The Arizona Cardinals will face the Minnesota Vikings 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 QB Kyler Murray.
Is Kyler Murray Playing in Week 13?
Murray is not currently 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 Cardinals’ 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 Kyler Murray in Week 13?
Kyler Murray’s fantasy managers have every right to be frustrated, and sadly, I’m not sure things turn around in this spot. Over his past three games, Murray has one touchdown pass on 81 pass attempts, and while he punched in two scores with his legs against the Jets, the yardage totals on the ground have underwhelmed lately as well (36 rushing yards in those three games).
The Vikings are good at disguising what they are doing on the defensive end, though their desires are well known — they want to speed their opponent up and create discomfort. Murray hasn’t faced many defenses like that this season, but in his two games against above-average blitz rate defenses, he’s finished as the QB17 and QB23. In those games, he totaled just 349 passing yards, two touchdowns, and 48 rushing yards.
We were hoping for games like that, not an eight-quarter stretch. The versatility of this player and the desperation of the situation create a path to fantasy goodness, but I’d rather play more pocket-oriented players this week in good matchups (Russell Wilson at Cincinnati or Baker Mayfield at Carolina) than roll the dice on Murray (three top-five finishes this season but also four weeks checking in outside of the top 20).
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.
Kyler Murray’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 13
As of 8 AM ET on Sunday morning, Murray is projected to score 19.1 fantasy points in Week 13. This includes 225.2 passing yards, 1.3 passing touchdowns, and 0.6 interceptions. It also includes 5.6 rushing attempts for 34.1 yards and 0.3 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 Seahawks' Defense
The Seattle Seahawks defense has had a really nice run of games. They've now ranked inside the top 10 in three of the last four games, ranking 15th in the other. There hasn't been one driving force behind their good performances in the last few weeks, with several elements coming into play.
The highlight play from Week 13 was Leonard Williams' game-changing interception return for a touchdown. However, the defense's impressive turnaround in holding the Jets to zero points in the second half after allowing 21 in the first quarter and a bit reflected well on the adjustments they made during the game.
We shouldn't overlook how impressive the improvement in the Seahawks' defense has been in 2024 compared to recent years. Over the previous five years, their best season-finish was 18th, with a low of 29th that came in 2023.
Mike Macdonald and his staff have turned that around in one year, with a significant improvement compared to last season.
There is still plenty of room for improvement, with most of Seattle's metrics falling in and around the league average. They are particularly good at putting pressure on with just three or four rushers -- which is always key -- and this has helped to cover other issues they might have in their pass defense.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Kyler Murray’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:40 AM ET on Sunday, December 8. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 14 QB PPR Rankings
1) Josh Allen | BUF (at LAR)
2) Jalen Hurts | PHI (at CAR)
3) Joe Burrow | CIN (at DAL)
4) Kyler Murray | ARI (vs. SEA)
5) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. LV)
6) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (vs. NYJ)
7) Patrick Mahomes | KC (vs. LAC)
8) Brock Purdy | SF (vs. CHI)
9) Jared Goff | DET (at GB)
10) Justin Herbert | LAC (at KC)
11) Sam Darnold | MIN (vs. ATL)
12) Jordan Love | GB (vs. DET)
13) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. CLE)
14) Geno Smith | SEA (at ARI)
15) Will Levis | TEN (vs. JAX)
16) Matthew Stafford | LAR (vs. MIN)
17) Derek Carr | NO (at NYG)
18) Jameis Winston | CLE (at PIT)
19) Caleb Williams | CHI (at SF)
20) Bryce Young | CAR (vs. PHI)
21) Kirk Cousins | ATL (at MIN)
22) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (at MIA)
23) Aidan O'Connell | LV (at TB)
24) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. CIN)
25) Drew Lock | NYG (vs. NO)
26) Mac Jones | JAX (at TEN)
27) Justin Fields | PIT (vs. CLE)
28) Tommy DeVito | NYG (vs. NO)
29) Desmond Ridder | LV (at TB)
30) Brandon Allen | SF (vs. CHI)
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals Trends
Seattle Seahawks
Team: Seattle plays three of its remaining five games on the road, and its only two home games come against arguably the best division in football (NFC North).
QB: Geno Smith completed five-of-seven deep passes against the Jets, a nice improvement over the two games prior (five-of-13, 38.5%).
Offense: Seattle's offense averaged 4.5 yards per play against the Jets, its lowest rate of the year, and it's all happened in the past three weeks.
Defense: The Seahawks improved to 5-0 on Sunday when allowing points on under 30% of drives in a game this season (Sunday at Jets: 18.2%)
Fantasy: Kenneth Walker produced a season-worst 61.6% below expectations on Sunday and hasn’t overachieved since Week 7 (at Falcons).
Betting: Overs are 9-2-1 in the Seahawks’ past 12 divisional games.
Arizona Cardinals
Team: Arizona has back-to-back home games over the next two weeks – they’ve won three straight at home, allowing a total of 30 points across those 12 quarters.
QB: Kyler Murray’s aDOT is below his career average, and that can work if his teammates are making plays – that wasn’t the case on Sunday (3.2 yards per catch after the reception, their second-worst showing of the season).
Offense: Sunday was the fourth time this season that Arizona scored on the majority of its drives in a game (it scored on six of 10 drives against the Vikings).
Defense: The Cardinals have allowed a touchdown on just three of 10 trips to the red zone over their past four games,
Fantasy: Murray had a 20+ yard run in three straight games to open this season – he’s ripped off such a run in just two games since (five straight games without such a gain).
Betting: Five of the Cardinals’ past six home divisional games have gone over the total.