Poor Week 13 Fantasy Football Showings: Justin Herbert, D'Andre Swift, Adam Thielen and More

We talked about some of the more surprisingly good fantasy performances of week 13, so it’s only fitting to now touch on some of the down performances from some fantasy stars.

We’ll look at the quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end positions.

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Fantasy Quarterbacks

Justin Herbert led the Los Angeles Chargers to a much-needed win over the New England Patriots, but it wasn’t because of a dazzling passing display. He completed 22-of-37 passes for 212 yards. Herbert didn’t throw a touchdown or interception.

This game was all kinds of ugly, and Herbert had one of his worst fantasy showings of the season. He’s still one of the better fantasy options at the position, and has a pretty decent schedule ahead, so hopefully his down performance came before you started the postseason.

Patrick Mahomes was outperformed by Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love on Sunday night. Mahomes completed 21-of-33 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown, but also threw a costly interception. He added 26 rushing yards on four attempts.

This hasn’t been a very productive season by Mahomes’ lofty standards, and fantasy owners have been left wanting more in more weeks than not. His ceiling is still probably the highest of any fantasy quarterback, so I wouldn’t suggest benching him, but if you have another QB with a really favorable matchup, maybe that’s the way to go. Mahomes’ schedule ahead is a pretty average one.

Fantasy Running Backs

There were a few down showings from some of the better fantasy backs this season.

Miami Dolphins’ Raheem Mostert tallied just 51 scrimmage yards on 12 touches in the team’s win over the Washington Commanders. He did score once to help fantasy owners out. 

The problem for Mostert owners is that De’Von Achane went for 103 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 20 touches. The backfield is swinging back in the rookie’s favor again, and the schedule ahead is a tough one, so Mostert should be part of start/sit decisions moving forward.

Atlanta Falcons’ Bijan Robinson had a bit of a down week in the team’s win over the New York Jets. The rookie back went for 53 rushing yards on 18 attempts and added 26 receiving yards on three catches and five targets.

It wasn’t a great offensive day for Atlanta, but Robinson also saw RBs on his team take away 14 possible touches. It’s been a problem all season, and limits what Robinson can do on a weekly basis. A positive is that the Falcons’ schedule is much easier going forward.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ running game was held in check in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers, so it’s no surprise to see D’Andre Swift’s numbers down. He rushed for 13 yards on six attempts and had a touchdown run stolen by Jalen Hurts. Swift had two catches for 7 yards on six targets, and took a huge hit near the end of the game.

The schedule is a bit easier going forward, but as long as Hurts is utilized on QB sneaks, Swift’s fantasy ceiling is fairly limited.

Fantasy Wide Receivers

Several wide receivers had down showings in week 13.

Chargers’ Keenan Allen had a down day along with Herbert. Allen hauled in five of his nine targets for 58 yards. He was almost outproduced by the drop-prone Quentin Johnston. 

Allen still should be started every week going forward, but with an average schedule ahead, fantasy owners are hoping week 13 was an outlier.

Adam Thielen’s hot start to the season seems like forever ago. He disappointed again in week 13, hauling in half of his six targets for 25 yards.

Thielen has topped 50 receiving yards just twice over the past six contests. He also hasn’t scored in that span, so he’s going to be hard to trust moving forward. His schedule is somewhat favorable moving forward at least.

Garrett Wilson continues to waste away on the terrible New York Jets’ offense. He caught three of his seven targets for 50 yards.

That’s three average or poor showings in a row for Wilson. The quarterback problem isn’t going away, so he’s going to be tough to trust the rest of the season. Wilson has a similar schedule ahead to Thielen.

Drake London was another Falcons’ player that underperformed in week 13. He made one catch for 8 yards on five targets.

London’s inconsistent season continued with his second-worst performance yet. It might come down to matchups when determining whether or not to start him the rest of the way. He’s got a bit tougher schedule than the last two wideouts we mentioned. 

Of course the Washington Commanders’ passing game laid an egg right after I wrote up a feature story on them. Terry McLaurin had been the team’s most consistent receiver this season, but didn’t even have a catch on three targets in week 13.

There’s more bad news too. Washington’s schedule is not very favorable moving forward. I think the Commanders’ passing game will be better in weeks to come, but the possibility of these kinds of outings are also in the back of fantasy owner’s minds now.

Fantasy Tight Ends

There weren't too many top-end fantasy tight ends that struggled in week 13. The only standout to me was Cleveland Browns’ David Njoku.

Njoku caught 2-of-6 targets for 17 yards. He was outplayed by Harrison Bryant (five catches, 49 yards and a touchdown). 

Fantasy owners are hoping Njoku’s down game was simply because of new starting quarterback Joe Flacco, and in time, Njoku will be back to his standard level of play. The schedule ahead for Njoku is favorable.