Fantasy ballers: All my rowdy friends will beat Week 11 projections
Are you ready for some football? It doesn’t get much better than a Super Bowl LVII rematch on “Monday Night Football,” and these players look ready to beat their Week 11 projections.
Jalen Hurts (QB) Philadelphia Eagles
By now we’ve all seen the home screen on Hurts’ phone. He’s been waiting for another shot at the Chiefs, but while the odds of both teams reaching Super Bowl LVIII are good, nothing is guaranteed. This could be it for Hurts, and he knows it.
Last February, Hurts outplayed Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, passing for 304 yards and a score with 70 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Thanks to a knee injury he’d rather not discuss, his rushing numbers have been down but that could change after two weeks' rest.
Hurts went 19-of-28 with four touchdown passes after last year’s bye and ran for two scores against the Commanders after the break in 2021. Each bodes well for Monday night.
Hurts is listed as questionable for the game, but rest assured, nothing short of an apocalypse will keep him out of this game. His 21.56 projection is the week’s second-highest among quarterbacks (behind Mahomes) but would represent his lowest total since Week 1.
With a healthy knee, look for Hurts to run past his projection, make a case for MVP in front of a national audience and get the taste of a Super Bowl loss out of his mouth.
DeVonta Smith (WR) Philadelphia Eagles
Smith, not Travis Kelce or A.J. Brown, led all receivers in Super Bowl LVII with seven catches for 100 yards with a long grab of 45 yards. He’s had a bit of a down year while Brown’s put up big numbers, but he’s averaged 15.3 fantasy points over his last three games. More importantly, the Chiefs owe Smith yardage.
Late in the first half of Super Bowl LVII, Smith appeared to make an incredible catch for 35 yards. Instead, officials overturned the call by ruling the ball hit the ground before Smith had control.
It was a bad call. He may not have the play saved on his phone, but you can bet he remembers the call. Look for the Eagles No. 2 receiver to get those yards back and surpass his projected 12.53 fantasy points.
Rashee Rice (WR) Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City’s rookie wide receiver has quietly scored a touchdown in three of the team’s last five contests. He’s the team’s second-leading receiver behind Kelce and is tied with the All-Pro tight end for the team lead with four touchdowns.
He should add to that total against an Eagles team giving up the seventh-most passing yards and a league-high 47.93 fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Philadelphia plays much better against tight ends and will certainly give Kelce most of its attention.
Like Philadelphia, Kansas City is also coming off a bye and with two weeks to prepare, you can bet a pass-happy coach like Andy Reid has plans for Rice against a suspect Eagles secondary. If Philadelphia continues to struggle, count on Rice to beat 11.10 points.
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