Week 12 of the 2023 NFL season is in the books. Hopefully, your team pulled out the victory. However, the only easy win was last week’s win. So, let’s look at the top streaming quarterback options for Week 13.
All the quarterbacks in this article are rostered in under 50% of ESPN 1QB leagues and under 25% in superflex leagues.
- Waiver Wire Picks
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Streaming Targets in 1QB Leagues
Derek Carr (QB – NO) vs. Detroit Lions (22.7% Rostered)
Fantasy players must pay attention to New Orleans’ injury report this week. Carr won’t have Michael Thomas for at least the next three games. Unfortunately, Chris Olave (concussions) and Rashid Shaheed (thigh) left the Week 12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the veteran quarterback scored only 10.9 fantasy points. Yet, he had over 300 passing yards for the fifth time this season, including in four of the past six games. Hopefully, Olave and Shaheed will be ready for Sunday’s matchup against Detroit.
Despite their Thanksgiving day loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Lions are one of the top teams in the NFC. However, their defense has struggled to slow down opposing quarterbacks. They have given up 21.2 or more fantasy points in four of their past five matchups, including last week. Jordan Love has had an up-and-down 2023 season. Yet, he completed 68.8% of his pass attempts for 268 yards and three touchdowns, scoring a career-high 26.6 fantasy points against the division rivals. If Carr has Olave and Shaheed for this game, the veteran has low-end QB1 upside.
Kenny Pickett (QB – PIT) vs. Arizona Cardinals (15.7% Rostered)
While the Steelers fired Matt Canada after their Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the offense didn’t have an explosive performance last week. They scored only 16 points and one touchdown in the win. However, Pickett pushed the ball downfield and had a productive performance despite not having a touchdown. He completed 72.7% of his pass attempts for 278 yards, both season-highs. Furthermore, the second-year quarterback had 11.6 fantasy points, his highest total since Week 7.
Meanwhile, Pickett gets an excellent fantasy football matchup this weekend. The Cardinals have surrendered 18.3 fantasy points per game this season, one of the highest averages in the NFL. Last week, Matthew Stafford had 229 passing yards and four touchdowns, scoring 23.6 fantasy points against Arizona, setting season-highs in touchdowns and fantasy points. More importantly, he had only nine passing touchdowns before the matchup against the division rivals, totaling one or fewer in all but one contest. Pickett won’t have four passing touchdowns, but he should set a season-high in fantasy points.
Streaming Targets in Superflex Leagues
Gardner Minshew (QB – IND) vs. Tennessee Titans (7.3% Rostered)
The veteran quarterback made the Week 12 streamer’s article thanks to an appealing matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite not having a passing touchdown, Minshew scored 14.6 fantasy points in the win. He had 251 passing yards and a rushing score against Tampa Bay. More importantly, fantasy players have seen the veteran quarterback put up massive fantasy points, even against elite defenses. Minshew had 305 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 29 rushing yards, two rushing scores, and 27.1 fantasy points against the Cleveland Browns a few weeks ago.
Thankfully, this week’s matchup is much more appealing for the veteran quarterback. Tennessee has surrendered 15.9 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this year, around the league average. However, they have shut down young quarterbacks but have struggled otherwise. The Titans have surrendered 17 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks not named Kenny Pickett, Bryce Young, or Desmond Ridder. More importantly, Minshew came off the bench and completed 78.6% of his pass attempts in the first matchup against Tennessee this season. He should have a solid QB2 performance in the rematch.
Jake Browning (QB – CIN) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (5.2% Rostered)
Unfortunately, Joe Burrow is done for the year with a wrist injury, making Browning the starter the rest of the way. However, the former Washington star made his first career start last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite facing a talented defense without Tee Higgins, the veteran quarterback completed 73.1% of his pass attempts for 227 yards, one touchdown, and 12 fantasy points. Yet, he had only 26 pass attempts in the loss, as the Steelers’ offense failed to make this game a shootout. More importantly, Browning has a fantasy-friendly matchup on Monday night.
Last week, C.J. Stroud completed 72.2% of his pass attempts for 304 yards and two touchdowns against the Jaguars, scoring 30.9 fantasy points against the AFC South division rivals. However, Jacksonville has struggled to slow down quarterbacks all year. They have surrendered 18.4 fantasy points per game to the position in 2023. Furthermore, quarterbacks have scored 20.6 or more fantasy points against the Jaguars in over half of the games. While he won’t have 20 fantasy points on Monday, Browning should have a solid QB2 performance.
Streamer to Avoid
Matthew Stafford (QB – LAR) vs. Cleveland Browns (31.1% Rostered)
Typically, streaming articles tell you which players to target off the waiver wire. However, I will give one quarterback each week that you should avoid.
Stafford was one of my favorite streamers last week because of the matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. The veteran quarterback completed 75.8% of his pass attempts for 229 yards and four touchdowns, scoring 23.4 fantasy points in the win. However, he converted only 59.2% of his pass attempts for one passing touchdown per game before last week’s matchup, averaging 13.5 fantasy points per contest. Stafford had one of fewer passing touchdowns in all but one game before last week’s matchup against the Cardinals.
More importantly, the veteran quarterback has a nightmare matchup on Sunday. The Browns have arguably the top defense in the NFL. They have held quarterbacks to 11.7 fantasy points this season, one of the lowest averages in the league. Last week, Russell Wilson scored 16.8 fantasy points against Cleveland. However, he had 34 rushing yards and a touchdown, accounting for 56.1% of his fantasy production. Unfortunately, Stafford has no rushing upside. Therefore, fantasy players should expect a quiet performance from the former No. 1 overall pick this week.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.
