Fantasy plays: Players to start and sit for NFL Week 11

Sport

Fantasy plays: Players to start and sit for NFL Week 11

2024-11-13 03:55 Last Updated At：04:00

It’s Week 11 of the fantasy football season and the changes keep coming. However these sit/start options will attempt to help you to fantasy success this week and beyond.

Start: Russell Wilson, Steelers vs Ravens

Wilson has had a renaissance of sorts in Pittsburgh, displaying arm strength and accuracy. Over his first three starts since returning in Week 7, Wilson has been responsible for seven touchdowns and just one interception. The addition of receiver Mike Williams adds another option, and this week Wilson will face a Ravens defense that is the second-best matchup for opposing QBs.

Other locks:

—Justin Herbert vs Bengals

—Brock Purdy vs Seahawks

—Jalen Hurts vs Commanders

—Lamar Jackson at Steelers

Avoid: Caleb Williams, Bears vs Packers

Williams was spectacular before Chicago’s bye, but his fantasy production has fallen off since. He’s yet to throw a TD since Week 6, and Williams has only thrown for more than 200 yards once in three games since the break. The offensive line is failing the young QB, allowing him to get sacked nine times in Week 10. His opponent this week, the Packers, has the best defense Williams will have faced since the bye, so don’t expect him to turn it around this week.

Start: Nick Chubb, Browns at Saints

Chubb has been fairly quiet from a fantasy standpoint since he returned from the knee injury he sustained early last season, but that’s largely been predicated on the matchups he’s had since coming back. Chubb has faced top-10 run defenses in each of his first three outings this season, and his offensive line hasn’t been doing him any favors either. Chubb gets a reprieve this week though, as the Browns will face a Saints front that is the third-best matchup for opposing runners going into Week 11. Chubb is in line to have the best game of his season.

Other locks:

—Josh Jacobs vs Bears

—Kareem Hunt at Bills

—Jahmyr Gibbs vs Jaguars

—Kyren Williams at Patriots

Avoid: Tony Pollard, Titans vs Vikings

Pollard has been putting up solid numbers since the Week 6 bye, but he's only scored once over that stretch too. His production waned significantly with the return of Tyjae Spears, who suffered an injury in Week 6, gaining 63 combined yards. With an offense that generally struggles to get in scoring position, Pollard is a middling option at best this week.

Start: Jakobi Meyers, Raiders at Dolphins

Meyers is one of the few bright spots on the Raiders offense right now, along with tight end Brock Bowers. Meyers put up season-high numbers before the bye, catching 8 of 11 targets for 105 yards in a losing effort to Cincinnati, and though he faces a formidable matchup with Miami this week, Meyers is still a strong play, as the Raiders just don’t have too many playmakers outside of him and Bowers.

Other locks:

—Courtland Sutton vs Falcons

—George Pickens vs Ravens

—Terry McLaurin at Eagles

—Jauan Jennings vs Seattle

Avoid: Jordan Addison, Vikings vs Titans

Addison has topped 50 yards just twice this season, a far cry from his rookie season in 2023, and things seemed to get worse for him in Week 10, when TJ Hockenson made his proper return to form. Addison only had two catches for 25 yards in that game, while Hockenson led the team in receiving. Addison’s recent struggles, along with a matchup with the Titans, who have a strong secondary, make him an unreliable play in Week 11.

Start: Will Dissly, Chargers vs Bengals

Dissly led the team in targets (six) and receptions (five) in Week 10. In fact, he’s averaged five targets over his past five games, a more than respectable number for a starting TE this season. Dissly has gone up against top-10 TE defenses in three of those games too, a far cry from the fourth-best matchup Bengals he’ll face this week. On a Chargers team that has gone pass-happy in recent weeks, Dissly makes for a solid streaming option in Week 11.

Other locks:

—Mark Andrews at Steelers

—Evan Engram at Detroit

—TJ Hockenson at Titans

—Kyle Pitts at Broncos

Avoid: Zach Ertz, Commanders at Eagles

Ertz had been a high floor option for the majority of the season, until this recent run of stout TE defenses that the Commanders have faced. Over his past two outings, Ertz has managed only five catches for 36 yards, thanks in part to the emergence of WR Noah Brown in the offense. The Commanders offense has been efficient, so any drop in targets can potentially have a dramatic effect on a player’s output. Also this week is Washington’s matchup with the Eagles, who are the worst matchup for opposing TEs going into Week 11.

This column was provided to The Associated Press by RosterWatch, www.rosterwatch.com.

Poland votes for a new president Sunday as worries grow about the future

2025-05-15 19:44 Last Updated At：19:50

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A war next door in Ukraine.Migration pressure at borders. Russian sabotage across the region. Doubts about the U.S. commitment to Europe's security.

In Poland’s presidential election Sunday, security looms large. So do questions about the country’s strength as a democracy and its place in the European Union. One of the new president’s most important tasks will be maintaining strong ties with the United States, widely seen as essential to the survival of a country in an increasingly volatile neighborhood.

Voters in this Central European nation of 38 million people will cast ballots to replace conservative incumbent Andrzej Duda, whose second and final five-year term ends in August.

With 13 candidates, a decisive first-round victory is unlikely. Some have appeared unserious or extreme, with a couple expressing openly pro-Putin or antisemitic views. A televised debate this week dragged on for nearly four hours. There are calls to raise the threshold to qualify for the race.

A runoff on June 1 is widely expected, with polls pointing to a likely showdown between Rafał Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the Law and Justice party, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023.

Poland’s geography gives the election added importance. Bordering Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, Belarus and war-torn Ukraine — as well as several Western allies — Poland occupies a critical position along NATO’s eastern flank and serves as a key logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine.

There are growing fears that if Russia prevails in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it could target other countries that freed themselves from Moscow's control some 35 years ago. Against that backdrop, the election will shape Warsaw’s foreign policy at a moment of mounting strain on trans-Atlantic unity and European defense.

Both leading candidates support continued U.S. military engagement in Europe. Trzaskowski puts greater emphasis on deepening ties with the European Union, while Nawrocki is more skeptical of Brussels and promotes a nationalist agenda.

When Law and Justice held power, it repeatedly clashed with EU institutions over judicial independence, media freedom and migration.

While Poland is a parliamentary democracy, the presidency wields significant influence. The president serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, holds veto power, shapes foreign policy and plays a symbolic role in national discourse.

Under Duda, the office largely advanced the conservative agenda of Law and Justice. Since Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist coalition came to power in late 2023, Duda has blocked key reforms aimed at restoring judicial independence and repairing relations with the EU.

“The stakes are enormous for the ruling coalition and for those concerned with the future of Polish democracy,” said Jacek Kucharczyk, president of the Institute of Public Affairs, a Warsaw think tank. “This is about democratic reform and restoring the rule of law — and that can only happen with cooperation from the next president.”

The election is also pivotal for Law and Justice, Kucharczyk noted: “Its future as a dominant political force may hinge on the outcome.”

Both Trzaskowski and Nawrocki have pledged to support Ukraine and maintain strong defense ties, but their visions for Poland diverge sharply on the role of the EU and domestic social policy.

Trzaskowski, 52, is a former presidential contender and a senior figure in Civic Platform, the centrist party led by Tusk. He is running on a pro-European platform and has pledged to defend judicial independence and rebuild democratic institutions.

Supporters describe him as a modernizer who represents a cosmopolitan, outward-facing Poland. He speaks foreign languages, has marched in LGBTQ+ parades and appeals to younger, urban voters. Trzaskowski's progressive views highlight an evolution of the once more conservative Civic Platform.

Nawrocki, 42, represents how the party backing him, Law and Justice, is turning further to the right as support for the hard right grows.

Nawrocki, who is not a Law and Justice party member, heads the state-backed Institute of National Remembrance, which investigates Nazi and communist-era crimes. He has drawn praise from conservatives for dismantling Soviet monuments and promoting patriotic education, but he faces criticism for inexperience and playing on anti-German and other resentments. He has also been embroiled in some scandals.

Earlier this month, Nawrocki met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House — a symbolic moment welcomed by Law and Justice-friendly media as proof that he would be the best man for keeping the relationship with the United States strong. Critics viewed it as interference by Trump's administration.

This week Nawrocki was joined on the campaign trail by Romanian nationalist George Simion, who faces a runoff vote for the presidency on Sunday. Simion is viewed by critics as pro-Russian, leading Tusk to tweet: "Russia is pleased. Nawrocki and his pro-Russian Romanian counterpart George Simion on the same stage five days before the presidential elections in Poland and Romania. Everything is clear.“

AP video reporter Rafał Niedzielski contributed to this report.