Dan Carpenter last week showed the value of deploying a kicker attached to a quarterback with a tasty matchup. Kyle Orton marched the Bills up and down the gridiron against the hapless Jets and Carpenter benefited, notching 10 fantasy points and finishing as a top-5 Week 12 option.
Caleb Sturgis, on the other hand, showed that even big-time quarterback performances like the one Ryan Tannehill had against the Broncos don’t guarantee a dandy day. Sturgis was the victim of his team’s red zone success. He was limited to four extra points against Denver, without a single field goal attempt.
A quick note before we jump into Week 13 streaming kicker plays: Cody Parkey is available in about 25 percent of fantasy leagues. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but if he’s out there on your local waiver wire, I suggest snatching Parkey and playing him for the remainder of 2014.
Parkey — fantasy’s leading kicker — has notched eight stat lines of eight or more fantasy points — unbelievable consistency that continued on Thanksgiving, when Parkey put up a 21-spot on the Cowboys. I feel similarly about Philadelphia’s kicker as I do about its quarterback: I want him on my team because his fantasy floor is permanently high.
Below are three kickers I’ll use everywhere in Week 13. Once more, we’re using red zone stop rate, average field goal opportunities, schedule-adjusted fantasy points, Vegas total point projections, and the Rotoviz Streaming Kicker App to pinpoint the week’s prime plays.
Randy Bullock (HOU) vs. Tennessee Titans
I don’t think the Texans should have any trouble moving the ball against a Tennessee defense giving up 378.8 yards per contest to opposing offenses. It’s an incredibly high number, and one that spells good things for Bullock in Week 13.
Bullock has been very much boom or bust in 2014, with four performances of 12 points or more and six lines of six points or less. The one commonality in Bullock’s good games has been a weak defensive opponent. That’s what we have here with a Titans’ defense that allows 26.6 points per game. That’s worse than the Rams, Raiders, and Falcons. Tennessee also gives up 2.5 field goal attempts per game.
Bullock, the Streaming App’s third best Week 13 play, is available in 95 percent of leagues.
Josh Brown (NYG) at Jacksonville Jaguars
Deploying Brown as your Week 13 kicker — especially if this week’s matchup determines your fantasy playoff existence — will be tough action. The Big Blue kicker has topped six fantasy points precisely five times in 2014. He’s often fallen victim to the complete and total collapse of Eli Manning‘s offense through huge swaths of the 2014 season.
Here’s what Brown has going for him this week: Jacksonville’s defense allows touchdowns on just 39.3 percent of their opponents’ red zone opportunities, lowest in the NFL. The Jags have allowed double-digit fantasy outputs to kickers seven times this season. The worst kicker fantasy performance against the Jaguars this year belongs to Shaun Suisham, who scored a measly five points in Week 5.
The Streaming Kicker App lists Brown as a top-10 Week 13 play. He’s available in 96 percent of leagues.
Shaun Suisham (PIT) vs. New Orleans Saints
Suisham lost his streaming kicker shine when the Steelers decided to go ahead and try to score touchdowns. Suisham, before that revolutionary change in offensive direction, was Pittsburgh’s most fearsome red zone threat. Alas, he hasn’t notched double digit fantasy points since early October.
The Saints have proven to be a decent matchup for kickers, as New Orleans has allowed double digit fantasy points to kickers eight times in 2014. Only three defenses are more kicker friendly than the Saints, who are gouged to the tune of 377.7 yards per week — fifth worst in the league. That tells us that Ben Roethlisberger and his merry band have a great matchup.
Teams attempt an average of two field goals against New Orleans. That’s not fantastic, but considering the 3.2 red zone scoring opportunities teams have against the Saints, I think Suisham makes for a fine play if you can’t snag Bullock or Brown.
Suisham is owned in 13 percent of leagues.
