The Week 12 matchup between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos features two of the elite teams in the AFC. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 12: Patriots-Broncos featuring Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Demaryius Thomas
We break down the Week 12 matchup between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots managed to top the Buffalo Bills last week, but it wasn’t exactly the team’s most impressive win of the season. The referees certainly deserved a thank you for the victory. Quarterback Tom Brady has another tough matchup this week in Denver. He’s facing the team that has given up the fewest number of fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. Throwing one touchdown and an interception last week against Buffalo means it could be another week before we get the numbers we’re accustomed to seeing out of Brady again. The good news however is that any setback his fantasy production sees this week is only temporary.
At the very least, tight end Rob Gronkowski shouldn’t have a problem against the Broncos, even against an elite secondary unit. Gronk is actually coming off of his worst performance of the season in his own right. He caught just two passes for 37 yards against the Bills. In any game this year where he has underperformed, Gronkowski has managed to come back with at least a touchdown the very next game. That’s a good sign for fantasy owners. His yardage total likely won’t be high in Week 12, but Gronk is a good bet to find the end zone.
Denver Broncos
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak felt Brock Osweiler looked good enough against the Chicago Bears to warrant giving him another opportunity to start this week against the Patriots. Fantasy owners likely feel the same way. Osweiler completed 20 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns against the Bears. If he’s going to beat the Patriots, however, there’s no question he’s going to need help from his defense. He will also need to put points up on the board. Aside from the fact the Patriots were limited to 20 points against Buffalo last week, they’ve scored at least 27 in every other game this season. Osweiler could be a sneaky fantasy performer this week.
If he does indeed put up numbers worth noting, Osweiler will likely have to find wide receiver Demaryius Thomas down the field a few times. Thomas only caught three passes for 59 yards last week, but one of those catches went for a 48-yard touchdown. The one alarming thing about his production is that all of it came on the team’s first drive. There’s no question the Broncos will have to get him more involved against the Patriots. The good news is that shouldn’t be a problem as the Patriots rank near the bottom of the league in terms of fantasy points allowed to wide receivers this season.
