I suspect that Week 13 will go down as one of the most frustrating weeks of the season. Not only did several so-called studs put up goat-like numbers, but many leagues were in the final week of their regular seasons so there were more than a few owners in must-win situations. Let’s hope that they didn’t have one (or more) of the guys on this list:
Dwayne Bowe (0-0)
78 points. That was the total of the first matchup between these two teams and, on Sunday, they combined for a measly 16 points. The biggest goat of the game was Bowe, who somehow failed to register a catch against one of the worst pass defenses in the league after posting an average of 7.0-105-1.9 over his last seven games. That is a mind-boggling drop in production for a guy who was the top fantasy wideout over the last two months.
Brandon Lloyd (2-31)
Kyle Orton (117 yards, 0 TD)
Last time he faced the Chiefs, Lloyd caught six passes for 90 yards and two TDs. In his last four games he racked up 413 yards and six TDs. Lloyd reminded the fantasy community why he was one of the most frustrating fantasy players of the mid-00s. Meanwhile, Orton looked dreadful, missing on 19 of his 28 pass attempts and failing to find the endzone. Thanks for that, Kyle.
Chris Johnson (67 total yards, 0 TD)
Over the first 10 weeks, Johnson averaged 107 total yards and 0.9 TDs. We wrote off last week’s miserable outing against the Texans due to the Titans’ problems at QB, but with Kerry Collins back under center, Johnson would get back to normal, right? WRONG. Chris Johnson looked more like Larry Johnson circa 2009. This was not what owners were expecting when they drafted him #1 overall this summer.
Santana Moss (2-24)
Mario Manningham (2-36)
What the…? In a game that the Redskins trailed from the beginning, you’d think that Moss would be able to post good numbers in garbage time. Yeah…no. It was Anthony Armstrong (6-97-1) who had Moss-like numbers as the Redskins mounted their pathetic comeback. As for Mario, a heartfelt apology goes out to everyone who started him on my recommendation. The Giants are dying for players at WR and the Redskins have a terrible pass defense, yet Manningham could never get it going. Derek Hagan (7-65) was Eli Manning’s favorite target.
Eli Manning (161 yards, INT)
Speaking of Eli, good grief… Coming into the game, the Redskins gave up an average of 269 passing yards and 1.6 pass TD, so naturally Manning threw for 161 yards, zero TDs and a terrible pick at the goal line.
Stevie Johnson (2-34)
Over the last nine games, Johnson averaged 81 yards and 1.0 TD per game. Maybe God is on Twitter, and wasn’t too happy with Stevie blaming Him for his game-losing Week 12 drop against the Steelers, because Johnson was a non-factor against the Vikings.
Sam Bradford (187 yards, INT)
It’s hard to be tough on the rookie, given the kind of season he has had after losing Mark Clayton, his top weapon in the passing game. But 187 yards and no TDs against the Cardinals? Bradford was playing well enough that he started to become a fringe QB1 play in many leagues, and he had his first bad game at the worst possible time.
Ray Rice (50 total yards)
Rashard Mendenhall (63 total yards)
There’s a reason I had these guys ranked in the teens instead of their usual spots in the top 10. They had bad matchups (Rice’s was worse than Mendenhall’s) but they are both active enough in the passing game that fantasy owners were counting on them for more.
Mike Tolbert (63 total yards)
He had six catches so he fared decently in PPR leagues, but if I would have told Tolbert owners that Ryan Mathews wasn’t going to register a touch in a game where Tolbert faced the league’s 23rd ranked rush defense, I’m sure they would have felt good about the chances that the converted fullback would post a nice rushing day. Instead, they got seven carries for 16 yards. Ouch.
