If you were the one who drafted Kyler Murray to your Fantasy football roster, it sure didn't seem like you were going to have to worry about missing the playoffs. Like Lamar Jackson a year ago, Murray was off to an historic start, putting up a 4,000-passing, 1,000-rushing yard pace with 27 total touchdowns through nine games. However, he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 11 and just hasn't looked the same, a trend that continued in Week 13's loss to the Rams.
Murray completed just 21 of 39 passes for 173 yards, giving him just 612 passing yards on 5.3 yards per attempt over the past three. Even with three touchdowns Sunday, he had a pretty pedestrian 22.4 points in six-point-per-TD leagues, and the biggest issue is pretty obvious: He just isn't running the ball anymore.
Through the first nine games before the shoulder injury, Murray averaged 67.1 rushing yards on 9.7 attempts In Week 13, with 10 touchdowns, including at least one in eight of nine games. In three games since? He has 61 yards total on 15 carries with no touchdowns. Murray insists the shoulder isn't an issue; last week he explained his lack of rushing attempts as being a result of what the defense has been giving him. Maybe so, and you could at least feel a little better about that if it were the case, because he could just decide to start running again at any point.
But Murray wouldn't be the first player to downplay a nagging injury, and it's hard not to be concerned after three straight games of Murray struggling and not using his best strength as a playmaker.
Maybe he'll come out in Week 14 against the Giants and run all over them, alleviating any concerns and clearing the way to a potential Fantasy championship. That would be great.
But it doesn't feel as certain as it did even a month ago.
How do we feel about Week 13's disappointing star QBs going into Week 14? We recap Sunday and look ahead on the Fantasy Football Today podcast. Listen below and subscribe at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts:
Here are 10 other players whose Fantasy arrow is pointing down after Week 13 of the NFL season:
It shouldn't necessarily be surprising that Herbert is starting to struggle, because it was always going to be tough for him to sustain the incredible start to his career. Herbert was putting together one of the best rookie seasons we've ever seen from a quarterback, and you should generally bet against history. Herbert is still at 7.1 yards per target, 5.1% touchdown rate and 2.0% interception rate for the season, great numbers for a rookie, but all of a sudden you might have a tough choice on your hands if you've been relying on him as your weekly starter at QB. Especially with a great matchup on the way in Week 14 against the Falcons.
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We'll see what the Eagles decide to do with the QB spot moving forward, but it would be hard to blame them if they stuck with Hurts at this point. I would bet they'll go back to Wentz in Week 14 against the Saints, but there's no way you can trust him for your Fantasy lineup against that matchup after he flopped against a much easier opponent in the Packers. The QB isn't the only problem in the Eagles offense right now, but Wentz isn't elevating it either.
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If the offense as a whole isn't working, that makes things incredibly tough for the running back to do much, and that's what we're seeing right now. Sanders has just 16 carries for 46 yards over the last two games and, perhaps, most concerning, just 7 receiving yards on four targets. It's the passing game role that was supposed to put Sanders over the top as a Fantasy player, but he and Wentz have not been able to get on the same page really at any point this season. We saw that yet again Sunday as Sanders slipped on his lone target. Jalen Hurts could help Sanders find more lanes in the running game if the Eagles opt to start him and utilize more of the read-option game, but that wouldn't necessarily be great news if the more mobile Hurts looks for Sanders even less in the passing game, so there's some concern here.
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There have been no shortage of opportunities for Hunt all season, and he had another 17 touches Sunday. The problem is, he just hasn't done much with them, and lately, they haven't been the right kind of touches either. Former CBS Fantasy analyst Ben Gretch introduced us to the concept of the High-Value Touch, which is based on the concept that most Fantasy production for running backs comes from the passing game and inside the opponent's 10-yard line -- "The Green Zone". Last season, Hunt averaged 4.9 HVT per game; this season, it's just 3.3. Hunt is averaging just 10.1 PPR points per game since Nick Chubb returned in Week 10, and it's hard to get excited about him right now.
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Gurley was coming back from a knee injury, so maybe that explains the limited usage, but he was matched by Ito Smith for the team lead in carries with just eight in a game the Falcons were never truly out of. Given that he's had a negligible role in the passing game all season, Gurley can hardly afford not to dominate carries. If you're looking for some positive signs for Gurley, he was the only running back to see the field in the red zone for the Falcons Sunday and he led the team in snaps in the fourth quarter, so it's possible they were keeping him fresh early in the game and that explains the limited role. Still, this was a bad sign for someone with a small margin for error as is.
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When Taysom Hill has a game with 14 carries, some of those are going to come in the form of a QB keeper on an option run, but that doesn't really explain what happened with Murray, who was on the field for just two of Hill's designed runs. After watching Murray dominate touches to close out the Week 12 win, there was some hope that maybe an even more run-happy Saints offense would create enough opportunity for him to be a useful Fantasy option week in and week out. Turns out, that won't necessarily be the case. Murray can be a useful Fantasy option in this offense, but he is no sure thing, even now.
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Pittman is playing a ton of snaps and running nearly every route for the Colts, but it just hasn't translated into enough production lately. Since a breakout seven-catch, 101-yard performance in Week 10, Pittman has 10 catches on 18 targets for 140 yards and a touchdown in three games. The problem is, the Colts want to run the ball and they want to throw to their running backs and their tight ends, which leaves fewer targets for wide receivers than most teams. Add in T.Y. Hilton's seeming resurgence of late, and Pittman may not have room to put together that late-season breakout we were hoping for.
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For a few weeks there, it looked like Meyes might actually be able to be a difference maker as Cam Newton's favorite target. He racked up double-digit targets in consecutive games, including a massive 12-catch, 169 yard performance in Week 9 against the Jets that really made him a must-add player on waivers. He's been pretty lackluster since then, and Sunday was his worst game yet, as he finished with two catches for 16 yards. He still led the team with six targets, but being the top option on a team that is more than happy to run the ball 43 times, makes it pretty tough to stand out. If you're looking for a difference-maker, Meyers isn't it.
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Maybe the Saints are just an especially bad matchup for Hurst, who ended up with just one catch for 9 yards in two games against them. Hurst remains pretty much a must-start tight end, though with just five games in double figures in PPR points, that's as much for the lack of options elsewhere as anything else.
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Henry is the one guy on this Chargers offense who hasn't really benefited from Herbert's emergence as the starter, as he was already putting up career-worst numbers in yards per game, yards per reception and yards per target along with the lowest touchdown rate of his career. So, obviously, Herbert struggling isn't going to be good for him. Henry was targeted just two times Sunday, catching one pass for 5 yards in his worst showing of the season. You don't want to overreact and bench Henry or anything, but if Herbert is going to struggle down the stretch, that's definitely going to impact Henry.
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