The Week 13 matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons features a stout defense versus a pretty good offense. We've got the fantasy projections for you courtesy of numberFire.
Andre Ellington, Roddy White on fantasy radar for Cardinals-Falcons in Week 13
We break down the Week 13 matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons.
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Arizona Cardinals
Running back Andre Ellington should be able to run all over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. He's had a solid season thus far and the Falcons don't exactly defend very well on the ground. In fact, Atlanta gives up more fantasy points to running backs than any other team in the NFL. So after looking fairly strong following the team's bye in Week 4 and then tapering off in the last couple of games, perhaps Week 13 will provide Ellington and his fantasy owners a chance to bounce back. Even if he struggles to find holes in the line of scrimmage, he may benefit from breaking loose on a few screen passes out of the backfield.
In terms of the Cardinals' passing game, it's looking like Larry Fitzgerald will be a game-time decision, so teammate Michael Floyd may have to step it up. Floyd produced a goose egg last week against the Seattle Seahawks but he was only targeted twice in the contest and the Cardinals' coaching staff admitted they didn't do enough to get him open during the game. Given that indication, it would be a pretty good bet to assume that Floyd will be a lot busier against the Falcons even if Fitzgerald does end up playing.
Atlanta Falcons
Fantasy owners have to be a little bit disappointed in quarterback Matt Ryan. He just hasn’t looked as potent offensively this season. Part of that does have to do with the team’s offensive line, but the reality is he will need to find a way to pick things up one way or another on Sunday. Ryan hasn’t thrown three touchdowns in a game since Week 4 and accomplishing that against a tough Cardinals secondary isn’t going to be an easy task. That said, he does have a pair of top-notch receivers at his disposal, so it is possible that he delivers some solid fantasy value to his owners in Week 13.
One of those top-notch receivers is of course Julio Jones. Jones only managed five catches for 68 yards last week, which is not as productive as he could've been given that Jones was targeted 13 times in the game. Luckily he was able to save his fantasy value by scoring a touchdown, something he hadn't done since all the way back in Week 3. There is no doubt it will be difficult to find the end zone two weeks in a row, especially given that he will line up against Patrick Peterson for most of the afternoon, but Jones is one of the most talented players in the NFL so if anybody can break through it's him.
