Some big numbers over the weekend. Including ... Ryan Fitzpatrick? Where'd that come from?
The biggest groups of performances in Week 13 were among the quarterbacks and the defenses, which is kind of funny to consider -- they are polar opposite groups, obviously. But we saw some enormous performances from some real no-names at the positions, and some surprising names popped up at the other positions as well.
All told, over a holiday weekend, we saw some of the season's biggest performances as well, and it was a nice mix of players we expected it from and no-names.
If you can't tell, I rather liked Week 13 of the NFL. When the top performances are dominated by the regular names, it's boring. When the list is dominated by nobodies, the actual scores of our fantasy games are depressing. This combination is fun. Guys we expect, guys we don't, and Martellus Bennett, who I honestly don't know how to categorize anymore.
Check it out:
Best quarterbacks in Week 13
Ryan Fitzpatrick, HOU (358 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing yards, 39 fantasy points)
It had to have been the beard, I guess. During Fitzpatrick's first stint as starter, he had the big, bushy beard that had to have sucked with that helmet and chinstrap. Like, literally, I can't even imagine it. And he had a much neater, trimmer beard Sunday while lighting up the Titans. That was the second-best fantasy day for a quarterback all season. "NFL Starter Fitzpatrick" was always good for the occasional, unpredictable big game, though this was ridiculous.
Next game: The Texans play at Jacksonville next week, which is always an appealing matchup. Still, this is Ryan Fitzpatrick. Unless you're in a two-quarterback league, you aren't considering him.
Andrew Luck, IND (370 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 20 rushing yards, 1 fumble lost, 32 fantasy points)
Luck turned the ball over twice Sunday, and both came within the game's first three minutes. Basically, over the last 57 minutes Sunday, he had 36 fantasy points. I guess he just hadn't warmed up enough yet. He went nuts after that, which makes sense, since a great quarterback against an awful pass defense is a dream matchup. After his worst game of the season a week ago, with 14 fantasy points, Luck bounced back with his best, and anyone who might have been a little worried (without reason, really) can stop now.
Next game: The Colts travel to Cleveland for Week 14. The Browns aren't as generous as Washington, but it doesn't matter; Luck will be a top-three quarterback.
Drew Brees, NO (257 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 30 fantasy points)
Twelve different quarterbacks so far in Week 13 scored at least 20 fantasy points, including luminary names like Colt McCoy, Shaun Hill and Mark Sanchez. The most sigh-of-relief name might have been Brees, who followed up his previous best game of the season with an even better one, and this time he did it on the road. Brees looked pedestrian (by his standards) through Week 11, but with 57 fantasy points in his last two, it's looking like the real Drew Brees might be showing his face again.
Next game: The Saints are back at home next week, and facing a Carolina team that doesn't scare anyone. Welcome back to the top tier, Drew.
Best running backs in Week 13
Tre Mason, STL (117 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 47 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown, 33 fantasy points)
Remember when we were so caught up in which St. Louis running back to use between Mason, Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham? That was cute. Mason looked good the last few weeks before looking great Sunday, scoring every which way against the woeful Raiders. Of course, it was the woeful Raiders, so grains of salt abound, but through a handful of games as the Rams' primary back, Mason has more than shown he's worthy of the job. He'll be an easy RB2 going forward.
Next game: The Rams travel to Washington for Week 14. For all of that team's flaws, it isn't an awful run defense, so Mason won't be able to feast quite as much as he did Sunday, but he'll still need to be started.
Le'Veon Bell, PIT (95 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 159 receiving yards, 30 fantasy points)
It's nice when things work out. Bell, a top-flight running back off a week of rest, was facing the abysmal run defense of the Saints, and everyone just figured "Well, he'll have a huge game." And lo, a huge game did he have. With LeGarrette Blount gone from Pittsburgh, Dri Archer and Josh Harris are the team's next couple of running backs, and neither one offers a lot at present -- in fact, the only 8 rushing yards the Steelers had Sunday that weren't Bell's went to Ben Roethlisberger. Between that and his pass-catching, Bell is kinda morphing into Matt Forte at this point.
Next game: The Steelers travel to Cincinnati for Week 14. Entering Week 13, the Bengals had actually allowed exactly the same amount of fantasy points to opposing running backs as the Chiefs. No one really thinks they're equal units, but that's interesting, and Bell will be right at the top of the rankings.
Joique Bell, DET (91 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 16 receiving yards, 22 fantasy points)
Bell has quietly had a decent season. He'll be top-20 in fantasy scoring among running backs after Week 14 wraps up, and that's with him having to fight Reggie Bush for touches whenever the latter is healthy enough to play. Thanksgiving was Bell's best performance, when he took advantage of a struggling Bears defense. Theoretically, Bush should be back next week, though in reality I'll believe he's back when he's back. Either way, Bell needs to be the team's lead back.
Next game: The Lions host the Buccaneers next week. No reason to shy away from Bell, especially without any certainty about Bush's health. He's a fine RB2. Heck, even if Bush returns, Bell will be an RB2 or flex.
Best wide receivers in Week 13
DeAndre Hopkins, HOU (238 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 35 fantasy points)
We all thought the return of Ryan Fitzpatrick to the Texans' starting lineup would help Hopkins -- Fitzpatrick and Hopkins had been connecting well early in the year. We just didn't see this coming. Hopkins went wild Sunday, catching all nine of his targets and averaging 26.4 yards a catch. Andre Johnson wasn't left out with seven catches, 53 yards and a score himself, but the lead receiving job in Houston is now definitely Hopkins'.
Next game: At Jacksonville? Hopkins looks awfully tasty.
Calvin Johnson, DET (146 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 26 fantasy points)
Johnson had 28 points in Week 1. After that, he had a couple eight-pointers, a couple games as a decoy, a couple games out with injury. He came back with a big game in Week 10, but struggled after that. So while seeing "big game for Calvin Johnson" isn't actually that surprising, fantasy owners who were struggling along all season without his usual dominance had to be ecstatic at the Thanksgiving performance.
Next game: That Buccaneers' pass defense certainly doesn't like to stop opposing receivers. If you managed to make it to your fantasy playoffs despite Johnson's general struggles this year, the rewards could be coming now.
Donte Moncrief, IND (134 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 25 fantasy points)
The Colts' passing game behind T.Y. Hilton hasn't actually been great this season. Between Reggie Wayne getting older and Hakeem Nicks being Hakeem Nicks, it was Hilton and the tight ends getting the job done. It's tough to call this game from Moncrief a huge change from that -- the rookie had only three catches on four targets -- but he legitimately might be the team's second-best receiver, and being the second-best receiver on an offense led by Andrew Luck isn't a bad gig.
Next game: At Cleveland next week. It's time to roster Moncrief just about everywhere, but hold off on putting him in lineups for now.
Best tight ends in Week 13
Coby Fleener, IND (127 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 24 fantasy points)
Not to pick on Fleener, because he's still an NFL player and a pretty good one, but if Washington refused to cover me like they refused to cover him Sunday, I could probably go for a bunch of yards and touchdowns myself. Still, Fleener did have a big game Sunday, and as long as Dwayne Allen remains out, he's a TE1.
Next game: It depends on Allen. If the tight end is back Sunday, there will be fewer targets Fleener's way, and he'll fall back to a high-end TE2. If Allen is out again, Fleener will be a TE1. And frankly, even if Allen is back, it's not hard to imagine him at less than full strength, so Fleener's relevance will be there regardless.
Jordan Reed, WAS (123 receiving yards, 12 fantasy points)
Reed always comes down to health; no one doubts his skills, but the dude just hasn't shown any ability to stay on the field through his two seasons. But he looked strong Sunday, and Colt McCoy has a long history of heavy tight-end usage. Assuming Reed was healthy coming out of the game -- and there's no real reason at the moment to expect otherwise -- you kind of have to like him going forward.
Next game: Washington hosts St. Louis next week. Again, assuming we don't hear anything damning about Reed's health, he'll be a TE1.
Martellus Bennett, CHI (109 receiving yards, 10 fantasy points)
This had to be a nice sight for Bennett's fantasy owners. He had really fallen off since Week 4, with only a brief pop in Week 8 keeping him above water, and he was starting to look like a touchdown-dependent fourth piece in the Chicago offense. But Thursday, he was targeted almost as much as Alshon Jeffery, exactly as much as Brandon Marshall and more than Matt Forte, and Bennett hauled in eight of those targets for 109 yards. A tight end who can do that still has a place near the top of the rankings.
Next game: The Bears play another Thursday game, hosting the Cowboys. Bennett will be in the middle of the TE1's.
Best kicker in Week 13
Matt Bryant, ATL (5/5 FG, 2/2 XP, 18 fantasy points)
The last four weeks, Bryant has had 56 fantasy points, which is the most in the NFL, barely beating out Cody Parkey. We don't talk about Bryant as much as the top tier of kickers, and that's in large part due to the inconsistent Atlanta offense, but when he gets the opportunities, he converts them as well as anyone.
Best defense/special teams in Week 13
St. Louis Rams (0 points allowed, 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered, 1 touchdown, 6 sacks, 29 fantasy points)
Normally, picking out a week's best defense is as simple as finding whichever unit put up 20 points. There usually aren't many. But Week 13 was only the second week all season in which three different defenses put up 20-plus with Jacksonville and Minnesota joining the party. While you never want to predict enormous performances, the Miami defense faces the Jets Monday night, so ... there might be another.
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