Fantasy football projections, Week 13: Giants-Steelers featuring Odell Beckham, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, more

The Week 13 matchup between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers features two of the best receivers in the NFL facing off against one another. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Wide receiver Odell Beckham is heating up at the right time for fantasy owners. Despite briefly leaving the team’s Week 12 victory over the Cleveland Browns with an injured thumb, Beckham later returned and dominated the opposing team. He finished the game with six receptions on 11 targets for 96 yards and two scores. The performance marked his second-best of the season as far as fantasy statistics are concerned. Pittsburgh does rank in the top five as far as limiting fantasy production at the wide receiver position goes. Still, in a marquee matchup like this one, top dogs like Beckham need to perform. Consider also that the Giants have won six games in a row and everything in the passing game seems to be rolling right now. Beckham should beat his projections even in a tough road game at Heinz Field.

Quarterback Eli Manning may also be in top form. He needed to complete just 15 passes for 194 yards against the Browns in order to find three touchdown passes and win the game. The Steelers pass defense is in the top 10 at limiting quarterback production, but this game should be much closer than the game against Cleveland. It means both teams will score regularly and cultivate more of a back-and-forth game flow. Manning should complete way more than 15 passes in Pittsburgh, so his yardage total will provide fantasy owners with a nice boost. It may also be enough to get Manning beyond his projections in Week 13.

Wide receiver Antonio Brown appears to have kicked things into high gear just in time for the fantasy postseason. Brown accounted for 21 points in a blowout 28-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12. He was only targeted six times but managed to catch five passes for 91 yards and three scores. Brown has now found the end zone five times in the last four weeks after scoring the same number of touchdowns in the first seven games of the season. The Giants possess arguably the best secondary unit in football but Brown is the kind of player who can never be shut down — he can only be contained. Fantasy owners have to hope that he’ll be up to his usual tricks in Week 13. If he is, then putting his projections in the rear-view mirror will not be a problem.

Running back Le’Veon Bell will likely do the same. He has scored a rushing touchdown in each of the last three games, and he has 266 rushing yards in the last two weeks. As good as the Giants are against passing games, they are only mediocre when it comes to stopping running backs. Bell and Brown are two of the best fantasy football players in the NFL, but Bell might have slightly more upside this week given the matchup. If Brown is a good bet to reach his projections against New York, Bell should be considered a lock to do the same.