In a week where a myriad of fantasy heroes failed miserably, Adrian Peterson played through an ankle injury against the Bills and posted a monster game.
Peterson carried the ball 16 times for 107 yards with three touchdowns, his third multi-touchdown effort of the season (second rushing). This was his first 100-yard performance since Week 7.
Aaron Rodgers continued his brilliant campaign with a 298-yard, three-touchdown performance against the 49ers. He’s accounted for multiple touchdowns in five of the past six weeks and has thrown multiple touchdown passes in seven games this season. He also rushed for 39 yards while absorbing four sacks. Rodgers hasn’t thrown an interception in five games.
Knowshon Moreno earned his second 100-yard game of the past four weeks, a yeoman-like 161-yard effort against the Chiefs. He added one reception for 14 yards. Since the Broncos’ Week 9 bye, Moreno has averaged 142.2 total yards per contest.
Vernon Davis ended a four-game scoring drought, but no number of emotional speeches was able to rally the 49ers against Green Bay. Davis caught four passes for 126 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown reception in the loss. It was the eighth game this season in which Davis caught at least four passes.
Sidney Rice finally had his opportunity to play the jump ball game against opposing defenders. He caught five passes for 105 yards and scored his first two touchdowns of the season. Tarvaris Jackson entered the game following Brett Favre’s injury and reintroduced the downfield aerial assault that defined the 2009 season. He’s caught only four passes for 76 yards in his first two games back on the field.
Maurice Jones-Drew earned his fifth consecutive 100-yard game in the Jaguars’ win over Tennessee, his sixth of the season. Jones-Drew carried the ball a season-high 31 times for 186 yards. Although Jones-Drew has scored a total of only six touchdowns this season, the ability to pencil in a heavy workload is quite comforting in this home stretch of the fantasy campaign.
The Bears failed to dominate the sputtering Lions on Sunday, but fantasy owners got another strong effort out of tailback Matt Forte. He rushed for 64 yards on 13 carries and scored his fifth touchdown of the year, adding two receptions for 36 yards. Since the Bears’ Week 8 bye, Forte has averaged 19.4 touches and 96.4 total yards per game (five games).
Drew Stanton stood under center for the Lions in place of the injured Shaun Hill against the Bears. He nearly led them to a huge upset win and acquitted himself nicely. Stanton completed 16-of-24 attempts for 178 yards with a touchdown pass and also scored a rushing touchdown.
Calvin Johnson didn’t dominate the Bears, but he did find the end zone on a nifty move over the middle. Johnson caught three passes for 66 yards in the loss, including the 46-yard touchdown strike. He’s scored in four consecutive games (12 overall).
I don’t know what else to say. The New York Giants running game went wild despite issues on the offensive line. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw both scored twice and accounted for 200 rushing yards. Jacobs racked up 103 yards on eight carries, including touchdown runs of eight and 28 yards. Bradshaw carried the ball 25 times for 97 yards.
Anthony Armstrong led the Redskins with six catches for 97 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown reception from Donovan McNabb to help Washington avoid the shutout. He did lose a fumble, but that hardly negates an otherwise strong effort in the blowout loss.
LeGarrette Blount was left on a ton of fantasy benches in Week 13 because of the difficult matchup against the Falcons. He responded with a tremendous effort, marching the Buccaneers down the field for a tying score late in the first quarter. Blount carried the ball 20 times for 103 yards and a touchdown, his second 100-yard effort since assuming the top spot.
On the other side of that game, Michael Turner continued his surge with a strong 88-yard, one-touchdown effort in the narrow win. He has scored in five of his past six games (seven touchdowns in this period) while averaging 99 rushing yards per contest during this period.
Earl Bennett led the Bears with seven receptions for 104 yards. Bennett has caught three or more passes in nine of the Bears’ past 11 games.
Fantasy owners rushed to put Christopher Ivory back into their lineups when it was announced that Pierre Thomas was officially declared “out” against the Bengals. Ivory immediately paid dividends with a 55-yard touchdown sprint in the first quarter. He finished the game with 117 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns.
As owners have come to expect, Cedric Benson failed to amass a huge yardage total. Benson carried the ball 19 times for 49 yards with two touchdowns, adding two receptions for 14 yards. He’s rushed for fewer than 60 yards in four of the past five games.
Following a tepid Week 12 effort against the Jets, Terrell Owens returned to the end zone against New Orleans. Owens scored his ninth touchdown of the season while pulling down six receptions for 47 yards. He needs 39 receiving yards in the final four weeks to reach 1,000 for the season.
Darren McFadden was one of the most difficult decision points of the week for fantasy owners this week. He rebounded from two terrible efforts by running over the Chargers in the Raiders’ upset win. McFadden rushed 19 times for 97 yards and a touchdown, adding three receptions for 30 yards. That’s a big-time win for fantasy owners who trusted his workload to carry them through this week.
Jason Campbell’s stat line against San Diego wasn’t overwhelming, but it was efficient. He completed 10-of-16 attempts for 117 yards with one touchdown pass (Jacoby Ford). He also rushed seven times for 37 yards, including a beautiful bootleg touchdown run. .
Jonathan Stewart returned to action last week and rushed for 98 yards in a workload split with Mike Goodson. He assumed the top spot in Week 13 (Goodson injured his shoulder) and produced a tremendous 21-carry, 92-yard performance against the Seahawks. Stewart scored for the first time since Week 3 while tallying his biggest workload.
Marshawn Lynch was on the radar for a flex spot because of the strong matchup against the Carolina run defense. He rushed for 83 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns. It was a tremendous rebound from two subpar weeks that landed Lynch back on the waiver wire or on fantasy benches nationwide. Lynch also caught one pass for 17 yards to give him 100 total yards, his first such effort of the season.
Drew Brees started slowly and watched Christopher Ivory shine early in Sunday’s dramatic win over Cincinnati. The Bengals made it a game and forced Brees back to the air, which was music to the ears of fantasy owners. Brees finished Sunday’s game with 313 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and two sacks.
Robert Meachem caught three passes for a season-high 106 yards and a touchdown in the shootout win over Cincinnati, including a clutch 42-yard reception late. Marques Colston continued his recent surge with the game-winning touchdown inside the final minute. He caught only three passes for 65 yards, but fantasy owners can hardly complain. Colston has caught five touchdown passes in the Saints’ past six games.
The St. Louis passing game failed to deliver in Week 13, but the Rams were able to lean heavily on workhorse Steven Jackson once again. Jackson carried the ball 28 times for 102 yards and scored his fourth touchdown of the season. He’s earned four 100-yard games this season and needs just 15 yards to reach 1,000 for the season.
Anquan Boldin caught a touchdown pass early in Sunday’s loss against the Steelers. For whatever reason, the Ravens went away from him for a long spell before turning back to him in the fourth quarter. Boldin finished the game with five receptions for 118 yards, including the early 14-yard touchdown. He had finished the four prior games with 50 or fewer receiving yards.
Tashard Choice had the perfect box score in Week 12 with one carry for one yard and one touchdown. He took on a huge role in place of the injured Marion Barber against the Colts. Choice carried the ball 19 times for 100 yards. He remains in a workload split with Felix Jones going forward, but it’s time for a Choice pickup on the waiver wire.
Ben Watson was the star of the Browns’ narrow win over Miami. Watson caught 10 passes for 100 yards with a touchdown. It was only his third touchdown reception of the year, although the former first-round pick has amassed 19 receptions in the past four weeks (he was shut out in Week 11).
Javarris James scored twice for the Colts. He carried the ball six times for 18 yards. I know he wasn’t started at all or didn’t appear on many fantasy rosters, but I’ll give him a pat on the back here.
Finally, fantasy owners who tuned out the Colts-Cowboys early were saddened by the passing game’s early production. Reggie Wayne amassed two receptions for 16 yards in the first half. He finished the game with 14 receptions for 200 yards and his fifth touchdown of the season. Peyton Manning targeted his favorite receiver 20 times.
