Down to the wire! Week 12 fantasy football recap

We are officially in the last week of the regular season of the fantasy football playoffs! Our resident leader has now officially locked up her spot in the playoffs (congratulations Goin' In Blind), and while Low Fat Greek Goedert, the Reindeer Gamers, and Lookin 2 Winovich seem locked into a playoff spot barring a catastrophic loss (we're talking like 20 total points scored or something), none of those teams have a firm grasp on their playoff seeding, which makes the first-week playoff bye up for grabs for all of them. Additionally, there are currently 5 teams at either 7-5 or 6-6, all of whom could sneak into the playoffs depending on how the rest of the victories shake out. All of that basically means...this week matters. A LOT. What a week for it to be, too! There are three NFL games on Thanksgiving this week, which makes it doubly important to get your lineups locked in EARLY. The first one starts at 12:30 on Thursday, so set your lineups and get ready for an exciting week!

England Excessive Force has moved back into the playoff conversation despite the lowest number of points scored over the course of the season in the entire league. He got off to a great start Thursday though, as DeAndre Hopkins caught two touchdowns and scored 21.4 fantasy points for the Texans against the Colts in a key divisional matchup.

On Sunday, Nick Chubb also showed he was worth trading for, as he erupted for 22.4 fantasy points against a still-struggling Miami team, rushing for one touchdown and getting another 164 total yards. Even Washington's defense flexed against the Detroit Lions, as their kick returner muffed a catch at the nine-yard line, recovered it, then ran it back 91 yards for a score, the punctuation of a 20-point fantasy effort by the defense. Unfortunately for Links Dawg Pound, much of his scoring is dependent on the New York Giants, and their loss on Sunday did little to provide fantasy points for his team. England Excessive Force moved into the playoff conversation with a win, 122.1-70.9.

Low Fat Greek Goedert and the Reindeer Gamers squared off for a second time this season, the first matchup of which the Reindeer Gamers won in dominating fashion, 135.3-69. His team seemed to sprint for the finish line from the get-go this week, with Chris Godwin starting off a 30.4-point week with a 71-yard touchdown reception. He scored another touchdown and caught another 100 yards throughout the game and has staked his claim as a top wide receiver in the NFL. Derrick Henry also rolled over the Jacksonville defense with two touchdowns and 195 yards, although he fumbled once to get to 27.5 fantasy points. And then Baker Mayfield remembered how to play football for what felt like the first time this season, as he threw three touchdowns int eh first half in an easy win against Miami, good for 23.6 fantasy points. With those kinds of outputs from three players, it seemed impossible for Low Fat Greek Goedert to come anywhere close to the Gamers, but Lamar Jackson made it respectable on Monday night, throwing for five touchdowns and 36.6 fantasy points. It wasn't enough though, as Reindeer Gamers won another matchup against potential playoff opponents, 128.1-96.9.

Looking 2 Winovich took on the 7-5 Provo Cougars Go Cougs, who appears to have stopped playing since his connection to the league waned. His leaving in Travis Kelce and the Kansas City kicker would at least seem to suggest something is going on. He also wasn't helped by the Cowboys, who lost a 13-9 stinker against the Patriots, with both Das and Zeke failing to reach the end zone and only mustering 19.5 points between the two of them. On the other side, Looking 2 Winovich didn't need to do much, and the Buffalo Bill tandem of Devin Singletary and John Brown hit 20.3 points. With Provo Cougars Go Cougs having a season-low 36.6 points, Looking to Winovich's 76.7 points were more than enough to secure her spot in the playoffs.

Nothin Runs Like a Deere played Albuquerque Cat Killas, who have struggled to get any traction this season. This matchup wasn't much of a contest either, as Pat Mahomes was on bye and still on the active roster. Nothin Runs Like a Deere got an unexpected performance out of DJ Moore on the Panthers, who was a big reason for Carolina pushing the Saints to overtime, scoring twice and putting up 126 yards on an otherwise stout defense, leading the team with 25.4 fantasy points. Mark Ingram also got in on the Ravens' stomping of the Rams Monday night, as he caught one of Lamar Jackson's touchdowns and rushed for 111 yards and another score, leading to a 23.6-point fantasy night. Finally, somebody had to throw DeAndre Hopkins those touchdowns, and Watson did so, putting up a 18.9 point fantasy line of his own. Nothin Runs Like a Deere overwhelmed the Albuquerque Cat Killas 91.9-72.9.

Better Luck Next Time was hanging by a thread to the hopes of the playoffs and needed a win against I Am the Goat. Neither team did very well, with Michael Thomas producing 16.1 points as the top producer for Better Luck, while the New York Jets got to 17 points for I Am the Goat. Both quarterbacks struggled in uncharacteristic performances as well, as both Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson only contributed 9.5 fantasy points apiece. In the end, Better Luck Next Time eked out a victory to still keep his playoff hopes alive, 73.3-62.1.

Goin' In Blind looked to keep her grip on the top spot in fantasy this week as she played Team John's Winners. Goin' In Blind was not distracted by the spousal matchup, as George Kittle was back in the lineup and Christian McCaffrey started as per usual. He did his normal ho-hum thing too, with two scores and 25.4 fantasy points. George Kittle also showed why he is one of the top tight ends in the country, as he caught six receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown, good for 18.9 fantasy points in San Francisco's beatdown of Green Bay. Team John's Winners finally benefited from OBJ, who got into the end zone for the first time this season and got his second-highest fantasy total of the season with 14.4 fantasy points. Will Lutz, New Orleans kicker, was the second highest scorer for the Winners, hitting a gam-winner against Carolina for 14 points. Unfortunately though, the fact that a kicker was the second-highest fantasy producer tells you all you need to know about the Winners' week. Going' In Blind locked up the top spot in the playoffs, 111.4-64.9.

For the week, the Reindeer Gamers got the top score with 128.1, with England Excessive Force surprisingly close behind with 122.1, and Goin' In Blind at 111.4. For the playoffs, we have a defacto elimination game between Better Luck Next Time and Nothin Runs Like a Deere. England Excessive Force draws a fairly easy matchup against the Albuquerque Cat Killas to get to 8-5 and a spot in the playoffs. Provo Cougars Go Cougs can hang on for a playoff spot with a victory against I Am the Goat, while Team John's Winners will face a tough uphill battle and needs a lot of chaos to even sniff at the playoffs. Meanwhile, the seeding of the top three spots will depend on whether Low Fat Greek Goedert can overcome our top seed in Goin' In Blind and if the Reindeer Gamers can definitively win against Links Dawg Pound. It will be a fascinating last week good luck to everyone!