Getty Andy Dalton #14 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up.
Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Quarterbacks edition for Week 6 of the NFL season. In this week’s quarterback edition, we feature the return of the Red Riffle. Plus, a former No. 1 and No. 2 overall pick each met with worrisome matchups.
* Reminder: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is intended to present you with the non-obvious choices for your fantasy lineup. We dig deep into player matchups, scoring trends, and other factors to best help you with your fantasy decisions. Superstars such as Patrick Mahomes will not be found in this column. If you’re looking for players of his caliber check out our weekly fantasy football quarterback rankings.
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QB: Start ‘Em
Start of the Week: Kyler Murray at DAL
Fairly obvious start here, but we’d be remiss not to point out the mouth-watering matchup. Excluding a Daniel Jones stinker a week ago, the Cowboys defense has allowed an average of 265.6 total yards and 26.84 fantasy points to QBs over their past three games, including 11 touchdowns over that span.
Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. NYJ
With an average of 21.57 ppg over the first five weeks of the season, Fitzpatrick has outscored the likes of Deshaun Watson, Ben Roethlisberger and Lamar Jackson. Fitzmagic should stay in full swing in Week 6 against Gang Green. Remove matchups with the 49ers (Jimmy Garoppolo left game with injury) and Broncos (Drew Lock inactive) from the Jets catalog, and they’ve suddenly allowed 27.3-plus points to two of their three opposing QBs this season.
Matthew Stafford at JAC
Stafford has been serviceable, yet underwhelming for much of the season. With that said, his play has seemingly improved with Kenny Golladay back in the lineup, and should continue to do so against a Jaguars defense that allows the seventh-most points to opposing QBs this year. Two of Jacksonville’s past three opponents at the position have scored at least 24.7 points.
Cam Newton vs. DEN
After a two week hiatus, fantasy owners are crossing their fingers to get Newton back in their lineups this week. This is especially true against a defense that allows the sixth-most fantasy points to the position this season. Opposing QBs average 23.74 points against the Broncos over the past two weeks. The most recent occupant of that group? Sam Darnold. Sign me up for Cam this week.
Andy Dalton vs. ARI
While not a dream matchup by any means, Dalton should prove serviceable in his first start this season. The Cardinals have allowed two or more TDs in three of their five games this year. The only QBs who did not accomplish this feat? Dwayne Haskins and Joe Flacco. While we can expect a heavier workload for Ezekiel Elliott in the ground game, Dallas has too many weapons in the passing game not to put the ball in Dalton’s hands.
Sleeper: Kirk Cousins vs. ATL
Negatives in trusting Kirk Cousins: He’s scored no more than 15.16 points in each of his past two games. Positives in trusting Kirk Cousins: He attempted a season-high 39 passes last week, a number that should be sustained with Dalvin Cook likely out of the lineup. He also faces off against a defense that has allowed more fantasy points to QBs than any other in football. The 205 passes attempted against Atlanta are tied for third-most in the NFL.
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QB: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Jimmy Garoppolo vs. LAR
Garoppolo fell flat on his face in his return to the 49ers lineup last week, completing just 7-of-17 passes before being pulled. A matchup against the NFL’s seventh stingiest defense against fantasy QBs doesn’t bode well for Jimmy G regaining his footing. The Rams have allowed an average of just 11.7 points to QBs over three of their last four games.
Kyle Allen/Alex Smith at NYG
Don’t let the Giants’ winless record trick you into getting cute with your lineup. New York sits as the eighth-best total defense in football. You wouldn’t normally start Kyle Allen, don’t break that trend this week. Alex Smith is a great story, yet mustered up just 1.58 fantasy points on 17 pass attempts last week.
Joe Burrow at IND
Burrow has fallen victim to a string of tough matchups of late. Fresh off a 5.32 point doozer against Baltimore, he’ll once again have his hands full this week as Indy current sits as the league’s top-ranked defense. Opposing QBs average just 190 passing yards against the Colts this season.
Buyers Beware: Carson Wentz vs. BAL
Wentz has shown signs of life these past three weeks, ranking as QB9 since Week 3. However, we just touched on what a daunting matchup the Ravens can be, above. Aside from an outlier matchup against Patrick Mahomes, opposing QBs average just 12.68 points against Baltimore this year.