The Week 11 matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and the Atlanta Falcons features two teams that really need to start playing better, although one has to do it without its star quarterback. We've got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck will be out anywhere from 2-6 weeks with a lacerated kidney suffered two weeks ago in a much needed win against the Denver Broncos. While the performance was gutsy and produced solid fantasy numbers, it means Matt Hasselbeck will be under center against the Falcons this week. Although a much more conservative quarterback, Hasselbeck played well back in Week 5 against the Houston Texans, throwing for 213 yards and two touchdowns. It would be tough to start him in fantasy leagues, unless your league is really deep, but Hasselbeck's appearance this week will definitely impact the prospects of Colts receivers, one of which is T.Y. Hilton.
Hilton has been just somewhat consistent this year. Those using him in PPR formats can count on at least four catches a game, something he's achieved in all but one contest to this point. Outside of that however, it's important to note that Hilton has just three touchdowns on the season, two of which came in the same game. He also has just one 100-yard receiving performance this season. Atlanta has been surprisingly stingy against wide receivers in 2015 and teams mostly like to run on them. Week 11 could be a tough one for Hilton.
Atlanta Falcons
After being held in check (at least by his own astronomical fantasy production standards) for the better part of a month, Julio Jones is back in a big way. He has 22 catches for 299 yards and a touchdown over the last two weeks. The performances marked the fourth and fifth times respectively that Jones has gone over the 100-yard mark and caught at least nine passes this season. He's in line to absolutely crush it against the Colts this week, given his opponent's defense will likely be on the field a lot. A third straight huge game seems like a strong possibility for Jones in Week 11.
Hopefully running back Devonta Freeman can follow suit. As much as Jones is heating up again, Freeman hasn't cooled off since posting huge numbers in Week 3. Sure it's not as if he's scoring three times a game on a weekly basis, but even in the game like last week's where he ran for just 12 yards on 12 carries, Freeman still manages to make an impact in the passing game. Against the San Francisco 49ers last week, he caught 8 of 10 targets for 67 yards and a touchdown. The breakout fantasy star should be just fine running the ball against the Colts at the Georgia Dome, a game in which the Falcons likely won't have to play from behind like they did last week.
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SB Nation presents: NFL Week 11 fantasy waiver wire targets