Week 11 Start Em Sit Em Smartest Matchups To Exploit Sleeper Plays

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 3:42 PM

week 11 start em sit em smartest matchups to exploit sleeper plays

Week 10 was another one filled with stunning finishes and surprising results. The Miami Dolphins rolled over the Buffalo Bills for only their third win of the season, while the New Orleans Saints ran through the Carolina Panthers for their second. There were a few surprises in fantasy too. Familiar faces like Jonathan Taylor and De'Von Achane scored big, but so did the likes of Davis Mills, Jalen Nailor, Tez Johnson and Parker Washington. Matchups and situations matter. Here, we'll examine some of the best and worst plays of the upcoming slate, along with a few sleepers to consider off the waiver wire.

All picks and analysis are based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring. The Pittsburgh Steelers failed to put up much of a fight against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night. However, running back Jaylen Warren still had a fairly solid outing. Welcome to the Week 11 edition of fantasy football starts and sits from The Sporting News. "The Decider" is your one-stop shop for fantasy start/sit lineup advice in 2025 -- a unique mashup of rankings and matchup breakdowns to help you make those tough decisions on whom to play and... Going beyond the redraft league starts and sits, "The Decider" also includes some DFS picks for different styles of daily fantasy sports games on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Keep scrolling for how to put the best fantasy football lineups on "the field" for your critical seventh game with tips on starts and sits this week. ➕ UPGRADE YOUR TOOLS: Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Plus RotoBaller staff's fantasy football sleepers, avoids, and start 'em sit 'em picks for Week 11 of 2025. Expert lineup advice from Adam Koffler, Frank Ammirante and Thunder Dan Palyo. Thankfully, only two teams are out of action on byes in Week 11, and one of those is the New Orleans Saints, who don't have many fantasy-relevant options. However, the Indianapolis Colts do, and there are flurries of injuries all around the NFL, complicating lineup calls ahead of must-win matchups with fantasy football playoff implications on the line.

We're here to help. It's time for the next edition of our RotoBaller staff start-or-sit calls. Three of the industry's best analysts are here to break down potential sleepers and busts ahead of the full slate of Week 11 NFL action. These fantasy football sleepers, avoids, and busts are from top RotoBaller contributors Adam Koffler, Frank Ammirante, and "Thunder Dan" Palyo. RJ Harvey, Broncos vs. Chiefs (Frank Ammirante)

You'll need help every week to make those tough fantasy football lineup decisions. Luckily for you, the team at Yahoo has everything you need to prep for the week with updated rankings for Half-PPR and Full-PPR, as well as plenty of analysis via articles, video and audio. Below you'll find a complete set of links to help you with all your fantasy football needs for the week. [Upgrade to Fantasy Plus and gain your edge in player projections and much more] With your Yahoo default trade deadline approaching, you could be in need of a roster improvement. Analyst Joel Smyth shares some useful tips for navigating deals and who to target based off the remaining schedule.

Check it all out here. The Hub: All of our rankings, all in one place QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | D/ST | Kickers Fantasy football managers know that every lineup decision can make or break a week, and choosing the right players to start or sit is where championships are won. With the 2025 NFL season underway, matchups, stats, and trends are more important than ever. Each week, we’ll break down the top fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em picks at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, defense, and kicker to help you set the best possible lineup.

From favorable matchups and scoring trends to players you should avoid in tough spots, my weekly guide is built to give you an edge. Want your start and sit questions answered within minutes? Join the Blitz Community to help win your league this season Joe Flacco’s late-career resurgence in Cincinnati has been one of the biggest surprises of the fantasy football season. In just four starts, he’s averaged an astounding 25 fantasy points per game, throwing for over 340 yards twice and at least three touchdowns in three of those outings. The Bengals’ offense has been completely reinvigorated in fantasy football since he took over, with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown producing significantly better.

With the Bengals’ defense struggling this year, Flacco has yet to have a game under 34 passing attempts, with three of his games resulting in over 45 attempts. For Week 11, fantasy managers should confidently start Flacco against Pittsburgh. The Steelers have allowed the second-most passing yards in the NFL and have surrendered at least 20 fantasy points to five opposing quarterbacks this season. Flacco already torched this defense once for 342 yards and three scores earlier in the year. Pittsburgh’s secondary ranks bottom 10 in adjusted completion rate allowed and success rate per dropback since Week 6, while also dealing with some injuries in the secondary entering the week. With elite passing volume, a favorable matchup, and top-tier efficiency, Flacco profiles as a must-start fantasy football quarterback this week..

Aaron Rodgers has been a model of consistency throughout his career, but this season has been a different story. After posting three straight 17-point fantasy football outings, he’s come back down to earth in recent weeks, totaling just 18.5 points across his last two starts. Rodgers is not pushing the ball down the field with 65% of his passing yardage has come that way, and his ADOT ranks near the bottom among starting quarterbacks. This checkdown style of offense relies heavily on the Steelers’ playmakers making defenders miss or having the right matchup to capitalize on it. Let’s just say the matchup this week against Cincinnati is perfect for Rodgers to put up some big numbers. With just two teams on a bye, Week 11 Fantasy football lineups may look a little more robust after four squads had off last week.

The likes of Ja'Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Patrick Mahomes and Tony Pollard are back in action, but Kansas City receivers may not be too appealing as Week 11 Fantasy football picks. That's because the Chiefs are facing a Denver team which has allowed the fewest Fantasy points to wideouts, shutting down the likes of Chase, Tee Higgins and A.J. Brown. Kansas City also won't have running back Isiah Pacheco (knee), giving Denver the ability to zero in on the passing game even more. Observing which defenses are more conducive to allowing lots of points and yards should be a part of every manager's Fantasy football strategy. If the likes of Hollywood Brown, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy stay on your bench, then you'll want to see what the Week 11 Fantasy football projections forecast for others on your roster.

Before making your Week 11 Fantasy football picks, be sure to check out the Week 11 Fantasy football rankings from the proven computer model at SportsLine. Bet on every NFL Week 11 game at DraftKings Sportsbook, where new users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $300 in bonus bets if your $5 initial wager wins + 3 months... When it comes to ranking players, SportsLine's model beat human experts in Fantasy football for the past several seasons, especially when there were big differences in ranking. Over the course of a season, that could literally be the difference between winning your league or going home empty-handed. The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, including being ahead of the curve on players like A.J. Brown, Jonathan Taylor, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Anybody who banked on players like those could have made a run at their league title. Sleeper Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - NFL Week 11: Every Decision Is Critical in Crunch Time Our list of suggested Week 11 starts includes an emerging rookie QB who no one predicted would be a QB1 after 10 weeks. With the fantasy playoffs only four weeks away — most leagues commence postseason play in Week 15, so we’ll use that as our barometer — we have officially arrived at crunch time. Our weekly waiver wire guide offers some immediate Week 11 help, with the Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants all on bye and some managers needing to fill some... Several of our top Week 11 waiver suggestions also make their first appearance in this edition of the Sleeper Newsletter as we head toward the stretch run of the fantasy regular season.

Our list of suggested Week 11 starts (all of whom are being started in 70% or less of Sleeper leagues at time of writing) kicks off with an emerging rookie QB who no one... Making lineup decisions can be the most frustrating — or most rewarding — part of fantasy football. We’re here to help you make those decisions with our fantasy start ’em/sit ’em picks. It’s now Week 11. We have plenty of in-season data and can play matchups based on reliable information. With that in mind, let’s take a look at our top Week 11 start/sit plays.

A month ago, I was lamenting Mike Tomlin’s absurd decision to bench Justin Fields for Russell Wilson. Now, I’m recommending you start Wilson in fantasy. I’m sorry, coach. You were right. I was wrong. 📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/qaxvtHNvcM

I’m not sure what Wilson’s problem was in his final year in Seattle or both of his years in Denver, but he looks rejuvenated. In his three starts, he’s scored at least 19 fantasy points twice. Most notably, he’s been doing this on minimal volume. It’s Week 11, folks! Time to set those fantasy lineups! Start ‘Em, Sit 'Em is the ultimate look at the best and worst matchups in a given week for fantasy football leagues.

Each week, I'll examine the quarterbacks who could exceed or fail to meet expectations based on their weekly opponent … like Kyler Murray and C.J. Stroud in Week 10! For your final lineup decisions, check out my fantasy football player rankings. I update them daily! Also, make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Dirt Podcast with Lindsay Rhodes and me as we break down all things fantasy football five days a week! Byes: Buccaneers, Cardinals, Giants, Panthers

1. Josh Allen vs. Chiefs2. Jalen Hurts vs. Commanders (Thurs.)3. Lamar Jackson at Steelers4.

Week 11 Start Em Sit Em Smartest Matchups To Exploit Sleeper Plays

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