With most season-long fantasy football competitions complete, we’re focusing primarily on daily fantasy (DFS) this week.

It’s the last time this regular season to put together a DFS team, so we’re giving our best options to construct a quality DFS team.

Here’s our take on the quarterbacks in week 17.

Ben Roethlisberger should be a good start. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1iAQv7r/Jeffrey Beall
Ben Roethlisberger should be a good DFS start. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1iAQv7r/Jeffrey Beall

DFS Boom

Ben Roethlisberger vs. Cleveland

He won’t be the most expensive option, so that’s a good sign for DFS players. We know that Roethlisberger has struggled to be consistent in fantasy this season, but this week offers a chance for Big Ben to do what he’s always done.

Roethlisberger has absolutely owned the Cleveland Browns in his career. He’s 19-2 against the Browns and has thrown for 32 touchdowns compared to 15 interceptions. His QBR is 96.7 and he completes more than 60 percent of his passes against the Browns.

Just look at the earlier matchup this season to see what Roethlisberger can do against the Browns. He went for 26.96 fantasy points, with 379 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Forget about last week. Roethlisberger put up a paltry 3.80 fantasy points, but just the week before he was over 20. In fact, he’s been over 20 fantasy points in five of the last seven games.

The Browns are the fourth-worst defense in terms of yards per completion at 8 in the NFL. That plays directly in the Steelers’ offense’s hands, as they’re fourth-best in the NFL at yards per completion at 8.1.

Roethlisberger offers some stability because of his past success and he should generate plenty of points this week against Cleveland.

Brian Hoyer is a quality DFS sleeper option this week. Flickr/Victor Araiza
Brian Hoyer is a quality DFS sleeper option this week. Flickr/Victor Araiza

DFS Sleeper

Brian Hoyer or Brandon Weeden vs. Jacksonville

This may take some guts to pull the trigger on a quarterback like Weeden or Hoyer, but their value is high based on their price. According to the Yahoo DFS site, Weeden is the 24th-most expensive quarterback, while Hoyer is the 16th.

Hoyer gives the better chance at points, while Weeden gives the better chance at value. It appears that Hoyer will get the start if he clears concussion protocol, which isn’t a bad sign for DFS players since Hoyer still provides good value at the 16th spot. Weeden may be a bit rockier in the points category, but you can’t go wrong with the price.

And if he plays as well as last week, where he turned in 21.10 fantasy points, then he would be a tremendous option.

The reason for their spots on this list, though, isn’t because they are good fantasy quarterbacks. It’s more about Jacksonville’s struggles lately. In three of the past five games, opposing quarterbacks have gone for a combined 10 touchdowns, and averaged 327 yards passing per game.

Those numbers bode well for the Houston Texans, especially after the last time Hoyer squared off against the Jaguars. Hoyer’s biggest fantasy point total this season came against Jacksonville earlier this season with 24.22 on 293 yards passing and three touchdowns.

With the Jaguars playing back-to-back road games, expect the same kind of effort from the Jaguars defense this time around.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is a prime DFS bust candidate this week. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1KXBI0g/Mike Morbeck
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is a prime DFS bust candidate this week. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1KXBI0g/Mike Morbeck

DFS Bust

Eli Manning vs. Philadelphia

We can’t trust Manning or the Giants in this situation. After the effort put forth in week 16, we’re not sure if Manning or anyone else will show up this week against the Eagles.

Philadelphia doesn’t mind showing up for this game. Head coach Chip Kelly has zero emotion, so even though the Eagles aren’t playing for anything, it doesn’t mean they will play with any less intensity than usual. Every game just seems like another game for the Eagles, which probably hurts them more throughout the season than helps, but it does create a good matchup for them when playing teams that have given up for the season.

Manning also is the same price as Roethlisberger in the Yahoo DFS leagues, giving us even more pause to use him. The Eagles stifled Manning during the last time these two teams played, holding him to 8.76 fantasy points.

The Eagles have been really bad lately against opposing quarterbacks, but expect a different result this week. We’re selling Manning’s stock this week.

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