Here is my weekly look at the top 25 fantasy related performances. This week took on a new level of importance because there were so many solid matchups around the world of football. A New Orleans Saints offense going up against the best defense in the NFL in the form of the San Francisco 49ers. The Atlanta Falcons having to travel to take on a red hot Tampa Bay Buccaneers team. 

Yes, stuff happened this week around the NFL. Now that we are all prepared for fantasy playoffs, or not, it is even more important as ever to see what certain players did against their opponents. Instead of going with standard rankings you see on every site around the web, this is going to have a matchup related aspect to it. 

Let's take a gander. 

Tom Brady has been on fire recently. The future Hall of Fame quarterback has now compiled 15 total touchdowns compared to zero interceptions in his last five outings, dating back to a Week 6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Brady accounted for four touchdowns against the New York Jets on Thanksgiving night. While New York is middle of the road against the pass, it usually puts up a better fight against the Brady-led Patriots. 

Robert Griffin III remains your No. 1 overall fantasy player through the first 12 weeks of the season. He became the first rookie quarterback to throw four touchdowns in consecutive games when he lit up the Dallas Cowboys, also on Thanksgiving. One of the most impressive aspects of his performance thus far this season is the fact that RGIII has thrown only four interceptions in 11 games. That will help you moving forward if you are lucky enough to own him. 

Cam Newton would definitely be higher on this list if he wasn't going up against a Philadelphia Eagles defense that is going through the motions and has been torched as of late. The second-year standout compiled over 350 total yards and four touchdowns on Monday night. If Newton can keep this type of play up through the remaining five games, you might want to start thinking about chancing a start on him. 

It's hard not to feel bad for the Detroit Lions and what happened to them on Thanksgiving. Poor officiating and a disastrous mental lapse by head coach Jim Schwartz pretty much ended any hope that Detroit would be making a return trip to the postseason. However, Matthew Stafford did everything in his power to lead his team to a must needed win. He threw for a Week 12 high 448 yards and two touchdowns against what has quickly become an average Houston Texans pass defense. 

It might not have been as impressive as his NFL starting debut against the Chicago Bears a week prior, but Colin Kaepernick made is look like geniuses over here. Many of eDraft writers, myself included, recommended starting the second-year running back in Week 12 against the New Orleans Saints, In fact, I had made the statement that he would be the No. 4 fantasy performer on Sunday, which did happen. Kaepernick led the 49ers to an impressive 31-21 win over New Orleans and made a lot of believers in the process. We will have to wait and see what head coach Jim Harbaugh does moving forward with this quarterback situation before drawing any type of conclusion. After all, Alex Smith isn't too shabby of an option either. 

Earlier in the weekend we recommended that Bryce Brown would be an intriguing start for the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. He was taking over for the recently injured LeSean McCoy and going up against an average Carolina Panthers rush defense. Not in our wildest imagination did we believe that he would sit atop the fantasy running back rankings for Week 12. Despite losing two fumbles, Brown, making his first NFL start, tallied nearly 190 total yards and two scores. Depending on the McCoy situation, Brown could actually be a solid start moving forward. Stay tuned. 

Those who thought Arian Foster was slowing down, myself included, have to eat crow for yet another week. The No. 1 fantasy running back on most boards tallied 117 yards and two scores against a decent Detroit Lions front seven. We keep waiting for him to slow down this season (269 rushes in 11 games), but it has yet to happen. 

Only if Ray Rice would have actually been able to score a touchdown on Sunday. The Pro Bowl running back was as dynamic as they come against the San Diego Chargers. In what could amount to the play of the year, Rice took a screen on fourth and 29 late in the final stanza, broke multiple Charger' tackles in route to a 30 yard gain. This enabled the Baltimore Ravens to tie the game up in regular before winning it in overtime. In total, Rice tallied 164 yards and 16 fantasy points against the fifth best run defense in the NFL. 

It shouldn't surprise you that the two top receivers on this list came from a game that totaled 750 passing yards. Andre Johnson and Calvin Johnson put on a show for us on Thanksgiving. In fact, they made me feel a bit bad about humiliating myself at the dinner table, unbuckling my belt and passing out on my chair. I kinda felt like I needed to run 10 miles just to even write about them. As it is, both Johnson's put up some damn good numbers against pretty decent pass defenses. 

Chris Givens has been somewhat of a surprise for the St. Louis Rams. While inconsistent, he has provided a fantasy spark at times. The Wake Forest product tallied 115 receiving yards and a score against a No. 4 ranked Arizona Cardinals pass defense. Don't expect that same type of production against the San Francisco 49ers next week, especially if teammate Danny Amendola is able to play more than seven snaps next week. Still, Givens is becoming an intriguing dynasty option. 

Dez Bryant and Julio Jones may have played against the two worst pass defenses in the NFL this last week, but the numbers they put up can't be ignored. Despite a costly fumble, Bryant was able to come through with the No. 1 overall fantasy performance for wide receivers against the Washington Redskins. Jones, on the other hand, helped lead the Atlanta Falcons to a one point win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He outperformed teammate Roddy White in route to a 147-yard, one touchdown performance. 

In all honesty, I completely forgot about Charles Clay after he was selected by the Miami Dolphins late in the 2011 NFL draft. While he did have a solid career at Tulane, no one really expected Clay to put up skill position numbers in the NFL. He never did prior to a surprising Week 12 performance against a talented Seattle Seahawks defense. Clay tallied six receptions (solid for tight ends in PPR leagues) and a score. Other than that, it was a pretty marginal week for fantasy tight ends.