The Tennessee Titans hit the East Coast on Sunday when they travel to Landover, Maryland, to face the Washington Commanders.
After a huge upset win over the Houston Texans and seeing some serious improvement from Will Levis, the Titans have momentum on their side. Big performances by Will Levis, Tony Pollard, and the Titans’ defense have this team on a whole new track.
The Commanders, on the other hand, have hit a wall the last few weeks, losing their last three consecutive games. This is obviously something they want to fix and need to fix if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive, but against a surging Titans’ team, the Commanders need someone to step up.
It will be a good game when these two teams face off on Sunday. Jayden Daniels needs to show that he hasn’t hit a rookie wall, and Will Levis needs to show that he can be consistent and win multiple games in a row. It will be a battle, one that will probably go down to the wire, and one that will be determined by which team wants it more.
To that end, there are five players who, if you have them on your fantasy roster, you must start in Week 13.
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Tony Pollard is on pace to have his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season. He’s at 800 yards through Week 12, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. He has four touchdowns on the season, and he’s likely to get more if the Titans continue to play the way they have the last couple of weeks. The Commanders allow an average of 19 fantasy points to running backs, and you can believe that Pollard will take full advantage of that this week.
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Since the departure of DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley has put the Titans’ receiving corps on his back. He’s come in for extra workouts, hitting the facility early and doing drills to keep his skills sharp. In the five games since Hopkins left, Ridley is averaging 90.2 receiving yards per game. Against a Commanders’ defense that allows over 139 yards to receivers each week, Ridley makes for a solid option in Week 13.
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Jayden Daniels has taken the league by storm in 2024, making early waves for Rookie of the Year consideration and leading the Commanders to a 7-5 start. He’s thrown just five interceptions on the season and fumbled the ball twice, but the rest of his play makes up for those few turnovers. He’s the fourth-ranked fantasy quarterback heading into Week 13 and is projected nearly 20 points. It’s not just his arm that’s an effective weapon, but Daniels will move the ball with his legs, too. He’s a true dual-threat quarterback who may throw the Titans’ defense for a loop on Sunday.
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The Titans’ defense hasn’t had much fantasy value this season, and Sunday is a bit of a tricky matchup for them, but they have also proven to be tough to play against. Last week, Jayden Daniels and the Commanders couldn’t get past the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have the fourth-worst rush defense in the NFL, but their pass defense is middling at best. The Titans have the top-ranked pass defense and a top-10 run defense.
Daniels is the biggest threat, and he’s been relying more on himself in recent weeks than the rest of his team. Terry McLaurin will struggle against the Titans’ secondary, and Daniels will be forced to look elsewhere to pass the ball. The Commanders will put points on the board, but this Titans defense is going to surprise you.
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There’s not really anything bad you can say about Nick Folk’s play on the field. He’s very consistent and rarely misses. The biggest issue with him in fantasy is the Titans’ offense ability to get down the field. At the beginning of the season, it was a struggle. Folk hasn’t really been called on all that much, until the last two weeks. Through 11 games, Folk has missed only one field goal, and with what we’ve seen from Will Levis recently, there’s no reason to think the Titans won’t be kicking field goals against the Commanders.
