Having a consistent quarterback is nice, but not necessary, as evidenced by week 13’s fantasy football scoring.
Here’s just some notable names in the top-12 of scoring in fantasy football for week 13 — Alex Smith, Josh McCown, Blake Bortles, Case Keenum, Tom Savage and Joe Flacco. Those aren’t exactly names that jump off the fantasy football draft board.
Quarterbacks can be found, even in the first round of the fantasy football playoffs. Here’s the week 14 quarterbacks start ’em, sit ’em guide in fantasy football.
Start
Jimmy Garoppolo vs. Houston Texans
The production wasn’t earth-shattering, but the 49ers offense looked much smoother with Garoppolo at the helm during his week 13 debut.
He didn’t lead a touchdown drive, but he did enough to set up San Francisco for five field goals and threw for 293 yards against the Bears. That was a far less clunky performance than C.J. Beathard provides, so I would think the coaching staff would keep Garoppolo under center (as long as they’re not tanking).
If he gets the start, this is a perfect opportunity to register QB1 totals. The Texans allow the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks per game. Only once since week 7 did the opposing quarterback not score in the top-12 in fantasy points against the Texans.
And that list of quarterbacks features players like Blaine Gabbert, Marcus Mariota and Jacoby Brissett.
As long as the 49ers aren’t in complete tank mode, which they might be so keep an eye on who is starting, Garoppolo can be a nice streaming option for your first-round matchup.
Jameis Winston vs. Detroit Lions
Winston didn’t drive the ball down the field very well in week 13 in his return from injury, but he looked better than he did before he exited this season with that injury.
He was efficient, going 21-of-32 with 270 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a good sign after disappointing during the first part of the year.
Part of that effort has to come with a disclaimer, since it came against Green Bay’s pass defense, one of the worst in the NFL. However, he gets another tasty matchup in week 14 against a Detroit team that just allowed Joe Flacco to throw for 269 yards and two touchdowns. You’d have to go back to week 13 of 2016 for a game where Flacco has thrown for more yards.
Both teams employ bottom-10 pass defenses, so I expect this game to feature plenty of scoring. That should be good for Winston’s stat line.
Alex Smith vs. Oakland Raiders
In 12 games this season, Oakland has one interception. We’re nearing record territory. The 1982 Houston Oilers intercepted the fewest passes in NFL history at three.
If the Raiders continue the pace they’ve set, that record is in serious jeopardy. Oakland can’t turn over quarterbacks, so that should allow Smith to air it out much like he did in week 13 against the New York Jets.
He went for 366 yards passing and four touchdowns in a high-scoring game against the Jets. Look for week 14 to be similar with points, with both defenses failing to do much on the defensive side of the ball.
Oakland is giving up the sixth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks and allowed Geno Smith to throw for more than 200 yards against them in week 13.
Sit
Jared Goff vs. Philadelphia Eagles
I know Russell Wilson tallied a nice fantasy day in week 13 against the Eagles, but I’m not selling that defense just yet.
Philadelphia’s pass rush is relentless. Against Wilson, he can neutralize that kind of pressure with his legs. Goff can’t.
The Eagles are giving up just 152 yards passing in their last three games, while Goff has been a little more inconsistent of late, going for less than 230 yards passing in two of the last three games.
The passing yards just won’t be there for Goff. If he’s not throwing touchdowns, which is something the Eagles have done a good job of defending against, Goff doesn’t have as much value as some of the other quarterbacks suiting up in week 14.
Ben Roethlisberger vs. Baltimore Ravens
I’m not risking my fantasy playoff life against Baltimore.
The Ravens are nasty against opposing quarterbacks in recent weeks. They’re not just limiting points, but they’re intercepting passes at an alarming rate and returning them for touchdowns.
They’ve intercepted at least one pass in every game since week 7 and have three defensive touchdowns. It’s getting worse for the opposition in the last three games, too, with the Ravens forcing 11 turnovers and giving up just 36 total points.
Roethlisberger has been hot in recent weeks, but I’m not trusting him against a Ravens defense that is among the best in the league at the moment.
Kirk Cousins vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Don’t look now, but the Chargers’ pass defense is becoming a unit not to face in fantasy football.
The Chargers are allowing just 12.7 fantasy points per game against quarterbacks, thanks to a better-than-advertised pass rush and an ability to limit yards.
Los Angeles is giving up just 205 passing yards per game, the sixth-best mark in the NFL. They also average 2.9 sacks per game, the fifth-best mark in the NFL. That’s a terrible sign for the Redskins, which are constantly replacing offensive linemen due to injuries.
The injury bug is affecting Washington’s ability to move the ball and that will have a detrimental effect on Cousins’ ability to score in week 14.
