Here’s a look at rankings from our most accurate fantasy football experts of the 2020 season. These rankings are for half-PPR scoring fantasy football formats.
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Andy Dalton (QB – DAL)
He’s been more of the quarterback we all expected over the last three weeks, as he’s completed 67.8 percent of passes, averaged 234.3 yards per game, and has thrown six touchdowns to three interceptions. When you add in the fact that two of those games were against the Ravens and Washington, his number look better. And on top of all that, we have a revenge game! The Bengals are generating no pass rush and have generated a sack on just 2.95 percent of dropbacks. That’s the second-lowest mark in the league behind only the Titans. They haven’t generated higher than a 22.2 pressure-rate since way back in Week 8. We all know Dalton is strictly a pocket passer, so the passing numbers are really all we care about. The Bengals have allowed 0.488 fantasy points per actual pass attempt, which ranks as the ninth-highest mark in football, right behind the Vikings, the team Dalton threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns against just a few weeks ago on just 32 pass attempts. The downside is that this game has one of the lowest totals we’ve seen all year, so oddsmakers aren’t expecting there to be a whole lot of scoring in this game. We could see the Cowboys take a run-heavy approach to simply come away with a win against a weak run defense, too. Still, I think Dalton can be considered a solid play in 2QB formats.
Mitch Trubisky (QB – CHI)
In games Trubisky starts, the Bears have generated 25.8 points per game, which is respectable. In games where Nick Foles starts, the Bears generated 16.7 points per game. While Trubisky will take the blame for the Bears losing last week, he was not the problem; his fumble just came at the wrong time. For the most part, he looked extremely competent last week against a banged-up Lions secondary. While David Montgomery found the end zone twice, that’s not something to expect every week (he had just one rushing touchdown coming into that game). That could’ve just as easily been a three-touchdown game for Trubisky. Will things go his way in this contest that is extremely similar? The Texans have not been a team to force many turnovers, as they have just three interceptions on 413 pass attempts against them (0.7 percent). They’ve also allowed a 68.8 percent completion-rate, which is the fourth-highest mark in the NFL. Don’t expect to see Trubisky’s mobility make an appearance in this game, as the Texans have allowed just 95 yards on the ground all year to quarterbacks, which is the second-fewest in the NFL, while the 2.21 yards per carry they’ve allowed is a league-low. The Texans have played three games without Bradley Roby (who’s suspended for the rest of the season), and in them, they’ve allowed 76-of-107 passing for 872 yards (8.15 yards per attempt), and seven touchdowns, which included a game against Jake Luton. If there were a week you could consider Trubisky as a streamer, it’s this one, though it’s tough to actually recommend him knowing Matt Nagy likely has him on a short leash with Foles healthy.
Teddy Bridgewater (QB – CAR)
He played solid coming off his injury in Week 12, which allows us to consider him moving forward. He’s still yet to throw more than two touchdowns in a game, which doesn’t allow for big performances out of a quarterback with limited mobility. So, when you play him, you’re simply hoping for enough volume to carry him to 250-plus yards and two touchdowns. By all passing metrics, the Broncos are a bad matchup for quarterbacks. They’ve allowed a 65.1 percent completion-rate (18th-highest), 6.74 yards per attempt (28th), and a 3.87 percent touchdown-rate (28th), which all amount to just 0.405 fantasy points per actual pass attempt (28th). It certainly hurts Bridgewater to know they’re still generating pressure up front, as they’ve recorded a sack on 7.14 percent of dropbacks. The Broncos have allowed plenty of rushing production to quarterbacks (fourth-most in the NFL), which has inflated their overall numbers, and Bridgewater has rushed for at least 10 yards in 9-of-11 games this year, while scoring a rushing touchdown twice in his last three games. If he had all his pass-catchers healthy for this game, he’d be considered as a decent QB2 but knowing he might be without one or two of his top receivers, it’s problematic. His ranking will change based on the status of those two, but my guess is that you can find a safer option this week. It does help that the Broncos are likely down to three backup cornerbacks for this game.
Jalen Hurts (QB – PHI)
The Eagles made the announcement on Tuesday that Hurts would be starting this week, as they continue to look for a “spark” in the offense. Hurts came into the game against the Packers last week and completed 5-of-12 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, while adding 29 yards on the ground. He was fine and while I understand why they did it, having him start this week may not be the best thing, as he’s going to make his first NFL start against one of the hottest defenses in the league. The Saints opponents are now averaging a league-low 59.5 offensive plays per game, which is extremely problematic because they’re also allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points per offensive snap. After allowing the first five quarterbacks they played to score 20-plus fantasy points, the Saints have transformed into one of the best defenses in the league, and have now allowed just 15.3 fantasy points per game to them, which is the fourth-lowest number in the league. No quarterback has topped 16.9 fantasy points against them since back in Week 7. They’re one of just four teams in the league who have a sack-rate higher than 8.0 percent, which doesn’t bode well for the Eagles quarterbacks who’ve been sacked on 10.2 percent of their dropbacks. Not only do the Saints completely shut down opposing running backs, but they also shut down quarterbacks in the run game, as they’ve allowed a league-low 68 rushing yards to them. On the year, they’ve allowed just 12.8 fantasy points on the ground to quarterbacks, also a league-low. Hurts does present a higher floor than Wentz with his mobility, but I’m afraid this matchup is too much for a rookie playing behind this offensive line. He’s just a back-end QB2 for me in this matchup.
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