Studs & Duds – Week 13

Each week we have those players who put up massive numbers to help you win your matchups, but we also have players that put up stinkers who likely hurt your chance of winning. Although we see this all season, this is where it counts the most as we get closer to fantasy football payoffs. With just a week or two left before playoffs in most fantasy leagues, this is crunch time to make that final push. Let’s see which players helped you get there as well as the players who ruined your playoff chance.

I will discuss the studs and duds, but I will also include an injury section at the end since an injury really is not the player or fantasy owner’s fault. We have seen injuries pile up all season, so by now, we are just used to it. All players final scoring is based on Half PPR formats.

Studs of the Week

George Kittle (SF-TE) – 35.10 points (12 Tgts, 9 Rec, 181 Rec Yards, 2 TDs, 1 Rush, 5 Rush Yards)

After coming off Week 12 with only 1 catch for 13 yards, Kittle repaid his fantasy owners in a massive way. As the top TE of the week, Kittle really took advantage of the absence of Deebo Samuel. We thought Aiyuk would have a larger role, but Kittle was the one Jimmy G peppered with targets. Kittle was a player you could have bought low during his injury, and if you did, he has done a fine job for you besides his dud in Week 12. If you were a middling team looking for a spark to get you into a playoff spot, Kittle likely helped a lot of you out. With the injury looming for Darren Waller, Kittle should be viewed as a top 2 TE going forward and you can argue that he should be ranked over Kelce the rest of the season.

Justin Jefferson (MIN-WR) – 30.10 points (14 Tgts, 11 Rec, 182 Rec Yards, 1 TD, 1 Rush, 4 Rush Yards)

For the last 5 weeks, Jefferson has been the WR1 in fantasy. He was never really a dud to start the season, but he did not really have those blowup games we saw when he was a rookie. In the last 3 games, he has scored over 30 points in 2 of them. With Adam Thielen going down in Week 13, Jefferson was the beneficiary of that injury and tied his season high with 14 targets. He is playing just like we wanted him to and he should be viewed as a top 5 WR easily going forward, even though he has a tough schedule coming up. With Thielen missing time, Jefferson should see several more targets from Cousins.

Kyler Murray (ARI-QB) – 30.82 points (123 Pass Yards, 2 Pass TDs, 10 Rush, 59 Rush Yards, 2 Rush TDs)

Welcome back Kyler! We have not seen Kyler or D-Hop since Week 8 and it has been one of the more frustrating injuries on the season. Each week Kyler has been questionable heading in to Sunday, then has been a last minute scratch. Although he did not have a great day throwing the ball, this is exactly what you want to see from a top 5 QB in fantasy. Just what he can do with his feet alone makes him that much better than the next guy. Let’s pray he stays healthy for fantasy managers heading in to playoffs.

Javonte Williams (DEN-RB) – 26.80 points (23 Rush, 102 Rush Yards, 9 Tgts, 6 Rec, 76 Rec Yards, 1 TD)

Melvin Gordon was added to the injury report later in the week and when Gordon was trending to not playing in Week 13, Williams was a hot name, especially in DFS. This was the game we have been waiting for since the season started and the reason why we have not seen this yet was because it has been an even split, until Week 13. With Gordon out, they made Williams an every-down back and he capitalized in a massive way. He may have done enough in this game to take over that role from Gordon when he comes back. If you hung on to him all year, it has finally paid off!

Other players to note that also had big games are Tom Brady (29.62 points), Diontae Johnson (26.50 points), Justin Herbert (26.28 points), Dallas Goedert (25.50 points), Jonathan Taylor (24.30 points), and Tee Higgins (24.30 points). I could list a lot more because we actually had 19 players go over 20 points in Week 13!

Duds of the Week

Travis Kelce (KC-TE) – 4.20 points (8 Tgts, 3 Rec, 27 Rec Yard)

I get that Kelce is still the top TE on the season, but it has been a rough season for what we expect from Travis Kelce. After staring the season with 2 20-point games, he has yet to top that since Week 2. He fell on his face in Week 13 and couldn’t even give you 5 fantasy points. In general, all KC players overall did not have great weeks, so I would not worry too much, but when you need Kelce the most heading in to playoffs, he may have crushed your dreams on making that final playoff push. There are better days ahead and if you are in the playoff race, he should have a bounce back game in Week 14 against the Raiders.

James Robinson (JAC-RB) – 2.00 points (8 Rush, 24 Rush Yards, 4 Tgts, 1 Rec, 11 Rec Yards, Fumble)

Robinson was banged up all week heading in to Week 13 and it really came down to a game-time decision. Well, maybe he should not have played because owners were forced to start their stud RB who ended up giving them a 2-point game. They did face the Rams, but still, you would expect a 10-12 point week even against a tough D. The Jags were down early and often, so the had to abandon the run quick. We have seen the Jags down all year and it usually has not mattered for Robinson to get you points, but with him already banged up going in to this game, perhaps that is why they didn’t use him a lot.

Tyreek Hill (KC-WR) – 3.20 points (5 Tgts, 2 Rec, 22 Rec Yards)

Another KC player making the Dud list in Week 13. This is not what you want to see from a high powered offense that should be putting up plenty of fantasy points each week. I know the Chiefs were up against the Broncos, but it wasn’t like it was a massive blow out, so you would think Hill would still get you something. A win is a win in the NFL, so the Chiefs did what they needed to do to pull it out, but a top 3 WR in Week 13 who gives you these numbers could ruin your season. We need Hill to step it up going forward which I assume that he will.

Josh Allen (BUF-QB) – 11.70 points 145 Pass Yards, 1 TD, 65 Rush, 39 Rush Yards, Fumble)

Now if you watched the Pats and Bills game on Monday Night, you know that these numbers make since and it was actually better than what I would have expected. Mac Jones scored less than 1 fantasy point, so he had a much worse day, but Allen is a QB you always have in your lineup regardless, so that is why he is here. I would not worry about this week at all because it was one of the worst weather games I have ever watched. This game was an outlier for every fantasy player on both sides, but this outing killed you.

Other players to note that also had big duds are Pat Mahomes (13.56 points), Dak Prescott (12.22 points), Carson Wentz (11.12 points), Terry McLaurin (3.70 points), Amari Cooper (5.10 points), and Ezekiel Elliot (5.70 points).

Injuries of the Week

Adam Thielen (MIN-WR) – 0.50 points (2 Tgts, 1 Rec, 0 Rec Yards)

This one hurt bad because Thielen was putting up numbers all year. I know he has been more touchdown or bust all season, but with 10 TDs on the year, it is something that we expect almost every week. He left the game early with an ankle injury and did not return. It ended up being a high-ankle sprain, so we will for sure see him miss Week 14 and likely more after that. This is a huge blow heading in to playoffs and people should grab KJ Osborn right away. We have seen Osborn have good games with Thielen, but with Thielen now out, Osborn slides right in to that WR2 role which we know succeeds in a big way for the Vikings (12.70 points in Week 13).

Darrell Henderson Jr. (LAR-RB) – 0.00 points (0 Rush)

This was one of the biggest FU moves of this fantasy season because Henderson ended up being active before kickoff, so managers were pumped to slide him right back in to their lineups. The one thing we did not know is that he was only dressed for an emergency role in Week 13 as Sony Michel (20.40 points) ended up being the lead back and crushed it. Henderson still may miss Week 14, so you will need to keep a very close eye on him because we do not want to make the same mistake for 2 weeks in a row.

Boston Scott (PHI-RB) – 0.00 points (0 Rush)

A similar situation as Henderson, Scott was questionable late in the week with an illness, but was active before kickoff. We knew that Jordan Howard was already out and Sanders was still banged up, so we thought we would get a Scott game like we saw in Week 12 (12.20 points). This was not the case and Scott did not receive a single touch in Week 13. I know I was forced to start him in a few leagues and in one, it knocked me out of playoff contention. It ended up being a big Gainwell week which brings me to my next point; DO NOT TRUST PHILLY RBS!

Those are the studs, duds, and injured players from Week 13. With just a week or two away from fantasy playoffs, I hope the studs helped you and I hope the duds did not cripple you all that badly. Make sure to check out our starts and sits later in the week to get those lineups solidified heading in to playoffs. Good luck!