Week 12 Reactions: Running Broncos By Committee

Guys Who Throw Touchdowns

For the first time this season, 10 quarterbacks threw at least three touchdown passes, three more than the previous high for a week: Matthew Stafford (five), Russell Wilson (five), Ryan Fitzpatrick (four), Philip Rivers (four), Tyrod Taylor (three), Ryan Tannehill (three), Derek Carr (three), Andy Dalton (three), Marcus Mariota (three) and Tom Brady (three). And while some of those names are a bit surprising, what may be even more so is that Carson Palmer (league-leader in passing TDs), Cam Newton (sixth) and Drew Brees (ninth) combined for zero. Not one passing touchdown among them (in fairness, Newton and Palmer rushed for scores).

It was the first time since Week 13 of the 2012 season that Brees didn't throw a touchdown pass (a 45-game span), the first for Palmer since Week 9 last season, when he suffered his season-ending torn ACL, which also happened to be the last time Newton failed to throw a touchdown pass (looking further, the last healthy time Palmer didn't throw a touchdown pass was Week 3 of the 2013 season).

On the plus side for Newton's fantasy owners, he'll get a matchup next week against the Saints, who are allowing the second-most passing yards per game (284.2), highest YPA (8.4) and have allowed the most passing touchdowns (30) this season. Part of those stats are due to Newton himself, who threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding 33 rushing yards and another score, against them back in Week 3. And while the game is in New Orleans, where plenty of fantasy points are usually scored, it's worth noting that Newton is averaging 56.1 fewer passing yards per game on the road, while 15 of his 20 passing touchdowns were scored at home.

Guys Who Catch Touchdowns

Tyler Eifert scored his league-leading 12th touchdown Sunday against St. Louis, as the Rams continue to struggle against tight ends. The Rams have allowed a tight end to score a touchdown or reach 100 yards four times in the last six weeks:

Week 7: Gary Barnidge - six catches for 101 yards
Week 8: Vernon Davis - two catches for 22 yards
Week 9: Kyle Rudolph - two catches for 30 yards
Week 10: Zach Miller - five catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns
Week 11: Crockett Gillmore - five catches for 101 yards
Week 12: Tyler Eifert - three catches for 40 yards and one touchdown

On the plus side, they don't see any elite tight ends the rest of the season, with Arizona, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Seattle and San Francisco left on the schedule. That being said, don't be surprised if Jermaine Gresham or Eric Ebron find the end zone, while Austin Seferian-Jenkins could be a solid play if he ever returns from his shoulder injury.

Sticking with the tight ends, the Patriots' Rob Gronkowski now has more touchdowns than any tight end in the Hall of Fame, thanks to his 23-yard score in the first quarter Sunday against the Broncos. A pretty impressive feat for a 26-year-old. Unfortunately, he had to be carted off the field after suffering a knee injury in the fourth quarter, though the early indications are that it's not too serious.

And while we're on the topic of impressive players scoring touchdowns, Odell Beckham, Jr. did it again:

Guys Who Rush for Touchdowns

Adrian Peterson was the highest rusher in Week 12, piling up 158 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. His 48 yards in the first half allowed him to pass both Corey Dillon and O.J. Simpson on the all-time rushing list, and by the end of the day he sat at 11,354 career yards, two ahead of Hall of Famer John Riggins (11,352). Up next on the list: Steven Jackson (11,388), Fred Taylor (11,695) and Frank Gore (11,730).

Peterson was the first running back to hit the 1,000-yard mark this season when he reached it last week against the Packers, and the Buccaneers' Doug Martin joined him Sunday after rushing for 97 yards against the Colts, bringing him to 1,038 this season. And while Martin has been racking up the yards, he has just three rushing touchdowns, which trails guys like Jeremy Langford (six), Karlos Williams (five) and Khiry Robinson (four). One thing holding Martin back is that he's gotten only five carries inside the five-yard line, which is eight fewer than league-leader Chris Ivory. The Jets' lead back also scored Sunday, though instead of scoring from the five-yard line, he broke at least five tackles before reaching the end zone:

And finally, are the Broncos the most frustrating backfield in the NFL? The Giants and Lions spread their carries around to a number of players, except so few of them are legitimate fantasy options, especially in non-PPR formats. But Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson have both performed well of late, with the latter rushing 15 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 48-yard score in overtime Sunday against the Patriots, while Hillman had 14 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown of his own. Last week, Hillman rushed 21 times for 102 yards while Anderson had 12 carries for 59 yards. With both players capable of putting up big games, fantasy owners are left with the possibility of a big game or a crippling score from a starting running back in most formats.

The schedule is favorable too, as they'll face the Chargers (26th against the run), Raiders (18th), Steelers (seventh), Bengals (13th) and Chargers again in Week 17. The change to Brock Osweiler under center has done wonders for the running game, and fantasy owners of Hillman or Anderson should certainly prefer Peyton Manning staying on the sideline.