NFL Week 13 Waiver Wire

And then there was one. New England's quest for perfection came to an end on a snow-covered field in Denver thanks to some questionable calls, another big injury and a return to form from C.J. Anderson. The Patriots were in control at halftime but things changed in a dramatic 4^th quarter, partly due to (now former Patriot) Chris Harper's fumble on a 4^th quarter punt that Denver quickly converted into a TD and sparked their comeback. The Patriots actually trailed after Denver continued to rally but were able to get a last-second game-tying field goal from 47 yards out that Stephen Gostkowski absolutely drilled. He is the best big-game kicker in the league, without question, right now. Losing perfection is an afterthought for the Patriots right now in comparison to getting Gronk back on the field. With Denver and Cincinnati nipping at the Patriots' heels for home field advantage, one loss makes a huge difference in how the remainder of the season will play out.

Speaking of perfection, Carolina keeps on rolling. The game in Dallas wasn't close after the coin flip. They embarrassed Tony Romo with three quick interceptions, including two Pick 6s, and then put him out of his misery by dropping him on his shoulder and breaking his collarbone again. Ding dong, Dallas is dead, which sez a lot in a terrible division. Eli Manning looked like he was still on Bye as he gifted Washington with 3 INTs himself. 5-6 is leading the division that Washington will take since no one else wants it. Philly showed just how good the division is by their showing in Detroit. They got scored on faster than a Kardashian by a Detroit team that appeared to be on the verge of a winless season at the beginning of the month.

At least the AFC South has turned its season around and now appears to have an interesting race for the division crown ahead with Houston and Indianapolis playing great football. Houston's real defense finally surfaced. The Saints have been a pretty poor road team for many years but I thought that they would play much better, indoors, after coming off a Bye. However, the Texans stopped them inside the ten multiple times, unfortunately for my Teaser bets, and prevented the Saints from getting into the end zone for the first time in 155 games. The Saints' glory days are behind them and the rebuilding process will be long and painful. Jacksonville appeared to be on the verge of making this division a 3-team race, but they need to get QB Blake Bortles a compass as that boy is lost on the field. He has no feel for the line of scrimmage. It is laughable unless you had a lot riding on a Jacksonville win.

All MFS Daily fantasy football leagues as well as the Weekly and Monthly leagues (drafting before Thursday night's game) are paying out 95% of the pools this week. No better time that the present to actually draft a DFS team.

Tis the last week of the fantasy football regular season for a majority of leagues. Truthfully, I prefer playing 17 weeks but many people in head-to-head leagues don't want to risk their championship in week 17. Since many of us play in multiple leagues, we have decided to use one of Maximum Fantasy Sports' unique features to extend our season and play for beer using the Inter-League Fantasy Football Championship challenge to pit the winners of 2 leagues together for league bragging rights. It is a fun way to end the season and to talk cross-league smack. To help teams get into the playoffs, here are some waiver wire pick-ups for week 13.

QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick (NYJ) - Fitzgerald righted the ship last week against the Dolphins after recent struggles. I will attribute the struggles to his thumb injury. If he has time in the pocket, he has always been very accurate. He faces a Giants' defense that could do nothing to stop Kirk freakin' Cousins in Washington after having 2 weeks to prepare for him. If Fitzpatrick isn't available, look for Jameis Winston as he gets Atlanta this week followed by New Orleans the following week.

RB: David Johnson (AZ) - this Johnson hit the waiver wire in most leagues in the first half of the season thanks to the re-emergence of Chris Johnson and the return to health of Andre Ellington. Well, Ellington has Turf Toe and CJ2K broke a bone in his leg so DJ has vaulted into RB1 territory for one of the better offenses in the league. He is the hottest target of the week.

WR: Doug Baldwin (SEA) - I have a love/hate relationship with Baldwin as he should be the Seahawks WR1, but utterly disappears at times. He certainly didn't against Pittsburgh as he went off for 3 TDs, including a beautiful 80-yard stiffing-arming, game-clinching beauty. Since Russell Wilson doesn't have to worry about forcing production out of Jimmy Graham now that he is out for the rest of the year, maybe Baldwin becomes a consistent producer. Maybe.

WR: DaVante Parker (MIA) - Parker was one of the top WRs drafted this year but lost his pre-season due to a foot injury and was buried deep in the depth chart and couldn't get on the field. Thanks to the disappearance of WR Rishard Matthews in recent games, Parker started seeing the field, finally. Now that Matthews has broken ribs, it is time for Parker to show what he can do. The Dolphins season is over so it is a priority to see what Parker can do in preparation for 2016.

TE: Vance McDonald (SF) - McDonald is making the Vernon Davis trade look better by the week. McDonald has taken over for Davis and scored in each game played. It appears that he has a nice connection with QB Blaine Gabbert so I would be looking to replace Jimmy Graham with McDonald first, if Julius Thomas is not available on your waiver wire.

TE: Scott Chandler (NE) - reports out of New England is that Gronk has a knee strain. If/how many games he will miss has not been reported, which is what you would expect from the Patriots. I would add Chandler if I have Gronk and be prepared to make a lineup adjustment Sunday morning. Chandler is very productive when given a chance so you could even consider playing him alongside Gronk when Gronk is playing.