Thanksgiving fantasy recap: Taysom Hill, Cole Beasley, David Montgomery

There was a heaping helping of Thanksgiving football on Thursday featuring Bears-Lions, Saints-Falcons and Bills-Cowboys.

Here are fifteen things you need to know for fantasy football:

Bears best Lions 24-20 in Trubisky-Blough showdown

— David Blough connected with receivers Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones in NFL debut: It was the Blough show in Detroit after Jeff Driskel was held out of the game with a hamstring injury. The rookie from Purdue threw a 75-yard touchdown to Golladay on the Lions’ first drive of the game. On their very next possession, Blough marched down the field and completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jones.

Driskel’s injury does not appear serious, but the good news is that it does not look like Blough will tank the fantasy value for Golladay or Jones.

— Bo Scarbrough owns Lions’ backfield: Scarbrough had a season-best 21 rushing attempts for 83 yards on Thursday, while Ty Johnson and J.D. McKissic totaled only five attempts for 21 yards. Johnson and McKissic were involved a little more in the passing game, but it seems like this is Scarbrough’s backfield moving forward. He should have RB2 value for the rest of the season.

— T.J. Hockenson has another quiet game: In spite being targeted a whopping 11 times, the rookie tight end came up short for fantasy owners again. He caught six passes for 18 yards and has not scored since Week 4 against the Chiefs. Hockenson was also injured and on crutches with a boot after the game. He is sharing targets snaps with Logan Thomas and Jesse James, lowering his fantasy value even further.

— David Montgomery catches game-winning TD: Montgomery had 16 rushing attempts for 75 yards and also caught the go-ahead score seconds before the two-minute warning to put the Bears up 23-20. It was the rookie’s best game since Week 9 and he should remain in RB2 territory.

— Allen Robinson explodes: Robinson caught six of eight targets for 131 yards and a touchdown. This is his first 100-yard game since Week 1, though his inconsistency is more of a reflection on up-and-down play from quarterback Mitch Trubisky. He has high-end WR2 value going into Week 14 against the Cowboys.

Bills hand Cowboys 26-15 loss with coach on the hot seat

— Dak Prescott attempted almost 50 passes: Prescott completed 32 of 49 passes for 355 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. After the first drive of the game in which the Cowboys scored, they did not make it into the end zone again until their final possession and allowed the Bills to put up 26-unanswered points.

Prescott has been picked off in nine of 12 games this year, a far cry from the interception-less streak to start his career. He will look to bounce back against the Bears defense next week, who are not looking so scary after allowing Blough, who had not played a snap in the NFL, to put up 280 yards and two touchdowns.

— Ezekiel Elliott came up big: Elliott had 12 rushes for 71 yards, and caught seven of 10 targets for 66 yards. Tony Pollard was barely involved with only three attempts for seven yards. Elliott has been the paragon of consistency, and has either scored or picked up 100 yards in 11 of 12 games this year.

— Josh Allen stayed reliable with ground attack: The second year quarterback has only had one bad game for fantasy purposes all year which came in Week 4 against the stout Patriots defense. He completed 19 of 24 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown, and had 10 rushes for 43 yards and a rushing touchdown on Thursday. Allen looked dynamic and in-control as he led the team to its ninth win of the season.

— Devin Singletary scored on John Brown pass : Singletary picked up his first receiving touchdown from the Dallas 28-yard line on a pass from wide receiver John Brown to put the Bills up 13-7 before halftime. He had 14 carries to Frank Gore’s nine on the day and finished with 63 rushing yards and three catches for 38 yards. He continues to be a safe RB2 play rolling into Baltimore in Week 14.

— Cole Beasley broke 100-yard mark against former squad: The slot receiver had his best game of the year and scored on a 25-yard pass from Josh Allen eight minutes into the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7. He finished with six catches on seven targets for 110 yards. He has at least six targets in nine of 12 games this year and has scored in five of the last seven weeks.

Saints clinch NFC South title in 26-18 win over the Falcons

— Matt Ryan had another lukewarm performance since mid-season injury: Ryan completed 35 of 50 pass attempts for 312 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also fumbled after being tackled by defensive end Marcus Davenport with the Falcons trailing 23-9 midway through the fourth quarter. The ball was recovered by Vonn Bell and the ensuing drive resulted in a field goal for the Saints.

It is Ryan’s first multi-touchdown performance since Week 10 and he has not looked himself since suffering an injury against the Rams in Week 7. He is not getting any help from his offensive line, which allowed nine sacks, four of which came from defensive end Cameron Jordan.

— Receivers Russell Gage and Christian Blake produced for second week in a row: With Julio Jones sidelined with a shoulder injury, Blake and Gage were both involved behind Calvin Ridley in the passing game. Blake caught six of nine passes for 57 yards, and Gage caught five of eight for 52 yards and a touchdown. Gage could be a flex play in the future if Jones continues to miss time.

— Devonta Freeman took lead role after injury absence: Freeman had 17 rushing attempts in comparison to four attempts for backup Brian Hill. He finished with 51 yards on the ground and caught all four of his targets for 13 yards. It was a down performance for Freeman, but that had a lot to do with game script since they were trailing all game and Atlanta’s generally pass-happy approach. It was at least encouraging to see that he looks healthy coming back from a foot injury and has not lost his job to Hill. When healthy, he should be a borderline RB2 depending on the matchup. 

— Drew Brees’ lackluster stat line eclipsed by Taysom Hill: Brees failed to capitalize on a dream matchup for fantasy owners against a leaky Falcons secondary. He completed 18 of 30 pass attempts for 184 yards and a touchdown, but it was enough to secure the team’s 10th win.

Meanwhile, Hill scored both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the first half. The first came after he deflected a punt that gave the Saints excellent field position at the Atlanta 30-yard line on their first possession. He proceeded to catch a 3-yard pass from Brees on 1st and goal to put the team up 7-0. The second came on a rush at the two-minute warning out of the shotgun formation for 30 yards to make it 16-6. The utility player from BYU is not exactly fantasy-relevant, but his dynamic play could eat into Brees’ production, especially with the division wrapped up so early.

— Jared Cook still a reliable tight end option: Cook has been a solid fantasy tight end in each game he has played in since Week 5. He caught three of six targets and led the team in receiving with 85 yards. He continues to be a fixation for Brees behind Michael Thomas.