The Atlanta Falcons will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Falcons skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 13 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Kirk Cousins, QB
Atlanta’s recent struggles have been the result of Kirk Cousins not living up to expectations. In Weeks 10-11, he completed just 60.4% of his passes with zero scores and two interceptions when not blitzed (Weeks 8-9: 82.1% with six touchdowns and zero interceptions).
That makes him a tough sell coming out of the bye against a Chargers defense that ranks in the bottom 10 in blitz rate and the top five in success rate when bringing the heat. They are a defense content to sit back and choose their spots wisely. I mentioned Cousins’ downward trending numbers when not blitzed, and his rates look even worse in those two contests when pressured:
- 23 dropbacks
- 17 attempts
- Eight completions
- 109 yards
- Zero touchdowns
- Two interceptions
I think there will be utility for Cousins coming down the stretch this season, I just think it starts next week (Weeks 14-17: Vikings, Raiders, Giants, and Commanders). He’s failed to finish better than QB15 in three straight games (and in five of his past six), struggles that I think have a better chance at continuing on Sunday than Cousins punishing you for not trusting him significantly.
Bijan Robinson, RB
It’s funny how impactful creativity can be, isn’t it? Arthur Smith was unwilling to explore new-age play-calling a season ago, and that limited the Falcons’ potential across the board. This year? Different story. For Bijan Robinson …
- 2023: 32.2% vs loaded boxes
- 2024: 15.6% vs loaded boxes
His fantasy stock has also gained stability by seeing at least four targets in six straight games; with the variety of looks, Robinson’s raw talent is shining through with more regularity (he has a 15+ yard catch and rush in two of his past three games).
With Atlanta in an advantageous rest spot this week, I think they can be just fine against Los Angeles’ elite defense. Robinson is capable of taking over at a moment’s notice, and that fact, coming off a bye, lands him as a top-five running back for me this weekend.
Tyler Allgeier, RB
Ray Davis, Trey Benson, Braelon Allen. There are a handful of running backs that hold no value when the starter is healthy but are only an injury away from walking into the RB2 tier of my rankings, and Tyler Allgeier is clearly in that mold.
He’s averaging 5.0 yards per carry this season and has proven the ability to pick up yards consistently when given the opportunity (career: 34.7% of carries have gained at least five yards). The schedule lines up nicely when it matters most (Weeks 15-17: Raiders, Giants, and Commanders), and that is enough to justify keeping Allgeier rostered, even if you out-gained him in Week 11.
Darnell Mooney, WR
Darnell Mooney suffered a hamstring injury in Week 11 against the Broncos before this team went on bye, but nothing coming out of Atlanta has made this injury sound like something we need to worry about.
Before the injury, Mooney had cleared 85 receiving yards in three straight games, and that’s great, but he’s operating at close to max capacity if he can’t improve his efficiency.
Outside of an outlier Week 3 loss to the Chiefs where he caught all eight of his targets, Mooney owns a 54.8% catch rate on the season, something that has the potential to sink any given week where the possession count is limited, something that could be the case when facing a Chargers team that plays at the third slowest pace offensively in the NFL.
For the first time in a while, Mooney is sitting just outside of my top 35 receivers this week and isn’t a player I’m actively trying to start if I have other similar options.
Drake London, WR
Drake London has seen six end-zone targets over his past six contests and has established himself as a featured option in scoring situations. Last season, Atlanta’s WR1 was targeted on 28.1% of his red-zone routes. That’s a respectable rate, but it’s nearly doubled under Kirk Cousins (45.7%), and that brings in an elite ceiling case.
The Falcons have made it clear that they want to scheme up their top pass catcher, so look for him to be heavily involved this week with Atlanta coming off their bye and the Chargers on a short week.
The Chargers are the best YAC defense in the league, but they rank 25th in passer rating allowed against deep passes — London could be used as a vertical threat, and while that introduces a wider range of outcomes, I’m willing to bet on his talent/target combination which lands him inside of my top 20.
Kyle Pitts, TE
It’s the holiday season, and you know what that means — having to explain to the in-laws what you do.
No? That’s just me?
Every year I describe the “fantasy analyst” thing, and they ask why it requires so much time. This year, I’m going to be prepared. I’m going to print out Kyle Pitts’ weekly finishes and show them:
- Week 8: TE2
- Week 9: TE40
- Week 10: TE12
- Week 11: TE42
“My job is to get ahead of wild swings like this, and that is why it takes time.”
So where has my time gone this week? Trying to identify why those productive weeks occurred.
Both good weeks came against defenses that rank below league average in pressure rate when not blitzing, while the poor weeks came against top-12 units in that regard.
Despite the limitations in blitz success rate, both defenses that coughed up production to Pitts are top 12 in sack rate, while the dud stat lines came against a below-average defense in that respect.
Drum roll, please …
The Chargers fit the former. They aren’t a high success rate defense when it comes to blitzing, but they own a top-five sack rate. Giddy up!
Now that we know that this matchup mirrors that of past plus performances, I have something to share with my in-laws about the attention to detail that my job requires. Am I opening myself up to a boatload of questions come Christmas time when Pitts goes 2-17-0 this week?
I am, and that would mean not only the questioning of my profession but also if I’m any good at it. So, yeah, I have more riding on my top 10 ranking of Pitts this week than you do.
