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Thursday Night Football starts/sits and matchups analysis for Week 11 of the NFL season. Which Packers and Seahawks to start or sit for fantasy football lineups.
The good times continue to roll for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who put up 52 points against the Carolina Panthers last Thursday night and now find themselves in the midst of a five-game win streak.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger continued his absolute dominance at home by tossing five touchdown passes, including scoring receptions from Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. For the Panthers, Christian McCaffrey provided his fantasy owners with an incredible day by finding the end zone three times despite having to play catch-up early on.
Including the postseason, November 15 will mark the seventh time the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks will have played since 2012. In a rematch of the 2014 NFC Championship game that is sure to be a thriller, let's dive into Thursday Night Football Matchup Analysis for Week 11!
Editors Note: RotoBaller's NEW Survivor Grid Tool provides an easy-to-use color-coded interface with each team's full schedule, including Vegas spreads. Plan your picks, create multiple entries, and save your progress. Click here to use the Survivor Grid today.
Green Bay Packers @ Seattle Seahawks
Date and Start Time: Thursday, November 15 at 8:00 PM ET
Notable Injuries and Status:
- Aaron Rodgers (QB, GB) - Knee - Active
- Randall Cobb (WR, GB) - Hamstring - Inactive
- Jimmy Graham (TE, GB) - Knee - Active
- Chris Carson (RB, SEA) - Hip - Active
Offensive and Defensive Rankings:
| Packers | Seahawks | |
| Passing Yards | 6th | 27th |
| Rushing Yards | 14th | 1st |
| Pass Defense | 5th | 7th |
| Rush Defense | 22nd | 18th |
Must Starts
Top Performers That Have To Be In Your Lineup
Aaron Jones (RB, GB)
The haze that once defined the Green Bay Packers backfield has finally seemed to clear. Now that Ty Montgomery is a Baltimore Raven and Jamaal Williams is by and large an afterthought, Jones' workload has increased every single week since their bye. His absurd 7.5 yards per carry average across that span is sure to regress at some point, though fantasy owners should expect Jones to feast against a Seattle Seahawks defense allowing the second-most rush attempts against them to gain five or more yards and an average of 160 rushing yards in their three home games on the year.
Davante Adams (WR, GB)
The unquestioned No. 1 wide receiver for Aaron Rodgers has had only two games this year where he has failed to find the end zone and still managed to put up WR1 numbers in said two games. Don't overthink the matchup with Seattle's seventh-ranked pass defense; set and forget.
Consider Sitting
Players To Avoid Putting In Your Lineup If Possible
Jamaal Williams (RB, GB)
Williams simply doesn't have a fantasy football leg to stand on after being given only three carries to backfield mate Aaron Jones' 15 in a Week 10 win over the Miami Dolphins. Now that Jones is firmly nestled as the No. 1 rusher in Green Bay, there won't be enough touches for Williams to produce numbers that fantasy owners are looking for.
Chris Carson, Mike Davis, Rashaad Penny (RBs, SEA)
With Carson putting in full practices on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, Seattle's backfield could get awfully cluttered really fast. It certainly doesn't help that Rashaad Penny decided to show up in Week 10 to the tune of 108 rushing yards on eight touches with a touchdown. The Green Bay Packers might rank in the bottom ten when it comes to rushing defense, but it is more likely that the sum of each individual running back's success will translate to a great fantasy day rather than all of them showing out.
David Moore (WR, SEA)
Of Seattle's wide receiver core, Moore has been the boom or bust option of the bunch. His hot streak of four touchdowns from Week 6 to Week 8 has cooled down over the Seahawk's last two games, with the East Central product hauling in only three receptions for 32 receiving yards. When Moore hasn't scored, he hasn't finished higher than the WR-76.
Solid Options/Sleepers
Which Players Will Have Solid Games and Which Could Surprise?
Solid Option: Aaron Rodgers (QB, GB)
Rodgers has been a major disappointment on the 2018 season with seven finishes outside of the top-12 of fantasy quarterbacks. The game script on Thursday night could ultimately move away from passing the football given the resurgence of Green Bay's rushing attack and Seattle being well capable of managing the clock with their stable of backs, but the Seahawks have allowed 8.2 yards per pass attempt over their past three games and could be an opportunity for Rodgers to produce.
Solid Option: Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR, GB)
No Randall Cobb for a second consecutive week means all the more opportunities for Valdes-Scantling, who should fill in as the Packers No.2 wide receiver for Week 11. If he can repeat on his team-high seven targets from last week and continue his streak of double-digit fantasy points in five consecutive games, fantasy owners will undoubtedly be satisfied.
Solid Option: Jimmy Graham (TE, GB)
Given how barren the tight end position is in fantasy football this year, Graham remains a player who should be plugged in lineups despite his recent drop in target share in the Packers offense. His ridiculous efficiency of 15.0 yards per catch in his last three games is too difficult to ignore given how Seattle's defense gave up two touchdowns to Los Angeles Rams tight ends in Week 9.
Solid Option: Russell Wilson (QB, SEA)
The changes to Seattle's offense by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer have clearly put an emphasis on the ground game and hindered Wilson's fantasy upside by having him throw the football 26 or fewer times in six of his last seven contests. Fortunately, the Green Bay Packer secondary is dealing with a myriad of injuries and are likely going to be vulnerable to an air raid-oriented attack with a short week to recover. The low passing volume characteristic of Wilson's play could still manage to produce exceptional numbers as a result given he has thrown for multiple touchdowns in every game this year but one.
Solid Options: Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett (WRs, SEA)
A dinged up Green Bay secondary is all the more reason to start Seattle wide receivers in this matchup. Lockett had 23.1 percent of the team's targets in Week 10 and has found the end zone in all but two games this season, while Baldwin's lackluster production could be flipped against a Packers squad that allowed top-20 scoring weeks to slot wideouts in their last two games. Of the two, Lockett is definitely a better option.
