Fantasy Wrap: Josh Allen stuns with his legs in Week 13
Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins
Josh Allen and Ryan Tannehill combined to throw for five touchdowns despite totaling just 368 passing yards, although the former added 135 yards on the ground (the most by a QB since Colin Kaepernick in 2014)…This game ended in wild fashion, with a wide-open Charles Clay unable to haul in a long pass from Allen in the end zone with a minute left, down four points.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Atlanta Falcons
Neither Lamar Jackson nor Matt Ryan reached 135 passing yards, although the former helped fantasy owners with rushing stats…Kenneth Dixon has impressive metrics and should be stashed in all leagues right now…Tevin Coleman has simply been one of the NFL’s more disappointing players in 2018…Julio Jones managed just 18 yards on eight targets; Baltimore’s secondary is legit. In fact, Atlanta totaled only 131 yards at home, where Ryan entered getting 9.7 YPA with a 15:2 TD:INT ratio over six games this season.
Denver Broncos vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Phillip Lindsay ran all over an overmatched Cincy defense and hopefully doesn’t lose too many carries to Royce Freeman during the fantasy playoffs. Emmanuel Sanders was held to just 19 yards in a prime matchup…A.J. Green was carted off and Chris Harris left injured, paving the way for Tyler Boyd to reach 97 yards. He’ll have a tough setup stepping back into the team’s No. 1 WR role against the Chargers next week…John Ross entered ranked last among 90 qualified receivers in yards per route run this season and was quiet yet again.
Los Angeles Rams vs. Detroit Lions
Coming off a bye and facing the 31st ranked pass defense DVOA on turf, Jared Goff managed just 6.3 YPA with more turnovers than TDs. Darius Slay helped keep Brandin Cooks in check, while Josh Reynolds failed to take advantage of a plus matchup…Kenny Golladay’s fantasy owners were sad to see Aqib Talib’s return, while Todd Gurley’s two fourth quarter TD runs ended his mini scoreless streak. Gurley scored a play later so it didn’t matter, but he might’ve taken the team-first approach too far here…In a game in which I ranked four wide receivers inside my top-20, Levine Toilolo led all players with 90 receiving yards.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Green Bay Packers
Josh Rosen has completed just 32 passes over the last three games, while Aaron Rodgers got 4.7 YPA at home as 13.5-point favorites. This came after saying it’s the healthiest he’s felt all year. The weather conditions weren’t ideal, but it’s safe to say the Packers’ season isn’t going as planned…Aaron Jones saw 10 first quarter touches but finished with 15 (against a defense that’s allowed the most fantasy points to running backs this season). Mike McCarthy did one final troll job on his way out, giving Jamaal Williams seven rushes for 1.9 YPC. Good riddance.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling committed a bad drop, fell down in the open field during a long rush and managed just 19 receiving yards matched mostly against David Amerson, who entered allowing the most fantasy points per pass route this season. I won’t be recommending MVS again anytime soon…What a catch by Larry Fitzgerald…David Johnson got 3.5 YPC, three receiving yards and lost two TDs to Chase Edmunds. DJ entered with the highest drop rate among RBs and ranked in the bottom-10 in YPC after contact. It’s been an extremely disappointing campaign for the consensus top-five fantasy pick.
Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants
Eli Manning got 4.9 YPA, so of course the Giants scored 30 points against the league’s best defense. Adam Shaheen and Akiem Hicks pilfered a couple of touchdowns, while Tarik Cohen totaled 187 yards from scrimmage (with 14 targets). He also threw a touchdown on the final play of regulation to send the game to overtime…Cohen wasn’t the only position player to toss a TD, as Odell Beckham Jr. fired his second of the season as well…What a catch by Allen Robinson.
Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cam Newton threw four picks, while Jameis Winston was turnover-free for the second straight game…Cameron Brate entered getting the second-fewest yards per route run among 32 tight ends who qualified and suffered a drop in the end zone…Chris Godwin is a monster in the making and will be a WR2 start as long as DeSean Jackson is out…Christian McCaffrey would be a top-three pick in fantasy drafts held today.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Andrew Luck entered with eight straight games with at least three TD passes, yet the team only got 3.7 yards per play and were shutout (although it’s still unclear why they didn’t get another play at the end). Entering with the league’s second-worst elusive rating, Marlon Mack was held in check while Carlos Hyde flopped in an expanded role…Eric Ebron lost a fumble on a nine-yard loss on a rush but saw 16 targets and is going to be a top-three fantasy tight end down the stretch.
Cleveland Browns vs. Houston Texans
Baker Mayfield threw for 397 yards (9.2 YPA) but had three brutal picks, as Houston has won nine straight after starting the season 0-3…Nick Chubb came in pacing the league in elusive rating by a wide margin and leading the NFL in breakaway% and YPC after contact. He was held to just 3.4 YPC against one of the league’s toughest run defenses.
That said, he scored and continues to be active in the passing game. It would take quite a haul to pry Chubb away from a dynasty league team right now…Jarvis Landry broke 100 yards for the first time in nine games, while Antonio Calloway committed another costly fumble, as the rookie’s disastrous season continues.
New York Jets vs. Tennessee Titans
Dion Lewis saw just eight touches, while Corey Davis salvaged his fantasy day with a late TD grab that also won the game for the Titans…That will likely be the last we see of Josh McCown, but at least the Jets forced their first turnover since Week 6, a pick-six.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders
Patrick Mahomes and Derek Carr combined for seven TD passes, making it seven straight games without a pick from the latter. The Chiefs are 20-1 over their last 21 divisional games…Travis Kelce erupted with 12 catches for 168 yards and two touchdowns, overcoming an early lost fumble. He’s on pace to record the most yards ever by a tight end (1,443) this season…Tyreek Hill had a bad drop and was missed on a handful of deep throws by Mahomes, busting in such a prime spot.
Spencer Ware was a noticeable downgrade from Kareem Hunt, and while he’ll benefit from KC’s situation, it was also disconcerting to hear the telecast say the team’s coaching staff plans on more of a committee down the stretch (only Ware was able to get practice reps this week with Hunt’s late suspension). Ware looked noticeably slow Sunday and admitted not being totally over his knee surgery.
Minnesota Vikings vs. New England Patriots
Facing a defense that had been extremely inviting to opposing fantasy passers over the previous five games, Kirk Cousins tossed two picks and got a paltry 4.6 YPA. Tom Brady, on the other hand, got 9.1 YPA versus a strong Minnesota secondary…Adam Thielen got just 28 receiving yards against a defense that entered allowing the most fantasy points to the slot over the last eight weeks…Dalvin Cook got 9.3 yards per carry on nine rushing attempts yet 2.8 yards per catch on eight receptions…Sony Michel was already up against a stout front seven, and also lost touches to Rex Burkhead and two goal-line scores to James Develin.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson tossed four touchdowns on 11 completions, while Nick Mullens threw for 413 yards and two scores, taking full advantage of extensive garbage time. Wilson is on pace to finish with 39 passing touchdowns on 435 attempts…Matt Breida was taken off this week’s injury report and faced a struggling run defense but aggravated his ankle injury in warmups, ceding lead back duties to Jeff Wilson Jr. without any warning.
Wilson was an undrafted free agent with underwhelming workout metrics, although he ranked in the 77th percentile in “college dominator.” He’ll be worth adding this week since Breida can’t stay healthy, but it’s a frustrating situation…Maybe that second round pick wasn’t wasted on Dante Pettis after all…Rashaad Penny has to learn other aspects of the game but what a runner. He needs more touches. I’ll be all over him at draft tables next year.
Los Angeles Chargers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Philip Rivers has now thrown multiple TDs in an NFL-high 13 straight games, as the Chargers outscored the Steelers 26-7 in the second half for the win Sunday night. In fact, Pittsburgh ended a streak in which they were 220-0-2 in the regular season when leading by 14+ points at home…Austin Ekeler entered getting the second-most YPC after contact and leading all running backs in yards per route run but struggled replacing Melvin Gordon as LA’s lead back (1.6 YPC). Justin Jackson, meanwhile, impressed with an 18-yard TD run and is firmly on the fantasy radar, although Gordon might return in Week 14.
Keenan Allen and Antonio Brown combined for 302 receiving yards on a whopping 31 targets, while Justin Hunter replaced an infective James Washington as Pittsburgh’s WR3 and just missed a long touchdown before exiting the game…James Conner had two first quarter TD runs but left late with a leg injury that could prove serious. Jaylen Samuels, who caught a touchdown immediately after Conner departed, will be this week’s hottest pickup.
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