Getty Carson Wentz #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles throws a pass against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Quarterbacks edition for Week 7 of the NFL season. In this week’s quarterback edition, we feature the top two picks from the 2016 draft class, each of whom are tasked with tough 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: Josh Allen at NYJ
While Allen is a surefire starter in fantasy, his production has slipped over the past two weeks. From Week 1 through Week 4 the Bills signal-caller was QB3 with an average of 30.9 ppg. Since then, Allen slid to QB12, averaging 17.2 ppg since Week 5. Expect Allen to push back into the upper 20s against the Jets. New York has allowed an average of 22.67 points and a total of five touchdowns to opposing QBs over the past two weeks. Allen torched Gang Green in Week 1 to the tune of three touchdowns and 28.18 points.
Matt Ryan vs. DET
Speaking of quarterbacks who endured a dip in production, Matt Ryan entered Week 6 failing to top 12.42 points in any of his past three games. He left Week 6 more than doubling that output. With his arsenal back to full strength Ryan put up nearly 32 points and finished the week as QB2. The Lions give up an average of 20.23 ppg with only one opponent failing to reach at least 18.62 points.
Aaron Rodgers at HOU
Yes, Rodgers looked flustered in Week 6, tossing two interceptions on his way to a meager 5.8 point outing. However, those were also his first two picks of the entire season. A season in which, despite his sub-6.0 showing, still has Rodgers averaging 21.77 ppg (QB10). The Texans defense has allowed 19.18-plus points to opposing QBs in three of their last four games, while snagging just one interception all season long.
Matthew Stafford at ATL
With Lamar Jackson on a bye, and even Ryan Fitzpatrick to a lesser extent (although now benched), fantasy owners will be looking for waiver wire adds to plug into their lineups. To that point, can’t go wrong with a matchup against the second-worst ranked pass defense in football. The Falcons have allowed an average of 25.71 to QBs since Week 4. Kirk Cousins even mustered up 26.72 points against them last week, and that was with three interceptions.
Sleeper: Andy Dalton at WAS
Dalton will likely be one of, if not the most dropped non-injured player in fantasy this week. It’s understanding, his Monday night performance was atrocious to watch. With that said, Washington has allowed 25.36-plus points to opposing QBs in three of their last five games. Don’t expect the Red Riffle to air the ball out 54 times as he did in Week 6, as QBs have averaged just 23.25 attempts against Washington since Week 3. That stat likely means more good than bad for both Dallas’ success and Dalton’s fantasy value.
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QB: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Jared Goff vs. CHI
Goff has now scored below 15.93 points in half of his games this season. He’s completed more than 23 passes just once all season and has thrown an interception in all but two games. The Bears allow the second-fewest fantasy points to QBs this year, including no more than 14.2 points to the position since Week 1.
Jimmy Garoppolo at NE
Garoppolo showed out against the Rams this past week, tossing three TDs and posting a top-nine finish at his position. With that said, New England allows just 198.3 passing ypg at home this season, which includes matchups against Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes.
Derek Carr vs. TB
Carr has quietly been an above-average play more times than not this season. This week, however, is not one of those times. While Carr has scored 20-plus points in three of his past four games, Tampa Bay has now held four of their past five opponents at the position to 11.44 points or fewer.
Buyers Beware: Carson Wentz vs. NYG
Will Wentz be serviceable this week? Likely. However, if you’re expecting him to put up 22-plus points against the Giants as he has in three of his last four games, he’ll more than likely leave you wanting more. Wentz has averaged just 206.2 passing yards per game since Week 2. Big Blue has limited opposing signal-callers to an average of just 184.25 passing yards per game over four of their last five games. Not to mention Wentz will be without both Miles Sanders and Zach Ertz.