Fantasy Football Week 11: Award Roundup for Busts and MVPs

In a challenging week that included a rash of running back injuries and low-scoring box scores in most games, fortunate fantasy owners with shares of the Houston Texans' DeAndre Hopkins, who dominated the New York Jets' Darrelle Revis, or of the Seattle Seahawks' Thomas Rawls, who rolled for 255 total yards and two scores on Sunday, more than likely enjoyed Week 11 in fantasy football.

Did a certain star save your season with a big game? Or were you sunk by injury and underwhelming production? The spectrum of outcomes each week offers insights into the wins and losses we endure and the season still ahead.

Please join us in discussing the biggest performances and busts from Week 11. As always, feel free to share your picks for fantasy MVP and bust at each position.

Fantasy QB MVP: Cam Newton's MVP Campaign Continues

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Two top overall draft picks on NFC South squads tallied five touchdowns and 246 passing yards each in Week 11, as the undefeated Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton is now just four passing scores shy of his season high. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Bucs' Jameis Winston scorched the Philadelphia Eagles in South Philly five times, as well. For such massive outings, these two share MVP honors behind center this week.

Newton is second only to the New England Patriots' Tom Brady in fantasy points in ESPN leagues among signal-callers, with 21.3 per game, while this big box score vaults Winston to 15th in per-game production behind center. It's becoming clear Winston is a valid spot-starter and streaming asset for the stretch run, while Newton remains as elite as ever during an MVP-caliber campaign. 

We also saw the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson get untracked versus the depleted and deflated San Francisco 49ers en route to his first game with more than 20 fantasy points in ESPN leagues since Week 2 at Lambeau Field. 

The Arizona Cardinals' Carson Palmer started off playing like he was still on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night, throwing two picks in the first half, but then pummeled a top pass defense for four scores. Palmer is third among quarterbacks in fantasy points per game, just ahead of Aaron Rodgers, and remains the rare matchup-proof arm to deploy. 

Similarly, Andy Dalton of the Bengals proved why he's a legitimate top-five fantasy arm these days with a strong showing versus a deep and talented Arizona defense.

With a sweet schedule in the majority of remaining weeks, the Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford could become a worthy week-winner down the stretch. 

It's quite possible the Denver Broncos' Brock Osweiler is the best option for the Broncos for the rest of the season, while watching that drama unfold will certainly earn a ton of attention. 

Derek Carr Disappoints in Week 11

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The Oakland Raiders' Derek Carr and the San Diego Chargers' Philip Rivers each left fantasy investors wanting more with lean Week 11 box scores. Given such sorry stats despite sound setups for upside, these AFC West arms share the dubious distinction for busts of the week behind center. 

Carr has a great finishing schedule, including a rash of home games to help buoy big numbers, while Rivers is entering a second-half fade with depleted weapons and a porous offensive line. Investors in Rivers will want to add a sound waiver arm when possible for some options during the fantasy playoffs. 

The tier of disappointing days is somewhat limited this week, especially with 20 signal-callers reaching at least 10 fantasy points in ESPN leagues. 

Top Tailback in Fantasy Football for Week 11: Thomas Rawls Rolls Again

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The Seattle Seahawks' Thomas Rawls is averaging 143.8 yards per game from scrimmage in his four starts this season, most among any player to have made at least four starts this season. With another big box score in Week 11, Rawls is the top tailback of the week in fantasy football. 

Rawls rumbled for 255 yards from scrimmage in a rousing win over the reeling San Francisco 49ers. For such a massive day, which included two scores in addition to the quarterback-like yardage total, Rawls is the MVP among fantasy tailbacks this week.

With Marshawn Lynch visiting a specialist for abdominal injuries in Philadelphia this week, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, Rawls is a must-own asset going forward (available in over 60 percent of ESPN leagues as of press time). 

The Tampa Bay Bucs' Doug Martin rumbled for 235 yards in South Philly in Week 11, drubbing the otherwise sound Eagles rush defense. Held scoreless, Martin still merits mention for an awesome outing that now has him second in the NFL in rushing and leading the league in runs of 20 or more yards. 

The Green Bay Packers' Eddie Lacy seemed to earn back meaningful shares of the Packers backfield, helping offer some upside for a strong stretch run. The Indianapolis Colts got a big game from Ahmad Bradshaw off the bench with Frank Gore ailing, while Jeremy Hill finally found the another big game. The real bottom line might just be that if your tailbacks stayed healthy this week, you already won.  

Backfield Bust of the Week: Chris Ivory Inefficient in Houston

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The New York Jets' Chris Ivory has been quite boom-or-bust given game flow and matchup fluctuations this season. On the road in Houston to face the Texans in Week 11, Ivory tallied nine touches and somewhat inefficient results en route to just three fantasy points in ESPN leagues. With such sorry usage and output, the boom-or-bust Ivory is our bust at tailback this week. 

We don't dock players for injury or deem them busts for going down, as it's just the nature of this physical game. That said, we did find a healthy Lamar Miller of the Miami Dolphins nearly equally disappointing to Ivory, as he failed to produce versus the visiting Dallas Cowboys, who had been gashed on the ground of late. If your league still has a trade window open, hit up Miller owners with some offers given a rich fantasy playoffs schedule ahead. 

Wideout Wonder: DeAndre Hopkins Tops the Position

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With two scores and another 100-yard outing in Week 11, the Houston Texans' DeAndre Hopkins is not only the MVP among wideouts this week, but also for the season, as he's now tied with the Atlanta Falcons' Julio Jones for the most fantasy points per game among wideouts in ESPN leagues. 

Hopkins is now on pace for 122 catches and an NFL record in targets. With nine touchdowns already this season, Hopkins has tied the team record for receiving scores. With the New Orleans Saints up next, a fun season continues. 

The Green Bay Packers' James Jones is currently third in fantasy points among wideouts this week heading into Monday's game, proving he's still a worthy flex play for upside alone.

The fantasy leaderboard was littered with young speedsters that few fantasy leagues even roster, but we can say we really like the upside and usage for the Carolina Panthers' Devin Funchess going forward. 

Disappointing Duo: Jeremy Maclin and T.Y. Hilton Underwhelm in Week 11

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The Indianapolis Colts' offense was expected to prove more conservative and capped in the fantasy sense now that veteran Matt Hasselbeck is at the helm, but it's still quite glaring to see T.Y. Hilton produce another absolutely lackluster box score.

The Kansas City Chiefs' Jeremy Maclin also endured a quiet Week 11, with these two veteran receivers sharing bust duties at the position this week.

There weren't a great deal of truly underwhelming wideouts this week, but we're sure you can think of some.  

Top Tight End of Week 11: Kyle Rudolph Goes Big

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The Minnesota Vikings' Kyle Rudolph hopefully won some daily fantasy matchups this weekend because it's quite likely he earned fantasy MVP honors from the waiver wire in most leagues, as he's owned in just 19 percent of ESPN leagues and started in even fewer. 

The real MVP might just be the Cincinnati Bengals' Tyler Eifert, who again made multiple visits to the end zone on Sunday night and is now tied with the Atlanta Falcons' Devonta Freeman among NFL skill players with 11 touchdowns on the campaign. At least we can be confident Eifert swayed outcomes this week.

As for Rudolph, this was an outlier surge that shouldn't lead to increased fantasy interest in Week 12, even though it likely will given the shallow and variant nature of tight end production. 

The Carolina Panthers' Greg Olsen continued his brilliant season with yet another visit to the end zone, while the Tennessee Titans' Delanie Walker is again the lone player on that offense worth trusting each Sunday. Otherwise, we find a bunch of Rudolphs at the top of the leaderboard with rogue big games. 

As for the bust of the position, the Seattle Seahawks' Jimmy Graham couldn't capitalize on a choice matchup versus the San Francisco 49ers. Similarly, the Dallas Cowboys' Jason Witten wasn't effective in Tony Romo's return to duty. We still like Witten for some bankable usage, especially at home, while Graham is truly a touchdown-or-bust commodity at this stage of the season. 

The Carolina Panthers' D/ST Fuels Fantasy Wins in Week 11

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The Carolina Panthers' D/ST has produced back-to-back big games, with this week's fantasy feast of the Washington Redskins earning MVP honors among NFL defenses with the top score at the position in Week 11. 

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs turned in another big-play fueled fantasy performance, turning in a touchdown on defense and tying the Panthers in fantasy production. From the sleeper and streaming crowd at the position, the Baltimore Ravens held their own with a solid home showing. 

As for the bust among defenses, the Philadelphia Eagles ceded tons of points and yards to the Tampa Bay Bucs at home, producing a negative fantasy outcome. 

Did a disappointing defense do you in this week? Or did turnovers and sacks save your Sunday?