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USATSI

Dan Schneier here, filling in for Chris this week. After a slow start to the first half of the early slate Sunday, we saw fireworks in the late slate -- specifically two games. The Raiders and Seahawks went to overtime where Josh Jacobs dropped a walk-off 86-yard touchdown run in a game that totaled 74 points and decided several Fantasy Football matchups. More on Jacobs' dominant performance below. In Arizona, Justin Herbert led a game-winning touchdown drive that was capped off with a two-point conversion on a pass to Gerald Everett.

Before we get to that, I wrote about the top early waiver-wire targets for Week 13 last night. Tomorrow, we'll have a full breakdown of the waiver wire.

With Chris out this week, we're going to a little bit of an altered schedule for the newsletter. Here's when you can expect all the content you know and love:

  • Tuesday PM: Diving into top waiver targets with Jamey Eisenberg
  • Wednesday AM: Week 13 position previews from Heath Cummings
  • Thursday AM: Start/Sit advice with Jamey Eisenberg
  • Friday AM: Game previews and tough lineup decisions with Dave Richard

For now, here's a look back at the key takeaways you need to know from Week 12:

Five Week 12 Winners

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Josh Jacobs, RB, Raiders

In addition to his walk-off 86-yard touchdown in overtime, Jacobs racked up over 300 yards of total offense. He became just the 11th player in NFL history with a 300-plus yard game. He totaled 229 yards on 33 carries and added another 74 receiving yards on six receptions and seven targets. Jacobs finished second on the offense in total targets and touched the ball on 87% of the Raiders' designed runs. He was one of the few workhorses left in Week 12 and one of the few we can count on moving forward. Early-season concerns that first-year head coach Josh McDaniels would deploy a backfield committee similar to the one he learned through his years working with the Patriots have been quelled -- and then some.

Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers

With Leonard Fournette ruled out, we weren't entirely sure what kind of role White would have as a rookie operating in a Tom Brady offense. Ke'Shawn Vaughn, a second-year back, figured to take some share of White's snaps in Fournette's absence. That didn't really happen. White played 90% of the snaps and saw 14 carries to Vaughn's four. He also had a whopping 73% route participation rate and a 21% target share. White finished second on the entire team with both nine targets and nine receptions. He also handled 80% of the team's short-yardage situations, 85% of the long-distance downs and he didn't miss a single snap in the two-minute offense, per Tru Media. In other words, he was a workhorse in Week 12. It will be interesting to see how this backfield shakes out once Fournette returns.

Zay Jones, WR, Jaguars

When the Jaguars signed Jones to a large multi-year free agent contract, it raised a few eyebrows around the league. From a Fantasy standpoint, Jones was still an afterthought, going undrafted in most leagues. Although he's operated the underneath role all season for the Jaguars, he hasn't received enough volume at any point to stick on rosters until Week 12. Fresh out of the bye, the Jaguars had a bigger plan in mind for Jones -- he racked up 11 catches for 145 yards and a game-winning two-point conversion.

Garrett Wilson, WR, Jets

With Mike White at quarterback for the Jets, we were curious to see how the target share would shake out. At the collegiate level, White heavily targeted the slot receiver -- but that was a different offensive system. In his 2022 debut as the starter, White favored Wilson, who led the Jets with a 29% target share. It was also impressive how he got those targets -- leading the team in air yards with 35% of the Jets' total air yards. 

David Njoku, TE, Browns

Njoku was already on my radar with Deshaun Watson due back in Week 13, but his Week 12 performance only solidified that. It wasn't just the incredible one-handed touchdown grab Njoku snagged. I was more excited about his involvement. Njoku trailed only Amari Cooper in targets -- racking up eight (22% target share). He was also highly involved as a route runner and not just left in to block -- drawing a 78% route participation rate.

Five Week 12 losers

Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers

It felt like a get-right spot for Evans in what should've been a well-rested return for the Buccaneers offense, but ultimately Tom Brady finished with 5.7 yards per attempt in this one -- so it was more of the same. Chris Godwin and White dominated the underneath targets and it felt like Brady and Evans could never get on the same page despite multiple deep pass attempts.  Evans finished with a whopping nine targets -- just four fewer than Godwin -- but he only totaled two receptions for 31 yards.

Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints 

Kamara was one of the biggest disappointments of the entire Week 12 slate. He finished with just seven carries for 13 yards and a 1.9 yards per carry average. Kamara saw just 32% of the Saints' total carries. Kamara was more involved in the pass game with seven targets, but he turned them into just 37 yards on six receptions. The bottom line is this Saints offense is arguably the NFL's least explosive outside of Denver. 

Cordarrelle Patterson, RB, Falcons

The game script was fine with Atlanta playing close in a one-score game and almost taking a fourth-quarter lead, but that wasn't enough to help Patterson put together a quality Fantasy day. Instead, he split carries evenly with Tyler Allgeier and totaled just 52 yards on the ground. More importantly, Patterson didn't receive a single target in the pass game. The Falcons are no longer designing plays for Patterson as they did during his 2021 breakout -- and with no involvement in the pass game -- he has become a touchdown or bust weekly play.

Tyler Higbee, TE, Rams

The first full game start in the Bryce Perkins era was a very run-heavy script for the Rams -- even once the Chiefs jumped out to a multi-score lead. Perkins' insertion into the lineup was terrible new for Higbee. He had a season-low 34% route participation rate -- blocking twice as often as he ran a route. He wasn't targeted once in the pass game. With reports surfacing that the Rams may shut down Matthew Stafford for the season, Higbee is not worth starting anywhere.

James Robinson, RB, Jets

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse for Robinson after he was ruled out as a healthy scratch in Week 12, the running back who was promoted to the active roster in place of him shined. Zonovan Knight racked up 69 yards on 14 carries to lead the Jets rushing attack and he also added three receptions for 34 yards. Despite the fact that the Jets traded for Robinson, it's hard to imagine he returns to a Fantasy-relevant role even in the wake of Michael Carter's injury.

Top early waiver wire targets

For the full early waivers column, click here.

1. Mike White, QB, Jets
2. Zay Jones, WR, Jaguars
3. Elijah Moore, WR, Jets
4. JaMycal Hasty, RB, Jaguars
5. Zonovan Knight, RB, Jets