The Buffalo Bills will face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding TE Dawson Knox.
Is Dawson Knox Playing in Week 13?
Knox is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bills’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Dawson Knox in Week 13?
Dawson Knox was on the field for 83.1% of Buffalo’s Week 11 snaps with Dalton Kincaid (knee) sidelined, a near 30-percentage point increase from where his rate stood prior.
Should Kincaid sit again, by all means, get exposure to Buffalo’s elite offense as you stream the position. But if the young tight end is back on the field and protecting for his standard role, there’s no utility in Knox (four straight games without a red-zone target and hasn’t cleared 50 receiving yards in a game since Week 15, 2022).
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 13 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Dawson Knox’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 13
As of 8 AM ET on Sunday morning, Knox is projected to score 8.1 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 2.8 receptions for 30.2 yards and 0.4 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the 49ers' Defense
The continued decline of the San Francisco 49ers' defense this season compared to the last two is a concern. Having been a top-seven unit each year between 2019 and 2022, they ranked 10th last year and have slipped further this season.
The first four years were with Saleh and Ryans as San Francisco's DCs, with Steve Wilks on board for one season in 2023 and Nick Sorensen taking over the role in 2024.
The run defense has been a concern all season, and the Packers exploited it as they churned out yards and easily moved the sticks in Week 12. The pass defense has been fine, but just being fine when working alongside a below-average run defense isn't enough to compensate.
The biggest concern this season has been continued struggles on third down and inside the red zone. That has left the 49ers struggling to stop drives and points at times, leaving them reliant on their pass rush to get after opposing quarterbacks and force turnovers. That element has worked well, but Nick Bosa's injury situation is a major concern.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Dawson Knox’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 10:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 1. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 13 TE PPR Rankings
1) Trey McBride | ARI (at MIN)
2) Brock Bowers | LV (at KC)
3) Travis Kelce | KC (vs. LV)
4) George Kittle | SF (at BUF)
5) David Njoku | CLE (at DEN)
6) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (vs. ARI)
7) Taysom Hill | NO (vs. LAR)
8) Evan Engram | JAX (vs. HOU)
9) Kyle Pitts | ATL (vs. LAC)
10) Dallas Goedert | PHI (at BAL)
11) Will Dissly | LAC (at ATL)
12) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at GB)
13) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. IND)
14) Cade Otton | TB (at CAR)
15) Sam LaPorta | DET (vs. CHI)
16) Tucker Kraft | GB (vs. MIA)
17) Zach Ertz | WAS (vs. TEN)
18) Mark Andrews | BAL (vs. PHI)
19) Luke Schoonmaker | DAL (vs. NYG)
20) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs. SF)
21) Mike Gesicki | CIN (vs. PIT)
22) Dalton Schultz | HOU (at JAX)
23) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (at CIN)
24) Cole Kmet | CHI (at DET)
25) Isaiah Likely | BAL (vs. PHI)
26) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at WAS)
27) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (vs. SEA)
28) Theo Johnson | MIN (vs. ARI)
29) Noah Gray | KC (vs. LV)
30) Darnell Washington | PIT (at CIN)
31) Tommy Tremble | CAR (vs. TB)
32) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. IND)
33) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. LAR)
San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills Trends
San Francisco 49ers
Team: The 49ers have lost consecutive games on two separate occasions this season – the last time they did that was in 2020.
QB: Brandon Allen was fine when not pressured (75% complete), but was just two-of-nine when feeling the heat.
Offense: The 49ers averaged 2.31 points per drive in Weeks 1-11, a rate that dropped to 0.83 under Allen in Lambeau on Sunday.
Defense: San Francisco creates pressure on 36.3% of non-blitzed dropbacks, the sixth-highest rate in the league through 12 weeks.
Fantasy: Is there a more difficult player to rank with confidence annually than Deebo Samuel Sr.?
- 2021: 37.6% production over expectation
- 2022: 13.7% production under expectations
- 2023: 35.2% production over expectations
- 2024: 10.2% production under expectations
Betting: Over tickets have come through in each of the 49ers’ past five primetime games.
Buffalo Bills
Team: A seventh straight win would match Buffalo’s longest single-season run of the 2000s (2022).
QB: Why is Josh Allen’s interception rate (1.5%) trending for a career-low? His quick pass rate sits at 67%, easily a career-high (2023: 58.4%).
Offense: The Bills have picked at least 50% of their third downs in four straight games (one such effort in their first seven games).
Defense: Buffalo is allowing opponents to convert 40.8% of third downs, its worst rate since 2012 (44%).
Defense: Patience. The Bills blitz at the third lowest rate, joining the Eagles and Ravens in the bottom-5 of that stat as teams with Super Bowl dreams.
Fantasy: James Cook has six RB1 finishes this season, thanks to having eight more rushing touchdowns on 100 fewer carries than a season ago.
Betting: Overs have cashed in six straight Buffalo home games.