Fantasy Football Week 12: Award Roundup for Busts and MVPs

Each week is defined by peerless and prolific performances, such as the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson running wild for fantasy investors with another historic box score, registering his 18th game with at least 150 rushing yards, tied for fourth-most in NFL history, per Gil Brandt of NFL.com.

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 12. As always, feel free to share your picks for fantasy MVPs and busts at each position.

Fantasy QB MVP: Matthew Stafford's Tremendous Turkey Day

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The Philadelphia Eagles have proved quite friendly to opposing arms of late, ceding 10 touchdowns in the air over the past two games. The Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford enjoyed elite efficiency en route to five touchdowns on Thanksgiving to down the reeling Eagles and earn MVP honors as the highest-scoring signal-caller of the week in ESPN leagues.

With an inviting playoff schedule that includes matchups with the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively, Stafford and the Lions' passing game remain poised to provide meaningful production down the stretch. 

The Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson gave himself and his franchise a great gift for his birthday, becoming the first signal-caller since Warren Moon in 1990 to produce as many as five touchdowns on his birthday, per ESPN Stats & Info.

If only the New York Jets could play the Miami Dolphins each week, as their offense again shined versus their generous division rivals. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick posted the first franchise outing with four scores and zero picks since Chad Pennington accomplished the feat back in 2002, per SportsCenter.

Drew Brees Disappoints Fantasy Managers in Week 12

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The New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees leads all NFL arms with 25 fantasy points per game at home this season in ESPN leagues, while he's a lowly 32nd in fantasy production on the road (12.4 points per game). With another sorry road outing of just seven fantasy points, Brees is our bust of the week at quarterback. 

The argument could be made that the Atlanta Falcons' Matt Ryan is among the bigger busts at the position all season, considering he is just 28th in fantasy points per game among NFL arms with only 14.9 fantasy points per game, tied with the Washington Redskins' Kirk Cousins. 

Even Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers posted disappointing metrics on Thanksgiving in a seemingly sweet matchup. Did a certain arm fell your fantasy hopes? 

Top Tailback in Fantasy Football for Week 12: Peterson Is Prolific

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Adrian Peterson continues to drive the Minnesota Vikings offense to successful Sundays, earning fantasy MVP honors with yet another massive multi-touchdown outing that tops the position for Week 12. 

The Denver Broncos' C.J. Anderson ended some fantasy campaigns early with a disastrous start to the season, but he has since found his stride, as the Broncos returned to a run-friendly scheme that features head coach Gary Kubiak's under-center design. It will be extremely telling to see the team's backfield workload breakdown unfold over the coming weeks.

Eddie Lacy flashed some strong numbers and broken tackles for the Green Bay Packers, signaling another strong second-half revival could be in the works. 

The Kansas City Chiefs' Spencer Ware was again extremely productive, proving the plug-and-play success over a series of backfield transitions is enduring. 

Running Back Bust of the Week: Todd Gurley Stalls in Cincinnati

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The peerless Todd Gurley posted his first truly disappointing fantasy outing as a starting NFL back for the St. Louis Rams. On the road against a stout defense, we can forgive his outlier outing going forward, but he's certainly earned our bust of the week at tailback given such lackluster fantasy metrics this week.

Among other deflating tailback performances, the Miami Dolphins' Lamar Miller was again held to modest production, offering some pause as the team's lack of offensive success appears troubling on the doorstep of the fantasy playoffs. A sweet playoffs schedule could be felled if the team continues to struggle to establish the ground game. 

The Philadelphia Eagles' disastrous season is due in part to the lackluster play of DeMarco Murray, who has looked sluggish for much of the season and could cede meaningful work once Ryan Mathews returns to action. Murray again produced modest totals in Week 12 despite a viable workload. 

We find the Indianapolis Colts' Frank Gore and the New England Patriots' LeGarrette Blount in bust territory, as well, thanks to quiet outings with inefficient results.

Wonderful Wideout: Calvin Johnson Regains "Megatron" Form

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The Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson is thriving just in time for fantasy investors to profit on their original draft investment. The Lions claim an awesome finishing schedule, facing the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers down the playoff stretch, suggesting this week's MVP among fantasy wideouts could finish strong. 

The Seattle Seahawks' Doug Baldwin actually posted more fantasy points than "Megatron," but we're siding with the widely owned Johnson for top honors. It is of note for future usage, however, to see Seattle's wideout thrive given that Jimmy Graham suffered a season-ending injury, per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com.

It's difficult to trust big box scores from Markus Wheaton of the Pittsburgh Steelers or Sammy Watkins of the Buffalo Bills given such respective struggles for each throughout the season, but of the two, it's clearly the talented Watkins who claims enduring upside going forward. The Oakland Raiders' Seth Roberts has flashed some big games, but like Wheaton, we don't trust continued success for him.

The amazing hands of Odell Beckham, Jr. made another highlight-worthy appearance in Week 12, with the New York Giants superstar set to provide league-winning numbers once again. It was also nice to see the Kansas City Chiefs' Jeremy Maclin break out with a big box score, suggesting he can help win leagues, as well. 

Texas Duo Disappoints at Wideout in Week 12

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The duo of the Dallas Cowboys' Dez Bryant and Denver Bronco's Demaryius Thomas again left investors needing more, as both top talents were held to meager box scores in Week 12, sharing the dubious bust award.

Both Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons produced middling numbers, but we have no fears over their potential to surge and win weeks for investors down the stretch. The real worry lies with the two names in the intro, as Bryant and Thomas both deal with unfamiliar signal-callers and have yet to find success past their incumbent starting quarterbacks.  

Top Tight End of Week 12: Antonio Gates Shines in Jacksonville

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The ageless Antonio Gates posted yet another big box score for the San Diego Chargers, sharing MVP honors with the Jacksonville Jaguars' Julius Thomas, as both shined in North Florida on Sunday with top fantasy outings.

The New England Patriots' Rob Gronkowski produced yet another stellar statistical Sunday, but he also suffered a knee injury in the process. Thankfully for Pats fans and fantasy investors, a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter suggests the injury isn't considered serious at this stage. Keep up with the developments with our landing page for Gronk's injury.

Of the deflating crew at the position, the Dallas Cowboys' Jason Witten often shines at home, but he failed to produce meaningful numbers on Thanksgiving against a capable coverage group for Carolina, while the Detroit Lions' Eric Ebron also failed to produce at home in a friendly fantasy scoring environment. 

The Carolina Panthers D/ST Fuels Fantasy Wins in Week 12

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The Carolina Panthers' road to perfection is now proving truly special, as they remain the lone undefeated team in football and are accomplishing the feat via a balanced offense and an aggressive, ball-hawking defense. With another touchdown-fueled box score in the books, the Panthers D/ST earns top honors among fantasy defenses for Week 12. 

As for the bust among defenses, the Philadelphia Eagles continue to allow five-touchdown arms to burn them en route to another negative fantasy score, while the Buffalo Bills have proven fallible away from Orchard Park this season.