🖥 CYBER WEEK - TAP TO SAVE 50% WITH CODE CYBER
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

NFL Recap - Week 13 Surprises, And Looking Ahead

Getty Images

Adam Sabol's Monday morning recap of Week 13's NFL action (2016). Who surprised or disappointed? Fantasy football studs, duds, injuries, standouts and busts.

With Week 13 behind us, every NFL team has now played 12 games, and the season is officially 75% over. We're officially in the stretch run, and many divisions are up for grabs. That being said, not every contest is created equal, and while there will be significant football played in December and January, some competitions are more competitive than others.

Here's a division-by-division look at what to watch out for as the 2016 season comes to a close.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive BOTH our full season NFL and NBA Premium Passes for free, a $119.99 value. Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Passes.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

What Is Going To Happen

The AFC North - Which team will trip up first, the Ravens or the Steelers?

Both Baltimore and Pittsburgh find themselves tied for first place in the division at 7-5 with four games to play, and though the Bengals still have a chance, it's very much a "Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber" chance, considering they sit at 4-7-1, putting them two and a half games behind with only four to play. Both the Steelers and the Ravens struggled during the midseason, but the teams appear to be rounding back into form down the stretch. The Ravens have a tougher slate of games to play (New England and Philadelphia are better teams than Cincinnati and Cleveland), but a Week 16 contest between the two bitter rivals looms large. It's possible that game decides the division.

 

The AFC South - Who wants to win this division?  Failing that, who wants to lose it less?

The Texans have no quarterback. The Colts ONLY have a quarterback and he's in the concussion protocol. The Titans can't beat the Colts at all. Should the Colts beat the 3-8 Jets on Monday night, all three teams will be tied at 6-6. The Titans still have games left to play against the Broncos and Chiefs, but the Colts have a tilt against the red-hot Raiders. Ultimately, you just know the Texans and Titans will figure out a way to tie in Week 17 and bring both teams' records to 7-8-1, leading us to the least interesting tiebreaker of all time. I feel like we should just mash these three teams together and make one competent NFL squad out of them.

 

The AFC West - How brutal can this division get?

The Raiders play the Chiefs on Thursday night, and the prize is first place in the AFC's best division. The Raiders, led by MVP candidate Derek Carr on offense and being sent from beyond the stars to subjugate us Khalil Mack on defense, have secured the franchise's first winning season since 2002 and also appear to be unbeatable no matter how many goddamn points you hang on them before the fourth quarter. The Chiefs, led by Checkdown King Alex Smith on offense and cancer surviving All-Pro safety/reminder you could've done so much more with your life if you had half his drive Eric Berry on defense, sport a 9-3 record despite the rumor that there are no wide receivers on the roster. The Chiefs are like a really good slasher movie villain - Raiders fans and Broncos fans can just feel them lurking about in contention but no one's actually seen them until all of a sudden it's Week 17 and the Chiefs are taking a machete to their division championship banners.

 

The AFC East - Will there ever be an interesting storyline coming out of this division again?

So for like the millionth year in a row, the Patriots are comfortably winning the AFC East, the Dolphins are hanging around, the Bills aren't gonna make the playoffs, and the Jets are off eating paste in the corner. The Dolphins remain in wild-card contention, except the third place team in the AFC West would decimate them anyway, so the AFC East is still Punxatawney, PA, and we're all still Bill Murray.

 

The NFC North - The Lions?  Wait, really?

The Detroit Lions have a two-game lead on the Packers and Vikings. The Vikings aren't falling apart so much as they are disintegrating, and since Aaron Rodgers has regressed to being merely really good, the Packers haven't fared much better. The Lions have taken advantage of the division's down year, and may actually win the whole thing for the first time since 1993, when the division was the NFC Central. To put that in perspective, the Lions' division title drought is now comfortably old enough to drink. And now Lions fans are going to start doing exactly that.

 

The NFC South - Why in God's name would you impose a dress code on football players, Ron Rivera?

When Derek Anderson started for the Panthers in their 40-7 beatdown at the Seahawks' hands (talons?), we were all pretty confused. Especially when he threw an interception on the Panthers' first play. Fortunately, though, reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton was able to clear everything up when he explained that he violated the team's dress code by not wearing a tie. Which makes perfect sense if you forget the fact that Newton dresses like he's going to a 1920s themed club literally every week, wide-brim hat and all. Kinda hard not to say you deserved this one, Riverboat Ron.

 

The NFC West - Remember when there was more than one good team in this division?

The Seahawks are doing just fine, but the Cardinals have collapsed, the 49ers are a hollowed out, shambling corpse of a team and the Rams have just had to fire their coach after he lost seven of his last eight games.

Wait, I'm getting word that instead of firing Jeff Fisher, the Rams instead decided to extend his contract for two more years. It's times like these I really resent that iOS update that turned the revolver emoji into a squirtgun.

 

The NFC East - Can a rookie actually win MVP?

The division has been dominated by Dallas nearly all season. Many, many pages have been written about the Cowboys' frightening offensive attack and the two rookie phenoms spearheading it. But with the retirement of Peyton Manning, the downturn of Aaron Rodgers, and the suspension served by Tom Brady, there hasn't been an established quarterback who's truly impressed for 12 games so far. Brady could end up pulling away from the pack here, and there's always a chance that Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott end up stealing votes from each other, but if it were ever to happen, this year seems like the best shot. With a stretch run that includes games against the Giants, Eagles and 7-5 Buccaneers, the Cowboys have a lot of meaningful football yet to play, which just means there's four more opportunities for one of the two budding superstars to have an MVP-caliber performance. Also, if you live in Cleveland, San Francisco, or Chicago, this is way more fun than actually watching football.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Zion Williamson

Questionable Against Minnesota
Neemias Queta

Set to Return on Tuesday
Derrick White

Will Play Tuesday Against New York
Quentin Grimes

Downgraded to Questionable on Tuesday
CFB

Five-Star Quarterback Jared Curtis Flips Commitment From Georgia to Vanderbilt
CFB

Florida Hiring Brad White as Defensive Coordinator
Kyle Schwarber

Giants Have Checked in on Kyle Schwarber
Willson Contreras

Willing to Waive his Full No-Trade Clause?
Brandon Aiyuk

49ers "Hopeful" Brandon Aiyuk Will Play in 2025
Brayden Point

Without Timetable for Return
Jake Walman

Still Out Tuesday
Mason Appleton

Misses Tuesday's Contest
Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Good to Go Tuesday
Conor Garland

Out on Tuesday
Petr Mrazek

Considered Day-to-Day
Tyson Foerster

Hurt in Monday's Loss
Trey Murphy III

May Skip Another Game Tuesday
Zion Williamson

Back in Pelicans Lineup Tuesday
Draymond Green

Probable for Tuesday Night
Jimmy Butler III

Questionable to Play Tuesday
Derrick White

Likely Available Tuesday
Paul George

Listed as Questionable for Tuesday
Joel Embiid

Won't Play Against Wizards
Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Carted Off With Hip Injury on Monday Night
Edwin Díaz

Mets Still Interested in Re-Signing Edwin Diaz
Devin Williams

Agrees to Three-Year Deal With Mets
Cole Ragans

Red Sox Targeting Cole Ragans in a Trade?
CFB

Kentucky Hires Oregon Offensive Coordinator Will Stein As Head Coach
Davante Adams

Not Dealing With a Serious Injury
Brandon Miller

Unavailable on Monday
Kyler Murray

Surgery Not on the Table for Kyler Murray
Duncan Robinson

Absent Against Atlanta
Marvin Harrison Jr.

in Danger of Missing Week 14?
Jalen Duren

Back in the Lineup on Monday Evening
Noah Clowney

Cleared to Play Versus Charlotte
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Active On Monday
Danila Yurov

Won't Play on Tuesday
Michael Porter Jr.

Back in Action on Monday
Sam Merrill

Unavailable Versus Pacers
David Pastrnak

to Remain Out Tuesday
Alexandre Sarr

Won't Play Versus Milwaukee
Adam Gaudette

Iffy for Monday
CFB

Kalani Sitake the Top Target for Penn State Coaching Job
Logan Cooley

a Game-Time Decision Monday
Josh Norris

Available Monday
Neal Pionk

Remains Out Monday
Lonzo Ball

Ruled Out on Monday
Jimmy Snuggerud

to Miss Six Weeks After Wrist Surgery
Justin Herbert

Having Hand Surgery on Monday
Steven Adams

Out Against Jazz
Kyler Murray

Cardinals Won't Open Kyler Murray's Practice Window This Week
Sauce Gardner

Not a Candidate to Go on Injured Reserve
Jayden Daniels

Not Cleared for Contact, Decision on Week 14 Status Delayed
CFB

Josh Heupel Says He's Not a Candidate for Penn State Head Coach Job
Trey Hendrickson

Doubtful to Return in Week 14
Tee Higgins

Still in the Concussion Protocol
Drake London

"has a Chance" to Play in Week 14
J.J. McCarthy

in Line to Start in Week 14?
Aaron Jones Sr.

Not Dealing With Serious Shoulder Injury, Likely Day-to-Day
Sam Darnold

Dealing With Ankle Injury, "Should be Good" for Week 14
CFB

Will Stein, Brian Hartline the Top Candidates for Kentucky Job?
CFB

Nebraska Fires Defensive Coordinator John Butler After One Season
CFB

UCLA Expected to Hire Bob Chesney as Next Head Coach
Sauce Gardner

Officially Week-to-Week with Strained Calf
CFB

Lane Kiffin to Make $13 Million Salary, Ties Kirby Smart
CFB

Buster Faulkner, Joey Halzle Candidates for Florida Offensive Coordinator Job?
CFB

Kentucky Officially Fires Mark Stoops
Justin Herbert

Has Metacarpal Fracture in Left Hand
Amon-Ra St. Brown

Week 14 Availability Up in the Air
VEG

Carter Hart Expected to Make Golden Knights Debut Tuesday
Pyotr Kochetkov

Remains Without Timeline For Return
Boone Jenner

Close to Returning
Lian Bichsel

Exits With Injury Sunday
Petr Mrazek

Injured in Sunday's Loss
Adam Fox

Placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve
Zach Ertz

Leads Washington in Receiving in Overtime Loss
James Cook

Handles Career-High 32 Carries for 144 Yards in Win
Justin Herbert

Planning to Play Through Broken Bone in Left Hand in Week 14
CFB

Lane Kiffin to be Introduced as LSU's Next Head Coach on Monday
CFB

Florida Poised to Land Jon Sumrall as Next Head Coach
CFB

Alex Golesh Taking Over Auburn Head-Coaching Job
CFB

Arkansas Expected to Hire Ryan Silverfield as Next Head Coach
Joel Hofer

Shuts Out Mammoth
Zack Wheeler

Likely to Return in May
Ryan Helsley

Agrees to Two-Year Deal With Orioles
Dylan Cease

Agrees With Blue Jays on Seven-Year, $210 Million Deal
Anthony Rendon

Angels Could Buy Out Final Year of Anthony Rendon's Contract