Week 13 of the 2019 NFL season has come and gone, and we’ve officially entered the fantasy football equivalent of hallowed ground. For many of us out there the stretch between weeks 14-16 is the most important one of the entire NFL calendar.
Regardless of how your real-life team is doing, your fantasy team has a shot at attaining immortality, and we’re here to help you reach that finish line. This week’s rundown of stand-out performers features a who’s who of waiver wire names and young stars on the rise. Let’s take a look:
DEVANTE PARKER (Miami Dolphins)
Remember when the Dolphins were tanking for Tua? Before Tua sustained a horrific hip injury and the Dolphins decided that they wanted to start winning football games in 2019? Ah, a simpler time. DeVante Parker remembers those times, but he mostly remembers them because he was balling out on a weekly basis during them.
The fourth-year wideout represents one of the few remaining standout stars on the Dolphins, and he’s been soaking up all the shine he can handle this season. His complete destruction of Ronald Darby and the Philadelphia Eagles secondary in Week 13 (40 fantasy points) marked Parkers EIGTH straight double-digit fantasy finish and his TENTH such finish on the year.
With tasty matchups against the Jets’ and Giants’ secondaries on deck, Parker has “league winner” written all over him. Start him as a WR2 in all formats for the playoffs.
COLE BEASLEY (Buffalo Bills)
REVENGE, THY NAME IS BEASLEY! Yes, on Thanksgiving Cole Beasley decided that the Dallas Cowboys needed a big slice of humble pie, and he delivered it to them in impressive fashion. Beasley tore through Dallas’ secondary on Thursday, catching 6 balls on 7 targets and totaling over 100 yards receiving with a TD on the day. Beasley’s 24 point fantasy finish was his highest of the year by far, and it marked his third double-digit finish in his last four outings.
Buffalo will have their hands full over the next two weeks against tough Baltimore and New England secondaries, but the former Cowboy has proven himself to be a favorite target of Josh Allen this year. Start Beasley as a FLEX option with a safe weekly floor (especially in PPR) for the playoffs.
JAMES WHITE (New England Patriots)
Every once in awhile the golden rules of fantasy football are broken. This week James White saw fit to break one of the game’s oldest rules, “Thou shalt not trust a Patriots running back.”
In a game where New England found themselves trailing early, White became Tom Brady’s second favorite pass-catching option. With a comeback bid in full swing, White touched the ball 22 times in total and came away with 176 yards and 2 TD’s for his troubles. The 2 TD effort was the first of the year for White and marked just the third and fourth trips to the endzone for him this season.
He should be looked at as a valuable FLEX option with RB2 upside in PPR format for Week 14 against a dreadful Chiefs defense.
AARON RODGERS (Green Bay Packers)
The New York Giants secondary heals all wounds. Big Blue’s defense has been a soft landing spot for opposing offenses all year long, and it provided a nice bounce-back for Aaron Rodgers on Sunday afternoon.
The perennial All-Pro tossed 4 TDs on just under 250 passing yards, and he did it with ease as the Packers blew out the Giants (31-13). Prior to this matchup, Rodgers had been in a bit of a slump, posting under 15 fantasy points in all three of his games before this one. Fortunately, he gets another NFC East team to throttle in Week 14 as the Packers welcome the Redskins to Lambeau Field.
With Davante Adams back to full strength we view Rodgers as a locked-in, top-5 QB option for the first week of the fantasy playoffs.
KENNY GOLLADAY (Detroit Lions)
Kenny Golladay doesn’t care who plays Quarterback for the Detroit Lions, he just wants the ball. Matt Stafford? Okay. Jeff Driskel? Sure, why not. David Blough? Doesn’t matter. In a nightmare matchup, with a third-string QB that had never played in the league before, Golladay posted his highest fantasy point total of 2019. The big-bodied wide-out bullied the Bears secondary for over 150 receiving yards and a TD on just FOUR receptions.
The performance was Golladay’s fifth 100+ receiving yard game of 2019, and his 9th double-digit fantasy finish of the year. Sitting at 211 total points (in standard format), Golladay is just 3 points off of his 2018 pace (214 points). Regardless of who’s under center he’s a sure bet to set a new personal point record in Week 14 against Minnesota. Start the big man as a WR2/Elite FLEX option against Xavier Rhodes and a beatable Vikings secondary.
JAMES WASHINGTON (Pittsburgh Steelers)
While we’re on the topic of stud wide receivers, let’s discuss how James Washington has been doing in Pittsburgh. With Ben Roethlisberger injured (since Week One), James Conner constantly hurt, and JuJu Smith-Schuster on the mend the Steelers have somehow managed to reach a (7-5) record. The play of Washington is a huge reason for that success.
The second-year stud has come on strong in 2019, especially over the past month. Washington has posted double-digit fantasy totals in three of his past four games, and he’s scored three touchdowns over that same span. Pittsburgh’s knack for finding premier receiving talent in the draft seems to have continued with Washington, and the team’s 3rd string QB (Devlin Hodges) has certainly taken notice.
Washington has seen an average target total of (6 targets) per game over the past month and has quickly become the team’s top receiving option in the absence of Smith-Schuster. Washington should be looked at as a high-end FLEX option in Week 14 against a depleted Cardinals secondary.
DESHAUN WATSON (Houston Texans)
Hold the presses everybody! Drop that “LAMAR FOR MVP” flyer and take a listen to what Deshaun Watson did on Sunday Night Football. Watson put in one of the statement performances of his career under the brightest lights imaginable, and against the league’s resident dynasty, and he did it with style.
The third-year QB danced circles around the vaunted Patriots defense, passing for 3 TDs and catching a fourth one himself! Watson and the Texans needed all the points they could muster to hold off a late comeback bid from New England, but when the dust cleared it was Houston who had the last laugh.
Watson’s efforts in this game should stamp his name firmly among the top vote-getters for league MVP in 2019, and it made him just one of two QB’s to solve New England this year (alongside fellow MVP favorite Lamar Jackson).
Watson’s Week 13 match-up is more difficult than you would think, but this offenses ability to explode for chunk yardage makes him impossible to shy away from against the Broncos in Week 14.
DERRIUS GUICE (Washington Redskins)
Washington fans had been waiting for this performance since the team drafted Derrius Guice in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The second-year running back had missed his entire rookie season due to injury only to return and injure himself again to start the 2019 campaign. Through all of the turmoil, pain, and losing efforts, Guice never lost faith in himself and those around him. His spirit remained strong, and he overcame both his physical and mental limitations on Sunday afternoon to explode on the Carolina Panthers defense.
Guice’s dominance was fleeting, but it was fierce. With only 10 carries on the day, he carved up the Panthers to the tune of 129 rushing yards & a TD. Guice even managed to add a highlight reel stiff arm to Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson before his day was over.
After that performance, Guice will easily be one of the most sought after names on the waiver wire, but we advise a healthy dose of caution with starting him in Week 14. Adrian Peterson also scored a TD in Week 13 and will continue to factor heavily into Washington’s offensive game-plan. Keeping expectations in check will be key, but Guice can be utilized as an upside FLEX play this week.
PRIMARY TAKEAWAY FROM WEEK 13
The AFC is more interesting than most people give it credit for.
My main takeaway from Week 13’s action was that we should be giving the AFC a lot more respect as we head down the final stretch of the 2019 season. While the NFC has the top-heavy bombastic battles of teams like the Saints, Packers, 49ers, and Seahawks, the AFC has quietly amassed a trio of supremely interesting underdogs that deserve attention. The playoff-hopeful group in question is the Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let’s start with the Titans. Ever since Tennessee opted to pull the plug on the Marcus Mariota experiment they’ve become a staggeringly more effective (and more exciting) offense on a weekly basis. Ryan Tannehill is balling out on the regular, and the team’s rushing attack behind Derrick Henry is one of the fiercest in the entire NFL this season. Tennessee has retained its trademark brand of stingy defense, holding opponents to 20 points or less in nine of twelve match-ups this year. That combination of a borderline top-10 defense and a revitalized offense has made Tennessee a legitimate Wild Card team that is worth watching on a weekly basis.
If it were up to the Pittsburgh Steelers, however, Tennessee’s Wild Card dreams would go up in smoke. The Steelers are certainly no strangers to the postseason as a franchise, but the 2019 campaign looked like one to forget after the team fell to a lifeless (1-3) record after the first month. With key injuries to franchise cornerstones like Ben Roethlisberger, James Conner, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, a lesser team would have folded and prayed for a Top 5 draft pick.
Instead, Pittsburgh stood up, dusted themselves off, and proceeded to win six of their last seven games with backup offensive players across all three major positions. The team’s young defense has provided an attitude that has given the team a “Us vs. The World” edge. Rookie Devin Bush and second-year star T.J Watt have become household names in the Steel City, and the resolve of the team has provided a late-season Coach of the Year conversation for Mike Tomlin. Not too shabby for a team that willingly allowed it’s two best offensive players to leave town last off-season.
Lastly, we have the (9-3) Buffalo Bills. Fresh off of a Thanksgiving Day smackdown of the Dallas Cowboys, the Bills are just one game out from the lead in the AFC East. NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt labeled Buffalo as “the best 9-3 team that no one is watching” after their Thanksgiving victory, and he was spot on in that assessment.
The 2019 Bills are one of the most intriguing teams in the NFL. Their injury report has been nearly empty all season long, their line play on both sides has been spectacular, and their 2nd year QB Josh Allen is quickly becoming a household name across America. Allen’s combination of a cannon arm and the ability to run the ball when pressured makes him one of the more dangerous young signal-callers in the league, and more importantly, he gives Buffalo a Quarterback that they can begin to place their faith in for the first time in years.
Buffalo thrives in their position as the league’s most overlooked playoff team, and All-Pro level talents like Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano, and John Brown have all benefited from this anonymity. They face a tough one/two punch over the next two weeks between Baltimore and New England, but this Bills team has proven that they’re more than up to the task. If they go down, they’ll go down swinging.
The AFC is a conference that is often joked about because of the nearly two-decade dominance of the Patriots. Regardless of changing norms, the Patriots have remained the one true resilient force atop its ranks, but 2019 feels like it could be the beginning of a generational shift. Young teams are growing at a rapid rate, shedding the weaknesses that held them down and rising up the ladder to meet the conferences long-time leader. Time will tell if this is the year New England falls, but it’s unquestionably one of the most interesting AFC slates in recent memory.
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