Booms and Busts: Drew Brees goes tilt in Week 13

We’ve learned over the years to revel in a Saints home game. It’s an indoor party, a free-flowing celebration of yardage and points. Drew Brees at the Superdome, you won’t find a surer thing in our fake numbers game. It never snows indoors. The sun is never in your eyes. The air conditioning is always at your back.

Of course, Fantasy’s Week 13 refused to go according to script.

Although Brees garbage-timed his way into 326 yards passing in Sunday’s 28-13 loss to Detroit, it was one of his worst fantasy games in memory. Brees failed to record a home touchdown pass for the first time in 60 games (hat tip, Rich Hribar), and the Saints offense was out of sync for most of the day. Three interceptions didn’t help, or a hobbling Mark Ingram (12 touches, 53 yards). John Kuhn’s short plunge was the only New Orleans touchdown.

Although tight end Coby Fleener finished with a respectable 5-86-0 line, he had a brutal drop in the end zone. Brandin Cooks bounced back as expected (7-73-0), but no end-zone celebrations. Michael Thomas (4-42-0) and Willie Snead (2-38-0) finished well under expectations, and Tim Hightower had just three touches for the day.

Detroit couldn’t take a sad fantasy song and make it better, though the underrated Matthew Stafford (30-42-341-2-0) posted a strong line. He deserves MVP consideration. Golden Tate (8-145-1) took advantage of Marvin Jones’s absence. Theo Riddick had just 17 total yards, though he collected five catches and a short touchdown.

The other Detroit plays came up snake eyes, as the Lions had to settle for five Matt Prater field goals. Anquan Boldin didn’t find the end zone, and Eric Ebron (4-38-0) remains more teaser than pleaser.

The Saints only have one more home game for the fantasy playoffs — a Week 16 date with the Buccaneers. Before that, it’s a trip to Tampa and a stop at Arizona. Could the pinball machine be closed for the season?

Detroit should get numbers against Chicago next week. The Lions finish on the road, against a pair of NFC East heavyweights (New York, Dallas).

— Colin Kaepernick crash-lands in Chicago

Let’s have a little talk about process and outcome. Playing Kaepernick in Week 13 at Chicago was a perfectly reasonable call, given that he’s been a fantasy beast for a month now and the Bears have an injury-riddled defense. Kaepernick’s monster game at Miami last week was the sixth-highest quarterback score of the year. If you grade all the stat grabbers over the last month, Kaepernick checks in as the No. 3 QB.

That nifty run is little consolation to anyone who needed Kaepernick on Sunday, of course. The Niners were smacked around in an ugly 26-6 loss. Kaepernick finished with high-school passing line — 1-for-5, four yards. He took five sacks, and only ran for 20 yards. Soul-crushing all the way. Eventually Chip Kelly went to the bullpen, asking Blaine Gabbert to play in the fourth period.

Soldier Field was a snow globe for much of Sunday, but that’s not a full answer for why Kaepernick played so poorly. He’s seen off-tracks and poor weather before. Anyone remember his playoff win over the Packers at Lambeau a few years ago, in a minus-10 wind chill? Sometimes good plays go bad, and there’s no logical rationalization.

Assuming Kaepernick’s job isn’t in jeopardy — and I can’t see what that would accomplish — I expect a solid fantasy game Week 14 against the Jets.

— Jordan Howard’s hat trick

While Kaepernick and the Niners were crapping out, the Bears offense had a few things cooking. Howard rumbled for 117 yards rushing and three touchdowns — it came out to just 3.7 YPC, but the spikes are a perfect deodorant. Finally, Chicago learned what everyone else seemed to suspect; Howard is the best talent in this backfield, not Jeremy Langford.

Quarterback Matt Barkley didn’t need to throw a touchdown pass, but he did post a robust 10.7 YPA on his 18 attempts. It could have been a lot higher — Josh Bellamy (4-93-0) had two downfield drops on his six targets. The Bears also had to work without Marquess Wilson, who left in the first half with a groin injury.

— Ladarius Green busts out

It’s been a long time coming, but perhaps the athletic Green will have a December to Remember. He made a handful of big plays in Sunday’s 24-14 dispatching of the Giants, adding up to a 6-110-1 day on 11 targets. Obviously the Steelers passing offense is going to run through Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell primarily, but there’s room for a regular No. 3 option, and Ben Roethlisberger generally clicks with his tight ends. Green should be a no-brainer start for the remainder of the year.

— Julian Edelman takes over

Is Edelman’s foot back to full throttle? It’s sure starting to look that way. Edelman threw a line of 8-101-0 at the Rams in Sunday’s laugher, and check what he’s done over his last four games: 31 catches, 360 yards, 49 targets. Edelman has just one touchdown over that span, but you know what you’re getting here — PPR royalty. Keep doing what you’re doing, Minitron. The Pats need you more than ever with Rob Gronkowski out.

And it looks like New England has finally hit on a rookie receiver; take a bow, Malcolm Mitchell. The kid was productive for the third straight week, securing eight of ten targets, good for 82 yards. Mitchell has about 40 points in a standard league over the past three weeks, easily inside the starting line. Both Mitchell and Edelman should be solid against Baltimore in Week 14, and the Jets in Week 16. At Denver in Week 15, you ask? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.