Minnesota Vikings 14 Atlanta Falcons 9
Matt Ryan and Julio Jones laid an egg the week before fantasy playoffs. Ryan threw for only 174 yards and no touchdowns, while Jones was held to only two receptions for 24 yards by the Vikings defense.
Extra Points: Devonta Freeman returned for the first time in two weeks. Freeman finished with 74 yards on 12 carries (6.2 YPC). Tevin Coleman remained involved in the offense with 11 touches but he managed just 49 yards…Case Keenum stayed hot. Keenum threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He’s now accounted for 12 touchdowns in his last five games…The Falcons secondary did do a good job of containing Adam Thielen (4/51) and Stefon Diggs (2/32). It was the first time all season Thielen didn’t catch at least five passes in a game.
New England Patriots 23 Buffalo Bills 3
Tom Brady didn’t have the game fantasy owners were hoping for in Week 13. Brady finished with 258, no touchdowns and an interception. Instead it was Rex Burkhead who led the way. Burkhead rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries (6.5 YPC). He added three receptions for 25 yards.
Extra Points: Rob Gronkowski had one of his best games of the season at the perfect time for fantasy owners. Gronk finished with nine receptions for 147 yards…Dion Lewis didn’t have the huge outing Burkhead did but he still rushed for 92 yards on 15 carries (6.1 YPC). Lewis has gained at least 60 yards in three straight games…The Bills offense struggled against the resurgent Patriots defense. LeSean McCoy was the Bills top performer with 93 yards on 15 carries.
San Francisco 49ers 15 Chicago Bears 14
Jimmy Garoppolo made his first start for the 49ers and led San Francisco to just its second win of the season. Garoppolo put up a solid performance with 293 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
Extra Points: With Garoppolo at quarterback, two 49ers receivers made an impact. Marquise Goodwin caught eight passes for 99 yards, while Trent Taylor pulled in six passes for 92 yards…Jordan Howard had a good matchup on paper against the 49ers last ranked rush defense but he managed only 38 yards on 13 carries (2.9 YPC). Howard has just 44 yards on 20 carries in his last two games…Dontrelle Inman only caught two passes but one went for a touchdown.
Green Bay Packers 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 OT
The Packers got the win on Sunday with Brett Hundley only passing for 84 yards. It was Jamaal Williams who did most of the damage for Green Bay’s offense. Williams rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries (5.4 YPC). Williams has scored three touchdowns in his last two games.
Extra Points: Davante Adams continues to be by far Hundley’s favorite target. Adams finished with half of Hundley’s total passing yards (42) on four receptions…Jameis Winston returned after a three-week absence. Winston threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns. He lost a fumble that was returned for a score but overall it was one of Winston’s better games of the year…Both of Winston’s scores went to Cameron Brate. Brate had disappeared with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback but he has five touchdown receptions from Winston this year…Jacquizz Rodgers was a hot waiver wire addition last week. He gave way to Peyton Barber on Sunday. Barber rushed for a career-high 102 yards on 23 carries (4.4 YPC). He also caught four passes for 41 yards.
Tennessee Titans 24 Houston Texans 13
You know it’s not a great game for fantasy owners when Tom Savage has one of the biggest performances. Savage threw for 365 yards, one touchdown and an interception in a losing effort. Marcus Mariota only threw for 150 yards but he saved his fantasy day with two touchdowns and 23 yards rushing.
Extra Points: Derrick Henry only had 34 yards rushing until breaking a 75 yards touchdown run with under a minute to go in the game. Henry finished with 109 yards on 11 carries (9.9 YPC)…Delanie Walker was the one Titans pass catcher who made a fantasy impact Sunday. He caught five passes for 63 yards and a touchdown…Three Texans (DeAndre Hopkins, Stephen Anderson, Braxton Miller) finished with over 70 yards receiving. Hopkins led the way with eight receptions for 80 yards.
Miami Dolphins 35 Denver Broncos 9
Kenyan Drake got a full workload with Damien Williams injured and he delivered in a big way. Drake rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries (5.2 YPC). He also caught three balls for 21 yards in the Dolphins route of the Broncos.
Extra Points: Kenny Stills usually has his big games with Matt Moore at quarterback. On Sunday, he was Jay Cutler’s favorite receiver. Stills caught 5 of 13 targets for 98 yards and a touchdown…Trevor Siemian was re-inserted as the Broncos starting quarterback. It did not go well. Siemian completed just 19 of 41 passes for 200 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions…Siemian’s struggles caused Demaryius Thomas (2/27) and Emmanuel Sanders (2/11) to be non-existent. The two combined for 38 yards on four receptions.
New York Jets 38 Kansas City Chiefs 31
Alex Smith and Josh McCown went back and forth in what turned out to be the wildest game of the day. Smith threw for 366 and four touchdowns. He also added a 70-yard run. McCown put up 331 yards and a touchdown. He scored two more rushing touchdowns.
Extra Points: Tyrek Hill has been quiet but he woke up in a big way on Sunday. Hill caught six passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns…Travis Kelce (4/94) also scored two touchdowns. Kelce now has seven touchdowns on the season…Kareem Hunt gained 40 yards on nine carries. Hunt has been held under 50 yards rushing in five of his last seven games…The Jets had two 100-yard receivers. Jermain Kearse caught nine passes for 157 yards. Anderson pulled in eight passes for 101 yards. Anderson is one of the hottest receivers in the NFL but Kearse also has 18 receptions for 262 yards and a score in his last two games.
Jacksonville Jaguars 30 Indianapolis Colts 10
If Blake Bortles could play the Colts every week, he would be a Pro Bowl quarterback. Bortles threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. In two games against the Colts this season, Bortles has 639 yards and three touchdowns.
Extra Points: Marqise Lee is another player who loves facing the Colts. Lee caught 7 of 10 targets for 86 yards and a touchdown. He has 11 receptions, 158 yards and a touchdown against the Colts this year…Leonard Fournette only gained 57 yards on 20 carries but he scored a touchdown to save his fantasy day…There was little to be excited about on the Colts offense. T.Y. Hilton caught a 40-yard touchdown to finish with three receptions, 51 yards and a score. The Jaguars defense dominated with four sacks and two interceptions.
Baltimore Ravens 44 Detroit Lions 20
Joe Flacco hasn’t been a great fantasy option in 2017 but he had one of his most productive games of the year in Week 13. Flacco threw for 269 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Lions.
Extra Points: Alex Collins continues to give the Ravens running game a shot in the arm. Collins rushed for 75 yards on 15 carries and scored twice. He has four touchdowns in his last three games…Mike Wallace exploded for one of his big games on Sunday with five receptions for 116 yards…With Ameer Abdullah inactive, Theo Riddick (9/21) and Tion Green (11/51) each scored a touchdown…The Ravens defense has been one of the top fantasy units all season. They didn’t disappoint against the Lions with three sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a touchdown.
Los Angeles Chargers 19 Cleveland Browns 10
Philip Rivers and Keenan Allen remained red-hot in Week 13. Rivers threw for 344 yards and a touchdown. Allen caught 10 of 14 targets for 105 yards and a score. Over the last two games, Rivers has 778 yards and four touchdowns, while Allen has an insane 33 receptions, 326 yards and four touchdowns in his last three games.
Extra Points: Hunter Henry had his second productive game in a row. Henry caught seven balls for 81 yards. He has 12 catches for 157 yards and a score in his last two games…It didn’t take long for Josh Gordon to make an impact. Playing in his first game since 2014, Gordon caught four passes for 85 yards. Gordon should be a big asset to owners during fantasy playoffs…Rookie tight end David Njoku has shown flashes this year. On Sunday, he finished with four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown.
Oakland Raiders 24 New York Giants 17
This wasn’t a pretty offensive game but the Raiders did just enough to get the win. Marshawn Lynch got things started with a 51-yard touchdown run. He finished with 101 yards on 17 carries and the long score.
Extra Points: The big news all week was the benching of Eli Manning. Geno Smith got the start. It was an up and down game for Smith. He threw for 212 yards and a score but committed two costly fumbles…Evan Engram was Smith’s favorite target on Sunday. The rookie tight end caught seven passes for 99 yards and a touchdown…The Raiders were without their top two receivers in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. Cordarrelle Patterson stepped up with four receptions for 97 yards, while Johnny Holton caught three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.
New Orleans Saints 31 Carolina Panthers 21
It’s a new week but the same old story for the Saints offense. The 1-2 punch of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara once again put up huge numbers. Ingram rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. He also caught six passes for 37 yards. Kamara was even better. He rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. He added five receptions for 66 yards.
Extra Points: Michael Thomas was the other Saint to have a big fantasy day. He caught 5 of 9 targets for 70 yards and a touchdown…Cam Newton did haven’t a big yardage game through the air (183) but he did manage to throw two touchdown passes and rush for 51 yards…Christian McCaffrey turned his 11 touches into 49 yards and a score…Devin Funchess continues to be the Panthers top receiving threat. After a slow start, Funchess ended with four receptions, 60 yards and a touchdown.
Los Angeles Rams 32 Arizona Cardinals 16
The Rams offense continued rolling along on Sunday. Jared Goff didn’t have his best game, though he did finish with a respectable 220 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Extra Points: Todd Gurley gained 138 total yards on 25 touches. He was once again a big part of the Rams passing game this year with six receptions for 84 yards…Larry Fitzgerald led the Cardinals in targets (10), receptions (10) and yards (98). Fitz also scored a touchdown to cap off another big fantasy day…Kerwynn Williams replaced an injured Adrian Peterson and ran for 97 yards on 16 carries (6.1 YPC). Williams has re-emerged as the Cardinals No. 2 back behind Peterson.
Seattle Seahawks 24 Philadelphia Eagles 10
In a battle of MVP candidates, Russell Wilson out-dueled Carson Wentz. Wilson threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns. He added 31 yards rushing. Wentz passed for 348 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He rushed for 26 yards.
Extra Points: The Seahawks secondary did a good job of controlling Alshon Jeffery (4/62). It was Nelson Agholor who had a big night for the Eagles. He caught 7 of 12 targets for 141 yards and a touchdown…Zach Ertz left the game with a head injury. Trey Burton replaced Ertz and caught four balls for 42 yards. Burton will be on the streaming radar next week if Ertz is out…Doug Baldwin (5/84) led Seattle in receiving Sunday night. However, it was Jimmy Graham, Tyler Lockett and J.D. McKissic each catching a touchdown pass…Mike Davis gave the Seahawks running game a boost. Davis rushed for 64 yards on 16 carries (4.0 YPC). He also made an impact as a receiver by catching four passes for 37 yards.
