Fantasy Football Flashback, Week 13: Davante Adams moves ahead in race to be top-scoring receiver
Welcome to the latest edition of the Fantasy Football Flashback, where we celebrate the accomplishments of the week's most reliable players. Week 13 was a great one for those who roster elite wide receivers, as a quartet of pass-catchers ranked among the top-7 fantasy scorers. Let’s dive in on the full list:
No. 1: Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles, 34.40 points
Hurts threw for a season-high 380 yards and tallied four touchdowns (one on the ground) in a 35-10 win over a formidable Titans defense. The 24-year-old and his talented receiving corps have combined for plenty of long distance scores, which continued on Sunday with three aerial strikes of more than 25 yards. Hurts has pushed past Josh Allen and narrowly trails Patrick Mahomes in what has become a three-way race for the overall top fantasy scorer this year.
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No. 2: Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders, 33.70
Adams seemed intent on creating his 2022 highlight reel at the expense of the Chargers on Sunday, making one dazzling grab after another before finishing the afternoon with 177 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches. Adams has been the No. 1 WR over the past five weeks, tallying 664 yards and seven scores. He is now tied for the NFL lead with seven 100-yard games this year and is the No. 1 overall fantasy scorer among wide receivers.
No. 3: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals, 30.04
Burrow seems to have the Chiefs’ number, as he has led the Bengals to three straight wins over Patrick Mahomes and friends. This time he threw for 286 yards and two scores, including some clutch completions late in the game that kept Mahomes from getting one more chance to pull out a win. And Burrow showed more rushing acumen than usual, totaling 46 yards and a TD on the ground. In a year in which many QBs have disappointed, the 25-year-old has been a consistent asset who now ranks fourth at the position in points scored.
No. 4: Cleveland Browns defense, 30.00
Defenses rarely crack this column, and the Browns’ inclusion after Week 13 came in unusual fashion. Cleveland’s defense managed to score 30 fantasy points without recording a sack, as four turnovers and a trio of touchdowns (one by Donovan Peoples-Jones on a punt return) rewarded fantasy managers who chose to target the Texans woeful offense. Wise managers will stream defenses against Houston as often as possible, and their remaining opponents include the Cowboys, Chiefs, Titans, Jaguars and Colts.
Did any of them lead your team to victory? 😁
Or were you the unlucky team facing the Browns D/ST? 😐 pic.twitter.com/uZydVsZ9RU— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) December 6, 2022
No. 5: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions, 29.10
St. Brown is at it again. One of the strongest finishers last season, the 23-year-old has been on a furious pace in recent weeks, which includes 11 catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 13 win over the Jaguars. St. Brown has caught at least seven balls in each of his past four games and has averaged 108 yards per game in those contests. The USC alum has amazing chemistry with Jared Goff, ranks seventh in the NFL in catches this season and is a top-10 WR option for the stretch run.
No. 6: A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles, 27.90
Brown was surely motivated to beat his former teammates on Sunday, and he did his part by catching eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. The 25-year-old is clearly one of the most explosive players in football, and there may be room for his usage to grow in the coming weeks, as Week 13 was just the second time since Week 4 that he was given more than eight targets. Brown currently ranks fifth among wide receivers in total points scored but is not close to joining a top-4 group that includes Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs, Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill.
No. 7: Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins, 25.10
The NFL leader in receiving yards, Hill added another 146 to his total on Sunday, while also finding the end zone on one of his nine grabs. The speedster has produced at least 140 yards on six occasions this year, which is twice as often as any other player. And the most encouraging sign for fantasy managers is that after rarely scoring touchdowns at the outset of the year, Hill has collected three scores in his past four games. He currently ranks fourth among wide receivers in total points scored.
No. 8: Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers, 24.60
No quarterback? No problem. McCaffrey has plenty of experience overcoming poor QB play from his time in Carolina, and he helped the 49ers pull off a big win over the Dolphins despite playing most of the game with Brock Purdy under center. The 49ers knew exactly how to limit Purdy's exposure, which included giving McCaffrey 17 carries (66 yards) and 10 targets (8 catches, 80 yards and a TD). Even with Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo sidelined for the duration of the season, McCaffrey should remain a top-5 RB.
No. 9: Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks, 23.98
Smith continued his storybook season when he threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns in a come-from-behind win over the Rams. The late bloomer has been a fantasy star of late, throwing for at least 275 yards in each of his past four games, which includes two straight games with more than 325 yards. And an even more impressive stat is that Smith has tossed at least two TD passes in nine of his past 10 contests. He ranks seventh at the position in points scored this year and is a terrific lineup option for any manager who does not have a top-tier QB such as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts.
No. 10: Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys, 23.60
Pollard continues to prove on a weekly basis that he is the Cowboys' best playmaker, and his Sunday night effort against the Colts included 91 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. The 25-year-old is averaging 5.8 yards per carry, which among RBs with at least 350 rushing yards this year, can be matched only by injured Bears rusher Khalil Herbert. Dallas will continue to give Ezekiel Elliott plenty of opportunities, but even in a timeshare, Pollard is a set-and-forget fantasy option.