Fantasy Football Week 13: Biggest Takeaways from Sunday

The regular season is all but over in fantasy football leagues everywhere as Week 13 winds down. And what an eventful week it was.

Johnny "Money" Manziel made a legitimate appearance, there were fantasy detonations all over the place in the afternoon games and a promised shootout turned into a bit of a defensive struggle.

What were some of the biggest takeaways from Sunday's action? Click through to find out.

Defense Optional

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You may have noticed some high-scoring affairs Sunday. It seems defense was optional for many teams, except for the St. Louis Rams, who didn't allow a single point to the Oakland Raiders in a suffocating, 52-0 effort.

It was a wild day that included things like Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick tossing six touchdowns—two of them to receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who added 238 yards—and St. Louis Rams running back Tre Mason scoring three touchdowns against the woeful Raiders.

Drew Brees put his road woes to bed with a five-touchdown performance, and Andrew Luck shook off turnovers on his first two possessions to annihilate Washington's defense.

Heck, even Colt McCoy had a huge game.

The performances made for a wacky day in the fantasy realm, one that saw abnormally high scores if the right players were in starting lineups.

It was a sign of things to come in the NFL as the season winds down. The volatility increases as teams that are out of it throw caution to the wind, or teams desperate to make the playoffs pull out all the stops.

It was also a sign you should take everything in this column with a grain of salt.

Ryan Fitzpatrick Is Magic

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Speaking of big offense, what did Ryan Fitzpatrick do to become an offensive juggernaut? 

The deposed former starter was pressed back into the role after Ryan Mallett tore a pectoral muscle in Week 12. His was a decent matchup against the Tennessee Titans this week.

All he did was throw for 358 yards and six touchdowns on the day, leading the Texans to a 45-21 victory over the Titans and back to .500.

But, really, do you believe this is something Fitzpatrick is going to even come close to replicating? 

You might think so, given the Texans play the Jacksonville Jaguars next week. This is the same Jaguars team that forced four fumbles from Indianapolis' Andrew Luck in Week 12 and two from New York's Eli Manning on Sunday, both of whom had poor fantasy outputs.

Fitzpatrick is neither of those guys, despite what we saw out of him Sunday. But he might be a viable option, it seems, given he has Hopkins and Andre Johnson at his disposal.

Giovani Bernard Is Trapped

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It seemed like this would be the week to get Giovani Bernard going again. 

The Cincinnati Bengals running back had already been reintroduced to the NFL grind after missing several weeks with a hip injury, and it was a seemingly nice matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bernard even got off to a great start on the day, gaining 44 yards on his first five carries. Unfortunately, there wasn't much more in store for the second-year back.

The Bengals put the ball in quarterback Andy Dalton's hands for much of the day, and it was nearly disastrous. Dalton had three interceptions, and the Buccaneers nearly won late (14-13).

Bernard, meanwhile, only wound up with 11 touches for 53 yards on the day, and backfield compatriot Jeremy Hill seemed to be the pass-catching option Bernard has been in the past.

He still possesses upside, but it might be tough sledding for his fantasy owners going forward.

It's Colt McCoy's Job to Keep

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All the drama in Washington at the quarterback position has gotten us here.

Colt McCoy is your new starter, having taken over for all-but-broken Robert Griffin III. He had a tall task in Week 13, facing an Indianapolis Colts defense that had just mauled rookie Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars a week before.

McCoy was up to the task, even though his team fell 49-27.

The beleaguered former Cleveland Brown did a nice job against the Colts, including a fantastic play reminiscent of RG3 at his best as he played escape artist and found tight end Logan Paulsen for a touchdown.

He wound up with 392 passing yards and three touchdown after a slow start—though also a brutal fumble returned for a touchdown—wresting the job from Griffin for good, it seems. 

Here is what The Washington Post's Thomas Boswell had to say of McCoy after the game, "This team and its coach may have found one crucial source of stability. Not stardom. Just a player with an understanding of his limits, a grasp of how to utilize those around him and a little spark, too."

McCoy added, "I just want to stay in my three-foot world and really know my responsibility and my job." One poor game could blow it all up, but it seems like he is the man for now.

...And That's Great for Jordan Reed

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One of the biggest beneficiaries of the quarterback change in Washington was tight end Jordan Reed.

Finally healthy—for the time being—Reed was Colt McCoy's favorite target against the Indianapolis Colts, garnering 11 looks from the newly minted starter.

He caught nine of those for 123 yards, narrowly missing out on a touchdown at the goal line that would have made his day special. 

Assuming he can stay healthy—a big assumption, given his history—Reed might be a solution for fantasy owners looking for help at the tight end position over the next few weeks. 

Belichickery Is Alive and Well

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"Why are you surprised?"

How many fantasy lineups is Bill Belichick going to destroy in his tenure as head coach in New England?

If we haven't learned by now, we never will—Belichick is a cruel and capricious person. At least when it comes to doling out fantasy points to his running backs.

Two weeks ago we had Jonas Gray go nuclear with 201 rushing yards and four touchdowns. That gave way to a big performance for newly reacquired LeGarrette Blount against a tough Detroit Lions defense.

This week, nobody had a particularly good game against the Green Bay Packers. It was little-used Brandon Bolden who was in on the red-zone plays early in the game, however, notching the only touchdown among Patriots running backs in the 26-21 loss.

If he cared about fantasy football, Belichick might have been cackling inside.

Here's Johnny!

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It took most of the season, but the time has finally come for Johnny Football.

Cleveland quarterback Johnny Manziel came in Sunday versus Buffalo after the Browns fell far behind thanks largely to starter Brian Hoyer's dismal performance. He immediately went to work, marching the team down the field and scoring on a 10-yard rushing play. Huzzah! So now what?

After the game, a 26-10 loss, Browns head coach Mike Pettine was coy about whether Manziel would get the starting nod going forward, per NFL.com's Albert Breer:

"

It's all things football. You look at the matchup (the Browns host the Colts next Sunday), you look where we are, what we're playing with, who the opponent is. You look at confidence—confidence the player has in himself, and confidence the other guys on the team would have. We'll hit the reset button. Where are we? It's important for us to do it that way, and we will as a staff. It's a football decision. Nothing else will factor into it, just pure football.

"

I'm nodding my head and winking, too, coach.

Julio Jones Has His Mojo Back

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He struggled through a long touchdown drought that had his fantasy owners thirsty, but Julio Jones has finally made it rain.

A week after scoring his first touchdown since Week 3, Jones exploded for 10 receptions, 189 yards and a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in a 29-18 win. Even better, the Atlanta Falcons star did it against highly paid and touted cornerback Patrick Peterson, who gave up his league-leading eighth touchdown reception.

Jones was getting a ton of targets throughout the dry spell; he just had some bad luck, game scripts or quarterbacking get in the way. It seems Matt Ryan has figured out how to get him the ball properly.

Not that there was any reason to bench Jones, but he's finally back to the fantasy elite.

The Vikings Defense Is a Force to Be Reckoned With

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They may not boast a top defense in the real world, but the Minnesota Vikings have become a thorn in fantasy owners' sides for those starting players against that unit.

That would be a defense that was among the stingiest in the league against opposing quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends heading into Week 13. Another strong showing against visiting quarterback Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers (31-13 win) should move those stats even more in Minnesota's favor.

That shouldn't matter much in Week 14, given few owners in the fantasy playoffs likely own New York Jets players. If there was any temptation to utilize Percy Harvin in a revenge game, Minnesota's recent success should be enough to dissuade you.

The Detroit Lions are up next in Week 15, however, so tread carefully with quarterback Matthew Stafford and Co.

The Hottest Waiver-Wire Pickup of the Week Will Be...

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The most added player this week might just be Johnny Manziel, depending on whether he is named the starter early this week. 

Most playoff teams are probably set at quarterback, however, aside from the uncertainty Manziel brings to the table—he might get yanked for Brian Hoyer if he plays poorly next week.

So let's look another direction. How about Stedman Bailey in St. Louis?

The second-year receiver was a popular sleeper this offseason, but a four-game performance-enhancing substances suspension derailed that notion. He had gotten off to a slow start upon his return, but Bailey has slowly become a big part of the offense.

Bailey had a nice game against the San Diego Chargers in Week 12, catching seven of nine targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. He followed that up with a 100-yard performance against the Oakland Raiders.

He has a nice closing schedule to boot, starting with Washington, then moving on to a crumbling Arizona defense before fantasy championship week against the New York football Giants.

All fantasy statistics and rankings courtesy of FFToday.com.

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