Fantasy Football Forecast: Thanksgiving Edition
What lies ahead for Week 12.
— -- It’s a special Thanksgiving edition of Fantasy Forecast for Week 12. There are three football games on Thanksgiving and one of them could have some big weather issues. The Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay at 8:30 p.m. Rain is expected to change to sleet and snow by the time the game starts and last throughout, which could make the field a big mess.
We’ve been waiting all year for Eddie Lacy to get going and he finally did last week running a season high 100 yards on 22 carries against the Vikings. It seems to be a pattern over the last few years; Lacy busts out big time during the second half of the season, when it starts getting cold and icy like it will be on Thursday night. This is the time when the Packers offense starts to depend more on running the ball, so he could be in for another big game.
James Jones has been one of Aaron Rodgers' top targets all season long and he had a huge game last week. Back in Week 1 he scored two touchdowns against the Bears. So all fantasy prospects are pointing in the direction to play him against a struggling Bears secondary. But be careful as that rain turning to snow and ice will make the ball extra slippery.
Rain showers are in the forecast in both Kansas City and Memphis on Sunday. Both games are at 1 p.m.; the Raiders play the Titans and the Bills play the Chiefs. Southern California doesn’t get much rain, so the Oakland Raiders could have some trouble playing in it.
The Chiefs' starting running back, Charcandrick West, left the game last week with a strained hamstring and is now day-to-day. He’s put up 52 fantasy points in the last 3 weeks so he’s a must start, if he’s healthy. Spencer Ware took over the rest of the game last week and got two touchdowns, he could be a fantastic late-season pick up this week if West is ruled out!
The Bills' Sammy Watkins has been a pretty big disappointment all season long. That probably won’t change this week, especially with wet weather in the forecast. It poured during the Bills and Jets matchup in Week 10 and Watkins saw only 3 receptions for 14 yards. Now that LeSean McCoy has been healthy, he’s been killing it, he’s expected to get the bulk of the work.