For a massive undertaking like Fantasy Points Data, we need a large team of dedicated and educated charting professionals to ensure that our statistics can be posted on the website accurately and quickly.
While the data-charting process is, by nature, objective, our team will form opinions about what they saw, given we have to watch every play multiple times.
Every week, we’ll select the most notable observations and back them up with the objective data we’ve become known for.
Here are our top observations for 2024 NFL Week 13.
Week 13 Data Charter Observations
1. “The Eagles’ running game is suffocating. Once they build a lead, they lean on Saquon Barkley and mix in Jalen Hurts to wear your defense down as the game goes on. Even in a tough matchup, Barkley was able to pick up positive yardage until he finally broke through for the long touchdown run. It is going to be hard to stop such a relentless run game with the way that their defense is playing.”
The Eagles solidified themselves as Super Bowl contenders with a convincing 24-19 win in Baltimore over the Ravens in Week 13. RB Saquon Barkley was once again the focal point of the Eagles’ offense and he delivered 107 yards on the ground including a 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles a commanding lead. The Eagles’ offensive line was a huge factor in Barkley’s success as they helped guide Barkley to 2.87 YBCO/ATT against a Ravens’ defense that has surrendered just 1.51 YBCO/ATT (t-8th best) on the season to opposing RBs.
QB Jalen Hurts contributed 29 yards on 9 attempts with 1 touchdown and 4 crucial first downs as the Eagles went run-heavy for the majority of the second half. The combination of Barkley and Hurts was just too much for the Ravens to handle, despite entering as a difficult defense to run against. Up next for the Eagles is a home matchup against the NFL’s worst run defense in the Panthers, who have already given up over 2,000 rushing yards on the season.
2. “Josh Allen is excelling as the centerpiece of the Bills offense. He continues to spread the ball to multiple receivers, takes off when the play breaks down, and even now got involved as a pass catcher. Ok, maybe the lateral was more of his ability with the ball in his hands, but still, it went down as receiving yards. James Cook brings a big play element that complements Allen so well that it makes this offense nearly impossible to stop.”
QB Josh Allen and the Bills extended their streak of scoring 30+ points to six straight games in a 35-10 blowout victory over the 49ers. Allen strengthened his MVP case on the back of a 173 total yard and 4 total touchdown performance. While the yardage total was low, Allen was efficient on 17 attempts, completing 13 passes for 148 yards, which was good for 8.71 YPA and zero turnover-worthy throws. His MVP moment came in the third quarter when he completed a pass to Amari Cooper who lateraled back to Allen, allowing the QB to outrun the defense in a diving effort to the pylon. The Bills already locked up the AFC East and will take on the Rams in Week 14 followed by a marquee matchup with the Lions in Week 15.
3. “Say what you want about Russell Wilson, he is the leader that this team has needed at the QB position. Reading coverages, changing plays at the line of scrimmage, executing at a high clip. It felt like he had the ball on a string yesterday. He still throws one of the best deep balls.”
The Steelers increased their lead in the AFC North by dropping 44 points on the Bengals in a 44-38 shootout win in Week 13. QB Russell Wilson dialed it back to his Seahawks’ days with 414 passing yards and 3 touchdowns while completing passes to all levels of the field. Wilson registered a low 4.5 aDOT, allowing his receivers to pick up 66.2% of his passing yards coming after the catch, but he also completed 2 out of 2 deep passes for 59 yards and a score. One of the areas that the Steelers had success in the passing game was out of the backfield as RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren caught all 10 of their targets for 109 combined yards with most of the targets coming behind with the line of scrimmage, which allowed the duo to exploit the Bengals’ defense in the open field. The Steelers match up with the Browns next week before facing a critical three-game stretch against the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs.
4. “The box score didn’t reflect how well Anthony Richardson played. His receivers dropped numerous passes downfield that Richardson threw in a good spot. He does have a tendency to throw without his feet set, but he is a different quarterback since returning from the benching a few weeks ago. Also, Richardson is the Colts’ entire red zone offense. When they get inside the 20, he is either throwing off play action or running it himself near the goal line.”
In his third game back from being benched, QB Anthony Richardson led a 19-play touchdown drive to give the Colts a comeback win by a score of 25-24 win over the Patriots. Richardson threw for just 109 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 12 of 24 passing, but he was let down by his receivers as the Colts led the NFL in drop yards in Week 13 with 82 yards lost on drops. More importantly, Richardson continued to dominate touches in the red zone by accounting for 3 total touchdowns inside the 20-yard line and a two-point conversion to seal the victory for the Colts.
Although Richardson is soaking up most of the red zone looks, the Colts continued to rely on RB Jonathan Taylor as he racked up 103 total yards on 26 touches and 1 touchdown. The Colts head into their bye week at 6-7 and then square off with the Broncos, who have been tough on opposing offenses all season.
5. “Aaron Rodgers had multiple throws that he simply missed and overshot. On 4th down with Davante Adams wide open, he led him to far upfield forcing Davante to dive and they could not connect. He missed Garrett Wilson wide open as well on an endzone fade, again just an overthrow. The next play was a pick-6 by Leonard Williams that brought the Seahawks back to life in this game.”
A lost season for the Jets continued to spiral downward following a 26-21 defeat at home to the Seahawks. QB Aaron Rodgers completed just 21 of 39 passes for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. His poor numbers in Week 13 was a microcosm of the whole season as Rodgers ranks bottom-10 in CPOE (-4.0%), ADJ COMP % (71.5%), CATCH % (72.8%), and OFF % (20.5%) on the year. Unfortunately for Jets fans, Rodgers has played like a 40+ year-old QB rather than the MVP candidate that many were hoping for. WRs Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams posted solid Win Rates of 16.2% and 19.4% respectively, but with Rodgers unable to accurately locate the football, the duo brought in just 10 out of 22 targets for 107 combined yards and 1 score. The Jets travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins and their solid pass defense that ranks 7th at 2,602 passing yards allowed on the season.
6. “Bucky Irving is quickly becoming one of the most fun running backs to watch. He is aggressively getting downhill and shifting through blocks with speed and never goes down to the first tackler. The Buccaneers are realizing he needs to be on the field as much as possible. They played some two RB sets with Rachaad White as well.”
The Buccaneers tied the Falcons for the NFC South division lead with a 26-23 win over the Panthers in Week 13. For the second week in a row, RB Bucky Irving stood out as a clear weapon out of the backfield. Faced with an excellent matchup against the league’s worst run defense, Irving paced the entire league with 152 yards and a score on the ground along with another 33 yards through the air. The rookie showed off his elusiveness with 4 MTFs, allowing him to gain 87 of 152 rushing yards after contact. Despite the career day, the Buccaneers appear to want to feature a two-back rotation as RB Rachaad White rushed for 76 yards of his own while registering a 51.9% Snap%, which is close to Irving’s 53.2%. Week 14 brings a home matchup against the Raiders who are good against the run, ranking 10th in rushing yards allowed (1,377).
7. “Bryce Young is coming around. He looks like he is having fun out there. His confidence in his abilities is showing on the field. Recognizing pressures and coverages and just trusting his read and letting it rip. He still shows some ‘happy feet’ in the pocket and his deep ball was a little off, but he is starting to have multiple ‘wow’ moments every game.”
Despite losing to the Buccaneers, QB Bryce Young continued to show improvement since regaining his spot as the Panthers’ starting QB. Young nearly eclipsed 300 passing yards for the second time in his career with 298 yards on 26 completions and a touchdown to go along with 17 rushing yards and another score. After losing his job earlier in the year, Young played with more aggression in Week 13 as he ranked tied for 8th in HERO throw rate at 8.7%, which is way up from his rate of 5.6% on the season.
Perhaps the biggest reason for Young’s recent success has been the return of veteran WR Adam Thielen, who led the Panthers with 99 yards and a touchdown on 8 catches in Week 13. Since his return in Week 12, Thielen has registered a solid ASS of 0.121, which has helped Young find open receivers. The Panthers head to Philadelphia next week to take on the Eagles’ third-ranked pass defense.
8. “Bo Nix becoming a gunslinger in his rookie year was not on my preseason bingo card. Multiple times in this game we saw Nix forgo the underneath receiver and push the envelope down the field. His throw to Marvin Mims was a thing of beauty, just an absolute rifle down the seam with tremendous anticipation. Any second later on the throw, or a little less strength, and that ball is at least tipped, if not picked. That was arguably Bo’s best throw as a pro.”
Week 13 was capped off by a 41-32 back-and-forth victory for the Broncos over the Browns. Rookie QB Bo Nix put together his second-highest passing output on the season with 294 passing yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Nix showed off his aggressiveness with 7 deep throws in Week 13 including a highlight reel throw to Marvin Mims that went for a 93-yard touchdown. For the season, Nix is squarely in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation as he leads all rookies in passing yards with 2,842 and passing touchdowns with 17. Now entering their bye week, the Broncos will look to continue their push for the playoffs when they take on the Colts in Week 15.
Bonus Observations
49ers RB Christian McCaffrey — Tough break for Christian McCaffrey. He looked just about all the way back in the early going and had the 49ers’ offense in the game. CMC suffered a knee injury on a near touchdown run and before the injury rushed for 53 yards on 7 carries including 37 EXP YDS, 4 MTFs, and 3.43 YACO/ATT.
Browns RB Nick Chubb — Gamescript played a small part with the Browns throwing so often, but Nick Chubb looks like a shell of himself. He goes down nearly every time on first contact and cannot find explosive runs. Chubb is averaging a lowly 2.98 YPC with just one explosive run and a disappointing 0.10 MTF/ATT rate. Coming off a major injury, it was expected that it would take time for Chubb to regain his abilities, but it certainly has not gone well to start.
Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — Is Quentin Johnston reverting back to his rookie version? These drops are weighing heavy on his head it seems by his body language and it could be carrying over from game to game. After starting the year with much-improved production from his rookie season, Johnston has just 2 catches for 12 yards in the last two weeks while dropping three passes. 8 out of Johnston’s 9 targets have been deemed catchable the past two weeks, yet he has had flashbacks to his rookie season where he could not hang onto the ball.
