Like the food at Thanksgiving celebrations, there were plenty of fantasy points left on the table Sunday.
Several key players exited their games early and weren't able to fatten their stat lines.
-- Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon was questionable with a knee injury coming into the game against the Arizona Cardinals. However, things looked great as he rumbled for a pair of second-quarter touchdowns.
But disaster struck just after halftime when Gordon apparently reinjured that same knee and did not return. He finished with 61 rushing yards and two catches for 5 yards. He'll get an MRI on Monday, but the preliminary diagnosis is an MCL injury that would put his ability to play in Week 13 (and potentially the fantasy playoffs) in jeopardy.
-- Leonard Fournette had already run for 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns when he got into a fight with Buffalo Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson near the end of the third quarter. Fournette wasn't even on the field when the benches started clearing, so his ejection could have easily been avoided. At least he shouldn't have to worry about a suspension.
-- The Indianapolis Colts had running back Marlon Mack leave in the fourth quarter with a concussion. To that point, he had rushed for 85 yards on 15 carries and added 11 more yards on two receptions. Mack ended up missing the end of the Colts' comeback victory.
-- And Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton threw for only 100 yards before he exited with an injured thumb. The Bengals were already missing top wideout A.J. Green, who was inactive for a third consecutive game with a toe injury. They would certainly love to have both of those players back next week.
Late scratches
Despite the in-game injuries, those players were able to get some stats on the books. What really hurt fantasy owners were a couple of players who were expected to play but ended up being late scratches.
New York Giants tight end Evan Engram strained a hamstring in pregame warmups and didn't play at all as a result. Unfortunately, word that he wasn't going to play didn't surface until after the game kicked off — and Rhett Ellison started in his place.
At least wide receiver Devin Funchess was one of the Carolina Panthers' pregame inactives after being held out of practice all week. Most fantasy owners who weren't in a three-day food coma were able to swap him out in their lineups.
Man of mystery
After a stellar first half performance, Giants running back Saquon Barkley appeared to be on track for a huge day. He racked up 131 total yards and a pair of touchdowns on just 15 touches.
However, the Giants coaching staff inexplicably went away from Barkley in the second half, giving him only five more touches (for 11 total yards) the entire game.
Running quarterbacks
Last week, Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens set an NFL record for rushing attempts by a quarterback. He dialed things back in Week 12 — but he was more efficient (71 yards on 11 carries) AND he scored his first rushing touchdown.
However, Jackson wasn't the most productive rushing quarterback of the week. Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Add in Allen's 160 passing yards and a touchdown, and he finished as Sunday's highest-scoring fantasy quarterback.
Adding insult to infamy
Few things in fantasy football are as annoying as an unknown player taking touchdowns (and points) away from established fantasy stars. What happened with Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell took things to a different level.
I ended up losing in one of my leagues when the Steelers called for a fake field goal in Denver on fourth and goal from the Broncos' 2-yard line. Boswell took the direct snap and threw to wide open offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva for a touchdown.
According to ESPN's Tristan Cockroft, Boswell is the first kicker to throw a touchdown pass since David Akers in Week 17 of 2011.
Boswell owners should make sure they get credit for that TD pass (and the 2 passing yards) because it could affect the outcome of your weekly matchup -- as it did mine.
And one clarification on the TD, it should NOT count as a touchdown for the Steelers defense/special teams. As is the case with fake punts, a team is still considered to be on offense when it has the ball, even though the kicking team is on the field.
Broad Shoulders Award
Our weekly honor for the player who single-handedly carried his fantasy owners to victory undoubtedly goes to Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey.
The workhorse back who's played over 95 percent of his team's offensive snaps this season gouged the Seattle Seahawks for 125 yards and a touchdown on the ground, as well as 112 yards and a score through the air. In addition, McCaffrey caught all 11 of his targets from QB Cam Newton to give him a total of 46.7 fantasy points in PPR scoring.
Early waiver wire
With Gordon's status up in the air because of his knee injury, Chargers backup running back Austin Ekeler becomes the primary waiver wire target this week if he's available.
Ekeler had his best game of the season on Sunday, rushing for 35 yards and a touchdown, while catching 10 passes for 68 more yards. His season high for touches (17) came when he stepped in for an injured Gordon in Week 7. He could see that kind of workload again if Gordon's knee prevents him from playing next week at Pittsburgh.
New York Jets wide receiver Jermaine Kearse caught six of his 12 targets from Josh McCown for 66 yards and a touchdown. Regardless of whether the Jets have McCown or Sam Darnold at quarterback, Kearse will likely be his top option at Tennessee.
Follow Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner
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