The quarterback position has been a difficult one to keep filling for some fantasy football owners. With injuries and bad play, the streaming option has been a solid investment in 2017. Jared Goff, Jay Cutler and Jacoby Brissett were top-10 quarterbacks in fantasy scoring in week nine.
Each week, the streaming quarterbacks are necessary plays in several situations. Whether it’s byes, injuries or just bad production, keep an eye on those quarterbacks in the weeks to come. Here’s the week 10 quarterbacks start ’em, sit ’em guide for fantasy football.
Start
Ben Roethlisberger vs. Indianapolis Colts
I don’t care what Indianapolis did in week 9 against Tom Savage. This team is still terrible against the pass.
They give up a league-worst 8.3 yards per pass and allow the second-most yards per game through the air at 279. Against quarterbacks this season, the Colts have allowed 19.1 fantasy points per game, the fifth-highest total in the NFL.
There might be some trepidation going with Roethlisberger based on his not-so-great fantasy numbers in recent games. He has two 300-yard passing performances in his last 14 regular season games. The eight games before that, he mustered four performances with at least 300 yards passing, and went for 20 touchdowns. In the past 14 regular season games, he has 19 touchdown passes.
It hasn’t affected the record much, but Roethlisberger’s consistent fantasy prowess is all but gone. In recent weeks, he hasn’t been horrible, though, going for four touchdowns and two inceptions in his last three games. He also has a 300-yard performance in that time.
Roethlisberger should be a QB1 this week, so he should get some attention in your fantasy league.
Jared Goff vs. Houston Texans
Who would have thought this would be an option before the season began?
Goff has been impressive for several weeks in 2017, including a first-place showing among quarterbacks in week 9 in fantasy points. Goff didn’t have to do anything in week 9 en route to throwing four touchdowns. What helps Goff so much is that his offensive line is really good, giving him plenty of time to dissect defenses. The Rams have only allowed 10 sacks this season, the second-best number in the NFL.
That should make this matchup even more appetizing. The Texans are allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game against quarterbacks. They’re not pressuring the quarterback as much in recent weeks and that will give Goff plenty of time to carve up a secondary allowing 8.1 yards per pass, the second-most in the NFL. Goff is a top-five option at QB this week, so he deserves to start in most occasions.
Eli Manning vs. San Francisco 49ers
This will not be the most popular choice in week 10. But in terms of streamers, Manning holds quality potential this week.
The 49ers are terrible. They’re actively tanking, rank in the bottom-half in total sacks, touchdowns allowed, yards allowed per game through the air and whatever other stat you can think of. Manning doesn’t have any weapons remaining, but I anticipate he’ll have more time in this game to make better decisions.
Manning has been about as good as the Giants overall, but he’s done a good job of staying away from throwing interceptions (not so much with fumbles, though, with three in the last four games). Since week 4, he has eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
He hasn’t had great production in that time, but he’s at least taking care of the football. That should assist this week against a San Francisco team that is allowing the second-most fantasy points per game against quarterbacks.
Manning has the matchup where he should be considered a top-12 fantasy quarterback in week 10.
Sit
Philip Rivers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have been elevated to a team not to start a quarterback against.
They’re not going to allow anything from quarterbacks in fantasy football. Only two teams are allowing less than 10 fantasy points per game against quarterbacks. The Ravens are giving up 9.4 points per game and the Jaguars are giving up 6.9 points per game to quarterbacks. There’s no reason to believe week 10 will be any different, especially with Rivers, who is a major liability against good defenses.
Rivers has only two 300-yard performances this year. And against Denver, a top-tier pass defense, Rivers failed to reach 200 yards passing in each of the two meetings. He does provide some hope for fantasy owners with touchdown passes on occasion. In weeks 4 and 5, he had five touchdowns combined in those two games. However, in his last three games, he has just four touchdowns.
He won’t be saved by the touchdowns in this one. The Jaguars are nasty against quarterbacks, so trust another quarterback in week 10.
Kirk Cousins vs. Minnesota Vikings
Cousins had that big moment in week 9 against Seattle. Leading his team to victory on the road against a better team should go a long way in deciding how big of a contract he gets in the offseason.
But much like weeks 8 and 9, his fantasy production level in week 10 shouldn’t be anywhere near it was in the middle portion of the season. He went for more than 20 fantasy points in each game from weeks three to seven. Since that time, though, he’s gone for 10 points or less, and he has another tough chore in front of him against Minnesota.
The Vikings are top-10 in the NFL in sacks, so he won’t have a clean pocket, much like what he’s seen in the last two weeks. The Vikings also won’t let any big plays through, allowing only 6.4 yards per completion, meaning Cousins will have to be consistent with his passes on long drives.
The Vikings just don’t allow quarterbacks to score fantasy points. They’re allowing 12.5 fantasy points per game against quarterbacks. This week will be more of the same, so Cousins should be downgraded to a QB2.
Marcus Mariota vs. Cincinnati Bengals
I’d favor some streaming options over Mariota this week. If Josh McCown is still available or even Ryan Fitzpatrick, I’d rank them higher than Mariota.
Mariota has a tough matchup against a Cincinnati defense allowing just 13.9 fantasy points per game against quarterbacks. The Bengals aren’t great as a team, but they’ve done a decent enough job on defense during the majority of the season. They allow just 6.3 yards per completion and limit quarterbacks to less than 60 percent completion rate.
This isn’t all about the matchup, though. Mariota looks injured and it’s taking away his ability to run the football. And without that threat, defenses are adjusting and limiting Mariota’s fantasy production. He has a combined 14 yards rushing in his last two games. And he hasn’t registered more than 220 yards passing in those two games.
Most importantly, he’s not coming up big with touchdowns. He has just six touchdown passes compared to five interceptions this season. Mariota is becoming a matchup-dependent quarterback, so I’d find someone else to start this week.
