Week 13 was an eventful week, but it wasn’t just because of the happenings on the field. The week did start off with an exciting, low-scoring upset on Thursday Night Football. The NFL didn’t have long to celebrate that showcase game before it suffered another black eye with TMZ leaking video from February of Kareem Hunt in a violent altercation with a woman. The Chiefs released Hunt later that night. Getting back to the NFL action, the upsets weren’t limited to the Thursday Night Football game with a few favorites falling on Sunday. One of those favorites falling was the final straw for the head coach.
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Saints 10 at Cowboys 13
The Saints no longer control their own destiny for the top seed in the NFC after losing to the Cowboys Thursday. Drew Brees doesn’t usually bed wet on the road, but he does have notable home/road splits that greatly favor playing at home. Toss in that he faced a supremely talented defense and it resulted in an ugly showing of 127 yards passing, one touchdown, and one interception. Neither Alvin Kamara (11 rushes for 36 yards and eight receptions for 36 yards) nor Mark Ingram (seven carries for 27 yards and two receptions for one yard) had good games — or, in Kamara’s case, good by his lofty standards. Michael Thomas suffered from Brees’ struggles and caught five passes for 40 yards, and Tre’Quan Smith was blanked.
Dak Prescott took a whopping seven sacks and lost a fumble, but he didn’t throw any interceptions and completed 24 of 28 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown. Also, per usual, his work through the air wasn’t the whole story as he added 22 yards on five carries. Ezekiel Elliott was force fed the ball 23 times for 76 yards and scored Dallas’ only touchdown as part of a 6-60-1 line through the air. Amari Cooper had an 8-75-0 line with a lost fumble, and rookie Michael Gallup set new highs in reception (five) and targets (seven) with his second-highest receiving yardage total 76. The rookie has been targeted 18 times over the last three weeks combined and has a couple of juicy matchups over the next three weeks that could make him viable in daily games or deeper season-long leagues.
Bears 27 at Giants 30
No Mitchell Trubisky was no problem for the Bears on Thanksgiving, but they couldn’t pull out the W yesterday with Chase Daniel starting for the second straight game. Allen Robinson was solid with a 5-79-0 line. The same can’t be said for tight end Trey Burton, who caught no passes. The backs did the heavy lifting in a narrow loss. The Giants have been getting torched by backs since trading Damon Harrison, and Jordan Howard piled up 76 yards rushing on 16 carries. Meanwhile, Tarik Cohen was good for 30 yards on eight carries, a game-tying one-yard touchdown pass, and a silly 12-156-0 line on 14 targets.
Saquon Barkley had a ho-hum receiving day with three receptions for 21 yards, but he more than made up for it with 125 yards rushing on 24 carries. Odell Beckham Jr. looked like he pulled a Deion Sanders-like business decision on onside kick coverage, but he had a strong fantasy line by passing for a 49-yard touchdown and totaling a 3-35-1 line receiving.
Bills 17 at Dolphins 21
LeSean McCoy had an underwhelming effort rushing 15 times for 52 yards and catching four passes for 12 yards in a losing effort. Zay Jones has sandwiched a couple of career-best games around a goose egg after posting a 4-67-2 line against the Dolphins. The story for the Bills, however, was Josh Allen’s big effort. He was inaccurate per usual completing only 18 of 33 passes (54.5%), and he threw two interceptions, but he also passed for 231 yards, two touchdowns and rushed for 135 yards. Allen’s day would have been even bigger hadn’t he misfired on a deep pass to a wide-open Robert Foster that would have resulted in a 65-yard score. He also came up just short on a deep would-be touchdown pass to Charles Clay (which Clay probably still should have caught) on Buffalo’s final offensive play. The inaccuracy is a part of the package with Allen, but his work with his legs is making him an asset in two-quarterback leagues and super flex formats.
The Dolphins earned a win, but the fantasy output left something to be desired. Kenyan Drake amassed 44 yards from scrimmage with a touchdown on seven carries and two receptions. DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills had lines of 4-43-1 and 4-37-1, respectively.
Broncos 24 at Bengals 10
Denver’s blueprint for success is leaning on their running game, asking Case Keenum to manage games, and playing strong defense. Phillip Lindsay was the offense’s star with 19 carries for 157 yards and two scores as well as one reception for two yards. Courtland Sutton had a career day with a 4-85-1 line on seven targets. The seven targets represented one-third of Keenum’s pass attempts, and Emmanuel Sanders mustered just four receptions for 19 yards on his six targets. Sutton and Sanders are talented players with low floors given Denver’s reliance on the running game, and Lindsay is the only game-proof and safe option during the remainder of the year.
A.J. Green returned from foot injury only to exit via cart with what might have been a re-aggravation of that injury. Tyler Boyd added to his breakout season with six receptions for 97 yards, and Joe Mixon tallied 95 yards from scrimmage on 12 carries and two receptions. Both are volume-driven fantasy options the rest of the year who are tied to a bad and injury-ravaged offense.
Browns 13 at Texans 29
Baker Mayfield had been in quite the groove with Freddie Kitchens as his offensive coordinator, but he stumbled against the white-hot Texans throwing three interceptions. It wasn’t all bad for him, though, as he also passed for 397 yards and a touchdown. If not for Antonio Callaway inexplicably changing directions on his 75-yard reception and coughing up a fumble when he turned into a defender instead of continuing his path at the pylon, Mayfield’s line could have been better. Jarvis Landry snapped out of his funk with a 6-103-0 line while David Njoku was quiet in a cushy matchup with just three receptions for eight yards on six targets. Nick Chubb carried the ball nine times for 31 yards and a score and caught all three of his targets for 41 yards. He’s an RB1 the rest of the way.
The Texans extended their winning streak to nine in a row. Deshaun Watson passed for 224 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 30 yards. Lamar Miller was excellent rushing 19 times for 103 yards and hauling in his lone target for 12 yards. DeAndre Hopkins dominated the receiving game with seven receptions for 91 yards on 12 targets. No one else surpassed 35 yards receiving and the next closest target total was six by DeAndre Carter.
Cardinals 20 at Packers 17
The Cardinals beat only their second opponent of the season earning their third win and pushing the Packers to fire Mike McCarthy. David Johnson carried the ball 20 times. That’s the good news for those using him in fantasy. The bad news is that he only caught one pass for three yards, was targeted just two times and rushed for 69 scoreless yards while backup Chase Edmunds rushed five times for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson hasn’t caught more than two passes in his last three games, and he’s been held out of the end zone in each of those contests. His volume keeps him in the RB2 mix, though.
The Packers were only able to score 17 points, and Aaron Rodgers wasn’t sharp with 233 yards passing and one touchdown on 50 pass attempts. His touchdown toss went to Davante Adams as part of an 8-93-1 line. Green Bay’s other touchdown was scored by Aaron Jones. Jones carried the ball for 36 yards and a score on 11 attempts and caught his four targets for 16 yards. In fitting McCarthy fashion, his stint as Green Bay’s coach ends with him inexplicably playing Jones just one more snap (39) than highly ineffective Jamaal Williams (38 snaps), per Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Colts 0 at Jaguars 6
Houston wasn’t the only AFC South team with a lengthy winning streak entering Sunday, but they’re the only one exiting the day with it intact. The Colts were shut out in a loss. Andrew Luck passed for 248 yards and one interception. He was also sacked three times. The running game couldn’t get anything going, and Marlon Mack led the way with a paltry 27 yards on eight carries. Eric Ebron was targeted a whopping 16 times and caught 10 passes for 81 yards. T.Y. Hilton also reached double-digit targets with 13 and parlayed them into eight receptions for 77 yards.
Leonard Fournette served his one-game suspension, and Cody Kessler passed for a paltry 150 yards. No one eclipsed 50 yards rushing or receiving, but T.J. Yeldon totaled 65 yards from scrimmage (16 rushing on eight carries and 49 receiving yards on a team-high seven receptions). Fournette can be plugged back into fantasy lineups when he returns from his suspension next week, but this is an offensive wasteland.
Panthers 17 at Buccaneers 24
Cam Newton was a turnover machine throwing four interceptions against Tampa Bay’s lowly defense. He did pass for 300 yards and two touchdowns while adding 33 yards on six carries, though. Christian McCaffrey’s in the midst of a huge second-year leap, and he torched the Buccaneers for 106 yards rushing on 10 carries and 55 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions. Devin Funchess made his only catch count for a 10-yard score, and D.J. Moore had a solid if unspectacular effort with 21 yards rushing and 44 yards receiving on four grabs. Curtis Samuel was the surprise leading receiver with six receptions and 88 yards on a team-high 11 targets. The versatile second-year player also ran once for eight yards. It’s possible Samuel will be one of the players who’s asked to pick up the slack after Greg Olsen suffered a season-ending foot injury.
Jameis Winston avoided turning the ball over and passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns while adding 48 yards on five carries. He should be treated like a QB1 next week against the Saints, but road tilts with the Ravens and Cowboys make him a risky play there after. Peyton Barber rushed for only 45 yards and lost a fumble, but he salvaged his day with a touchdown. That’s the name of the game with Barber, touchdown or bust. Mike Evans was the quiet receiver for the Buccaneers with 48 yards on four receptions. Meanwhile, Adam Humphries (7-61-1) and Chris Godwin (5-101-1) had excellent days. DeSean Jackson was out, and if he is again next week, Godwin joins Humphries in the WR3/Flex mix.
Rams 30 at Lions 16
The Rams handled their business in Detroit, but Jared Goff wasn’t particularly sharp. He completed 17 of 33 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while also losing a fumble. Todd Gurley steamrolled the Lions for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries as well as three receptions for 33 yards. Robert Woods (5-67-1) and Brandin Cooks (4-62-0) chipped in through the air, but neither Josh Reynolds (2-19-0) nor tight end Gerald Everett (1-7-0) did much. Both Reynolds and Everett flashed in Cooper Kupp’s absence in the Monday Night Football shootout against the Chiefs in Week 11, but both failed to follow up their performances out of the Week 12 bye. Each is a dart throw — at best — in Chicago in Week 14.
Matthew Stafford has been a reliable fantasy option throughout much of his career, but that hasn’t been the case with new head coach Matt Patricia. He passed for only 245 yards and a touchdown while turning it over twice (one interception and one fumble). LeGarrette Blount led the Kerryon Johnson-less backfield with 61 yards on 16 carries. Kenny Golladay was held in check with three receptions for 50 yards on eight targets.
Ravens 26 at Falcons 16
Lamar Jackson moves to 3-0 as a starter. His legs fuel his fantasy value, and he ran for 75 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts. He did fumble three times (losing one), and he has passing shortcomings that resulted in completing only 12 of 21 passes for 125 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The total package isn’t perfect, but his rushing ability plays extremely well in fantasy and he draws Kansas City’s leaky defense next week. The game is in Kansas City, though, and the Chiefs do play better defense at home, so it’s not a risk-free matchup. Nonetheless, it’s a plus matchup. John Brown posted a bagel, and he should be cut in most fantasy leagues. Gus Edwards wasn’t able to make it three straight games of 100-plus rushing yards, but he bested 20 carries for the second straight week with 21 rushes for 82 yards. It is also worth mentioning that Edwards hasn’t caught a pass since emerging as the feature ball-carrier, and if the Ravens fall behind early to Kansas City’s high octane offense this week, he could be in danger of watching Ty Montgomery and Kenneth Dixon. Edwards’ low floor is something to keep in mind when setting lineups.
The Falcons are playing out the string, and it wasn’t pretty against the Ravens. Ito Smith’s 22 yards rushing led the team, and Austin Hooper led the pass-catching corps with five receptions, 44 yards, and a touchdown. Matt Ryan fell short of 150 yards passing en route to 131 yards passing and one touchdown on 26 attempts with a lost fumble serving as salt in the wound. Julio Jones had a horrendous game with two receptions for 18 yards on eight targets. Calvin Ridley wasn’t much better with three receptions for 22 yards.
Chiefs 40 at Raiders 33
The Chiefs raced out to a 13-0 lead and led 19-7 at the half, but this one didn’t turn into a laugher. Patrick Mahomes carved up the Raiders for 295 yards passing, four touchdowns, zero turnovers, and 52 yards rushing. Spencer Ware carried the ball 14 times for 47 yards and a touchdown, and he caught his only target for five yards. Damien Williams only carried the ball five times for 38 yards and caught his two targets for seven yards. Don’t get too comfortable with this backfield arrangement and usage, though, as the Chiefs are bringing in C.J. Anderson for a physical and are expected to sign him if he passes. Ware remains the best fantasy option even after the likely signing of Anderson, but he’s much riskier with the potential of a full-blown RBBC situation. Tyreek Hill blew a dreamy matchup by rushing two times for 37 yards and catching only one of his six targets for 13 yards. Travis Kelce was a stud reeling in 12 of 13 targets for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Derek Carr had one of his best games of the season passing for 285 yards and three touchdowns with zero turnovers. Jared Cook entered yesterday’s contest with a two-game touchdown streak, but he’d caught only five passes for 63 yards in those two games combined. He put together a more well-rounded line extending his touchdown streak to three games with a 7-100-1 showing. It was his third 100-yard or more effort of the season, but his first since September. Jordy Nelson let football fans know he’s still actually playing with a 10-97-0 line on 11 targets. Doug Martin parlayed 18 carries into 61 yards and a touchdown, and he caught two passes for six yards. Jalen Richard didn’t score a touchdown, but he had his own good game with 95 yards rushing on six carries and 31 yards receiving on three receptions.
Jets 22 at Titans 26
Josh McCown made his third straight start in the absence of an injured Sam Darnold, and he failed to eclipse 150 yards passing for the second time. The Jets led most of the game before collapsing late, and that allowed backfield banger Isaiah Crowell to carry the ball 21 times for 98 yards and catch four passes for nine yards. No one on the Jets bested 50 yards receiving, and only two players topped 30 yards. Yikes.
Marcus Mariota was far from perfect, but he had a good fantasy day with 282 yards passing, two touchdowns, one interception, and 43 yards rushing. Mariota’s rushing total led the team. Derrick Henry ran for only 40 yards and caught two passes for five yards, but he salvaged his fantasy output with a rushing score. Dion Lewis was awful rushing for 36 yards and giving two yards back through the air with two receptions for negative-two yards. Corey Davis was responsible for a 3-42-1 line receiving on seven targets and another 12 yards on one carry.
49ers 16 at Seahawks 43
The 49ers got drilled in Seattle, but those who for whatever reason needed to use Nick Mullens were surprisingly treated to 414 yards passing, two touchdowns, and one interception. Those who used Matt Breida weren’t treated to the same kind of surprise. Breida rushed for only six yards on five carries and caught all three of his targets for 51 yards. Jeff Wilson Jr. had a fantastic game with 61 yards rushing on 15 carries and 73 yards receiving on eight receptions. The disparity in touches and production isn’t representative of a depth chart shakeup. It was revealed after the game that Breida aggravated his ankle injury during warmups. George Kittle caught six passes for 70 yards, and Dante Pettis went nuts erupting for a 5-129-2 line. Pettis is in the midst of a nifty late-season run after totaling a 4-77-1 line the week before.
Volume? Russell Wilson doesn’t need no stinkin’ volume to post fantasy-starter numbers. He attempted only 17 passes and rushed just four times for 14 yards, but he made his limited pass attempts count with 185 yards and four touchdown passes. Additionally, Tyler Lockett doesn’t care about his efficiency being unsustainable. He caught one of his two targets for a 52-yard touchdown. Chris Carson rushed 13 times for 69 yards and caught three passes for 39 yards. Carson’s day could have been bigger, but he left the blowout in the fourth quarter due to a dislocated index finger. It appears he should be fine, though. Rashaad Penny made the most of his seven carries rushing for 65 yards and a touchdown. If Carson’s finger injury ends up costing him time, Penny’s the fill-in I’d prefer turning to. However, I suspect the team would still utilize Mike Davis as a complement to the rookie back.
Vikings 10 at Patriots 24
Minnesota found out what many opponents have over the years, it’s tough to go to New England and win a game in December. Dalvin Cook rushed for 84 yards at 9.3 yards per carry with a long of 32 yards, yet he only carried the ball nine times. He also caught eight passes for 22 yards, so it doesn’t look like he was on a stringent touch count, making it all the more baffling he wasn’t awarded more carries. Kirk Cousins struggled to the tune of 201 yards passing, two interceptions, and one touchdown pass. Stefon Diggs led the Vikings with 49 yards receiving on five receptions. Adam Thielen was mostly held in check with five receptions for 28 yards, but he did score a touchdown.
Tom Brady completed 24 of 32 passes for 311 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while staying clean with zero sacks. Rex Burkhead (seven rushes for 20 yards and two receptions for 21 yards) muddied the backfield mix in his return, but Sony Michel (63 yards rushing on 17 carries and one reception for seven yards) and James White (six carries for 26 yards and seven receptions for 92 yards) still fared well-ish. The real thorn in the side of the duo was fullback James Develin. The veteran fullback vultured two rushing touchdowns. The passing work was spread around, and nine players caught passes. Josh Gordon (3-58-1) posted the best line of New England’s prominent pass catchers. Rob Gronkowski caught just three passes for 26 yards, and Julian Edelman caught three passes for 25 yards and rushed twice for 35 yards.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
