Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

As we head into the final week of the regular season in most fantasy football leagues this week, many of you reading are fighting for your playoff lives. This is either your last shot to make the playoffs or improve your playoff position. With there being just 13 games in a fantasy football regular season, almost every week is equally important, but Week 13 tends to be the most crucial week of all. In many cases an entire offseason and regular season worth of work can come down to this one single game.

As you prepare your lineup for this very important week, the Bruno Boys are once again here to make sure you have the most up-to-date information available. As always we will study the fantasy football impact of this week’s news from around the NFL. This week we will take a look at another list of injuries to key fantasy football contributors. Good luck to everyone this week, and we hope that all Bruno Boys Nation members get into the playoffs with a shot at a fantasy championship. 

After missing Week 12, Big Ben is expected to play versus Oakland

Since missing the Steelers’ Week 12 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been able to workout without any problems. He returned to practice on Wednesday and is expected to play for Pittsburgh in their Week 13 contest against the Oakland Raiders.

After suffering his second concussion in less then a year in Week 11, Roethlisberger had post practice headaches last week that were caused by physical activity, which was the reason that he missed the game against Baltimore. Since he has been able to workout without issue this week and practice on Wednesday it appears safe to insert Big Ben into your starting lineup for this week’s game against the Raiders. He has passed for 2,867 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. Use him as a low-end QB1 this week; just make sure you have a backup plan in place to protect yourself against a possible setback.

Knee injury sidelines Maurice Jones-Drew Wednesday, returns to practice on Thursday

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew is coming off of one of his worst performances of the season in which he had 15 carries for 75 yards without a touchdown in a Week 12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and now he is dealing with an injured knee that caused him to miss Wednesday’s practice. He is officially listed as questionable for Jacksonville’s Week 13 match-up with Houston, but practiced on Thursday and the injury is not believed to be serious.

Heading into last week’s contest Jones-Drew had scored at least one touchdown in five straight games. He has rushed for 1,001 yards, with 273 receiving yards and has 13 touchdowns this season. He has been very effective in his first season as the Jaguars starting running back. As long as he is healthy enough to play, which he should be, Jones-Drew is a must-start and he should be used as a No. 1 fantasy football running back this week.

Kurt Warner feeling better, still a Game-Time Decision Week 13 against Minnesota

In what he described as his “best days yet” since suffering a concussion two weeks ago, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner split reps in practice with backup Matt Leinart on Wednesday and Thursday. The Cardinals are being cautious with Warner after he took all the reps in practice heading into their Week 12 game against the Tennessee Titans, but he ended up being inactive for the team’s loss and snapped a string of 41 straight starts.

He has passed for 2,718 yards with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 10 games this season. Keep an eye on Warner’s status throughout the week, if he continues to practice without any issues he will likely start this week against the Minnesota Vikings. If he is active, use Warner as a starting fantasy football quarterback this week in what should be a shootout against Minnesota on Sunday Night Football. 

DeSean Jackson suffers concussion Week 12, doesn’t expect to play versus Falcons

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson missed practice on both Wednesday and Thursday while dealing with the concussion suffered in a Week 12 victory over the Washington Redskins. Head coach Andy Reid has not ruled Jackson out for Sunday’s contest yet, but Jackson has said “I don’t think I can go” and he expects to miss this week’s contest with the Atlanta Falcons.

In his second NFL season Jackson has been the Eagles best wide out this year. Through 11 games he has 44 receptions for 769 yards with six touchdowns. He is a big play maker in the Eagles offense that is already missing big play running back Brian Westbrook, who is also suffering from concussion related injuries. When healthy Jackson is a high-end WR2 option, but it is highly unlikely he will play this week and he should be remain on your bench for this game against the Falcons.

DeAngelo Williams misses two straight practices with ankle sprain, questionable for Week 13

Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday while resting an ankle injury suffered during the second half of the team’s loss last week to the New York Jets. He left the game in the second half of the Week 12 contest, but was able to return and finished the game with 16 carries for 40 yards.

The fact that he returned to the game last week leads us to believe the injury is not too serious, but this is definitely something you should keep a close eye on. According to head coach John Fox, Williams is expected to play this week as the Panthers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his fantasy football owners hope this is the case. The veteran had 30 carries for 152 yards with two touchdowns against this very same Tampa Bay team in Week 6. If he is healthy enough to start he should be used a must-start No. 1 fantasy running back this week against the Buccaneers.

Steven Jackson did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, listed as questionable for Week 13

St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday with a back injury that has been bothering him for two weeks, but according to head coach Steve Spagnuolo Jackson feels about the same as he did at this time last week. He did not practice at all heading into the Rams’ Week 12 contest, but he was able to play and had 28 total touches against the Seattle Seahawks. He finished the game with 23 carries for 89 yards with a touchdown.

Jackson has 238 carries for 1,120 rushing yards to go along with four touchdowns this season and when healthy he is a must-start fantasy running back, even while playing for the offensively challenged St. Louis Rams. He will likely be a Game-Time Decision come Sunday, but if he is active he should be in your starting lineup when St. Louis faces a struggling Chicago Bears defense. 

Week 13 Rankings:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  | DEF    (click to read)

Week 13 Start & Sit:  START ‘EM  |  SIT ‘EM    (click to read)

Week 13 Waiver Wire Advice:  PICK THEM UP  |  CUT THEM LOOSE    (click to read)

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