Fantasy football highlights: Lamar Jackson offers unique set of QB skills

All season long, the Baltimore Ravens have offered glimpses of Lamar Jackson's play-making ability. But until starting quarterback Joe Flacco's hip injury forced him to miss Sunday's game, no one really had any idea how valuable a fantasy player Jackson could be.

The rookie first-round pick wasn't spectacular, but he showed some serious upside as a two-way threat on offense. Jackson ran for 117 yards on 27 carries -- breaking Tim Tebow's single-game mark for the most rushing attempts by a quarterback in the Super Bowl era -- and also threw for 150 more yards in leading the Ravens to a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jackson didn't have a touchdown, so his fantasy production was limited (15.7 FP) and he could end up being a one-week anomaly if Flacco is healthy enough to start next week vs. Oakland. 

However, his running ability gives him an added dimension no other current quarterback has. Fantasy owners should be sufficiently intrigued by his first NFL start.

Backup QBs abound

Jackson wasn't the only backup quarterback thrust into action in Week 11.

-- The Washington Redskins lost starter Alex Smith to a broken leg in the third quarter of their game against the Houston Texans. The fractures to both his fibula and tibia end Smith's season.

Colt McCoy led a pair of scoring drives, including a touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Reed, and finished the game with 54 yards passing and 35 rushing.

McCoy, 32, hasn't played much in the regular season since he made a few starts in 2014. He's a competent backup, but all of Washington's skill players (with the possible exception of Reed) lose fantasy value with McCoy under center the rest of the way.

-- It wasn't an injury, but ineffectiveness that sent Ryan Fitzpatrick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bench just after halftime. Fitzpatrick threw for 167 yards and ran for a touchdown, but his three interceptions -- including one that was returned for a score -- was enough for the Bucs to bring back Jameis Winston.

Winston, who lost his starting job two weeks ago, threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him back as the starter next week.

-- The Tennessee Titans changed quarterbacks at halftime of their lopsided loss to the Indianapolis Colts as Blaine Gabbert replaced Marcus Mariota. There's a chance Mariota's elbow injury prevents him from starting next week, but it's too early to know just yet.

Eagles clipped

What looked like an offensive shootout turned out to be a one-sided rout in New Orleans. The Saints' Drew Brees threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-7 laugher.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles couldn't get anything going on offense. Quarterback Carson Wentz scored the exact same number of fantasy points as Saints backup Taysom Hill (0.8).

Despite the blowout with plenty of garbage-time opportunity, Wentz threw for a mere 156 yards and no touchdowns. He also was intercepted three times.

No Eagle had more than 50 yards receiving, including last week's superstar, tight end Zach Ertz -- who posted two receptions for 15 yards.

It's entirely fair to say the Eagles, collectively, laid an egg.

Broad Shoulders Award

On the other hand, our weekly honor for the player who single-handedly carried his fantasy owners to victory goes to Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton.

The speedy wideout got things rolling with a 68-yard touchdown reception from Andrew Luck and added another score later in the game. He caught all nine of his targets for 155 yards and a 36.5 fantasy points (PPR scoring).

Hilton barely edged out stud running backs Saquon Barkley (35.2) and Ezekiel Elliott (33.1) for Sunday's highest fantasy point total.

Early waiver wire

Depending on what the Ravens decide to do with their quarterback situation, Lamar Jackson could be a worthwhile pickup coming off his promising performance vs. Cincinnati. Baltimore has an extremely favorable schedule with games against the Raiders, Falcons, Chiefs and Buccaneers up next.

Somewhat overshadowed by Jackson, fellow rookie Gus Edwards saw his first extensive action of the season at running back and looked fantastic. He had 17 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown -- plus, he scored on a two-point conversion. 

Saints rookie wide receiver Tre'Quan Smith might have been cut loose after going without a catch in Week 10 and not having more than three receptions in a game all season. If that's the case, he'll be a hot pickup this week following a 10-catch, 157-yard effort with a touchdown against the Eagles.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Steve Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner.

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