Who has surprised you more?
Dak Prescott or Lamar Jackson?
Both quarterbacks are lighting up the NFL, going 4-0 combined and leading rejuvenated offenses. Jackson owns a slight edge over Prescott with three more fantasy points this season, as the pair lead all fantasy scorers.
Can they keep this up? Something tells me that one of them won’t keep up this momentum, and with 14 more games remaining, there’s a lot of football left to be played. Here’s the week 3 fantasy football quarterbacks start ‘em, sit ‘em guide.
Start
Jimmy Garoppolo vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Bengals have one of the worst defenses in the NFL, so that definitely helped Garoppolo in week 2’s victory. Even so, he still performed, netting 297 yards and three touchdowns.
The 49ers will move the ball on offense, utilizing a strong running game, setting up Garoppolo with open looks. That creates some avenues for Garoppolo to tally touchdowns and easy yards, something that has been fairly easy so far against Pittsburgh.
The Steelers are allowing 8.9 yards per pass attempt this season, the sixth-worst number in the NFL. That will get better as the season progresses, but I’ll take my chances with Pittsburgh (traditionally a terrible team on the West Coast) not improving by week 3.
Philip Rivers vs. Houston Texans
There’s something wrong about the Texans defense. Houston played the run in week 2 against Jacksonville, but still couldn’t stop the pass on a regular basis. The Texans are allowing 22.81 fantasy points game to opposing quarterbacks, putting them in the bottom-10 of the NFL.
And while Rivers was bad in week 2, he’s back at home against an inferior defense.
Rivers still almost threw for 300 yards in week 2 against a good Detroit secondary, so he’ll bounce back and be a low-end QB1 in week 3.
Josh Allen vs. Cincinnati Bengals
If you’re looking for a streaming choice, look no further than Allen.
I may have been wrong about Allen. I didn’t believe he was an answer when he was drafted. I thought the Bills reached and Allen wouldn’t have the accuracy to compete in the NFL.
However, despite playing not-so-great defenses, Allen looks good on his throws. There is still a lot of football to be played, but he appears to have grown as a passer, something not seen by other young quarterbacks. He gets another plus-matchup against Cincinnati, which may only be better than Miami on the defensive side of the ball.
Take a strong look at Allen to put up solid numbers in week 3.
Sit
Andy Dalton vs. Buffalo Bills
I liked the matchup for Dalton in week 2 and he delivered a top-10 performance. Despite the solid week 2, I’m favoring the Bills in this matchup, against a Bengals team suffering on the offensive line.
Buffalo has been hard on opposing quarterbacks, allowing just 11.60 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.
That will make it difficult for the Bengals, especially with fewer weapons and a battered offensive line. Dalton will be up-and-down this season, so stray away from him this week.
Cam Newton vs. Arizona Cardinals
Arizona has been really bad against the pass so far this season. So on paper, this looks like a decent matchup.
But I’m not buying it. There’s something wrong with Newton. Maybe he needs a little more time to adjust to his shoulder surgery. Or maybe he won’t have the arm that he once he did.
Whatever it is, I’m shelving him until I see more of a QB1 ability.
Don’t overthink this one. Newton has not been good enough in the early going and there are some serious question marks surrounding him going forward.
Matthew Stafford vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles haven’t been great against the pass this season, but I’m bullish on Philadelphia going forward.
This defense can apply serious pressure on opposing quarterbacks. That will create problems for a Lions offense still searching for an identity.
Stafford was great in week 1 against the Cardinals and came crashing back to earth in week 2 against a better Los Angeles Chargers defense. Philadelphia has struggled, but I believe that is more of a case of a small sample size rather than what should be expected from the Eagles this season.
