Here are 20 whimsical factoids — some positive, some negative — to digest before the Sunday/Monday slate of Week 13 games:
1. The remarkably consistent Frank Gore should post strong numbers, among tailbacks.
Of his last seven meaningful games against the Rams (Week 17 cameos excluded), he's averaging 114 total yards and 1.14 TDs per outing.
2. There's a good news/bad news proposition to Tom Brady's elite-level ranking for the week:
Yes, he has averaged 358 yards passing and 2.7 touchdowns in his last three games; and yes, he'll be flinging the ball indoors on Sunday.
But let's also remember the Houston Texans, despite nine straight losses, still stand as the NFL's stingiest pass defense (172 yards allowed per game).
3. Bengals wideout A.J. Green hasn't been a fantasy factor in a few weeks, thanks to a bye and one pedestrian encounter with Browns corner Joe Haden.
But Green is a healthy lock for sizable numbers against the Chargers, the NFL's 28th-ranked pass defense. For Weeks 6-10, Green scored three times and enjoyed a five-game streak of 100 yards.
4. Marshawn Lynch (1,147 total yards, 11 TDs) doesn't have the most attractive matchup, taking on the surprisingly stingy Saints for the NFC Game of the Year.
But we're still firmly behind Skittles, who has notched 100 total yards and/or one touchdown in nine of his last 10 home games.
5. Chargers QB Philip Rivers (3,381 yards passing, 22 TDs) has faced AFC North foes 11 times over the last five seasons. Including the playoffs, Rivers holds rock-solid averages of 279 yards passing and 1.7 touchdowns.
6. Browns wideout Josh Gordon likely isn't a threat to replicate his 14 catches, 17 targets or 237 yards from last week.
However, leading up to last Sunday's shakedown of the Steelers, Gordon averaged 11 targets, 100 receiving yards and 0.7 TDs in his previous three games.
7. Of 11 his career encounters with the Chiefs (1998-2013), Peyton Manning (3,722 yards passing, 36 TDs) collected just zero or one touchdown five times.
His overall average against Kansas City: 284 yards passing and 1.8 TDs.
8. Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson (148 total yards, one TD vs. Green Bay last week) should dominate another NFC North opponent on Sunday, as Peterson boasts averages of 138 total yards and 0.7 touchdowns in his last three outings against the Bears.
9. You can set your watch — sort of — to Cardinals QB Carson Palmer, who draws the Eagles' wretched pass defense this week.
The last time Palmer enjoyed a similar run of four straight outings of multiple touchdowns ... was last November.
10. Texans wideout Andre Johnson has never tallied 100 yards receiving against the Patriots, and he hasn't scored against that club in 10 years.
So why the Week 13 optimism: Of his two meetings with New England last year (including the playoffs), Johnson rolled for eight catches, double-digit targets and 95 yards both times.
11. Of his last seven home outings, Chiefs wunderkind Jamaal Charles (1,343 total yards, 10 TDs) has sublimely averaged 141 total yards and 1.1 TDs.
Speaking of Arrowhead Stadium, Charles has tallied either 100 total yards or one TD in his last three home meetings with the Broncos.
12. It's been a year-long love affair with Brandon Marshall and PPR owners. Including last Sunday, the Bears wideout has a six-game streak of double-digit targets, with six TDs during that span.
For good measure, Marshall has averaged 15 targets, 122 yards and 0.7 TDs in his last three outings against the Vikings.
13. Bengals QB Andy Dalton (2,954 yards passing, 21 TDs) has stealthily tallied 296 total yards and/or three touchdowns in each of his last six games.
14. Maurice Jones-Drew's fantasy stock has taken a few hits this season, but there's plenty of optimism for the stretch run:
MJD has collected 100 total yards and/or one touchdown in each of his last four games; and his last encounter with the Browns produced 118 total yards and one score.
15. Counting his time with the Steelers last year, Dolphins wideout Mike Wallace hasn't logged consecutive outings of 100 yards receiving and/or one touchdown in 18 games.
That ignominious streak could fall this week, as the Jets have surrendered an average of 295 yards passing in their last five outings.
16. With or without Roddy White on the field, Falcons wideout Harry Douglas has been a PPR dynamo over the last six games, averaging 7.5 catches, 10 targets and 100 yards receiving.
The Bills could be a potentially stout foe against Douglas, however. In its last four games, Buffalo has allowed an average of only 180 team yards through the air.
17. It's worth noting: Titans tailback Chris Johnson (941 total yards, six TDs), who went the entire month of September without finding the end zone, has already eclipsed last year's touchdown production (five).
One more thing: Of his last eight encounters with the Colts, Johnson crossed the threshold of 100 total yards or one TD six times.
18. Weather permitting, Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald is a reasonable bet to decimate the Eagles — the NFL's worst pass defense.
There's a caveat, though: Fitzgerald may have four touchdowns over his last four games ... but he's only averaging four catches per game since Week 7.
19. Granted, it's a small sample size, but Cam Newton holds two-game averages of 320 total yards and 2.5 touchdowns during Iron Bowl Week (Auburn vs. Alabama).
On a separate note, Newton has notched multiple touchdowns in four of his last five games.
And last but not least ...
20. Of his nine career games of 15 or more touches, Jets tailback Chris Ivory has averaged 108 total yards and 0.7 touchdowns.
And here's one major downer for PPR leagues: Spanning four seasons and 34 games, Ivory has never registered multiple receptions.
