Matthew Freedman highlights the top running back plays for fantasy football in Week 13. 

It's the week of Thanksgiving, which means it's time for my annual (and highly official and by no means idiosyncratic and arbitrary) pie rankings.

In previous seasons, I have provided rankings and notes for the top 25.

This year, I'm sticking with just the top five: Freedman's favorites (pie edition).

And, of course, I'll provide brief thoughts on some honorable mentions as well as the stone-cold worst pie type in existence.

Worst Pie Ever: Mincemeat

There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who invite others over for Thanksgiving and then proceed to foist upon them the most disgusting culinary concoction ever conceived.

And then there are the normal people. Everyday folks like you and me.

I pray you never find yourself at the house of an acquaintance needing to pretend that mincemeat pie is not, in fact, a crime against humanity.

I myself once had to navigate such dangerous waters. I survived. I'm no hero. Just a guy with a medium-strong stomach and the willingness to lie.

By the way, have I mentioned how great you look today?

Honorable Mentions

• Lemon Meringue: Mom's favorite
• Banana Cream: Above-average palate cleanser between other, better pies
• Peanut Butter: With milk
• Any Non-Strawberry Berry Pie: Standard
• Peach: My go-to high-school favorite

No. 5: Apple Pie

A case could be made for apple as high as No. 1 and low as No. 7. A great apple offering is hard to beat, and even a bad one is average.

It's almost impossible to have too many apple pies at a gathering.

No. 4: Key Lime Pie

You might not think of this as a Thanksgiving dessert—but it is if you pour some cranberry sauce on it.

But really any season of year is a fine time for key lime.

No. 3: Pecan Pie

Easy to get wrong, but perfection if gotten right.

• Pecans from Texas
• Bourbon from Kentucky
• Recipe from Louisiana

Best when baked by a grandmother and accompanied by vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel.

I've recently been informed that I should expect to enjoy a top-tier chocolate pecan pie at one of the Thanksgiving meals I plan to attend this year.

Reader, I am beyond hopefully enthusiastic.

Wish me good fortune.

No. 2: Pumpkin Pie & Sweet Potato Pie

Pumpkin and sweet potato aren't the same … but I can barely taste the difference. An unsophisticated palate I have.

Both are good … but if they were so good then people (other than Mel Kiper Jr.) would be eating them all year long.

And, sorry, as much as I love pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and Christmas, there's zero chance I'm eating a slice of it during the summer.

But this next pie—I could eat healthy servings of it at any point of the year.

No. 1: Cherry

For too long I have kowtowed to the orthodoxy that insists upon having pumpkin and/or sweet potato at the top of pie rankings.

No more.

If cherry pie is No. 1 outside of the holiday season—and it is—then it should be No. 1 even in the colder months.

I have decided.

In the words of Warrant, “Tastes so good, make a grown man cry: Sweet cherry pie.”

Best of luck with all your pie-eating and fantasy-dominating endeavors this week.

Freedman's Favorites

As of Tuesday afternoon, here's an early look at my (preliminary) favorite Week 13 fantasy plays—the guys who (in some combination) …

• Might be high in my fantasy rankings relative to the industry consensus.
• Need to be started in most season-long leagues.
• Must be added if they are on waivers.
• Possess underappreciated upside.
• Have advantageous matchups.
• Should be considered in daily fantasy.
• Make for desirable dynasty acquisition targets.
• Are on teams with player-friendly betting odds.
• Stand out in our Fantasy Life Player Prop Tool.

Some customary notes.

Updates: After I submit this piece, any changing opinions I have will be reflected in my rankings and my projections (accessible with a FantasyLife+ subscription), which I will update throughout the week.

Scoring & Ordering: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated. Players in separate sections are ordered within position roughly (but probably not precisely) according to my rankings.

Abbreviations: Check out the end of the piece for abbreviations I might use.

Bye Week: This week, we have a full slate of NFL games. No excuses.

Sports Betting Data: Odds are as of 4:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 26, and based on the consensus lines in our Fantasy Life Odds Page.

Freedman's Favorites: Although we publish this piece as four separate articles broken out by position, I think of it as one cohesive whole and write it as such. With that in mind, please be sure to check out the rest of my favorite Week 13 fantasy football plays in the other positional previews.

• QBs for Fantasy Football Week 13
• WRs for Fantasy Football Week 13
• TEs for Fantasy Football Week 13

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Best RBs for Fantasy Football Week 13 

Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions) vs. Bears

• Lions: -10
• O/U: 48
• TT: 29

No. 2 RB David Montgomery (shoulder) exited last week with an injury and finished the game on the sideline. Montgomery expects to play on Thanksgiving, but that's not a guarantee, and even if he does suit up he could have a scaled-back workload.

And that makes Jahmyr Gibbs incredibly enticing. Gibbs already has a high fantasy floor with 90-plus yards or a TD from scrimmage in every game this year, and if Montgomery is out or limited then Gibbs could have a ceiling to celebrate.

In the games in which Montgomery has either been out entirely or had a snap share of less than 30%, Gibbs has had strong usage and usually good production.

• Week 3 (2023): 82 yards, 0 TDs | 17 carries, 2 targets
• Week 7 (2023): 126 yards, 1 TD | 11 carries, 10 targets
• Week 8 (2023): 189 yards, 1 TD | 26 carries, 5 targets
• Week 12 (2023): 73 yards, 0 TDs | 11 carries, 8 targets
• Week 12 (2024): 99 yards, 2 TDs | 21 carries, 3 targets

Even if Montgomery plays fully, Gibbs could have expanded usage as a double-digit home favorite on the team with a week-high implied point total (29).

Gibbs has flashed (177 yards, 2 TDs on 19 carries, 10 targets) in his two career games against the Bears, who are No. 30 in defensive rush DVOA (5.6%) and without DT Andrew Billings (pectoral, IR).

James Cook (Bills) vs. 49ers

• Bills: -7
• O/U: 45
• TT: 26

Situationally, this is a great spot for James Cook. The Bills played at home in Week 11. He had a bye in Week 12. And now he once again plays at home in Week 13.

In contrast, this is the second straight road game and third in four weeks for the 49ers, who need to travel back east to Buffalo after just playing in Green Bay.

It would be hard for the rest-and-travel edge for the Bills to be any bigger than it is.

Since becoming the lead back last season, Cook has put up good numbers as a home favorite (1,351 yards, 8 TDs in 15 games), and while I tentatively expect WR Amari Cooper (wrist) to return to action this week, Cook might enjoy a larger-than-usual workload if the Bills are once again without WR Keon Coleman (wrist) and TE Dalton Kincaid (knee), neither of whom practiced in Week 11 before the bye.

For the 49ers, the defensive line is already without DT Javon Hargrave (triceps, IR), and this week it could also be missing DTs Jordan Elliott (concussion) and Kevin Givens (groin) and EDGE Nick Bosa (hip, oblique).

The matchup is better than it might seem.

Ameer Abdullah (Raiders) at Chiefs

• Raiders: +12
• O/U: 42.5
• TT: 15.25

This one is for all my people in those 32-team dynasty leagues with 40 roster spots. You know who you are. You're a true degenerate. I salute you.

Last week RBs Alexander Mattison (ankle) and Zamir White (quadriceps) both sat with doubtful tags, and given that neither one even practiced there's a good chance both will be out once again this week.

In their absence, Ameer Abdullah functioned as the lead back and had some encouraging stats (per our industry-leading Fantasy Life Utilization Report).

• General Utilization: 89% snap rate | 57% rush share | 80% route rate
• Specialized Utilization: 100% SDD snap rate | 100% LDD snap rate
• Production: 65 yards, 1 TD | 8 carries, 6 targets

Third-year practice-squader Sincere McCormick had just 5-33-0 rushing with an 11% snap rate, and rookie Dylan Laube didn't see even one offensive play.

As long as Mattison and White are out, the Raiders backfield seems to belong to Abdullah. The matchup is bad—the heavily favored Chiefs are No. 1 in fewest fantasy points allowed to RBs (11.9)—but, even so, his three-down skill set should give Abdullah a good chance to see 12-plus opportunities once again.

The Checkdown

Derrick Henry (Ravens -3, TT: 26.75) vs. Eagles: In five games this year as a home favorite, Henry has 641 yards and 8 TDs with 105 carries and 6 targets, and the Eagles are without EDGEs Bryce Huff (wrist, IR) and Brandon Graham (triceps, IR). Given that he has scored in literally every game this year but one (last week, when he had a TD nullified because of a meaningless illegal formation penalty), Henry anytime TD has been one of my favorite regular bets this year. I have him projected with -258.7 odds to score, which equates to a 72.1% implied probability (per our Fantasy Life Odds Calculator). No RB has a higher TD projection than Henry (0.85).

Use our Fantasy Life Prop Finder to find the best odds available for almost any player-focused bet.

Josh Jacobs (Packers -3, TT: 25) vs. Dolphins: In his 8 games since QB Jordan Love returned in Week 4 from a knee injury, Jacobs has 827 yards and 8 TDs on 140 carries and 26 targets. He sent the 49ers packing last week with 106 yards and 3 TDs—his fourth straight game with 100-plus scrimmage yardage—and he could once again have a big game as a favorite at Lambeau Field, where the Packers with HC Matt LaFleur are 31-19 ATS (18.8% ROI).

Tony Pollard (Titans +5.5, TT: 19.5) at Commanders: No. 2 RB Tyjae Spears (concussion) missed last week with a head injury, and there's no certainty that he'll return this week. In his four games this year without Spears, Pollard has 465 yards and a TD on 88 carries and 18 targets. The Commanders are No. 28 in defensive rush EPA (-0.011).

Gus Edwards (Chargers -2, TT: 24.75) at Falcons: No. 1 RB J.K. Dobbins (knee) exited Monday Night Football with an injury, but he left the field under his own power. If he's able to go this week, I'll want him in lineups per usual—but if he's out then Edwards will be a viable volume-based grinder. He did almost nothing with his opportunities last week (11 yards, one TD), but at least he had nine carries and a target, and he could have 15-plus touches without Dobbins. The Falcons are No. 30 in defensive rush SR (44.9%).

Jeremy McNichols (Commanders -5.5, TT: 25) vs. Titans: "If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?" The matchup is tough in this #RevengeGame for McNichols: The Titans rank No. 4 in defensive rush SR (34.2%). But the Commanders could be without RBs Brian Robinson (ankle) and Austin Ekeler (concussion), both of whom exited Week 12 with injury. There's a difference between theory and reality … but McNichols has a potential path to double-digit opportunities. Theoretically.

Abbreviations

• Fantasy Points per Game (FPPG)
• Against the Spread (ATS)
• Over/Under (O/U)
• Team Total (TT)
• Moneyline (ML)
• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A)
• Expected Points Added (EPA)
• Success Rate (SR)
• Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE)
• Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA)
• AirYAC (Air Yards + Yards After Catch)
• Weighted Opportunity Rating (WOPR)
• Average Depth of Target (aDOT)
• Short Down and Distance (SDD)
• Long Down and Distance (LDD)

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