Fantasy football managers face some tough decisions at the quarterback position this week. As the league deals with several teams on a bye and a mix of favorable and challenging matchups, fantasy value can swing quickly.
Recent performances and changing roles are making this position more unpredictable than ever. Stay tuned for deeper analysis and lineup tips as the fantasy football playoff race heats up.
Aaron Rodgers | PIT
It would be difficult for Aaron Rodgers to enter this revenge game with better fantasy vibes. The loss on Thursday night in Cincinnati wasn’t great for Pittsburgh fans, and you could argue that his two poor decisions ended up costing them dearly, but the 41-year-old threw four touchdowns, all to tight ends, and showed nice touch in the process.
Of course, it was the Bengals, the fantasy performance enhancer (his first top 15 finish at the position since Week 1).
Rodgers has multiple touchdown passes in four of six games this season, but he’s yet to reach 250 yards through the air, and his days of threatening defenses with his legs are long gone.
Green Bay has been solid against starting QBs who are pocket-passer-locked (Jared Goff and Joe Flacco combined to average 4.9 YPA across three starts), and I don’t think that’s a mistake.
I’m sorry if you missed the strong showing last week, but I’d advise against chasing those points in a matchup that couldn’t be more different.
Even with six teams on a bye, Rodgers isn’t a top streaming priority for me this week.
Baker Mayfield | TB
The injuries ultimately caught up to the Buccaneers on Monday night, especially with the game script falling out of favor in Detroit.
When all was said and done, Baker Mayfield threw 50 passes, but only accounted for one score and 228 yards. After completing multiple passes of 20+ air yards in each of the first six weeks this season, Mayfield went 0-for-9 on those deep shots, and there’s certainly the risk of more games like that coming up with Mike Evans (broken collarbone) potentially done for the season.
Those are concerns for another day. Emeka Egbuka certainly appeared to be healthy, and he alone should help put Mayfield into the starter conversation against a Saints defense that ranks in the bottom 10 in pass TD%, passer rating, and yards per pass this season.
Bo Nix | DEN
In a crazy win over the Giants, Bo Nix gave us easily his best fantasy game of his career. He racked up 40 points (previous best: 33.5) in an effort that saw him score the second-most points as a passer this season, in addition to nearly doubling his 2022 season output on the ground.
But what does it mean (besides the fact that he won you your Week 7 matchup)?
My take: not much. Let’s get the obvious out of the way first … his Broncos host the Cowboys this week, so whether he scored 40 or 4.0 fantasy points over the weekend, you’d be playing him.
Okay, now onto the chaos that was Sunday.
For the season, a seven-game sample, 61.4% of Nix’s fourth-quarter fantasy points came against the G-Men (35.56).
Big fantasy games can obviously happen in a variety of ways, but he’s just the third player since 2020 to score 30+ fantasy points while averaging no more than 5.6 yards per pass:
- Justin Fields: 42.7 points with 4.4 YPA (Week 9, 2022)
- Nix: 40 points with 5.6 YPA (Sunday)
- Tyler Huntley: 35.9 points with 5.4 YPA (Week 15, 2021)
It doesn’t happen often, and it’s not the most predictive of spike performance.
Oh, and then there are the tipped-pass touchdowns. Nix had a deflected pass find Troy Franklin for a TD early in the fourth quarter. It was very likely, but the cascading effect was rather unique.
That pass just as easily could have been intercepted and ended the game (-2 points). Instead, it’s a touchdown (+4.1 points), leads to a converted two-pointer (+2), and keeps the Giants on the attack.
If New York was still up 19-0, are they throwing on 3rd-and-17 on the following drive?
If they aren’t passing, the bonkers bounce that ended in Theo Johnson’s hands in stride for a 41-yard touchdown doesn’t happen, and the game doesn’t have a chance to get crazy.
But it did. It all did.
The Giants were either racking up chunk plays or taking up less than 70 seconds on their possessions, the optimal opponent runout to give us the stage for Nix to do what he did.
He doesn’t have to apologize for a single one of his points scored, and neither do you. That said, using this as an excuse to revisit your preseason priors that had the second-year QB threatening to lead the second tier in scoring is irresponsible.
Prior to everything lining up in his favor on Sunday, Nix had one finish better than QB12 this season. He’d largely underachieved both as a passer and a runner, leaving fantasy managers disappointed more often than not.
He’s a clear start this week and is in the conversation for QB1 status the rest of the way, but not locked into it. Do I feel great about two Kansas City games still on the schedule, one of which comes during a tough Packers-Jags-Chiefs end to the fantasy season?
I do not. If someone is willing to overpay based on the vibes from the weekend, a Dallas matchup this week, and a Vegas spot looming, I make the deal and laugh all the way to the bank.
Brock Purdy | SF
Brock Purdy has appeared in just two games this season as the toe injury continues to limit what the fourth-year QB can do.
That said, the practice reps continue to move in the right direction, and that gives us hope that this offense can get its point man back sooner rather than later.
He was on the borderline of usable when active, and I anticipate that being his spot in the ranks once he’s deemed healthy. This matchup is no walk in the park, but with six teams on a bye, you might be tracking these injury updates like a hawk.
The 49ers go on bye in Week 14 before a Titans-Colts-Bears run to close the fantasy season, a stretch that is favorable for this offense as a whole and essentially weatherproof. Purdy should clearly be rostered in all formats and could prove to be a valuable commodity at the perfect time.
Bryce Young | CAR
An ankle injury resulted in Bryce Young being pulled early from the win over the Jets, but it’s not as if we were trending toward a useful day anyway.
When not playing layup matchups (MIA or DAL), Young has six touchdown passes in five games. He hasn’t thrown for 200 yards since Week 2 and offers little big-play upside.
This team is finally reasonably healthy, and that’s a start, but we are a long way away from it mattering. He’s not nearly enough of a threat with his legs, and banking on Xavier Legette to go 9-92-1 to account for nearly half of his yardage is … well, it’s living on the edge at the very best.
C.J. Stroud | HOU
He doesn’t have a chance.
I’m not saying C.J. Stroud has been great this season, but I’m not sure what realistic expectations are given this offensive line’s struggles.
Stroud shone as a rookie, and guess what? His completion percentage when not pressured has actually increased every season of his career. His 6% TD rate when not pressured is pacing for a career high, while his 0.7% INT% in such spots would be the lowest of his career.
If you want to tell me that the great QBs overcome things like this, I’ll agree with you. But this talk that Stroud is a flop is a bit over the top for me.
At this point, you can’t go this direction, and I wish I could tell you that we will see things change at some point moving forward this season, but I can’t. He hasn’t reached 235 passing yards in a game this season, and without offensive balance, his throwing multiple touchdown passes once a month or so tracks.
I’ve liked what I’ve seen in terms of his rushing production (20+ yards in five of six games), but he’s running for his life rather than as part of a thoughtful effort to move the ball downfield.
I can see a situation where this offensive line improves, and I’m in on Stroud at a significant discount this summer, but asking him to put up numbers in this current situation isn’t wise.
Caleb Williams | CHI
We are taking on water.
I wasn’t shy about driving the Caleb Williams ship this summer, and we are taking on water in large quantities.
After seemingly turning a corner early, we are in the midst of a three-game run in which the Year 2 QB has completed under 60% of his passes in each contest and has totaled just 2 touchdown passes.
The rushing that bailed us out at times early? Not as stable as he had hoped: 16 carries for nine yards during this stretch of fantasy flopping.
The worst part? The Bears have won each of those games and four straight overall.
I’m not anti-Bear. That’s a bad thing because this is a results-driven business, and if the results are suitable, the team is naturally less likely to adjust what they are doing in a major way.
The shot plays are down (21.7% deep throw rate in these games compared to 24.7% in the first three), and he’s seemingly accepting the “live to play another down” mantra, having completed just 35.5% of his pressured passes since Week 4.
That’s down from 54.2% prior, but it hasn’t included a turnover, and that seems to be the message: trust our offense and try to limit the superhero desires.
Good for Chicago, bad for us. Very bad.
This will be a good spot to see what we have moving forward. He’s hovering around QB1 status for me because we don’t know exactly how healthy this Ravens defense truly is, and with Lamar Jackson set to return, a favorable game environment is possible, if not likely.
But my antenna is raised.
For now, I have enough buckets and enough help to keep the ship afloat. But as people leave and more water comes on board, this could get tough to save sooner than later unless things change in a meaningful way.
Cameron Ward | TEN
Another week passes, and nothing changes.
The 38-yard touchdown pass to Chimere Dike on the second drive was placed right where it needed to be, highlighting a 10-of-11 start.
But then they made some questionable decisions, and he turned the ball over multiple times. The rookie has yet to have a clear game and hasn’t even reached average in any grading metric once this season.
He’s holding onto the ball at times and at others, simply isn’t surrounded by a ton of talent. I really don’t care who you blame for all the fumbles and 30 sacks: Ward is a future asset and nothing more.
I say that to save you from yourself.
Ward is going to put some more highlight plays on film, and there is going to be one person reading this who is streaming the QB position in a fantasy championship setting … “vs. Saints”.
Good matchup and a team motivated to develop their young QB, but I can’t imagine battling all season and trusting Ward to guide your team to glory.
Dak Prescott | DAL
Welcome back, CeeDee Lamb!
Not that the profile of Dak Prescott needed help, but having his WR1 back and looking healthy certainly helps the sustainability of the monster season that he’s in the middle of orchestrating.
Streaks of 4 Straight Games With 3 TD Passes & 0 INT Since 2021
- Prescott (active)
- Joe Burrow (2024)
- Baker Mayfield (2024)
- Jared Goff (2024)
- Patrick Mahomes (2021)
- Prescott (2021)
When he’s seeing the field clearly, he’s on a short list of players that can get this hot. What is fueling his success are the aggressive passes. While asking him to sustain his current trajectory is almost impossible, this team was built around these shot plays, which naturally makes it more projectable than a random Geno Smith hot streak would be.
Throwing Past The Sticks
- 2024: 102 attempts, 47 completions, 960 yards, 7 TD, 8 INT
- 2025: 100 attempts, 62 completions, 1,184 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT
The Cowboys aren’t asking Prescott to move the chains; they are asking him to move mountains. This is the 2024 Bengals all over again, and we had no concerns about Joe Burrow that season, did we?
This isn’t a great matchup, obviously, but in a league structured for offenses, it’s not a good one for Denver either. Two vertical threats and a stable running game are a true “pick-your-position” roster construction, and until something changes, Prescott is to be viewed as the best pocket producer in the game.
Daniel Jones | IND
After zero games with multiple touchdown passes in September, Daniel Jones is three-of-three in that regard this month, and a date with the Titans doesn’t exactly project as a bump in the road situation (72% complete with 27 rushing yards in the Week 3 meeting).
He led the Colts 6.9 yards per play over the weekend in Los Angeles against the Chargers, and that was without Josh Downs at his disposal.
This offense is obviously centered around Jonathan Taylor, and that’s not going to change. His success is certainly a big reason why Jones has failed to exceed seven rushing yards in three of his past four games, but he is also what opens up all of the passing lanes (three-game win streak: 69.9% complete).
Decisive Danny projects as an efficient fantasy option both this week and moving forward, but it is worrisome that the Colts don’t need him to put up big numbers to find success. I’ve lowered his volume expectations this week, and that has him sliding down the ranks a bit. But on a positive note, it very well could be the last time we have to make such an adjustment, as a difficult schedule awaits Indy for the rest of the fantasy season.
Dillon Gabriel | CLE
Dillon Gabriel completed 13 of 18 passes against the Dolphins last week in a game with less-than-favorable conditions.
That’s fine. This offense isn’t built for big numbers, and that’s going to continue to be the case, likely well beyond this season. If one tight end sits, I have no issue in considering the other as a fringe TE1, but outside of that, it’s Quinshon Judkins or bust.
Drake Maye | NE
Drake Maye is weaponizing his legs, and the season-high 62 rushing yards last week are a sign of that, but they aren’t the only sign.
The respect that Tennessee was paying to his mobility helped Rhamondre Stevenson walk in for a five-yard score, and resulted in no help over the top on the Kayshon Boutte deep strike.
Everywhere you look, there are signs of growth. The touchdown to Austin Hooper last week was a “trust your teammate” throw that he probably wouldn’t have made 12 months ago. The coverage was scrambling and chasing his tight end, not knowing where the ball was, and Maye took advantage of it.
I like most of the schedule more than this week for Maye’s ceiling potential: give me offenses that have a chance to press him. Cleveland obviously doesn’t offer that, and that’s why he’s not in the top tier this week, but he deserves to be in that conversation when the game environment works in his favor.
Jalen Hurts | PHI
Jalen Hurts played a game as if he rostered himself in fantasy, and that’s what we love to see.
There was an early pick-six, which raised game-script concerns, but the Vikings battled, which helped all parties involved.
Hurts threw for a season high of 326 yards, his third straight contest with at least 280. The numbers are one thing, but the “how” behind them was what had a stupid grin on my face.
- 68.4% completions
- 73.9% targets
- 93.3% receiving yards
Those are the combined shares of DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown in Week 7. That’s how it’s done.
We aren’t under the assumption that Hurts is going to be Joe Flacco and fire 45+ passes, but if the passes he does throw are aimed at his top two targets, then he’s in the conversation for the best in the game at the position.
He’ll be awfully popular in the DFS streets this week (six teams on a bye, not to mention Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts doing battle off the main slate), and I’m not sure that’s wrong.
Jaxson Dart | NYG
It wasn’t a work of art last week (45.5% complete with a crippling injury), but fantasy box scores don’t have pictures.
- 283 pass yards
- 3 pass TDs
- 11 rush yards
- 1 rush TD
That box score will work every week when playing anyone, so it certainly works against the Broncos in Denver.
Jaxson Dart is a very raw prospect, and the weaknesses are predictable. There are weekly decision-making issues, and his passer rating is 99.2% higher when not pressured than when kept clean (league average: 55.6%).
But we aren’t asking for perfection as much as we are asking for confidence, and Dart has that in spades. We saw his eighth pass of last week go for a 44-yard TD to a wide-open Daniel Bellinger, a play made possible by his mobility.
The Broncos are great, but even the most disciplined unit eventually collapses.
I don’t think Dart is matchup-proof, but he showed well two weeks ago in this spot (195 pass yards, TD, 58 rush yards, TD) and should never be counted out.
That said, I do think he benefited from a game script that I don’t expect to be repeated in the first game against the Birds, and that is why Dart sits just outside of my top 12 this week for Week 8.
Jayden Daniels | WAS
This hamstring injury is a worry, given how Jayden Daniels makes his fantasy bones.
The apparent limitations that it could put on his rushing production are there, but let’s not rule out the fact that he has a 108.3 career passer rating when outside of the pocket.
I remain bullish on this offense as a whole for when your chips are in the middle of the table in December. Still, with all of the injuries in this matchup, I’m not sure this would have been anything better than an average offense in Week 8, even if Daniels were to have been ruled active.
I’m adding a QB off the waiver wire (Joe Flacco or Michael Penix, assuming health) instead of picking up Marcus Mariota in a brutal spot.
Joe Flacco | CIN
Playing quarterback is a complicated gig … until it’s not.
In his two starts with the Bengals, Joe Flacco has funneled 62.4% of his targets to his top two receivers, and guess what?
- Five touchdowns
- Zero interceptions
- 51 points scored (he joined a team that had lost three straight with a total of 37 points)
Eat your vegetables, and you get sick less often. Get sleep and you have more energy. Target a pair of monster receivers and … well, you get the picture. Flacco’s pocket dependency is a hindrance in today’s game, though. If you took a snapshot of the leaderboard after Thursday night, you would have noticed something funny.
After that game, there were two QBs with 45+ pass attempts this season for a single team: Flacco as a Brown and Flacco as a Bengal.
The best way to overcome a lack of versatility is with extreme volume and talented teammates. Flacco has both right now, and that makes him at least an option for those looking to stream.
The apparent concern is the opponent’s buy-in. Rodgers and the Steelers got caught up in a shootout last week because they have enough offensive talent to entertain such a game state.
To put it bluntly, the Jets do not. Joe Cool was a run-of-the-mill QB in Week 6 against the Packers despite the volume (219 yards and two TDs), and I think that’s closer to what we get this week than the 342-3 he posted in Week 7.
That has some utility in a week that is missing Goff, Matthew Stafford, Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold, and Trevor Lawrence, but this isn’t a weekly winning profile in my eyes.
Jordan Love | GB
With a spike in completion percentage, TD/INT rate, and a willingness to move the chains with his legs, Jordan Love is making the Packers brass happy.
With one finish this season better than QB11, he’s not really doing that for his fantasy managers.
That’s a tough combination. This is a team that wants to win with Josh Jacobs and the defense, something they are very capable of doing.
Joe Flacco performed in this matchup last week, and Dillon Gabriel is the only QB Pittsburgh has held under 19 fantasy points over the past month. I think we are looking at a narrow range of outcomes for Love (under 20 completions in five of six games), and in the right spot, that’s helpful, but because so many QBs carry higher ceilings, I couldn’t get Love higher than QB10 for this upcoming weekend.
Josh Allen | BUF
With the bye week to catch our breaths, I think we can all relax.
Following the Week 6 loss to the Falcons, media coverage focused mainly on potential regression from Josh Allen.
With four interceptions in a three-game stretch, no shortage of pundits were speculating about whether the growth we saw earlier this season from the reigning MVP was a smokescreen if this risk-taking version of Allen is what we will get moving forward.
First of all, I think that’s insane.
Second of all, I don’t think fantasy managers care.
A reckless version of Allen may open up the range of outcomes for him, but the ceiling remains elite. But I think the interception run is the outlier, not the norm.
Before the three weeks pre-bye, Allen had been picked off twice in 13 games (including playoffs), and I think that’s the version we’ll see for the rest of 2025.
Allen has a trio of top-7 finishes at the position this season and should very much be considered a Tier 1 option the rest of the way (and maybe for the rest of the decade). He’ll use the bye week to regroup and should be ready to carry your fantasy team in the way he was in September.
Your selection of Allen this summer was a strong one, and I fully expect him to remind your leaguemates of that over the next month.
Justin Fields | NYJ
At this point, you know what you’re getting with Justin Fields.
And so do the Jets, so the fact that they refused to name a starter to open the week should tell you all you need to know.
Fields was benched for the second half last week and has now finished three games this season with double-digit pass attempts and under 50 passing yards.
That’s hard to do in today’s era of football.
This is an interesting math project. Should he start? Where do we draw the line when it comes to how much air a bad defense can put in the tires of a bad quarterback?
READ MORE: Fantasy Football Cut List Week 8: TreVeyon Henderson, Justin Fields, Jerry Jeudy, and Others
I understand it’s the Bengals, but with Garrett Wilson’s status TBD at best and a mid-game benching in the range of outcomes, I can’t imagine going this direction in a league I care about.
Would I hold? I would. We’ve seen the upside, and he’s got a terrible defense on tap: it takes him like four plays to remind us of the value of his legs, and if he puts on a show, New York probably commits to him.
But playing him this week? I’d struggle to sleep with that penciled in.
Lamar Jackson | BAL
The Ravens have one win. And yet, following Baltimore’s announcement that Lamar Jackson would be back in the lineup after the team’s bye week, he was back to the ninth choice on the MVP odds board.
That really tells you all you need to know.
Jackson has three top-5 finishes on his 2025 ledger, and with the confidence that this team showed almost two weeks ahead of this game, I’m inclined to think that he’s past the hamstring injury and adds to that total in this strong spot.
Schefter reported on Oct. 22 that Jackson is back at practice. If the Ravens are going to reinsert themselves into the playoff mix, it starts this weekend, and it starts because their former MVP is back terrorizing defenses.
Mac Jones | SF
Mac Jones has won four of his five starts for the 49ers and is doing everything they need while they await the return of Brock Purdy.
Everything “they” need and everything “we” need are two entirely different ball games.
Spencer Rattler is averaging 13.8 fantasy points per game and is someone you’d never consider: Jones has been held under that figure in three of his past four.
It’s not all his fault. San Francisco has dealt with pass catcher injuries all season long and operated a run-centric plan in Week 7, but facts are facts. Kyle Shanahan is a master of playing to strengths, so it should be illuminating that Jones hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in consecutive games (65 attempts).
Marcus Mariota | WAS
Marcus Mariota is averaging one rush attempt for every 3.5 completions this season, and that’s what has the potential to make him interesting whenever he gets the call.
I’m passing if at all possible on Monday night.
Only once has a QB scored 17 fantasy points against the Chiefs since Week 1 and Mariota with a group of dinged up pass catchers doesn’t exactly profile as the type to break that mold.
In his last start, Mariota spread the ball around, targeting seven different players multiple times despite throwing just 27 passes. Fading players opposing Kansas City is good practice as it is, and that train of thought is magnified for a limited player like this trying to navigate various injuries.
Michael Penix Jr. | ATL
A bone bruise on his foot has saddled Penix with a day-to-day designation — hopefully you’re not losing sleep over it. The second-year QB has just one multi-TD pass effort this season, and given that it is very possible that Atlanta asks him to do very little in a game they should control, it’s hard to find much upside in this profile.
The 21 rushing yards in Week 1 against the Bucs piqued my interest, but with just 22 since, it’s become obvious that was nothing more than a flash in the pan.
Penix is concentrating his targets at a high level, so we want him in there for our Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts shares, but he himself offers little of interest in the fantasy space.
Patrick Mahomes | KC
He came, he saw, he conquered.
Patrick Mahomes didn’t take a snap in the fourth quarter, but he didn’t need to. He’s thrown at least three touchdown passes in three of his past four games and has reached 28 rushing yards in five of seven contests this season.
After years of a conservative script, Andy Reid is back in the business of wanting #15 to put up monster numbers, and so it shall be done.
Rashee Rice looked like Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy was making plays, and Travis Kelce picked apart zone coverage schemes.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 8 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game
Oh, did I not mention that the running game showed signs of life? That Tyquan Thornton continues to stretch the field with vertical routes or that Hollywood Brown found the end zone?
I’m not sure what you’re supposed to take away here. No matter what you do, Mahomes is a surefire starter in all formats and is a real threat to lead the position in scoring for the remainder of the season.
Spencer Rattler | NO
Spencer Rattler had his second multi-pass TD game of the season in Chicago over the weekend, but he sucked all of the value out of his good plays with three interceptions and his second-lowest rushing total of the season.
He’s good about funneling targets in the places that we want, and that’s nice to see, but there’s essentially no upside in this spot against a Bucs defense that can create chaos (Rattler has been blitzed 39 times over the past five weeks and hasn’t punished opposing defenses with a single TD toss in those spots).
Tua Tagovailoa | MIA
Consecutive three-interception games aren’t ideal in any circumstance, but if this were a Jameis Winston all-or-nothing game plan, I’d be willing to swallow the risk for the reward.
But it’s not.
Tua Tagovailoa has posted a sub-7.0 aDOT in both of those dreadful games, and without much in the way of playmakers, the ceiling outcome isn’t nearly enough to outweigh the tremendous risk.
You could try to sell me on the weatherproof nature of this game, but there weren’t any issues in Week 6 at Los Angeles (three interceptions) or in the season opener at Indianapolis (114 passing yards and two interceptions).
Tagovailoa shouldn’t be starting for you in anything but two-QB formats where you’re locked into him without any sort of ability to move off of it — he might not be the man in Miami for long, even with a contract that extends through the 2028 season.
Not. Ideal.
Tyrod Taylor | NYJ
It’s not yet clear who will start for the Jets in this advantageous spot, but hopefully, you’re not holding your breath in any fashion.
In his six starts since the beginning of last season, Tyrod Taylor is averaging just 14.8 fantasy points with six passing scores. On a per-game basis, that doesn’t extend as a top-20 QB this season and isn’t drastically different from what we’ve suffered through with Justin Fields (15.9 PPG).
The less mental energy spent on the Jets is a good plan for most weeks, and this week is no different, even in a matchup like this.
