In an NFL season that has been filled with upsets, surprising performances and complete chaos, Week 13 was largely dominated by name-brand fantasy football superstars. Given that we are just two weeks away from the Fantasy Football Playoffs, the stars couldn’t have picked a better week to shine. With all of that said, we did have several stars fall well short of expectations. On a week filled with great performances, there were still numerous fantasy football busts that cost many managers in Week 13.
The following article looks at some of the biggest fantasy football disappointments from Week 13 of the NFL season across each position. This week’s notable fantasy busts include James Robinson, Terry McLaurin, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.
Week 13 Fantasy Football Disappointments | RB
James Robinson | Jacksonville Jaguars
Stat Line: 8 carries, 24 yards; 1 reception, 11 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 2.5 (RB50)
Repeatedly fumbling the football is typically not a great way for NFL running backs to fall in the good graces of a coaching staff. Last week, fantasy football managers watched in horror as Urban Meyer kept James Robinson on the sideline down in the red zone following a fumble. After another early turnover on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, Robinson’s day was effectively over from a fantasy standpoint.
He only played 44% of the Jaguars’ offensive snaps in the blowout loss. Nine total touches are a far cry from the volume owners are used to seeing Robinson get. A 2.5-PPR-point dud leaves managers hoping the second-year RB can rebound in time for the fantasy playoffs. Robinson does have three favorable matchups in the coming weeks to try and exploit.
Myles Gaskin | Miami Dolphins
Stat Line: 15 carries, 44 yards; 2 receptions, 5 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 6.9 (RB33)
While Myles Gaskin has not been as frequent a visitor to the fantasy football busts column lately as Courtland Sutton (who once again qualified but was passed over in favor of variety), he has been included on numerous occasions this season. After failing to eclipse 50 total yards in Sunday’s win over the New York Giants, Gaskin is once again among the top disappointments for Week 13. The volume was there, but the production was not. Gaskin averaged just 2.93 yards per carry in the game. He finished as the RB33 with only 6.9 PPR points.
Joe Mixon | Cincinnati Bengals
Stat Line: 19 carries, 54 yards, 1 touchdown
PPR Fantasy Points: 9.4 (RB25)
While a top-25 finish at the running back position isn’t awful, by recent Joe Mixon standards, Sunday’s effort was a fantasy football disappointment. In a terrific matchup against a Los Angeles Chargers defense that came into the day ranked dead last in adjusted efficiency against the run, Mixon failed to capitalize. Making the 9.4 PPR points all the more concerning is the fact that Mixon did extend his touchdown streak to nine games. He offered little else including failing to haul in a single reception. He also was responsible for the fumble that effectively ended Cincinnati’s comeback hopes.
Mixon’s 2.84 yards per carry average on the day was just part of a horrendous showing by the Bengals’ offensive line. Quarterback Joe Burrow was also sacked six times in the game. Managers now must monitor Mixon’s Week 14 status as he emerged from Sunday’s game dealing with an apparent neck injury.
Week 13 Fantasy Football Disappointments | WR
Terry McLaurin | Washington Football Team
Stat Line: 3 receptions, 22 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 5.2 (WR54)
For the second straight week, Terry McLaurin failed to live up to his “Scary” nickname on the fantasy football front. While this marked the fifth time in the last eight games that Washington’s top wideout failed to score double-digit fantasy points, the 5.2 PPR points also marked his worst total of the season to date. McLaurin saw just five targets in what many believed to be a very favorable matchup against the thin Las Vegas Raiders defensive secondary. It only produced three catches for 22 yards for McLaurin in a surprisingly low-scoring game that the Football Team just barely won. Managers have good reason to be concerned about the 26-year-old with the fantasy playoffs looming.
Tyreek Hill | Kansas City Chiefs
Stat Line: 2 receptions, 22 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 4.2 (WR58)
The Chiefs may have won their fifth straight game on Sunday night, but it was yet another disappointing effort by the offense. Star fantasy football wideout Tyreek Hill was no exception to the Week 13 struggles. He caught just two of five targets for 22 yards and finished with a season-low 4.2 PPR fantasy points. In a way, it is somewhat surprising to note that Hill is still the WR3 on the season despite now having four games in which he failed to score double-digit fantasy points.
Rashod Bateman | Baltimore Ravens
Stat Line: 0 receptions, 0 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 0.0 (T-WR99)
Just when everyone was ready to crown Rashod Bateman as a must-have fantasy football asset heading down the stretch, Week 13 happened. Perhaps the fact that the rookie only played 44% of Baltimore’s offensive snaps a week ago should have generated more concern than it did. While he managed to overcome that by catching all four of his targets and providing some sort of fantasy value, Sunday’s one-point loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was a different story.
Bateman failed to play 50% of the snaps for the second straight week. This time, he saw just one target for those snaps in which he was on the field. The former Minnesota star failed to haul in that pass and finished with a disappointing goose egg in his fantasy box score. For managers who added Bateman and streamed him in, this performance was no doubt costly. Trusting Ravens pass-catchers has not been easy to do ever since the franchise committed to Lamar Jackson as their quarterback. While he has made great progress as a passer, Baltimore’s offense has been spinning its wheels of late. Bateman needs to garner more consistent playing time to be considered a viable start moving forward. Perhaps the hype train was a tad premature, eh?
Week 13 Fantasy Football Disappointments | TE
Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs
Stat Line: 3 receptions, 27 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 5.7 (TE22)
Much like teammate Tyreek Hill, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce also fell victim to a disappointing effort overall by the team’s offense. The consensus top tight end taken in fantasy football drafts, Kelce remains the top scorer at the position in PPR through 13 weeks. However, a 5.7-point showing on Sunday night certainly didn’t help him separate himself any. Kelce was extremely inefficient, catching three of eight targets for only 27 yards. Even in a bad week for the TE position overall, Kelce still wound up outside of the top-20.
Foster Moreau | Las Vegas Raiders
Stat Line: 1 reception, 34 yards
PPR Fantasy Points: 4.4 (TE25)
While there probably weren’t a ton of people relying on a huge fantasy football performance from Foster Moreau, based on the situation, his 4.4 PPR points can only be classified as disappointing. An injury to Darren Waller last week bumped Moreau up the Raiders’ depth chart. While he played 85% of the snaps in Las Vegas’ loss to Washington, Moreau failed to replicate his solid fantasy production from a week ago. Derek Carr only targeted him three times, and Moreau only caught one of those for 34 yards. While it wasn’t a complete shutout, many were expecting a lot more out of Moreau in Waller’s absence.
Week 13 Fantasy Football Disappointments | QB
Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs
Stat Line: 15/29 passing, 184 yards, 1 interception; 3 carries, 12 yards, 1 touchdown
PPR Fantasy Points: 12.56 (QB17)
Perhaps the title of this week’s fantasy football busts column should have been “Chiefs Fantasy Busts from Week 13”. Patrick Mahomes rounds out the Kansas City passing game trifecta, joining both Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in having a very disappointing performance on Sunday night. Mahomes failed to eclipse 200 yards passing and threw his 12th interception of the season. That’s more picks in 12 games than Mahomes threw in the last two seasons combined!
Had Mahomes not scampered for a rushing touchdown, the 12.56 fantasy points would have looked a whole lot worse. This QB17 finish simply marks the latest in a season full of disappointment. Given the draft capital spent on him before the season began, one could argue that he is in the running to be one of the biggest fantasy football busts of 2021.
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