averaged just 3.8 yards per carry this season to Rawls' 6.0, his loss would actually be good news for owners of both players since Rawls is the more likely to perform like a top-five back the rest of the way.

2. Doug Martin is unbenchable

Martin followed up three consecutive games with 100 or more rushing yards with three consecutive games of decidedly less than that, which had some Fantasy owners on the fence about using him against what at one point looked like a stout run defense. But a combination of the Eagles' poor tackling and his own elusiveness led to Martin's most productive game yet, at least in terms of yardage. It was a performance reminiscent of his 251-yard, four-touchdown game against the Raiders as a rookie in 2012 -- the one helped make him a top-five pick in Fantasy once upon a time -- and he's now just one 100-yard game shy of matching that year's total. With a rookie quarterback under center, he's not always going to have room to run, but at a position where your alternatives are limited, you can't afford to miss out on Martin going off again.

3. Brock Osweiler gives other Broncos a chance to matter

Brock Osweiler wasn't exactly Peyton Manning in his first NFL start, but he also wasn't ... well, Peyton Manning. He was accurate with his passes, consistently found the open man and actually seemed comfortable in Gary Kubiak's offense. The defense also seemed to take him more seriously because suddenly Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson had room to run. Their combined rushing yardage tied a season high, and they looked good doing it, averaging a combined 4.9 yards per carry. Granted, the Bears defense may have had something to do with their success, but for now, we'll assume Osweiler was the key variable. And while Demaryius Thomas mostly owes his second touchdown to his own legs, hey, Osweiler delivered him the ball with room to run. Manning's return is completely up in the air at this point, but if you own any other piece of the Broncos offense, you want him on the sideline as long as possible.

4. Javorius Allen is going to get the ball a lot

Over the course of one game, Allen went from change-of-pace back to every-down back to focal point of the Ravens offense. Actually, we haven't even seen him in that last role yet because quarterback Joe Flacco didn't tear his ACL until the team's final drive, so the 27 touches Allen got over basically three quarters of play were when the Ravens still had some semblance of a passing game. Now, Justin Forsett and Flacco are both done for the year, joining Steve Smith. Without their top quarterback and a receiver who can get the most out of backup Matt Schaub, the Ravens are going to have to go all Allen all the time. Whether or not he'll deliver on all those touches, especially when the defense knows what's coming, is another matter -- he averaged just 3.1 yards on 22 carries in this one -- but he'll feature enough in the passing game for you to give him the benefit of the doubt.

5. Philip Rivers is done as a QB1

You think it's a coincidence Rivers' worst two games of the season -- well, two of only three without multiple touchdown passes anyway -- are the same two since Keenan Allen was lost for the season? Rivers was already having to contend with a crummy offensive line. Take away his weapons, and he might as well be playing underwater. He does at least have Antonio Gates, but the tight end isn't at 100 percent and the two just ended up arguing on the sidelines Sunday. Rivers was a rock-solid start through the first eight weeks, one of only a handful of quarterbacks you could trust for 2-3 touchdowns every week, but now you'll need to be on the lookout for a replacement. Maybe even Winston or Osweiler.

6. Eddie Lacy is back

To be fair, Lacy has faked us out in the past, like when he ran for 90 yards at San Francisco in Week 4, but this time he did it from behind on the depth chart, using James Starks' own trick against him. He looked driven, running through would-be tacklers and spinning away from others, and you may remember this was about the time he took off last year, averaging 94.4 rushing yards with eight total touchdowns in his final seven games after averaging 53.1 rushing yards with five total touchdowns in his first nine. That late surge is what made him him a candidate for the No. 1 overall pick this season, which should be all the reminder you need that, in a season with only 16 games, it's never too late for talent to deliver. He has an ideal matchup in Week 12, too.

7. The Packers receiving corps isn't worth the trouble

Wasn't it just last week that Davante Adams got 21 targets, joining Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins and Julio Jones as the only plays to have 20 or more in a game this season, and didn't I imply that, if nothing else, he had at least overtaken James Jones in the pecking order? So how is it that this week Jones led the Packers with 11 targets while Adams came in fourth with four? How is it that Jones rebounded from three dreadful games with six catches for 109 yards while Adams had three for 36? And how is that Randall Cobb is still a spectator in all of this, catching two passes on nine targets for 24 yards? I'm tired of trying to guess along with the Packers and basically don't want anything to do with any of those three, which might make you want to disregard everything I just wrote about Lacy, but ... well, let's just pretend I didn't mention that part.

8. Tony Romo is startable again

What's this? Romo returned from a seven-game absence, and we're just now getting to it? Yeah, well, he didn't exactly blow the doors off against the Dolphins. He showed some rust in throwing two interceptions and only needed to complete 18 passes, but it's clear the Cowboys offense had new life with him under center. With Dez Bryant also playing again, it's only a matter of time before Romo blows up with a three- or four-score game. Whoever drafted him did so intending to start him every week, and this first game back from a broken clavicle in no way suggested he can't get back to that level, even if you're more inclined to roll with a Carr or Blake Bortles for now. And if the Romo owner already has a Carr or Bortles, the Rivers owner might want to see if they can swing a little deal.

9. Marquess Wilson is money when Alshon Jeffery can't play

Remember when Wilson had back-to-back 80-yard games earlier this season? (It's true -- go look at Weeks 4 and 5.) You know what interrupted it? Jeffery returned from a hamstring injury and caught eight passes for 147 yards in his first game back and had back-to-back 100-yard games after that. But Jeffery was out again in Week 11, this time with a groin injury, and Wilson again filled the void, picking up 102 yards on four catches and, more notably, a team-high seven targets. No telling yet how long Jeffery's latest injury will keep him out, but the correlation with Wilson's numbers isn't one you should ignore, especially if you own Jeffery yourself. The only times Wilson didn't deliver Fantasy-relevant numbers when Jeffery was out was when quarterback Jay Cutler was also out.

10. Shaun Draughn is being overlooked in PPR leagues

Judging by his ownership percentage on CBSSports.com, Fantasy owners aren't excited about what Draughn brings to the table as Carlos Hyde's replacement -- and given his history and lack of ability, they shouldn't be. But there's no substitute for role in Fantasy Football, and Draughn clearly has that going for him, getting all 20 touches out of the 49ers' backfield Sunday. And here's the key: Eight of those touches were catches, compared to four last week. Any back who can average six catches a game is a big deal in PPR leagues -- it's basically a one-touchdown handicap over a catch-less wonder like Jeremy Hill -- and while you can't assume a two-game trend will continue in perpetuity, it's probably no coincidence Draughn's quarterback for those two games, Blaine Gabbert, is a check-down machine. Give Draughn a look if your backs aren't catching enough passes.