There may not be a week with more Close Calls on the entire fantasy football calendar than Week 13.
The tough decisions came even before the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions kicked off the penultimate (Giving that word a workout this week, but how often does one get to use it?) week of the fantasy regular season. Do you load up the entire first plate of Thanksgiving with turkey and then circle back for sides, or take a more balanced approach? Can Aunt Helen's Mystery Salad be trusted? (It cannot.) How many slices of pie are too many slices of pie?
The answer to that last one is yes.
Those close calls will carry right through the weekend—and they will make or break the season of more than a few fantasy managers who are hovering around the fringes of playoff contention. For every obvious lineup decision those managers have, there's a confounding one. Choose correctly, and it's on to the playoffs. Pick the wrong guy, and next week will bring with it the end of the line.
It's more pressure than your belt felt Thursday afternoon.
And Close Calls is here to help.
Every week here at Footballguys, Close Calls will make a case for a pair of closely-ranked fantasy options—and then make the call on which player will be more productive.
For the sake of this exercise, we'll only consider quarterbacks and tight ends outside the top 10, running backs outside the top 20, and wide receivers outside the top 30 in the Footballguys Weekly Rankings.
Author's Note: You'll notice (and quite possibly enjoy) a degree of brevity in this week's column. It was written on Thanksgiving, and for reasons that perplex me just as much as you, my family actually likes to spend time with me at the holidays.
Week 13 Close Calls
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami (QB23) vs. Brock Purdy, San Francisco (QB24)
The Case for Tagovailoa: Tagovailoa and the Dolphins have peeled off back-to-back wins, but he hasn't put up big numbers in those victories, failing to hit 12 fantasy points in either contest. He also faces a New Orleans Saints that sports a top-10 pass defense this year. Add in a Saints run defense that has allowed over 120 yards per game on the ground with the chance for a positive game script, and, well, Tagovailoa isn't an easy player to make a case for in Week 13.
The Case for Purdy: It's not like making a strong case for Purdy is any easier. After a three-touchdown game against the Cardinals in Week 12, Purdy struggled mightily in last week's win over the Carolina Panthers, throwing three first-half interceptions. However, Purdy at least has close to a full complement of receivers when the Niners travel to face a Cleveland pass defense that ranks second in the league against the pass.
The Verdict: Tagovailoa. This isn't a decision that any fantasy manager really wants to make, but with Daniel Jones of the Colts just the latest signal-caller to get hurt, some flat-out don't have a choice. Purdy has the better weapons and may well be the better player, but Tagovailoa wins the matchup battle and is playing at home. That's enough to afford him a narrow edge—especially with the weather in Cleveland getting a bit wintry this week.
Close Call: Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh (RB24) vs. Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland (RB25)
The Case for Warren: Warren has been decent for fantasy managers in 2025—he ranks just inside the top-20 in PPR points among running backs and just outside the top-20 in PPR points per game. Warren is sharing touches in Pittsburgh's backfield with Kenneth Gainwell, but against a Bills run defense that surrenders 148.9 yards per game on the ground (third-most in the NFL), both backs may well eat in Week 13.
The Case for Judkins: The rookie from Ohio State has become a focal point of the Cleveland offense. Judkins is averaging less than four yards per carry for the season and averaged less than three yards a pop last week in Las Vegas. But he found the end zone twice in Week 12, has over 15 touches in each of the past three games, and the insertion of Shedeur Sanders at quarterback a week ago seemed to give the offense a jolt.
The Verdict: Warren. Judkins is tempting here, mainly because he doesn't have to contend with Gainwell lurking over his shoulder poaching touches. But despite being blasted by injuries, the San Francisco run defense held Carolina's Rico Dowdle in check last week. The Buffalo run defense, on the other hand, hasn't held much of anyone in check—only two teams are allowing more PPR points per game to the position.
