The neutral has plenty to be thankful for in this thrilling 2021 NFL season.
But all that drama, driven by a series of stunning against-the-odds upsets, can make life miserable for fantasy players, even at this celebratory time of year.
Want to maintain your cheer through another seemingly unpredictable slate of games this Thanksgiving week? Turn to Stats Perform for the below data-powered picks.
Quarterback: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants
The Eagles head into Week 12 rejuvenated, having won three of their past four games to improve to 5-6 ahead of a big NFC East matchup. Those three wins have all had one thing in common: Philadelphia have exceeded 200 yards rushing.
This run-heavy approach – with a league-high 49.6 rush percentage – wisely plays to the strengths of quarterback Hurts, who had three rushing scores last week against the New Orleans Saints as he surpassed 50 yards on the ground for the fifth straight game.
That was Hurts' 15th QB start. He ranks second through 15 QB starts since 1950 for rushing touchdowns (11 – behind Cam Newton, 14) and second through 15 QB starts since 1960 for rushing yards (890 – behind Lamar Jackson, 1,193).
The Giants – reeling from a bad defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – have given up 4.38 yards per rush play, ranking a mediocre 19th, and have not yet played any of the six best offenses in that regard. The Eagles' offense (4.99 yards per rush), led by Hurts, sits third and will be eyeing further big gains.
Running back: Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Mixon is already enjoying a career year with nine rushing TDs, and the 2021 season might be about to get a whole lot better for the running back – and any fantasy players who can count on him – as the Bengals face an injury-ravaged Steelers defense.
Pittsburgh have now given up the most yards per rush play (4.76) after a tough two weeks in which their roster was hit by absences and it showed on the field. The winless Detroit Lions tallied 229 rushing yards and two TDs in their Week 10 tie, before the Los Angeles Chargers averaged 6.12 yards per rush as Austin Ekeler's two scores headlined a Week 11 win.
Mixon, who has rushing TDs in four straight games and last week ran for over 100 yards for the first time since Week 1, should get free rein against a Steelers defense that successfully disrupts the run on just 24.62 per cent of attempts.
Even if Pittsburgh can fix a problem that has persisted throughout the season and got worse of late, Mixon ranks 12th among running backs (min. 10 carries) with 3.74 yards per carry on disrupted runs.
Wide receiver: Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers vs. Minnesota Vikings
A significant shift towards a run-heavy approach – the 49ers averaged 25.6 rushes per game through Week 9 but 43.0 per game since – would be an issue for most wide receivers, but Samuel is not most wide receivers.
It is his versatility that has helped accommodate a change that has potentially brought San Francisco back into contention.
Samuel caught only one pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week but rushed for 79 yards and a TD in the absence of injured rookie Elijah Mitchell. The previous week, with Mitchell involved against the Los Angeles Rams, Samuel had rushing and receiving scores in the same game for the first time in his career.
With the Vikings' rush defense matching the Steelers' in giving up 4.76 yards per rush, expect Samuel and the Niners to run the ball again and do it well.
Tight end: Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Pitts is the sixth-most targeted tight end this season (69) but has the third-most receiving yards (635), boosted massively by 100-yard games against the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins either side of the Falcons' Week 6 bye.
The schedule slowed that momentum somewhat – Atlanta were held to three points across defeats to the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots – but a trip to Jacksonville gives Pitts the opportunity to put his name up in lights once again.
The Jaguars have given up 7.20 yards per pass play in 2021, meaning this is unlikely to be the defense to keep Pitts in check. He has got open on 34.41 per cent of his 93 matchups, up on the tight end average of 18.10 per cent.
Defense: New England Patriots vs. Tennessee Titans
The Titans head into this week as the top seed in the AFC, but the Patriots may well take that spot from them over the next two weeks, hosting Tennessee before going to the Buffalo Bills in Monday Night Football.
While Mac Jones is enjoying a fine rookie year at QB, it will be New England's defense that puts them in contention, having given up only 5.07 yards per play while securing 21 total takeaways – ranking third in both regards.
And the Pats will expect to dominate the Titans, whose injury list has only grown since Derrick Henry went down. A.J. Brown is the latest offensive weapon to be unhealthy, while Julio Jones is not expected back for another two weeks.
These problems contributed to a woeful defeat to the Houston Texans last time out, when Ryan Tannehill threw four picks. Elsewhere in Week 10, New England caught four interceptions against the Falcons.
Seattle’s defence dismantles the New York Giants as Seahawks win 24-3
Seattle claimed their third-straight victory in dominant fashion as the Seahawks’ defence monstered the New York Giants en route to a 24-3 win.
The Seahawks sacked Giants quarterback Daniel Jones 10 times and came away with two interceptions, including a 97-yard pick six to rookie Devon Witherspoon.
The visitors opened the scoring at the end of the first quarter, Geno Smith finding DK Metcalf in the end zone on a six-yard reception.
New York were able to cut the gap through a 55-yard field goal from Graham Gano.
But the Giants’ offence was no match for Seattle’s defence and did not look like scoring again from there.
Seattle found the end zone again just before half-time and Witherspoon’s third-quarter score ultimately sealed the 21-point victory.
Colts' Taylor to come off PUP list, could play in Week 5
The Indianapolis Colts could be getting a big part of their offence back for Sunday's game against the visiting Tennessee Titans.
The Colts will activate Jonathan Taylor from the physically unable to perform list this week, and depending how he looks in practise, he could be on the field for their next game.
Indianapolis' first practise of the week is Wednesday, and it will mark Taylor's first of the season after he was placed on the PUP list at the start of training camp while recovering from ankle surgery.
Colts coach Shane Steichen told reporters on Monday that Taylor is excited to rejoin the Colts and get back to work.
The ankle injury wasn't the only issue this offseason for Taylor, as the 2021 NFL rushing champion had been mired in a contract dispute and had requested a trade.
Taylor, the runner-up for the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, is entering the final season of his rookie deal and is scheduled to earn $4.3 million in 2023.
The fourth-year pro ran for a franchise-record 1,811 yards in 2021, but was slowed by injuries last year and was put on the PUP list earlier this summer as he recovered from ankle surgery that ended his 2022 campaign in December.
Ankle issues limited Taylor to 11 games last season, which he finished with 861 rushing yards and four touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per attempt.
Taylor averaged 5.5 yards per carry during his sensational 2021 season in which he also tied for the NFL lead with 20 total touchdowns while playing in all 17 games.
He'll be joining a 2-2 team that got No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson back in Sunday's 29-23 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams after the rookie quarterback suffered a concussion in Week 2.
Without Taylor in the fold, Zack Moss has emerged as the team's No. 1 running back, and has rushed for 280 yards with a touchdown through three games.
Damar Hamlin: NFL return after cardiac arrest ‘meant everything’
Damar Hamlin said his return to the NFL “meant everything” nine months after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch.
The Buffalo Bills safety collapsed during a game in Cincinnati on January 2 and had to be resuscitated before being rushed to hospital.
Hamlin was cleared to resume his career and made his first NFL appearance on Sunday in the Bills’ 48-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
He told a post-match press conference: “That moment meant everything to me.
“I think it was more about proving something to myself than anything else, showing myself that I have the courage, I have the strength, I’ve got the pride, all those words, in me.
“To go through something so dramatic and be able to come back from it and to be able to still do what I love at the highest level in the world is amazing.”
Hamlin was the last player to emerge from the tunnel prior to the match and ran the length of the field before removing his helmet and soaking up the acclaim of the crowd.
Hamlin could be in the Bills’ side next Sunday when they travel to London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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