The week 4 leaderboard for fantasy football quarterbacks didn’t have the typical big names. Some were absent due to a bye week, like Tom Brady, and injuries, like Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo and Andrew Luck, but others like Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton and Eli Manning were nowhere to be found in the top-five for quarterbacks.
Phillip Rivers led all quarterbacks with 26.22 points, while Sam Bradford, Drew Brees, Josh McCown and Kirk Cousins rounded out the top five.
Can the big names crack the top-five this week? We’ll see as we list our start ’em, sit ’em list for week 5 of the NFL season.
Daily fantasy start of the week
Tom Brady vs. Dallas Cowboys
In weeks that New England has played, Brady hasn’t been outside the top-five for fantasy football quarterbacks.
He finished first, second and fifth in the first three weeks. Now, the Patriots are coming off a bye, and if past history indicates success, New England should do well at Dallas. New England is 17-3 coming off a bye since 2003, and this game should go in New England’s favor again.
The team’s success is based on Brady’s right arm, and he already has amassed nine touchdowns against no interceptions this season. And the once-stingy Dallas defense from the first two weeks, can’t seem to stop anyone now.
In the past two weeks, the Cowboys defense has allowed the third-most and fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. The Cowboys defense is in for more trouble this week with Brady and the Patriots coming to town firing on all cylinders.
Brady’s price tag is high, but worth the investment in this situation.
Start
Carson Palmer vs. Detroit Lions
Don’t be too hard on Palmer for the disappointing performance last week against St. Louis.
Palmer threw for 352 yards, but most of those yards came during massive comeback time. He also hurled an interception to go along with one late touchdown pass.
But let’s not forget what he did previous to week 4. Before last week’s setback against St. Louis, which possesses a strong pass rush, Palmer was averaging three touchdown passes per game in the first three weeks. The Cardinals offense also was clicking at a rate unseen in Arizona since the days of Kurt Warner.
It was just a matter of time before Palmer and the Cardinals crashed back to reality. This week, though, Palmer should get back on track against the Lions.
Detroit is allowing a 78.2 percent completion percentage and is allowing the fifth-highest quarterback rating at 107.1.
Palmer should be a solid QB1 for week 5.
Sam Bradford vs. New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans defense isn’t good against opposing quarterbacks.
The Saints have allowed a NFL-worst 116 quarterback rating through four games this season. Last week was the only game this season that the defense limited the opposing quarterback to less than 18 fantasy football points. And don’t forget, the Saints were squaring off against backup quarterback Brandon Weeden last week.
Despite the problems the Saints have faced this season, they are still facing Bradford, who has struggled right along with his Philadelphia Eagles. But Bradford at least showed the ability to throw deep last week, completing four plays at 30 yards or more.
If he continues to stretch out the defense vertically, that could open up the abysmal running game employed by the Eagles. We like the matchup against the Saints, and despite Bradford’s struggles, this game should be an opportunity for him to score several points.
Joe Flacco vs. Cleveland Browns
We like to pick on the Cleveland Browns.
And so far this season, it’s worked.
In the season’s first four weeks, the Browns have allowed 16 or more points to opposing quarterbacks three times. In the last two weeks, the Browns have surrendered 20 and 26 points respectively to Derek Carr and Phillip Rivers. Carr and Rivers combined for 772 yards passing, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
So, this week, the Browns not only have to face the Ravens, but they have to travel cross-country, from San Diego to Baltimore. That won’t bode well for a struggling secondary, especially after losing to the Chargers in such a tough way.
Flacco hasn’t been great this season, but after last week’s gift of a win, we expect the Ravens to start turning the corner a bit. Even with his difficulties, Flacco still has thrown for more than 300 yards in two of four weeks, and against this secondary, he shouldn’t have any trouble.
Daily fantasy sit of the week
Aaron Rodgers vs. St. Louis Rams
Normally, Rodgers is a pretty good bet in any fantasy league, regardless of his high price tag.
But this week, against the St. Louis Rams, there are other options better than him available at a lower price.
Rodgers has been…well Rodgers-esque so far this year, throwing 11 touchdowns compared to no interceptions. He’s the highest-scoring fantasy football quarterback by seven points, but he hasn’t seen a pass rush quite like the Rams this season.
The Rams are second in the NFL in sacks with 17, and have limited quarterbacks to three touchdown passes, all the while recording three interceptions.
We anticipate Rodgers will have a good day, but he won’t be among the top-scoring options, based on the amount of pressure presented by St. Louis.
Sit
Andy Dalton vs. Seattle Seahawks
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has been a pleasant surprise for fantasy football owners this season.
He’s the second-highest scoring quarterback in fantasy football, and hasn’t had that Dalton moment where he throws more interceptions than touchdowns. In fact, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is 9-to-1. But he’s facing the Seahawks this week, which is always tough on quarterbacks.
Seattle is fourth-best against the pass, allowing 186 yards passing per game. Teams aren’t really even looking to pass against the Seahawks, attempting a league-low 25.7 attempts per game.
Expect the Bengals to employ the same strategy. This one won’t feature many points, so stay away from the offensive personnel in this game.
Derek Carr vs. Denver Broncos
Count us in as being buyers with the Denver Broncos defense.
Quarterbacks are having a difficult time to do anything against the Broncos, and that spells trouble for Carr on Sunday with his young Raiders looking to bounce back from a difficult week against the Chicago Bears.
The Broncos are the third-best defense in quarterback rating, allowing a 67.9 number this season to opposing quarterbacks. Denver has been even tougher in the sack department, registering the most sacks this season with 18.
Carr won’t have any room to pass in this game, and his big output in week 3, will seem like an eternity ago with two tough outings back-to-back.
Matthew Stafford vs. Arizona Cardinals
In case you haven’t received the memo, Stafford isn’t the same quarterback from a few years ago. Stafford has notched less than 14 fantasy football points in three of four weeks this season.
And it won’t get any easier this week against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals are still good against the pass, despite showing some weaknesses last week against the St. Louis Rams. Arizona is allowing less than seven yards per completion, and less than 200 yards per game.
To Stafford’s defense, he has faced Seattle, Minnesota and Denver, which has been tough against the pass this season. His biggest issue is that the Cardinals are in that same category, which should mean another tough week for the former No. 1 draft pick.
