Week 13 fantasy wrap: Russell Wilson's big season continues
Eagles vs. Seahawks: Russell Wilson entered averaging 353.0 yards from scrimmage over five home games this season and has now totaled 16 touchdowns there. He entered with a 134.9 Passer Rating in the fourth quarter this year and now sports a 15:1 TD:INT ratio in the final frame. Wilson has accounted for 29 of Seattle’s 30 touchdowns this season, including another TD pass Sunday night to Jimmy Graham (his ninth over the past eight games), marking the first TD the Eagles have allowed in the first quarter of a game this season. Wilson is a legit MVP candidate, but he’ll get his toughest task of the year in Jacksonville in Week 14…Mike Davis is the clear back to own in Seattle, while J.D. McKissic’s 15-yard TD catch was his only grab in the game on just three targets…Nelson Agholor had a nice game and would get a boost in value should Zach Ertz have to miss time, while Philadelphia’s backfield remains a fantasy mess…As some expected, the Seahawks not only covered but won outright during a game that opened with them as near touchdown underdogs.
Lions vs. Ravens: After not scoring over the first nine games of the year, Alex Collins has recorded four TDs over the last three contests…The Lions have gone 64 straight games without a 100-yard rusher…This was the first game for Joe Flacco with two+ TD passes and no interceptions since 2014…Jimmy Smith suffered a torn Achilles, which is a devastating blow to a defense that had been one of the very best this season…Theo Riddick would be a borderline RB2 in Week 14 in Tampa Bay should Ameer Abdullah be out again.
49ers vs. Bears: The Bears entered allowing just 221.0 passing yards per game this season, so to the surprise of absolutely no one, Jimmy Garoppolo shredded them for 291. He threw the first pick of his career, but it was off the receiver’s hands, and he got 7.9 YPA in a strong first start for San Francisco. There’s a zero percent chance the 49ers don’t at least franchise tag Jimmy G…Jordan Howard was bottled up during what looked like a great matchup on paper, but the 49ers’ defense has gotten healthier recently. Howard needs to work hard on his game as a receiver during the offseason…This 61-yard punt return for a touchdown by Tarik Cohen was ridiculous…The 49ers took it easy in the red zone, letting Robbie Gould boot five field goals during his revenge game.
Vikings vs. Falcons: Case Keenum finished with a 120.4 Passer Rating in a big win in Atlanta, not throwing a single incompletion during the second half. He’s not going anywhere…Facing an Atlanta offense that looked back on track having entered averaging 31.7 points over the previous three games (all wins), the Vikings defense held the Falcons out of the end zone in yet another impressive performance…After last week’s explosion, Julio Jones was held to 24 yards on six targets, as Xavier Rhodes bounced back from last week’s poor game.
Patriots vs. Bills: Dion Lewis led New England with 15 carries, getting 92 rushing yards (including a career-high 44-yard tote) but wasn’t targeted and watched Rex Burkhead score two touchdowns, including another at the goal line. As such, it’s hard not to rank Burkhead higher moving forward. Either way, both project as top-15 fantasy backs down the stretch given their situation…It’s amazing just how improved New England’s defense is compared to the beginning of the year…I expected a slightly bigger game from Brandin Cooks, and here’s the cheap shot by Rob Gronkowski everyone is talking about…Held out of the end zone Sunday, look for Tom Brady to go nuts against the hapless Miami defense next week in primetime…The Patriots have won 14 straight games on the road.
Broncos vs. Dolphins: With Jay Cutler back (Parker had been targeted at least eight times every game in which Cutler’s started), slot corner Chris Harris locked onto Jarvis Landry and Aqib Talib suspended, DeVante Parker was set up for a big game Sunday, but he turned four targets into just five yards during a win in which the Dolphins scored 35 points…In a terrific matchup against the beatable Miami secondary, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders were each held catchless until 15 seconds were left in the third quarter (DT had failed to secure any of his six previous targets)…Kenyan Drake looked good and should be considered a strong RB2 entering the fantasy playoffs…The Dolphins attempted an onside kick up 33-9 in the fourth quarter in a sign Adam Gase may not be totally pleased with his previous employer.
Texans vs. Titans: Marcus Mariota had a mediocre game in a plus matchup, and his five rushing scores are the only thing saving his otherwise disastrous fantasy value. He’s on pace to finish with a 13:16 TD:INT ratio this season…DeAndre Hopkins had a touchdown taken away on a close review and got just 5.7 YPT against a suspect secondary. It doesn’t help that Tom Savage plays as if he’s in the Stone Age sometimes…After rushing for 79 yards during the fourth quarter last week, Derrick Henry took this 75 yards to paydirt in the final quarter of Sunday’s game.
Colts vs. Jaguars: Jacoby Brissett took “only” four sacks but got 4.8 YPA and threw two picks, as the Colts are now 1-6 over their past seven games…Leonard Fournette totaled 79 yards with a touchdown but ultimately disappointed again, getting just 2.9 YPC at home against a defense that entered allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs. Fournette had finally returned to a full practice this week, so the hope was his ankle was back to 100 percent, but he turned in another underwhelming performance in a 20-point win…Jacksonville executed a nice fake punt during its first drive of the game.
Buccaneers vs. Packers: So much for the improved Brett Hundley. That was ugly…Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson totaled four catches for 57 yards without a TD against a Packers secondary that entered having allowed the most fantasy points to outside wide receivers over the past two months…Davante Adams was another WR in this game failing to take advantage of a strong matchup, but Peyton Barber got the start and looks like the Tampa Bay running back to own down the stretch…Jamaal Williams remained the Packers’ workhorse and played well, but Aaron Jones took his first carry of the game to the house in overtime, so there may be a committee in Green Bay moving forward.
Chiefs vs. Jets: This game was the one not on Sunday Ticket’s “game mix” channel, which is how I consume my morning slate. So naturally it turned into the most entertaining game of the day, combining for 69 points and 962 yards…Alex Smith went off for 356 passing yards with four TDs, no picks and a 70-yard run added in. But Kareem Hunt was given just 12 touches during the team’s offensive resurgence, and the back has officially been removed from the “Can’t Cut List” in one of the stranger rookie seasons in recent memory…Josh McCown continued to be one of the most underrated fantasy assets, throwing for 331 yards and a touchdown while rushing for two more…The Chiefs are 6-6 after starting the season 5-0, but this play by Tyreek Hill was nice.
Panthers vs. Saints: Alvin Kamara is trying to become the first running back ever to record the most fantasy points while averaging fewer than 15.0 touches per game (he’s at 12.1 on the season). The rookie scored another two touchdowns and is simply the most exciting player in the NFL right now…Seventy-two of Mark Ingram’s 85 rushing yards came on one carry in which he didn’t score, but it was nice to see him back active as a receiver, as he saw seven targets (Ingram had totaled eight over the previous four games)…Carolina now gets three straight home games, although Week 14 brings the tough Vikings defense to town.
Browns vs. Chargers: Josh Gordon saw 11 targets and looked good during his first action since 2014, becoming just the second wide receiver all season to reach 85 yards against the Chargers (the other was Odell Beckham). Gordon’s day could’ve been much bigger if not for an inaccurate DeShone Kizer. I’m putting Gordon in my lineups with confidence during the fantasy playoffs. He has a terrific matchup against Green Bay in Week 14…Keenan Allen has 33 catches for 436 yards and four touchdowns over the past three games.
Rams vs. Cardinals: Jared Goff threw his first interception during the first half of a game this season but helped lead the Rams to another 32 points and a win…Kerwynn Williams would be a fine flex option if Adrian Peterson is out again in Week 14…The Eagles at Rams looks like the upcoming game of the week.
Giants vs. Raiders: Derek Carr finished with fine numbers and was missing his top two wideouts, but Landon Collins had a bad drop on a would-be interception at his own five-yard line, while Brandon Dixon failed to secure another possible pick later…Seth Roberts was close to recording a TD catch, but review ruled otherwise…There wasn’t any discernible change to the Giants with Geno Smith under center…Jared Cook has now put up near goose eggs in back-to-back weeks against two defenses that rank in the top-three in fantasy points allowed to tight ends.
