INDIANAPOLIS --- The experts and analysts are calling for Sunday night's game between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots to be the highest scoring game of week 11. Both teams are top-3 in the league in scoring, with the Colts #1 averaging 32.2 points per game and the Patriots averaging 31.2 points per game.
As fantasy owners, we are slaves to statistics and trends and must avoid recency bias. Therefore, it's probably a good idea to get these players in your lineup. Here's how NFL.com fantasy ranks the players' projected point totals in this marquee match-up (½ pt PPR to split the difference between standard scoring and full PPR leagues):
Andrew Luck - 20.52 pts
Tom Brady - 20.08 pts
T.Y. Hilton - 17 pts
Rob Gronkowski - 16.5 pts
Ahmad Bradshaw - 16.4 pts
Reggie Wayne - 15.6 pts
Brandon LaFell - 15.1 pts
Shane Vereen - 15 pts
Stephen Gostkowski - 12 pts
Julian Edelman - 11.7 pts
Dwayne Allen - 11.1 pts
Trent Richardson - 9 pts
Hakeem Nicks - 8.9 pts
Adam Vinatieri - 8 pts
Donte Moncrief - 7.2 pts
Coby Fleener - 5.5 pts
Danny Amendola - 5.1 pts
(Not going to list defensive projections, because it's probably best to find another option, unless you have no other options)
11 players to score in double digits?! FANTASY GOLD!
The above projections are specifically calling for 7 touchdowns to be scored in this game. If you add up those touchdowns with the field goals, NFL.com fantasy projects 57 total points on Sunday night and a 34-30 Colts win. Does that mean much in real life football? Probably not, but for fantasy purposes, it means START YOUR COLTS AND PATRIOTS!
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Preparing for the Fantasy Playoffs
Roughly half of our readership will make it to the fantasy postseason, which is three weeks away beginning week 14. Some of your trade deadlines have passed, but if they have not, remember three important things:
If you are assured a playoff spot, start looking for ideal matchups in the playoff weeks (grab the best match-ups for fantasy defenses, for example)
If you need to keep winning to get in, you DO NOT have the luxury of stashing players who you think will finish the year strong (Charles Sims, Josh Gordon, Adrian Peterson, for example). You must WIN NOW.
