The full Love/Hate, complete with intro story, bad puns and players from all the games, will be published Thursday as usual, but here's a no-frills version for the Thanksgiving Day slate of games.
All team stats referenced are for the past four weeks, unless otherwise noted. On Thanksgiving, it's appropriate to show love and appreciation for "Thirsty" Kyle Soppe of ESPN Fantasy for his help with the column every week, including this one. Let's get to it.
Thanksgiving players I love
Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: But, but ... Ben on the road! But ... but ... he couldn't do it against Cleveland! But ... but ... isn't he just gonna give it to Le'Veon Bell the whole time? I hear you; don't care, don't believe it. The Colts are last against the pass, and to make matters worse, as I write this on late Tuesday night, Vontae Davis has missed the past two days and is getting around in a walking boot. Indy has given up at least two touchdown passes in seven straight games and Thursday makes it eight. Ben comes out slinging here and gets good field position all game thanks to The Tolzien (as only I call him) ... that's Scott Tolzien, who will start for the Colts if Andrew Luck is unable to play. Roethlisberger is a top-five play for me this week.
Dak Prescott, Cowboys: Since the start of 2015, there have been only two quarterbacks to put together streaks of nine straight games of at least 17 points: Tom Brady and ... Dak Prescott. Now entrenched in must-start status, Dak is a top-10 play this week against a Skins team that has allowed more than 20 fantasy points a game to opposing quarterbacks. It's gonna be a fun one on Thanksgiving.
Frank Gore, Colts: With The Tolzien expected to start on Thursday night, my expectation is the Colts lean on the run game here. Already a guy who gets a heavy workload, I expect an even heavier workload for the veteran, who is an important part of pass protection for a leaky Colts offensive line, and The Tolzien is not as mobile as Luck. Despite a strong front line, the Steelers actually give up the third-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, and this may be a key: Pittsburgh is among the top three in the NFL in terms of most receptions and receiving scores allowed to opposing running backs. My expectation is the Steelers get good penetration in this game and there's lots of dump-offs to Gore. His ceiling is capped, of course, but my guess is folks are ready to bail on the entire offense without Luck, and I wanted to put Gore in here to say no, this guy has been solid all year long. Thursday night will be no exception.
Jamison Crowder, Redskins: The Cowboys are one of three teams in the NFL to give up more than 1,000 yards to the slot this season. They have also allowed the second-most receptions to slot WRs, so this is a particularly appealing matchup for Crowder, who has been red-hot lately, with 100 yards or a touchdown in five straight games and in seven of his past nine, including these same Cowboys in Week 2.
Kyle Rudolph, Vikings: He has scored in three straight games against Detroit, but that's probably because every tight end scores against Detroit. The Lions have allowed nine tight end touchdowns in 10 games this season and allowed 12 in 16 games last season. Not surprisingly, the Lions have given up the second-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Now, the last time he faced the Lions, he caught just one pass, but it was for a score. His offensive involvement has been inconsistent under Pat Shurmur, but with Stefon Diggs either missing this game or at less than 100 percent (knee), I can see more work for Rudolph in a great matchup. It's worth noting that Rudolph actually scored last week on a 12-yard touchdown, but it was called back by a penalty on the offensive line (hands to the face). He needs to score, but I like his chances to do so for those looking to stream.
Pittsburgh Steelers D/ST: You had me at Tolzien. Last week, going against a Browns team that gives up the second-most sacks per game in the NFL, Pittsburgh got eight sacks en route to a 23-point fantasy performance. This week, they get the Colts, who are giving up 3.5 sacks per game this season, the most in the NFL and the only team giving up more than Cleveland. And that was with Andrew Luck. Like I said in the Gore portion, The Tolzien is not going to be able to extend plays the way Luck does, so yeah, gimme the Steelers as a top-five play this week. They are still available in more than 60 percent of ESPN.com leagues.
Others receiving votes: It's certainly not a great matchup, but Kirk Cousins threw for 354 yards when he played Dallas earlier this season, he's completing better than 70 percent of his passes the past four weeks and he's been the fourth-best QB in fantasy the past two weeks. I'm rolling with Kirk again on Thursday as a low-end QB1. ... His teammate, Robert Kelley, has been nothing short of terrific the past three weeks and while, again, it's not a great matchup, "Fat Rob" has at least 21 touches in each of those games. That level of usage, along with the efficiency of the offense, keeps Kelley in your lineup as a RB2/high-end flex. Dallas does give up 4.2 yards per carry, middle of the pack in the NFL. ... With at least six targets in five straight games and five touchdowns in his past six, Cole Beasley continues his breakout year. Josh Norman doesn't go toward the slot, so teams often attack Washington there, and Beasley had 75 yards against them in Week 2. He's a viable WR3. ... You know what they say: When Jared Cook can do it to you. ... The Skins have allowed more than 75 yards and a score to opposing tight ends in each of the past three games. In that same time frame, Zach Ertz is the only tight end with more catches than Jason Witten. Witten is usable this week for tight end streamers.
Thanksgiving players I hate
Matthew Stafford, Lions: Something's gonna give here. Either the Vikings' strong defense or the fact that Stafford is usually fantastic on Thanksgiving. I'm siding with the Vikes here. Stafford has slowed some, which may explain why future president Jim Bob Cooter didn't get nearly as many write-in votes as he should have. Stafford has 14 points or fewer in three straight (including a Week 9 game against these same Vikings), and Minnesota's recent struggles haven't been because of the defense, as the Vikings are third against the pass and the second-best scoring defense the past four weeks. Stafford finished that Week 9 game against Minnesota as QB15 (219 yards, two TDs, one interception), but think back to that game, when Matt Prater had to make a 58-yard field goal as time expired to send it to overtime. If he misses that, Stafford would have finished as QB26 for the week. He's merely a QB2 this week with a potentially low floor. No thanks. It's worth noting: Stafford DOES get New Orleans next week, so just bench him, don't cut him.
Donte Moncrief, Colts: You had me at Tolzien. Wait, what? I used that joke before? Come on, Thanksgiving is all about leftovers. You're lucky this column isn't all leftovers. This goes away if Luck is somehow cleared by Thursday night, but I'd start making other plans. Already with a middling target share, Moncrief's value has come thanks to his scoring and connection with Luck. He's averaged 40 percent fewer fantasy points per catch without Luck, which makes sense, so Moncrief is a risky WR4 this week. You likely have better options.
Marvin Jones, Lions: It was fun while it lasted, Marvin. With just five receptions for less than 60 yards COMBINED in his past three games, his role has diminished as Eric Ebron and Theo Riddick have come back healthy, along with the continued presence of Anquan Boldin and obviously Golden Tate. The tough matchup and lack of recent production make Jones tough to trust even in the most dire situations. Even with no teams on a bye this week, Jones does not make my top 50.
Dallas Cowboys D/ST: If you couldn't figure it out by the "Love" section, I expect this to be a high-scoring game, and opposing defenses have totaled minus-4 points against the Redskins in the past four games. The Vikings scored just two points against them and these same Cowboys had just one point against them earlier this season. In fact, the opposing defense has scored fewer than five points in eight of 10 games this year against Washington, and the Cowboys have been a better real-life defense than fantasy one, as they have yet to score 10 points in a game. There are better streaming options.
Matthew Berry, The Talented Mr. Roto, isn't through with Week 12 yet. Tune in for more Love/Hate coming soon! He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a paid spokesman for DraftKings.com and one of the owners of the Fantasy Life app.