Week 13 in Review Dec 1, 2008 | More

Ballers of the Week

Brian Westbrook , RB Philadelphia Eagles

Westbrook finally rewarded fantasy owners who remained patient with him as he erupted for four touchdowns! The former Villanova RB ran the ball 22 times for 110 yards and two TDs and caught three balls for 20 yards with two more TDs. This was the kind of performance owners had been waiting for and one that Westbrook is capable of putting up. If he can stay healthy, he will help fantasy teams immensely down the stretch.

Jason Witten , TE Dallas Cowboys

Witten had the best game of his 2008 season in Week 13. The TE snared nine passes for 115 yards and a score against the lowly Seahawks last Thursday. This is a sign that Witten is getting healthier by the day and with QB Tony Romo almost back to full health himself, Witten should be the best fantasy TE the rest of the season.

Tony Romo , QB Dallas Cowboys

Speaking of Romo, he was great on Thanksgiving Day against Seattle as he got everyone involved in a 34-9 rout in Dallas. Romo was 22-34 for 331 yards with three touchdowns and just one interception. He threw TDs to three different receivers and most importantly, his injured hand did not seem to bother him much at all.

Busts of the Week

Anquan Boldin , WR Arizona Cardinals

Boldin had been extremely hot as of late and was due for a bad game as he made five catches for 63 yards. What’s worse is that Boldin dropped two balls and fumbled twice, losing one of them, and finished with just four fantasy points against the Eagles. He’s too good a player for this to happen again so look for a big Week 14 out of Anquan against St. Louis.

Peyton Manning , QB Indianapolis Colts

Manning struggled to find any kind of rhythm against the Browns, throwing for 125 yards with no touchdowns and two INTs. Peyton did come out with a victory on Sunday, but that was mostly in part to a late touchdown scored by the Colts defense. Nonetheless, the Colts keep winning and Manning remains one of the best fantasy QBs even with this bad performance.

Clinton Portis, RB Washington Redskins

Portis has been one of the best fantasy RBs in 2008, but he is banged up right now and had a miserable game on Sunday against the Giants. Clinton had 11 carries for just 22 yards and one catch for 15 yards before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter with a neck injury. The injury didn’t seem too serious, but it was bad enough that Portis didn’t return and his status for next week is uncertain.

Waiver Wire

Joe Flacco , QB Baltimore Ravens

Flacco continues to improve and mature into a solid NFL QB. He had another good game week 13 and is averaging close to 20 fantasy points a game over the last month. He’s only owned in about 45% of ESPN leagues so snatch this rookie up right now.

Shocker Special

Donovan McNabb , QB Philadelphia Eagles

McNabb bounced back in a big way a week after being benched in the second half of a contest against the Baltimore Ravens. He picked apart and embarrassed the Arizona Cardinal defense on Thanksgiving night, throwing for 260 yards and four touchdown passes. It’s been an up and down season for Donovan so it was good to see him get back on track after possibly the worst game of his career.

Keep on your Fantasy Radar

Ladell Betts , RB Washington Redskins

Starting RB Clinton Portis went down late in the fourth quarter with neck and knee injuries so his status for the rest of the season is up in the air. Betts would be the starter in Washington if Portis misses any time. This guy is an awesome backup RB and could put up some pretty good numbers if he gets a chance to start.

Must Start of Week 14

Dwayne Bowe , WR Kansas City Chiefs

Bowe has been a solid WR option all season and has become a favorite red zone target of QB Tyler Thigpen. Although he had a terrible two-catch performance in Week 13 against the Raiders, Bowe is still a very good option for Week 14. He matches up against a weak Denver secondary and should have a nice game.

Please Bench of Week 14

Cleveland Browns WRs

The Browns now lost their second quarterback in two weeks as Derek Anderson hurt his knee in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Colts. He is now out for the season and third string QB Ken Dorsey is the likely starter of Week 14 and likely here on out. He’s third string for a reason so I wouldn’t feel too confident starting anyone receiver from Cleveland.