Week 2 Start'em or Sit'em: Quarterbacks

Week 2 Start’em or Sit’em: Quarterbacks

When looking for a top quarterback each week, there are a few things to ask yourself before putting them in your fantasy lineup. Is your quarterback playing a top defense? You want to typically stay away from quarterbacks playing defenses like Denver, who have the best rated pass defense. Is your quarterback playing against an inferior opponent? When your quarterback is playing a team like the Jets, you have to worry about them running the ball too much, not giving your quarterback the passing opportunities he will need to deliver points. Finally, look for the quarterback that’s team has a poor rushing attack or have been decimated by running back injuries.

Start’em:

Start of the Week: Carson Palmer @ Indianapolis Colts

Carson will have a bounce back week against a team that gave up over 300 passing yards in Week 1 to Jared Goff. It will also help that the Cardinals lost premier running back David Johnson last week and will rely on multiple lesser talented backs to help carry the load going forward. I expect Palmer to pass for over 300 yards and at least 2 TD passes.

Russell Wilson vs. San Francisco 49ers

Wilson had a rough day last week versus a tough Green Bay Packers team. He wasn’t able to put a touchdown on the board for his fantasy owners. Fear not though. This week I expect a much better week in their home opener against the 49ers. Last season, Wilson averaged 5 more fantasy points per game at home than he did on the road.

Derek Carr vs. New York Jets

We can expect a lot of scoring in this game. Unfortunately it mostly, if not all, will come from the Oakland Raiders. Carr should be able to carve up a defense that struggled to slow down Tyrod Taylor in week 1. The only reason Carr doesn’t drop 40 fantasy points this week is because he probably won’t be throwing the ball a whole lot in the second half.

Ben Roethlisberger vs. Minnesota Vikings

This match up seems scary on paper. Considering the Vikings held Drew Brees to under 300 yards passing and 1 TD last week. That was in Minnesota and much like Big Ben on the road Brees struggles. Good news, Ben is at home this week where he averaged 27 fantasy points per game last year. Also, LeVeon Bell will be a little closer to healthy and should be involved more in the passing game this week.

Sit’em:

Sit of the Week: Dak Prescott @ Denver Broncos

As mentioned above, stay away from quarterbacks playing Denver. Especially quarterbacks playing IN Denver. Last week the Broncos held Phillip Rivers to under 200 yards passing. Although Rivers did manage to throw 3 TDs on Denver, I don’t expect that from Dak. For the 2nd straight week Prescott has a very unfavorable match up and his top receiver will be covered by one of the best DBs in the league.

Matthew Stafford @ New York Giants

Last week Stafford carved up Arizona’s defense to the tune of 4 TD passes. The stat line looked much better than the game however. Straight Stafford style most of his stats came in the fourth quarter. Typically I love that in a fantasy quarterback, but the New York Giants defense is a different animal. In week 1, the Giants defense held Dak Prescott to 268 passing yards and only 1 TD.

Cam Newton vs. Buffalo Bills

Cam struggled last week against a lesser 49ers defense. This week the Panthers and Cam host the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo is one of the most underrated defenses in the NFL, mostly because their offense is so stagnant. In 2016, the Bills defense held opposing quarterbacks to 1 or fewer TD passes in 10 of 16 games. Expect the Panthers to try and grind out yards on the ground in a game that should be a defensive battle.

Jameis Winston vs. Chicago Bears

In what looks like a picture perfect fantasy start, based on the qualifications I gave above, this has bust written all over it. Chicago has a sneaky good defense and Winston is known to make mistakes with the ball. Last week the Bears help Matt Ryan to under 20 fantasy points. If it weren’t for poor tackling on an 88 yards touchdown pass last week, the Bears defense would have had an even better showing.