What We Saw: Week 13

The What We Saw team recaps every game from Week 13

Ben Brown
What We Saw A Year Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Bills @ Patriots
Steelers @ Falcons
Broncos @ Ravens
Packers @ Bears
Jaguars @ Lions
Browns @ Texans
Jets @ Vikings
Commanders @ Giants
Titans @ Eagles
Seahawks @ Rams
Dolphins @ 49ers
Chiefs @ Bengals
Chargers @ Raiders
Colts @ Cowboys
Saints @ Buccaneers

Commanders @ Giants

Final Score: Commanders 20, Giants 20

Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

 

Tied game! In a key NFC East matchup, the Washington Commanders rode into the Meadowlands on a three-game win streak to try and upset the upstart New York Giants in their own building. Two tough defenses went head-to-head to restrict both offenses all afternoon and an eventual stalemate ensued after one of the most miserable overtime periods ever seen.

Let’s dig into the key fantasy outputs from this contest.

 

Washington Commanders

 

Quarterback

 

Taylor Heinicke: 27/41, 275 Yards, 2 TD, 5 Sacks | 2 Carries, 6 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)

 

On a day when the Commanders stretched out to an early 10-0 lead, Taylor Heinicke threw a season-high 41 passes and had to engineer a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive to haul his team level with just 1:45 left on the clock. Heinicke benefited from an early fumble and some nice route running from his young receiving corps to come away with points on the Commanders’ first two drives. Heinicke saw his receivers break tackles and run in from outside the red zone for both his passing scores, too. On either side of those two touchdown passes was a lot of heavy pressure in the pocket and errant throws to the sideline. Heinicke was sacked five times, including on the first drive of the second half in which he coughed up a fumble that the Giants answered with a go-ahead score.

 

 

Still, as he has shown throughout his time in Washington, Heinicke has heart and battles to the end. Extending this play on fourth down and scrambling toward the sideline before somehow finding Curtis Samuel downfield for the first down epitomized his performance. He remains off fantasy radars but his 21.60 fantasy points in this game were his second-best score of the season.

 

 

Running Back

 

Brian Robinson Jr.: 21 Carries, 96 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards

Antonio Gibson: 9 Carries, 39 Yards | 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards

Jonathan Williams: 1 Carry, 1 Yard

 

Two weeks ago out of nowhere Antonio Gibson led the backfield and everyone held their breath, however, after two consecutive weeks of a heavy dose of Brian Robinson Jr. it is safe to say he is the lead back in this offense. Robinson out-touched Gibson 23-11 and showed more dynamism and ability to break tackles than the more diminutive Gibson. It was an impressive performance against a stout defensive fromt for the Giants.

 

 

Robinson isn’t heavily involved in the passing game and takes a backseat to Gibson on third down passing situations. But apart from that, he is an all-purpose back that has shown he can handle a big workload at the NFL level. His situation is his only drawback. Robinson had only one carry inside the Giants’ 10-yard line.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Terry McLaurin: 12 Targets, 8 Receptions, 105 Yards, TD

Curtis Samuel: 3 Carries, 23 Yards | 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 63 Yards

Jahan Dotson: 9 Targets, 5 Receptions, 54 Yards, TD

Logan Thomas: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards

Cam Sims: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, -2 Yards

 

Terry McLaurin continues to be the best wide receiver on a fantasy poor offense. Every week he lays out for his quarterback and this week he took it to the next level. Notching just his third receiving touchdown of the season, “Scary Terry” took a short toss from his quarterback before nonchalantly shaking off his tackler on his way into the end zone. An elite wideout making things happen for his team. He made two key grabs on two other scoring drives. A surefire WR1!

 

 

After being eased back into the Commanders’ offense after injury, it has been a successful and impressive return from rookie wideout Jahan Dotson, who has been overshadowed by the other rookie receivers due to his injury. Dotson suddenly received nine targets and made five grabs for 54 yards including this brilliant catch, spin and jolt into the endzone to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. A clutch play from this young playmaker.

 

 

Curtis Samuel continued his healthy fantasy production with another 86 scrimmage yards. The former Panthers wideout has been used all across the formation and continues to impress in Washington. He caught two balls for 20-plus yards on the final game-tying drive.

 

New York Giants

 

Quarterback

 

Daniel Jones: 25/31, 200 Yards, TD, 4 Sacks | 12 Carries, 71 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)

 

Daniel Jones completed 16-of-17 passes in the first half to get off to a flying start. Jones was also effective on the ground adding 13 carries (a season-high) for 71 yards to make it yet another productive fantasy outing. Jones wasn’t afraid to take off outside the hashes against a fiery Commanders defensive front who sacked him four times all in all. This excellent use of his legs on second-and-long proved to be a kick-starter in getting the Giants into the game.

 

 

His 55-yard deep ball to Darius Slayton spearheaded a 5-play, 81-yard touchdown drive that brought the Giants level midway through the second quarter. And when Heinicke coughed up the ball to start the second half, Jones punished his opponents with an incisive throw to the emerging Isaiah Hodgins for the go-ahead score.

 

 

Jones has now ran for more than 50 yards five times this season. He’s a nice streaming option for the remainder of the season depending on bye weeks or matchups.

 

Running Back

 

Saquon Barkley: 18 Carries, 63 Yards, TD | 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 18 Yards

Matt Breida: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards

 

With Jones leading the team in rushing yards, Saquon Barkley took a backseat to his quarterback on the ground in an already tough matchup against the Commanders’ elite interior defensive front. It was a strange day as he did manage a couple of big runs but they were often offset by rushes for negative yardage. He found the end zone on a nice burst up the middle, and credit must go to his offensive line for creating the hole inside the red zone.

 

 

Barkley was stymied in the second half and was stuffed on third down and short on consecutive drives. Brian Daboll tried to get him on the outside a number of times late in the game with short passes out of the backfield but it was in vain as the Commanders were ready for him. Barkley has double-digit fantasy points in all but one of his 12 games this season. He is the focal point of a run-heavy Giants offense and has reclaimed fantasy stud status.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Darius Slayton: 8 Targets, 6 Receptions, 90 Yards

Isaiah Hodgins: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 44 Yards, TD

Daniel Bellinger: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 24 Yards

Richie James: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards

 

He keeps popping up in big spots for his team and once again Darius Slayton led this limited-skillset receiving corps. Slayton nabbed six catches for 90 yards and it could have been more if he had managed to come down with another deep ball in the second half, the impact on the floor forcing the ball from his hands. Still, this grab was something special.

 

 

Slayton was also unlucky not to generate a defensive pass interference call in the second half. There seems to be plenty of contact here from the replay. He now has double-digit PPR points in six of his last eight contests and can be relied upon for FLEX output.

 

 

Isaiah Hodgins was brought in by Daboll after his team drafted him in Buffalo back in 2020. He has become a weapon in this offense thanks to his steady hands and ability to create separation. He has 13 catches off 15 targets over the past month and could be in line for a bigger role down the stretch.

There could be a late-season push from rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger, who caught all five of his short passes on returning from a nasty eye socket injury. He had a couple of contested grabs that impressed and could see more work around the red zone.

Series Navigation
Introduction
Bills @ Patriots
Steelers @ Falcons
Broncos @ Ravens
Packers @ Bears
Jaguars @ Lions
Browns @ Texans
Jets @ Vikings
Commanders @ Giants
Titans @ Eagles
Seahawks @ Rams
Dolphins @ 49ers
Chiefs @ Bengals
Chargers @ Raiders
Colts @ Cowboys
Saints @ Buccaneers

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