Week 12 winners and losers: Gibbs notches highest score of season; Taylor, Jefferson, Jackson go quiet

In Week 12 of the 2025 fantasy football season, Detroit RB put on an incredible performance. Jamir Gibbs in overtime victory over New York GiantsBye Jonathan Taylor played his worst game of the season.

Who were the big winners and losers in the league?

Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockroft offer their analysis.

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Rating winners | Loser rating
The biggest injuries and what's next

Fantasy Week 12 Winners Ranking

1. Jamir GibbsRB, Detroit Lions: Overtime and his game-winning 69-yard touchdown run in the extra period helped his cause, but Gibbs' performance of 55.4 fantasy points—the best single-game mark of the season—is nonetheless worth celebrating. He ranks as the 12th-best running back in NFL history and the 22nd-best player any position. According to Next Gen Stats, Gibbs rushed for 145 more yards than expected and added 15.5 rushing scores, the best in a single game in 2025. He now has three games with at least 36 fantasy points in the last five and is averaging more yards per carry on the season (6.1) than in either of his first two seasons. Gibbs is a championship-caliber player for fantasy managers heading into the playoffs, and it's nice to see him performing at such a high level considering his remaining schedule is considered below average. — Cockroft

2. Jackson Smith-NjigbaVR, Seattle Seahawks: Smith-Njigba's 37.1 points in Sunday's win over the Titans put all receivers through the early window. Smith-Njigba caught 8 of 10 targets, finishing with 167 yards and two touchdowns. We saw Smith-Njigba's big-play ability again when he scored on a 63-yard run, plus he showed off that high-level route running for a touchdown in the red zone. With Smith-Njigba's Week 12 numbers, he has now scored 20 or more points in seven straight games. The best receiver I've seen on tape this season, Smith-Njigba will remain my overall WR1 for Week 13 against the Vikings. — Bowen

3. Amon-Ra St. BrownWR, Detroit Lions: It was a comeback game for St. Brown's Week 12 win over the Giants. After losing to the Eagles in Week 11 of the season by 6.2 points (catching just 2 of 12 targets), St. Brown scored 29.9 points on Sunday against New York. St. Brown caught 9 of 13 targets, finishing with a season-best 149 yards, plus he added a touchdown on a red zone screen. St. Brown has 10 or more targets in five of his last six games, and he will remain a top-five wide receiver heading into the Thanksgiving Day game against the Packers. — Bowen

4. Emanuel WilsonRB, Green Bay Packers: He was an exceptional player filling in for injury. Josh Jacobs (knee), scoring a career-best 26.5 fantasy points, totaling 30 more yards than expected and four explosive runs, according to Next Gen Stats. Wilson took a couple of punts down the goal line for a touchdown and even caught two passes for 18 yards. He's an important safety net to keep on hand if you already have Jacobs in the lineup, although the veteran insists he will be ready to play in the 1:00 pm ET Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions. — Cockroft

5. Wan'Dale RobinsonWR, New York Giants: They Jameis Winstonfilling out Jackson Dart (concussion) showed good chemistry for the second week in a row in the Giants' overtime loss to the Lions, with Robinson scoring a career-best 30.6 fantasy points and Winston scoring 32.24 (his fourth-best). Their day started with a 39-yard score in under two minutes, and they saw the two hit 9 of 14 targets for the day, and on their final attempt, Robinson nearly caught a deep pass in Lions territory that could have allowed the Giants to tie the game in overtime. Dart should be ready to return for the Giants' Week 13 game against New England Patriots – although keep in mind that their Week 14 bye may prompt them to take a more conservative approach, knowing that an extra week of rest will follow – and Robinson should be the WR3/flex player for this matchup. — Cockroft

6. Hunter HenryTE, New England Patriots: In a very positive performance against the Bengals defense, Henry scored 24.5 points, his second-most of the season. Henry caught 7 of 10 targets (a team-high for 115 yards) and added a touchdown on a 28-yard throw to the quarterback. Drake Maye. Henry, who has seen at least six targets in three of the last four games, fits into a lower-level TE1 role for the Week 13 matchup against the Giants. — Bowen

Fantasy Week 12 Losers Rankings

1. Jonathan TaylorRB, Indianapolis Colts: He is apparently human. For the second time in the last three games, Taylor was held below 10 fantasy points, scoring just 8.6 despite playing against Kansas City Chiefs We switch to overtime work. He simply couldn't do much against the Chiefs' top-eight run defense, getting on or behind the line of scrimmage on 5 of 16 carries and breaking off a run of more than 8 yards only once. That's a bit of a concern considering he and the Colts just met and the fact that they face an equally tough matchup in Week 13 of the championship game. Houston Texans. However, this was This is a tough matchup and Taylor has both a history of strong results and the skills to overcome similar challenges in the future. Keep him in the top three weekly games. — Cockroft

2. Lamar JacksonKB, Baltimore Ravens: Jackson scored 7.22 points in a Week 12 win over the Jets, his second straight game with fewer than 10 points. Jackson completed 56.5% of his throws here, completing 153 yards passing, and he had just 11 yards on seven carries. Of course, the Ravens offense lacks rhythm. We can see it. But Jackson, who was listed on the injury report (ankle) again this week, doesn't look as explosive when he carries the ball. Additionally, Jackson has passed the 15-yard mark just once in the last four games since returning from a hamstring injury. Jackson and this Ravens offense will try to find success on Thanksgiving night against the Bengals. — Bowen

3. Justin JeffersonVR, Minnesota Vikings: Poor quarterback play JJ McCarthy in Minnesota continues to impact Jefferson's fantasy value. In Sunday's loss to the Packers, Jefferson averaged 8.8 points while catching 4 of 6 targets for 48 yards. And since Week 9, when McCarthy returned from an ankle injury, Jefferson is averaging just 11.1 points per game. Despite a QB-centric system under Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, McCarthy's poor footwork, ball handling and ball-handling ability have left the league's best running back limited. Jefferson should be considered the WR2 for the Week 13 matchup against Seattle. — Bowen

4. Josh AllenKB, Buffalo Bills: For only the eighth time since the start of the 2019 season (two of which came in regular-season finales in which he barely played as the team rested him for the playoffs), Allen was held below 10 fantasy points, putting his teams in an early hole due to his 8.12 points on Thursday Night Football. The Houston Texans, the league's top defense in yards per game entering this week, stymied Allen, punting him twice and sacking him a career-high eight times. To make matters worse, Allen said he was hurt numbness in left shoulder he took a shot in the first quarter, although he missed no shots, and said afterward he'd be fine by Week 13. We hope that is the case and his managers should still be confident that he will give them every chance to reach the playoffs of their leagues, given that his next three matches will be positive: @PIT, CIN, @NE. — Cockroft

5. D'Andre SwiftRB, Chicago Bears: He posted a season-high 1.9 fantasy points, the second week in a row he was held below 10, but more importantly, he seemed to have lost control of the starting position to a rookie. Kyle Monangai. Swift played just 43% of the offensive snaps and had nine total touches, both of which were a fair step behind Monangai's 56% and 12, and the rookie overall looked like the better player since replacing the injured Swift in Week 9. Philadelphia Eagles. — Cockcroft

6. Nico CollinsWR, Houston Texans: Collins was hot heading into Week 12, scoring 22 points or more in back-to-back games and hauling in at least seven receptions in his last three. But in Thursday night's win over the Bills, Collins caught three passes on just three targets for 55 yards (8.5 points). It also snapped a four-game streak of scoring at least 10 goals. Collins will look to bounce back in Week 13 against the Colts, and starting cornerback C.J. Stroud (concussion) could potentially return. — Bowen

7. Jameson WilliamsWR, Detroit Lions: After averaging 60.2 fantasy points on 20 targets over the last three weeks, Williams was just an afterthought in the Lions' 34-27 overtime win over the Giants. Amon-Ra St. Brown gobbled up a massive 34% target share (13 of 38 as a team), leaving Williams unattended on his three targets. While Williams has big-game potential and high upside, his range of weekly output is one of the widest in the game. He will face the Green Bay Packers in Week 13, against whom he scored 6.6 points in the season opener. — Cockroft

Impact of injury

Tee HigginsVR, Cincinnati Bengals

What we know: He suffered a concussion when he hit his head on the turf while trying to make a one-handed catch in the fourth quarter of the Bengals' 26–20 loss and was quickly placed in the protocol.

What's next: The Bengals play the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving night, so Higgins appears to have little chance of being ready for that game. Ja'Marr Chase will be eligible to return from suspension and could take over duties as the No. 1 receiver, although the Ravens may have an easier time protecting him without Higgins. Andrey Iosivasworth hiding could see more looks if Higgins does sit down. — Cockroft