NFL Fantasy Recap
It’s not every week we see Geno Smith finish as the QB1 and a practice squad QB in the top 5 (Browning). But, here we are! Geno, Purdy, Prescott, Browning, and Lawrence rounded out the top 5 QBs this week. Always nice to see some unusual names in there. What isn’t appealing, is seeing players like Mahomes & Herbert finishing outside of the top half of the league.
The top 5 RBs this week are probably what a lot of people would call “chalk.” RB1 was Joe Mixon, followed by Alvin Kamara, then De’Von Achane, Derrick Henry, and James Conner. 4 out of 5 players were vets. Sometimes, you just gotta rely on ‘ole reliable. I was a very happy man seeing De’Von Achane back on the field. I was not a very happy man seeing Rhamondre go down, Ekeler struggles yet again, and D’Andre Swift not producing. Tough week for them.
If we’re being honest, the WRs were pretty “chalk” as well. WR1 overall was Deebo Samuel, D.K. Metcalf came in at 2, then we had Nico Collins sneak in at WR3, WR4 was CeeDee Lamb and WR5 was Tyreek Hill. Besides Collins, a pretty chalk top 5 in my opinion. We are getting to that point in the season where teams are leaning on their vets to get the job done! And then there are the vets who are struggling like Amari Cooper, Chris Godwin, and Calvin Ridley.
Love, love, love seeing Sam LaPorta finish as the TE1 with a massive week. That’s a rare occasion in fantasy football and these rookie tight ends are killing it. After him, we saw Evan Engram as the TE2, Trey McBride as the TE3, followed by Jake Ferguson, and then Harrison Bryant rounding out the top 5. Not the typical top 5 for sure! Guys like Kelce & Kittle didn’t have their best weeks.
Let’s jump into our week 13 recap!
Seahawks vs Cowboys
Well, well, well. Would you look at that? It was a high-scoring affair on a Thursday night game. Something we’ve all been waiting for. We’ve had plenty of good games, just no shootouts! So this was a fun one to watch. How about Metcalf scoring 3 touchdowns?! I didn’t see that one coming. Hell, I sat him this week in favor of Tank Dell. I love staring at 38 points on my bench. DK catching and running for a 73-yard TD on Seattle’s opening drive was fun to witness. 6 catches for 134 yards and the 3 TDs for Metcalf. 37.4 points for Metcalf, who was on track to be the WR1 this week until Deebo Samuel torched the Eagles. Geno Smith had 30 points. 334 passing yards, 3 TDs in the air, and one on the ground. He was not afraid of the Dallas D! Charbonnet finished with 16.9 points. 60 rushing yards, a TD, and a catch for 39 yards. Solid day filling in for Kenneth Walker. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 13.2 points and was a questionable replay review away from a deep-ball TD catch. Maybe next week!
Dallas was given a run for their money, but the Seahawks couldn’t trump them. Surprise, Surprise. CeeDee Lamb had a big week! Lamb scored 32 this week and caught 12 passes for 116 yards and a score to get him there. This marks his third 30+ point score this season. Dak has been playing out of his mind lately. Another big week for him scoring 28.26 points. Dak threw for 299 yards and 3 TDs this week. He scampered for 23 yards as well. Jake Ferguson is filling in adequately for the Dalton Schultz role this season. Another awesome week for Ferguson, scoring 19.7 points from 6 catches for 77 yards and a TD. You love to see it! Can’t forget Tony Pollard or Brandin Cooks either. Pollard found the endzone yet again, adding 68 rushing yards and 3 catches on top of that. Cooks also found paydirt, catching 4 passes for 45 yards and the TD. Can’t forget ole reliable, Brandon Aubrey (K) with a 15-point performance and the #1 kicker in week 13. Dallas just might be the hottest team in the NFL!
Titans vs Colts
Derrick Henry wasn’t lying when he said he was upset with his first performance against the Colts this season. He finished this week with 102 rushing yards and 2 TDs. Good for 25 points. He even exited the game early because of a concussion. Could’ve been a much bigger week! DeAndre Hopkins also had a solid week. He dropped an 18.9-point performance for his managers. 5 catches for 75 yards and a TD got him there. We also saw Tyjae Spears get involved late-game once Derrick Henry was ruled out. Spears finished with 12.8 points, which is his second-highest score this season. He could be a sneaky add if Derrick Henry will miss some time. Levis had 11.46 points this week. He had Derrick Henry to bank on. Another decent week from Chigoziem Okonkwo who had 9.4 points from 3 catches for 62 yards. Maybe he will find the endzone soon! This was a tough loss for the Titans in OT.
No JT, no problem. Right, Colts fans? It may have taken up to the last minutes in overtime to do it, but the job got done! Michael Pittman Jr. had lots to do with the win, as he hauled in 11 passes for 105 yards and a TD. The touchdown which turned out to be the game-winner! Two straight weeks of 20+ fantasy points for MPJ. This week, he racked up 27.5. Love to see it! Even Alec Pierce got involved this week. Pierce caught 3 passes for 100 yards and a TD. His touchdown was a deep ball! Gardner Minshew put up 312 passing yards and 2 TDs. No turnovers this week. That’s the version of Minshew Mania I like. Minshew scored 18.6 points. The production slightly fell off there, as Kylen Granson was the next-highest score with 10.4 points. Zack Moss was a disappointment despite the hype for him replacing JT. Moss scored 7.7 points. The D/ST came to play, they were the number-one scorer this week with 17 points. Even caused the Titans to fire their Special Teams coach!
Patriots vs Chargers
I’m not sure where to even start. This game sucked. The final score was 6-0. An NFL game. 6 total points. That’s wild. Rhaomdre Stevenson was on pace to have a solid game this week, but he wound up spraining his ankle. Zeke took over and was the Patriots leading scorer with 13.2 points. 52 rush yards, 4 catches, and 40 receiving yards. Not too shabby. Zeke is a good addition this week as playoffs are near. Sprained ankles and running backs do not get along. DeVante Parker came out of nowhere, logging 10 points. I’m sure someone out there had to play him out of desperation. If you did, congrats!
A tough week for Chargers players and fantasy scores. Keenan Allen was the leading scorer with 10.2 points. Allen had 5 catches for 58 yards. Quentin Johnston put together a 10-point week as well. 5 catches for 52 yards for him. Gerald Everett scored 8.4 points, Justin Herbert scored 7.98 points and Austin Ekeler had 4.7 points. Not an ideal week to be relying on Chargers players that’s for sure. At least they got the win…
Lions vs Saints
This game got out to an ugly start. For Saints fans at least. The Lions were up 21-0 in the first quarter! That’s nuts. Derek Carr & Alvin Kamara did their best to get them back in the game, but it was too little, too short. Kamara finished with 109 scrimmage yards and 2 TDs. This gave him 28.9 points this week. Good for RB2 overall in week 13. Carr had 226 passing yards and a TD, but he got hurt again late in the game. Only 8.9 points for Carr this week. Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill took over after that. Taysom had 15.4 points this week. Chris Olave was a game-time decision going into this one and ended up playing. He got another 16.9 points for his managers. 5 catches for 119 yards. Tough loss for the Saints, as this puts them at 3rd in the NFC South and a mountain to climb to make the playoffs with 5 weeks left.
The Lions clearly came in and were ready to take care of business, though they almost messed it up in the second half. Sam Laporta, who is the TE1 overall for week 13, dropped a 29-point week for his managers. He had 9 receptions for 140 yards and a TD. Hell of a week for the rook! Jared Goff finished with 16.32 points, he had 213 passing yards and 2 TDs. No interceptions or fumbles this week. Which is a huge improvement from the Thanksgiving game! Amon-Ra had a quiet week facing Marshon Lattimore. ARSB logged 2 catches for 49 yards and a TD (12.9 pts). Not what we are used to seeing out of ARSB in this offense. David Montgomery had 12.5 points. He ran for 56 yards and a TD. Tough week for Jahmyr Gibbs, as he only scored 6.4 points. Jameson Williams made a splash, scoring on a 19-yard end around! Love to see it.
Jets vs Falcons
Yet another barn burner this week. The final score in this one was 13-8. I’m gonna venture to say Breece Hall’s injury was not completely re-healed because Dalvin Cook had a more productive day running the ball. Hall got a lot of passing-game work, which propelled him to 10.5 fantasy points this week. Cook scored 3.6 after a fumble. There’s a first time for everything, right? makes sense, because Xavier Gipson led the Jets in fantasy points with 12.5. He had 5 catches for 77 yards. Garrett Wilson struggled this week. He only caught 3 passes for 50 yards (8 points). Tyler Conklin had 6.5 and that’s it for production from Jets players. If you can even call it that…
The Falcons got another gross win. How gross? Well, their leading fantasy scorer was their defense with 16 points so I think you get the picture. 10.9 points. And they won this game. Bijan only scored 10 points this week. That’s insane to me. How is he not racking up PPR points? Kyle Pitts almost had double digits this week. Pitts caught 4 passes for 51 yards (9.1 pts). MyCole Pruitt caught the only touchdown in this game. He had 9 points. Desmond Ridder finished the game with 8.84 points. He had 121 passing yards and 1 touchdown. Simply put, there is not much to recap from this game.
Commanders vs Dolphins
Two of the league’s passing leaders facing off mono e mono. However, it didn’t quite go so well for Sam Howell. He only put up 127 passing yards and failed to throw a touchdown. He did however have 2 rushing touchdowns. So his fantasy points (19.18) were much better than his real-life production. And the same can be said for most of the Commanders players. Antonio Gibson was second with 11.2 points. He ran for 35 yards, caught 4 passes, and had 37 receiving yards. After him was Curtis Samuel, who was the only receiver catching passes it felt like. He caught 4 passes for 65 yards. Brian Robinson looked like he was going to have a decent day, but was ruled OUT after halftime with a hamstring injury. Something to monitor going into fantasy playoffs. Terry McLaurin had a goose egg this week. No points from him.
Miami is a much different story. They dropped 45 points, which is the league-high score this week. Tyreek Hill was a major reason why as he had 5 catches, 157 yards, and 2 TDs. His 2 touchdowns were both 60+ yards, which is the first time that has happened in a VERY long time. 32.3 points for Reek this week. De’Von Achane officially returned to action this week. He ran the ball for 73 yards, caught 3 passes for 30 yards, and scored 2 TDs on the ground. 25.3 points for the rookie this week, who seemed to not skip a beat after returning from his injury. Tua finished with 19 points. He threw for 280 yards and 2 TDs. Glad to see no interceptions from him this week. Raheem Mostert did well. 43 rushing yards and a TD for him (12.1 pts). Jaylen Waddle reached double-digits, 10.2 points, but man I wish he was still putting up big numbers. Miami’s defense caught a pick-6, which put them at the #3 defense this week in fantasy points.
Steelers vs Cardinals
This was a strange game mainly because it started at 1 PM EST and did not finish until well into the 4 o’clock games. They had all sorts of weather delays going on. Kenny Pickett left this game with a foot injury. He is set to miss some time. Diontae Johnson found the endzone again. He led the team with 13.3 points this week. 4 catches for 33 yards and the score for DJ. George Pickens is getting involved in the offense again. 4 receptions for 86 yards this week (12.6 pts). Najee came in next, with 9.7 points this week. Pat Freiermuth came back down to earth after the massive week 12. This week he only had 3 catches for 29 yards. Jaylen Warren also has slowed down. This week he had 59 rushing yards. Not a great week for the Steelers.
The Cardinals are doing their best to make their draft pick worse and worse each time they win. They got the win 24-10 this week. Led by Trey McBride and his 22.9 fantasy points. What a massive week from him. 8 catches for 89 yards and a TD. Love to see it! You know what else I love? James Conner finding paydirt! Not once, but twice. Hell yes! Conner racked up 22.5 points this week. 105 rushing yards and 2 TDs. The revenge game we all needed. Kyler was the next high score with 11.8 points. He had 145 passing yards and the TD to McBride, but they relied on Conner this week. Good win for the Cardinals.
Texans vs Broncos
Finally, someone knocked the Broncos off their hot streak! The 5 game-win streak was ended by the Texans this week in a nail-biter. Russell Wilson did his darndest but was unable to get the offense’s mojo going. Russ had 186 passing yards and a TD. But he threw 3 interceptions, which held the offense back. He added 44 rushing yards and a rushing TD to his day, bringing him to 15.84 points. Courtland Sutton saved his day with a deep ball touchdown. Sutton scored 15.7 points this week. 2 catches for 77 yards and the TD. Not the best day for Javonte Williams. 46 rushing yards and a couple of catches got him to 10 points. Better luck next week, Broncos fans.
The Broncos are lucky C.J. Stroud was not on his A-game this week. He threw for 274 yards and had one touchdown. Not his typical day. Still got his managers 16 points, however. The real menace this week was Nico Collins and his 34 points. Collins caught 9 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown. What a massive day for Nico! Dameon Pierce & Devin Singletary combined for 77 rushing yards, so not the best days for them. And finally, Brevin Jordon filled in for Dalton Schultz, scoring 9.4 points. It may not have been pretty, but the Texans walked away victorious.
Panthers vs Buccaneers
The Panthers put up a good fight! Their first game without Frank Reich and Chuba Hubbard ran for over 100 yards and found the endzone twice. Coincidence? I think not. Hubbard racked up 22.4 points this week. That’s one hell of an outing! I wish there was more to talk about with the Panthers. The fantasy production was rather bleak. Jonathan Mingo came in second, with 12.9 points. He caught 6 passes 69 yards this week. The next three highest scores were from D.J. Chark (8.6), Bryce Young (7.12), and Adam Thielen (5.5). As I said, not great. I want the Adam Thielen from the beginning of the season back…
Witnessing history is cool, right? Well, if you watched this game, you saw Mike Evans reach 1,000 receiving yards for the 10th straight season. That’s Hall-of-Fame worthy if you ask me. That’s what the chatter is on X (formerly Twitter) following week 13. Mike had a big week, scoring 29.2 points. He hauled in 7 passes for 162 yards and a TD. Love to see it. Following him was Rachaad White with 19.6 points. Rachaad ran for 84 yards, caught 3 passes for 22 yards, and had a touchdown. Solid day for the sophomore back! Production falls off after those two, however. Baker came in next at 9.88 points. He had 202 passing yards, a TD, and one pick. Super average day if you ask me. Chris Godwin only had one rush for 19 yards, and he happened to score. Weird, weird stat line for him. 7.9 points this week. The Bucs got a much-needed W this week.
Rams vs Browns
Joe Flacco is a starting QB in the year of 2023. That is not something I expected to be writing. The results went about as expected – not very good. The Rams won this one 36-19. No Myles Garrett and other missing pieces on defense didn’t bode well for the Browns. I chuckle when I look at the top scorers from the Browns. First, is Joe Flacco with 16.16 pts. Next, you have Harrison Bryant who scored 15.9 points. Nope, not David Njoku, because of course not. Then, Jerome Ford (14.2 pts), who is a usual suspect for the Browns. Followed by Elijah Moore who scored 12.3 points. Moore had 12 targets in this one. About time he sees the ball! Tough loss for the Browns, but hopefully they can hold onto that playoff spot.
The Rams had better success on offense. Puka Nacua led the way with 23.9 points. He had a huge catch-and-run TD in this game, propelling him to their top-scorer. He hurt his shoulder, so keep an eye on that heading into next week. Matthew Stafford played exceptionally well this week. Throwing for 279 yards and 3 TDs (22.96 pts). Puka Nacua, Demarcus Robinson, and Cooper Kupp were the lucky recipients of his TD passes. Kyren Williams didn’t skip a beat once he returned from IR, and he didn’t skip a beat this week either. 20.2 points for the second-year RB. 88 rush yards, 3 catches for 24 yards, and a TD. Love to see it! Cooper Kupp came in at 15.9 points, catching 6 passes for 39 yards and the score. Tyler Higbee had a huge game in week 12, but this week was not the same story. Only 5.5 points for Higbee this week. The Rams are now 6-6 and looking to make a late-season playoff push.
Eagles vs 49ers
In what many considered the game of the week, the 49ers took this one and ran with it! The final score of this game was 42-19. Sheesh! Despite DeVonta Smith having his best fantasy production of the season (24.6 pts), the Eagles couldn’t keep up in this one. Smith caught 9 passes for 96 yards and a TD. Jalen Hurts did what Jalen Hurts is good at, scoring fantasy points. 23.92 points for him this week. QB6 overall. 298 passing yards, 1 passing TD, and 1 tush push TD. DeVonta may have been the high-scorer, but A.J. Brown managed to put together a solid game as well. Brown caught 8 passes for 114 yards (19.4 pts). Not too shabby without finding the endzone. D’Andre Swift had a bit of a letdown weekend, only notching 4 points. Kenneth Gainwell is a sneaky add for week 14 if Swift misses time!
the 49ers were clicking! 42 points is a huge week. Brock Purdy and his massive 314 passing yards and 4 TDs nearly led the team in fantasy points (29.46), but Deebo Samuel had something to say about that! Deebo had 35.8 points this week. 3 total touchdowns, 138 total yards, and 4 catches is good for WR2 overall this week. Can’t forget about CMC either, he had 22.3 points this week. 137 total yards, 3 catches, and a touchdown this week for the cheat code. Brandon Aiyuk got his, catching 5 passes for 46 yards and a score (15.6 pts). And of course, we can’t forget about George Kittle. While he didn’t have a monster week like every other starter on the 49ers, he did reach 10.8 points which is more than adequate from a tight end. Hell of a win IN Philly. Not a lot of people come into Philly and leave victorious.
Chiefs vs Packers
The Chiefs may be one of the better teams in the league, but they don’t look like themselves right now. They suffered another loss to a sub-500 team in the Packers this week. Isiah Pacheco did his best to keep them in this game, rushing for 110 yards, catching 3 passes, and scoring a touchdown. He scored 21.3 points this week. Top 10 weekly finish for Pacheco. Rashee Rice now has back-to-back weeks scoring in double digits. This week, he caught 8 passes for 64 yards giving him 14.4 points. Patrick Mahomes rode the struggle bus this week, as he only scored 13 points. He only threw for 210 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Travis Kelce managed to get into the double digits, with 12.1 points but only had 4 catches for 81 yards. I miss vintage Travis Kelce….
Christian Watson and Jordan Love are getting hot at the right time! Watson has scored double-digits in three straight weeks. Two of which were 20+ weeks. This week, Watson had 27.6 points off of 7 catches, for 72 yards, and TWO touchdowns. You love to see it! Jordan Love did well, he scored 23.68 points this week. He threw for 267 yards and 3 TDs. The only other Packer who had a good week was Romeo Doubs, who scored 11.2 points. Doubs caught 4 passes for 72 yards. A.J. Dillon had a better real-life game than fantasy. He ran for 73 yards and caught a couple of passes, but only scored 9.7 fantasy points. Great win for the Packers regardless, though!
Bengals vs Jaguars
One thing I am sick of seeing is quarterbacks getting hurt. It sucks so much. These stars are awesome to watch and when they are taken out of the game, it takes away the fun. Either way, this one finished with a backup vs a backup. Jacksonville could have walked away from this game as the leader in the AFC and the first team to 10 wins. Now they are potentially without their QB for a bit of time and not in first place overall. Tough break. Before the injury, Lawrence scored 25.12 fantasy points. 258 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, and a rushing TD. Solid day! You know who else had themselves a day? Evan Engram. Engram led the league in targets without a TD caught. NO LONGER. He found the endzone! A massive 23.2-point week for him. Finally! Parker Washington filled in for Christian Kirk after the injury, and he scored 18 points. He is a must-add this week. Can’t forget Travis Etienne either. 17.9 points for him off of 45 rush yards, a TD, 4 catches, and 34 receiving yards. Pretty decent day for him. They are going to rely on him A LOT if TLaw is out for multiple weeks.
How ’bout them Bengals?! Jake Browning?! WHAT??? He posted a top 10 week scoring 26.66 points. He FED Ja’Marr this week. Ja’Marr caught 11 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. 31.62 points for him. Love that! Start your studs, as the kids say. Heck, even Joe Mixon had a big day. 29.7 points puts him at the RB1 overall this week. Hell yeah! It’s wild to me that Browning threw for 354 yards. Did you see him against the Steelers? Unreal performance for Browning this week. And that’s a wrap to the Bengals recap because that trio carried the team. I’m not kidding. after Browning’s 26 points, the next high score is 7.5 points from Tanner Hudson. Heck of a win for Cincinnati, as they work to keep their playoff hopes alive!
