Fantasy Football Reaction: Winners, Losers, Surprises From Week 13
You were in a good spot if you had George Kittle in your lineup
It was the penultimate regular-season contest for many fantasy football players, and standout performances at this time certainly feel far more impactful than ever before.
There were plenty of NFL players who fit that bill, but, as always, there were a few duds that could have cost managers dearly with regards to playoff seeding.
Here are the winners, losers and surprises from Week 13 in the NFL with all stats compiled by SportRadar and representing full-point PPR leagues.
Winners
David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears
Montgomery saw the second most touches of any running back (Jonathan Taylor) and turned it into 0.97 points per touch while finishing as the highest-scoring player at the position with 28.10 points in full-point leagues. Montgomery finished with 141 yards from scrimmage including eight catches on nine targets (1.46 points per target) with one rushing touchdown.
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle got back to his game-breaking ways for fantasy managers in Week 13 as he finished as the highest-scoring player across all skill positions with 39.60 points in full-point leagues. It more than tripled his projection. Kittle, who benefited from a 49-yard touchdown down the sideline, recorded the most points per touch (3.96) among tight ends with seven or more touches. He also turned his 8.6 air yards per target into a noteworthy 186 yards from scrimmage with four explosive receptions of 16 or more yards.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Even with the Steelers struggling on offense, Johnson is a fantasy mainstay. Johnson, who entered the week as Yahoo's seventh-ranked wideout, finished as the second-highest scoring player at the position behind only Justin Jefferson. Johnson went off for 2.77 points per target on 11 targets. His 54 air yards receiving and three receptions of 10 or more yards each ranked just 13th among players at the position, but he turned it into 105 yards from scrimmage. He also was just one of two receivers (Keenan Allen) with two touchdowns.
Losers
Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints
Ingram had excelled with Alvin Kamara sidelined, but quarterback Taysom Hill earned the start against the Cowboys on "Thursday Night Football" and it took carries away from the veteran back. Ingram, who scored one-third his projected point total, finished with 0.33 points per touch on just 11 touches to finish as RB38 in total scoring. His 10 rushing attempts went for 28 yards without a touchdown.
James Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
How in the world does Robinson see just nine touches for a Jaguars offense that absolutely stinks? It's a great mystery this fantasy season, and it reared its ugly head again in Week 13. Robinson, who was a top-20 play, finished with merely 2.50 points in full-point leagues -- about 25% of his projection -- behind 0.28 points per touch. He was stuffed on 12.5% of his eight rushing attempts, which was fourth-worst among running backs with eight-plus carries.
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles rookie wideout, who put together a string of nice outings during the middle part of the season, saw just four targets for a second consecutive week while going up against the Jets. Smith, who entered as Yahoo's WR22, recorded his second-lowest output of the season with just 3.50 points in full-point leagues. He finished as WR63 in total scoring after recording just two touches for a pedestrian 15 yards of offense.
Surprises
Sony Michel, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Michel had a favorable matchup against the Jaguars, which is why he ranked as Yahoo's RB12 entering the slate, but there's no way any owner expected him to go off as he did. Michel turned his 23 rushing attempts into 88 yards on the ground while four receptions help him average 0.81 points per touch. He tied Taylor and Adrian Peterson with a league-high three goal-line looks, scoring one touchdown for a 33% success rate. It was far and away his best performance of the season, and approximately seven times his Week 12 output.
Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Chances are you didn't expect Goedert to outscore every running back in the league (well, at least prior to "Sunday Night Football"). Goedert, who was Yahoo's 12th-ranked tight end entering Week 13, finished with 28.50 points in full-point leagues behind 4.75 points per target from backup quarterback Gardner Minshew. Goedert recorded touchdown receptions of 36 and 25 yards with 105 yards from scrimmage and four receptions of 10 or more yards.
