Week 12 Fantasy Football Sneaky Starts & Sleepers

Nov 19, 2025

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

All but the luckiest fantasy owners at some point need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough—a waiver wire or bench player capable of putting up some points in a pinch. This weekly feature is dedicated to that part of fantasy football. It's not pretty, but it's part of the game.

As of Week 4, we are now using 2025 data for our Hot Spots reports and aFPA rankings. It will continue to update as the season progresses, and we’ll start using a rolling 10-week window this week. Remember, the higher the number, the better the matchup.

Let’s see who’s sneaky this week.

Quarterbacks

Jacoby Brissett, Cardinals (vs. JAX, 29)

Jacoby Brissett is coming off a historic performance, setting a new NFL record with 47 completions while throwing for 452 yards, two touchdowns, and two picks against the 49ers. He has now thrown at least two touchdowns in five straight games and ranks as the fantasy QB4 on a per-game basis since taking over in Week 6. Jacksonville did bottle up Justin Herbert last week, but on the season, the Jaguars have allowed 247 passing yards and 2.1 touchdowns per game to opposing quarterbacks. Given Brissett’s elite volume and consistent scoring, he remains a strong QB1 streamer in Week 12.

Joe Flacco, Bengals (vs. NE, 25)

Joe Flacco finally stumbled in Week 11 against the Steelers, and he’ll now be without Ja’Marr Chase due to a one-game suspension. Even so, the setup still points to volume. The Patriots boast a stout run defense, and Cincinnati hasn’t shown much on the ground, meaning their best path to moving the ball is to let Flacco air it out. With New England likely to play from ahead, the Bengals should find themselves in negative game script for much of the afternoon. The Patriots have allowed 230 passing yards and 1.73 touchdowns per game to enemy quarterbacks, so despite the depleted receiving corps, Flacco remains a viable QB2 streamer with upside fueled by sheer passing volume in Week 12.