Raiders vs. Browns Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 12

The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 12 matchup between the Raiders and Browns.

Find a breakdown of every Week 12 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

Trust = spike production for that player

Quarterback

Geno Smith: Smith could not take advantage of a home matchup against Dallas on Monday, completing 27 of 42 passes (64.3%) for 238 yards (5.7 Y/A) with a touchdown and an interception.

Part of the reason we expressed caution about chasing the Dallas matchup was how Smith has performed under pressure this season.

Smith was pressured on 40.8% of his dropbacks, which has been an undoing for him this season.

Under pressure this season, Smith is averaging 5.4 yards per pass attempt (25th), a 1.1% touchdown rate (28th), 6.5% interception rate (31st), and a 25% sack rate (25th).

That is a problem here, in one of the largest defensive line versus offensive line mismatches of the week.

Cleveland has gotten pressure on a robust 46.9% of dropbacks over the past three games (2nd) with a league-high 18.9% sack rate over that span.

Cleveland has converted 29.4% of their pressures into sacks, second in the league.

Smith has faced other top-10 pass rushes in Denver (4.4 fantasy points), Kansas City (2.8 points), and Dallas (12.9 points).

Smith is only an option for gamers looking to fill a spot in 2QB formats.

The Browns have allowed 11.6 passing points per game (7th), and only two quarterbacks have finished in the top-15 in weekly scoring against them this season.

Shedeur Sanders: Kevin Stefanski has said that Dillon Gabriel will resume starting duties when he clears concussion protocol, but Sanders will get the start in Week 12.

Pressed into the second half on Sunday, Sanders completed 4 of 16 passes (25%) for 47 yards (2.9 Y/A) with no touchdowns and an interception.

He rushed 3 times for 16 yards.

The Ravens took no mercy in his first NFL action, blitzing him 38.1% of the time and pressuring him on 47.6% of his dropbacks.

Under pressure, he was 0 for 7 with an interception and 2 sacks.

It is still a small sample, but including the preseason, Sanders has been sacked on 32.1% of his pressures.

This was his major bugaboo in college.

Sanders had the highest pressure rate of any quarterback in this draft class at 36.2% of his dropbacks in 2024.

The good news here is that the Raiders are 23rd in pressure rate (32.8%).

The bad news is that the Browns allow pressure at a 10.1% rate over expectations, which is the sixth-worst in the league.

Sanders is only a 2QB option for gamers, as this offense has given us no reason to believe it will provide upside with any quarterback.

Look at what Joe Flacco was able to do after leaving this environment.

We have already seen the Gabriel experience yield lackluster results.

At least when Sanders entered the game last week, he attempted to get the ball downfield.

31.3% of his throws were 10 or more yards downfield, and 18.8% were 20 or more yards downfield.

Only 26.6% of Gabriel’s throws have been 10 or more yards downfield, and a league-low 5.4% 20 or more yards downfield.

Sanders may have more negative plays and variance, but maybe we will get an explosive play or two out of a passing game that has not had many big plays.

Gabriel has 10 completions that have gained 20 or more yards, which is fewer than J.J. McCarthy (11) on 35 more completions.

Only Kyler Murray (7) has fewer among qualifiers for the league’s passer rating.

The Raiders are a nondescript pass defense, allowing a 67.6% completion rate (23rd), 7.0 Y/A (16th), and a 4.9% touchdown rate (16th).

Running Back

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