For a massive undertaking like Fantasy Points Data, we need a large team of dedicated and educated charting professionals to ensure that our statistics can be posted on the website accurately and quickly.
While the data-charting process is, by nature, objective, our team will obviously form opinions about what they saw, given we have to watch every play multiple times.
Every week, we’ll select the most notable observations and back them up with the objective data we’ve become known for.
Here are our top observations for 2024 NFL Week 12.
Week 12 Data Charter Observations
1. “Jahmyr Gibbs is an absolutely jaw-dropping player to watch. He has an elite ability to make defenders miss in short space, or run right through them if he feels like it. The blend of power with that much finesse is special. The patience that Gibbs has at the line of scrimmage, where he waits for the blocks to develop and then explodes through, really reminds me of early Le'Veon Bell.”
Faced with a favorable matchup with the Colts’ defense, RB Jahmyr Gibbs led the way to a 24-6 win for the Lions in Week 12. Teammate David Montgomery had a productive first half with 8 carries for 37 yards and a touchdown, but he left at halftime, leading to Gibbs seeing a season-high 21 carries to go along with 90 yards and 2 scores. Gibbs was productive in a variety of ways with 48 yards on explosive runs, accounting for 53.3% of his yards on the day while breaking 4 tackles.
In his second season, Gibbs is up to 4th in the NFL in rushing yards with 886 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. An elusive player like Gibbs does not need much room, but a lot of his success can be attributed to his offensive line guiding him to 3.45 YBCO/ATT (2nd best). The Lions kick off Thanksgiving in Week 13 with a divisional matchup with the Bears who are surrendering 2.37 YBCO/ATT (2nd most).
2. “Bucky Irving brings a spark to this offense that Rachaad White just doesn’t have in his game. He is much more dynamic on the ground and through the air. White is probably better out of the backfield, but Irving is excellent in his own right. On the ground, he is elusive and quick, making defenders miss consistently.”
In their return from the bye week, the Buccaneers leaned on RB Bucky Irving on their way to a dominating 30-7 win in New York over the Giants. At times, the Buccaneers have deployed a three-man rotation at RB, but Week 12 saw Irving lead the backfield in snap share at a 54.8% clip helping the rookie turn in his best performance with 151 total yards and a touchdown. 75 of his 87 rushing yards came after contact, highlighting his ability to make defenders miss and use his speed to pick up big gains. On the season, Irving easily leads the Buccaneers in missed tackles forced with 33 and 3.12 YACO/ATT (compared to just 12 and 2.59, respectively, for Rachaad White). Week 13 brings an enticing divisional matchup with the Panthers’ defense that has given up 1,766 rushing yards on the season (most in the NFL).
3. “Saquon Barkley is an absolute machine. As soon as he finds a hole, he is gone. Even without the long touchdowns, he was exploding through daylight and picking up chunk yards. He could’ve had an even bigger day if not for Kenny Gainwell vulturing a touchdown after Barkley moved the ball into the red zone on a few touches in a row.”
RB Saquon Barkley and the Eagles continued their dominant season with a 37-20 win on the road against the Rams. Barkley, coupled with the Eagles’ elite offensive line, was a perfect match coming into the season, and Week 12 was no different. Barkley ripped off 255 yards on the ground, including two 70+ yard touchdown runs, while registering 10 MTFs.
Beyond making defenders miss at will, the offensive line opened huge holes leading to Barkley averaging an insane 7.42 YBCO/ATT. Now on top of the NFL in rushing yards, Barkley also leads the league in YPC (6.24), EXP YDS (607), and YBCO/ATT (3.81). The Eagles travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in a showdown with the only challenger to Barkley’s claim for best RB of the 2024 season in Derrick Henry.
4. “Where was Anthony Richardson inside the red zone this game? Very first drive AR5 was having success with his legs, including an 8-yard run to set them up at the 12. Then they went Jonathan Taylor run, incomplete pass, incomplete pass, field goal. This seemed to be a theme once the Colts were in the red zone they seemed to force the pass in a shortened area of the field.”
Coming off his best game of the season, QB Anthony Richardson struggled to get the offense in gear in a 24-6 defeat against the Lions. Richardson got off to a fast start on the ground with 3 carries for 35 yards coming in the first quarter, before rushing 7 times for just 24 yards for the rest of the game.
The Colts fell behind, which led to the Colts calling on Richardson to throw more, and he regressed to a game similar to his early season struggles. Richardson registered a -6.07% CPOE, 13.5 aDOT, and a 28.6% OFF%, which were some of the areas that he had a hard time with prior to his return last week. Richardson and the Colts match up with the Patriots in Week 13, and the Patriots' defense ranks in the bottom-10 in pass defense, with 237.0 YDS/G allowed.
5. “The Seahawks called multiple screens to Jaxon Smith-Njigba to get him the ball in the middle of the field with blockers. Kenneth Walker is so explosive when healthy. He shot through the offensive like a cannon and came within a shoestring tackle of breaking a couple massive runs. Seemed like he never went down to the first defender and even hurdled a couple defenders.”
The Seahawks offense did enough to pull out an important 16-6 Week 12 divisional win over the Cardinals. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and RB Kenneth Walker led the way 77 and 93 total yards respectively. The Seahawks dialed up plenty of short routes for JSN, causing him to turn in a lowly 1.7 aDOT, but he used his excellent run-after-catch ability with 65 of his 77 yards coming after the catch. Meanwhile, Walker struggled to find daylight on the ground with 0.44 YBCO/ATT, but made up for it with 52 receiving yards.
For the season, JSN has made strides in his second year, ranking 7th in yards (755) and YAC (354). Walker is also improving his game, already having a career high in receiving yards with 274 on the year. Up next for the Seahawks is a road matchup with the Jets, who have allowed 26.2 points per game to opposing offenses since firing Robert Saleh after Week 6.
6. “Outside of George Kittle, the 49ers passing game was non-existent. Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings couldn’t get much going and it led to a poor game from Brendan Allen and the offense. Couple that with the running game struggling to pick up yards and the 49ers had no chance in this game. They struggled to sustain drives and subsequently couldn’t score.”
The 49ers fell to 5-6 following a 38-10 loss to the Packers in Green Bay. Without QB Brock Purdy the 49ers offense struggled to move the ball and fell apart in the second with 4 turnovers and 2 turnovers on downs. TE George Kittle led the way on offense with 82 yards and the lone 49er touchdown in the game, while WRs Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings combined for just 61 yards on 6 catches.
A major problem was the lack of success in the running game as RB Christian McCaffrey struggled again to regain his pre-injury form by failing to register an explosive run with a long of just 9 yards. Since CMC returned in Week 10, the 49ers are averaging 83.3 rushing yards per game, which is significantly down from their 159.0 rushing yards per game average through Week 9. The 49ers have a difficult matchup on tap against the Bills, who have been middling against the run, allowing 119.1 RuYDS/G (13th best).
7. “Devaughn Vele is showing you why Denver may have been willing to let go of Tim Patrick in the preseason. He is showing exceptional route running ability for a late-round rookie, and using his big body to leverage defenders. There is a chance that with his development he could eventually slide into the Courtland Sutton role if the veteran’s 2025 contract is not manageable.”
The Broncos won their second straight game, improving their record to 7-5 after pulling out a 29-19 win over the division rival Raiders. Rookie WR Devaughn Vele has emerged in the last two games, posting 66 and 80 receiving yards. Vele created separation all game registering a great 0.318 ASS and 31.8% win rate, which is forcing QB Bo Nix to look his way more often.
Speaking of the Sutton role, WR Courtland Sutton has been excelling as of late, with 6+ catches and 70+ yards in each of the past 5 games. The hot streak has pushed Sutton into the top-10 in receiving yards with 744 on the season, due in large part to a solid 0.154 ASS. Vele, Sutton, and the Broncos will look to keep pace in the playoff race in a matchup with the Browns’ mediocre pass defense.
8. “Jaylon Johnson was all over Justin Jefferson, shadowing him most of the game. Jefferson’s stat line looks bad, but he did draw a big DPI on Johnson early, plus a 40-yard TD called back for OPI. Jefferson being shadowed led to the Jordan Addison takeover. It seemed like Darnold was looking for Addison a lot, especially downfield, with two big plays on deep play-action shots. Kevin O’Connell trusts Darnold’s arm talent.”
The Vikings picked up their ninth win of the season with a 30-27 overtime victory over the Bears in Week 12. WR Justin Jefferson saw extra attention from Jaylon Johnson and the Bears’ defense, paving the way for WR Jordan Addison to torch the Bears for 162 yards and a touchdown. Addison has had a bit of an up-and-down season thus far, but stepped up in a major way by posting his career-high in receiving yards. TE TJ Hockenson also turned in a great game with 7 catches for 114 yards on a season-high 76.3% RTE%.
QB Sam Darnold turned in his best game of the season, completing 22 of 34 passes for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns, including 7 completions for 230 yards on passes 10+ yards downfield. The Vikings take on the Cardinals at home in Week 1,3 and the Cardinals have been playing well defensively by holding opponents under 20 points in 4 of their last 5 games.
Bonus Observations
Bears QB Caleb Williams — The Bears offense looks rejuvenated with new OC Thomas Brown. Caleb was decisive, cutting it loose and hitting some big-time throws early in this game. They did this obviously to simplify the offense for the QB and his pass catchers but also to slow down the Vikings' pressure and to help the offensive line out in protection. Since changing play callers, Williams owns a 6.8 aDOT, 4.5% CPOE, 82.1% 1Read%, 60.3% ACC%, and 80.8% CATCH%, which represent big improvements for the rookie.
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels — Daniels finally utilized his feet again to give us fantasy folks hope he may return to league winner status! Dan Quinn told us that Daniels should be fully healthy, and he sure looked it. They called the game like he had no limitations. Daniels got back on track on the ground with 74 yards and a touchdown, but his passing line was bailed out by an 86-yard catch and run from WR Terry McLaurin.
Panthers QB Bryce Young — Young might have had his best game as a pro, making good decisions and throwing darts. Had at least 3 throws put in a perfect spot that his guys could not come up with, so his day should have been even better. Young went toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes and posted 263 yards on 21 completions with good rates of 10.5% CPOE, 80.6% ADJ COMP%, and 77.1% CATCH%. He was unfortunately done in by his pass catchers, who had 59 yards lost in dropped passes.
