The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 13 matchup between the Falcons and Chargers.
Find a breakdown of every Week 13 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| LA Chargers | Rank | @ | Atlanta | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1.0 | Spread | 1.0 | ||
| 24.25 | Implied Total | 23.25 | ||
| 22.1 | 18 | Points/Gm | 22.2 | 16 |
| 15.9 | 1 | Points All./Gm | 24.9 | 25 |
| 59.6 | 27 | Plays/Gm | 61.8 | 18 |
| 60.8 | 13 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 63.9 | 25 |
| 5.4 | 16 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.8 | 9 |
| 5.3 | 12 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.6 | 22 |
| 47.41% | 7 | Rush% | 42.65% | 18 |
| 52.59% | 26 | Pass% | 57.35% | 15 |
| 40.66% | 10 | Opp. Rush % | 44.95% | 19 |
| 59.34% | 23 | Opp. Pass % | 55.05% | 14 |
- The Falcons have a 43.8% success rate on early down runs, the highest rate in the league.
- The Chargers have a 31.9% success rate on early down runs, 28th in the league.
- 30.8% of Atlanta's passing plays have gained 10 or more yards, third in the NFL behind the Ravens (35.6%) and 49ers (31.6%).
- 28.4% of Chargers' passing plays have gained 10 or more yards, 7th in the league.
- The Chargers have turned the ball over on a league-low 3.3% of possessions compared to the league average of 10.7%.
- The Falcons are averaging 1.8 sacks plus takeaways per game on defense, the fewest in the league.
- The Falcons allow 2.43 points per drive, 29th in the league.
- The Chargers have allowed 2.59 points per drive the past two weeks (21st) after 1.17 points per drive prior (1st).
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Justin Herbert (TRUST): Herbert was not perfect on Monday night, completing 21-of-36 (58.3%) of his passes for 218 yards (6.1 Y/A) without a touchdown.
His 8.7 passing points were a season low.
But Herbert was once again active on the ground, rushing for 29 yards and a touchdown.
Herbert has averaged 5.9 rushing points per game over his five games after scoring 3.4 rushing points in total in Weeks 1 through 7.
Those rushing points on Monday were enough to vault Herbert to QB11 (17.6 points), the fifth consecutive week he ended as a QB1 scorer.
That newfound rushing production can come into play here.
Atlanta has allowed 28.1 rushing points per game to quarterbacks, 27th in the league.
Herbert should also rebound in the passing department, especially with the potential of this backfield being less than full strength.
The Falcons are 31st in the league regarding pressure rate (26.5%).
They are 22nd in passing points allowed per attempt (0.465) and 28th in passing points allowed per game (15.8).
Atlanta has allowed front-end QB1 weeks to Derek Carr (20.5 points) and Bo Nix (28.8 points) in their past two games and has allowed over 20 fantasy points in four straight games to quarterbacks.
77.8% (21-of-27) of the touchdowns allowed by the Falcons have been passing, the second-highest rate in the league.
Kirk Cousins: The Falcons got a well-timed bye after a no-show offensively in Denver in Week 11.
Leaving the bye, Cousins has completed 68.1% of his passes (10th) for 7.8 yards per attempt (9th) and a 4.7% touchdown rate (13th).
Two huge games against the Buccaneers have inflated his overall production, but he had thrown for over 8.0 Y/A in each of his three games before that game in Denver.
This has, at large, been an effective passing game in the context of the league in 2024.
That said, Cousins is a pocket passer reliant on being hyper-efficient through the air to deliver for fantasy.
He has to throw a lot of touchdown passes, which is why he only has one QB1 scoring week in his games outside of facing the Bucs.
Cousins is best used as a floor-based QB2, but this is not as bad of a spot as the matchup may look on paper, considering the season-long stats allowed by the Charger pass defense.
Atlanta has a significant rest advantage at home against a Los Angeles team that has played on primetime the past two weeks and is traveling off a Monday night game.
We also saw the Chargers face a pair of competent passing offenses for the first time this season, and they did not pass the test in those games.
Going back to Will Levis in Week 10, the Chargers have allowed at least 15 passing points in three straight games after zero times in their opening eight games.
They have allowed 7 passing touchdowns in those games after allowing 7 total through eight games.
Running Back
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More Week 13 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Bears @ Lions -- FREE | Thanksgiving Day |
| Giants @ Cowboys -- FREE | Thanksgiving Day |
| Dolphins @ Packers -- FREE | Thanksgiving Day |
| Raiders @ Chiefs -- FREE | Black Friday |
| Chargers @ Falcons | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Steelers @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Cardinals @ Vikings | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Colts @ Patriots | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Seahawks @ Jets | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Titans @ Commanders | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Texans @ Jaguars | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Rams @ Saints | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Bucs @ Panthers | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Eagles @ Ravens | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| 49ers @ Bills | Sunday Night Football |
| Browns @ Broncos -- FREE | Monday Night Football |
