Week 13 Top 5 Fantasy Football Matchups: Minnesota Offense will tear up Jacksonville Jaguars

Last week, we saw five games with teams who scored more than 40 points on their own. Both Thanksgiving games last week brought out the best in fantasy. Detriot had two running backs in the top 20 of standings, while Deshaun Watson led quarterback fantasy points for the second week in a row. Antonio Gibson put up three touchdowns of his own against the Dallas Cowboys too. This week, we will see more lucrative fantasy matchups to watch out for. Check out the best fantasy matchups for the last week of the fantasy football regular season below.

Indianapolis Colts Running Backs vs. Houston Texans

This AFC South matchup will be a good one and a test for the Indianapolis Colts next weekend. The Houston Texans this season have one of the worst rushing defenses in the league. They allow the second-most rushing yards per game with just over 150 yards and 4.9 yards per attempt, which ranks them the worst in the NFL in that category. Furthermore, the Texans have allowed the second-most fantasy points to running backs this season, making this very opportunistic for running backs Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines. Taylor is returning from the COVID-19 reserve list after missing last week’s game. In his last game, Taylor put up 15.4 fantasy points against the Green Bay Packers. Taylor has projected 11.7 points next week. On the other hand, Nyheim Hines has been attracting some attention after putting up 17.5 points in Taylor’s absence last week, 14.6 of which came from the passing game. Nyheim Hines has projected 11.9 fantasy points next week against the Texans.

Baltimore Ravens Run Game vs. Dallas Cowboys

It’s no question that the Ravens love to run the ball and want to avoid passing. Last game, the Ravens struggled because J.K Dobbins, Mark Ingram and Lamar Jackson were all out due to COVID-19. They lost against the Steelers, and are now in danger of missing the playoffs, making this game more crucial than any other game. The Dallas Cowboys have allowed the fifth-most points to running backs this season, and last week they allowed Antonio Gibson to score three rushing touchdowns on them on Thanksgiving Day. J.K Dobbins is a big favorite to lead this backfield for the Ravens and I agree with the idea. Dobbins has seen 12+ touches in the last three of four games and has put up two games in double-digit figures in that span. Lamar Jackson has seen some difficult matchups but has performed well against poor defenses. Dobbins has projected 12.5 points next week and Lamar Jackson has projected 21.5 points.

New York Giants Passing Game vs. Seattle Seahawks

It should be known that the Seattle Seahawks’ defense has not lived up to their defensive expectations in the slightest this season. They give up the most amount of fantasy points to quarterbacks and wide receivers this season. They gave up 34.5 total fantasy points last week to the Philadelphia Eagles’ tight ends alone. The New York Giants have some possible options that should be marked as starters for this week’s matchup. Evan Engram should be a TE1 for this week. Last week against the Bengals, Engram put up 16.9 points off of 129 receiving yards to stand in third place for tight end fantasy standings last week. Sterling Shepard is another player I would consider to be a starter for next week. He is averaging 12.2 fantasy points this season and has only one game under 10 points. He should have a solid game against this terrible secondary. Darius Slayton is a definition boom/bust fantasy player but has a major upside as a downhill threat next week. Evan Engram has projected 9.75 fantasy points next week as a projected TE4 in the rankings. Sterling Shepard has projected 11.85 points and Darius Slayton has projected 10.4 points himself next week.

New Orleans Saints Passing Game vs. Atlanta Falcons

I am fully aware that the New Orleans Saints have developed into a run-heavy team while they wait for Drew Brees to return from injury. However, to get by the Atlanta Falcons, they will need to consider passing the ball more. Atlanta allows the sixth least amount of rushing yards per game, 4.3 yards per carry to running backs, and the third least amount of fantasy points to running backs on the season. Taysom Hill will have to pass the ball a lot more to get by the Falcons, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks and the fourth most points to wide receivers this season for fantasy. This bodes well for any owner of Michael Thomas that has stuck with him throughout the season, especially since he is a short route runner. Plus, Emmanuel Sanders’s last double-digit point game came against the Falcons two weeks ago. These two will be the best options for getting a steal in fantasy points. Michael Thomas has projected 16.7 fantasy points next week while Emmanuel Sanders has projected 7.45 points.

Minnesota Offense vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense is the most allowing defense to all positions in fantasy football. They allow the third-most points to quarterbacks, the sixth most to running backs, the fifth most to wide receivers, and the second most to tight ends. This plays right into the hands of the loaded skill players that are on the Minnesota Vikings. Consider Kirk Cousins a possible starter for those who have Tom Brady or Teddy Bridgewater on their team, who are both on bye. Cousins ranks fifth in quarterback points in the last four weeks of play and will have another great game against the Jaguars. Plus, Adam Thielen should return from the COVID reserve list for this game this weekend, and Justin Jefferson will be another great option too for fantasy. In terms of tight ends, Kyle Rudolph has been playing very well with the absence of Irv Smith Jr. due to injury. Rudolph ranks 12th in tight-end points in the last four weeks. Cousins has projected 19.1 points next week as QB12. Dalvin Cook leads projections for running backs with 22.6 projected fantasy points. Adam Thielen has projected 15.55 and Justin Jefferson 15 points. Kyle Rudolph stands at TE17 with 6.5 projected points for next week.