Juicy Week Eleven NFL Matchups
Three NFL matchups to keep your eyes on this week
Caleb Williams (QB, Chicago Bears) vs Green Bay Packers
I’m going to come out and say the obvious. The Bears are a complete mess. They have lost three straight games after starting the season 4-2 and just fired their offensive coordinator. This past week’s matchup against the New England Patriots seemed like the perfect game for the Bears to get right, but they were embarrassed yet again. The Bears only managed 142 yards of total offense and just three points. Williams was sacked nine times and completed just 16 passes for 120 yards.
The Bears play the Packers this week, which will prove to be a tough game. Williams has shown flashes of his playmaking potential, but he has yet to string together a few good games in a row. The coaching situation is pretty bad in Chicago, but he and the team around him are way too talented to be this pathetic of a team. This is the first of two matchups against the Packers and is a crucial game if the Bears want to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Williams has shown that he can play quarterback in this league. He’s looked awesome at times, finishing as the QB6 and QB1 in different weeks. But out of the seven other games he’s played, six of them were outside of the top 20. With how rough the back half of the Bears’ schedule is, Williams can be left off of rosters in redraft leagues. But, these next few weeks will be pivotal for dynasty managers watching to see how Williams plays when the odds are against him.
Audric Estime (RB, Denver Broncos) vs Atlanta Falcons
There’s a new starting running back for the Broncos: rookie Audric Estime. Fellow running backs Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin have been underwhelming this season and combined for a total of three carries last week against the Chiefs. Estime carried the ball 14 times for 53 yards. While it wasn’t an impressive yardage total, the amount of carries he received should be an indicator of what’s to come: volume.
The volume should continue to be there as the Broncos face the Atlanta Falcons this week. Atlanta are 2.5-pointunderdogs and 20th in run defense, meaning Estime will likely be a big part of this week’s game plan. Unfortunately, Estime adds nothing to the passing game, meaning it could be a rough game for him if Denver starts the game slowly.
This week’s matchup is juicy because it will shed light on the running back situation in Denver. With Bo Nix playing well, all the Broncos need for the offense to start cruising is a solid rushing attack. Estime could be that missing piece and is an absolute slam dunk of a roster stash. His situation reminds me a lot of Isiah Pacheco from last season. Both guys were hard-running, late-round picks who worked hard to earn the featured role on a good offense. Estime can be seen as a flex play this week or even a spot start in your RB spot if a starter is on bye.
Dolphins Pass Catchers vs Las Vegas Raiders
Outside of De’Von Achane, the Dolphins' offense has been hard to trust. It seemed that Miami was going to be the high-powered offense that they had been the past few seasons, but that hasn’t been the case. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa got injured in week two of the season, causing the team to suffer from an offensive standpoint. Tua finally returned to his starting position three weeks ago, but he has yet to return to form.
Since Tua is struggling so badly, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have been as well. Both players only have one finish as a WR2 or better this season and that happened in week one. It has been a nine-week fantasy drought for them, leaving the star receivers almost unstartable. Hill is the WR30 on the year and Waddle is way down at WR62.
This should finally be the week for Tua and his receivers to get back on track. Miami plays against a Raider team that has allowed 28 total touchdowns and is fantasy’s 31st-ranked defense. Yet they have been surprisingly good against the pass, allowing only 195.1 yards per game, which is good for 11th in the league. Hill and Waddle are still good players and should be played if rostered. Hill is still a must-start and Waddle can be seen as a flex play this week.