Streaming QBs: Week 12

There is a saying – “a rose between two thorns.” This perfectly epitomizes our QB streamers for Week 11. Our premier option, Matthew Stafford (7.62 fantasy points on Yahoo!), had a horrible week under center playing with a partial tear in his throwing-hand thumb. Missing key personnel in Kenny Golladay, Danny Amendola, and D’Andre Swift was far too much for Stafford to overcome, and he likely received no inspiring gameplan from a coaching staff living on borrowed time. Still, a shutout is nothing short of embarrassingly unacceptable. It is hard to trust the veteran as the Lions seem to be doomed to fail in flames.

The game script worked in favor of Kirk Cousins (22.96 fantasy points) as the Vikings had to slug it out with the Cowboys. Cousins finished as the fantasy QB5 on the week thanks to a stellar performance when targeting his two primary receivers – Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson. There were 6 lead changes in the game and Cousins arguably put in his most proficient and impressive showing for some time. With the race for a wildcard in the NFC likely to be in the cards for the Vikings down the stretch, expect Cousins to be a premier streaming option in the coming weeks.

Rookie Tua Tagovailoa (7.32 fantasy points) was benched in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick (4.28 fantasy points) with 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter of Miami’s 20-13 loss to the Broncos. Looking like a true rookie staring like a deer in the headlights, I expect Brian Flores will spend a lot of time in the film room with Tua on this performance. He is expected to start against the Jets this weekend, which is the perfect bounce-back opportunity.

Last week’s developments meant that Jameis Winston was excluded from starting in favor of Taysom Hill (24.42 fantasy points). If you did add Hill after the announcement then you were smartly rewarded.

 

 

Who surprised us? Derek Carr (28.60 fantasy points) put in the old “just when I thought I was out, you pull me back in” fantasy performance – the Raiders quarterback has never looked better in this offense and found Nelson Agholor with a perfect pass for a 17-yard touchdown. He is a serious option to pick up for the rest of the way at only 36% rostered.

Now, let’s look at the lay of the land for Week 12. There are no teams on bye.

Remember, the caveat is that our recommended players for streaming are less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues. This week’s options come in the form of a small, intimate gathering.

 

 

“Dime Time”

 

Daniel Jones, Giants at Bengals

 

We missed “Danny Dimes” during the Giants’ bye week – Daniel Jones has 5 passing TDs in his last 4 games, as well as 180 yards on the ground and a rushing TD. Jones has a 78.8 overall quarterback grade from Pro Football Focus, which is 12th best in NFL despite Jones being pressured at a far higher rate than any other QB. The Bengals, in shock after the news of Joe Burrow‘s knee injury, have allowed 22 passing TDs this season, which is tied for a miserly 29th in the league. With his receiving corps finally fighting fit, Jones will look to feed Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, and Golden Tate to exploit this awful Bengals secondary.

 

https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1328078717785149441

 

“Old Guy, New Style”

 

Kirk Cousins, Vikings vs. Panthers

 

Arguably one of his best performances in a purple uniform eventually meant for nothing for Kirk Cousins, who threw 3 wonderful touchdowns in a heartbreaking loss to the Cowboys, severely denting the Vikings’ chances of a playoff berth. The Vikings were sloppy all over the field in the 1st half, which included Cousins being stripped of the ball in a sack that handed the Cowboys the advantage. After the break, however, he expertly led the offense to 3 scoring drives of 75, 81, and 85 yards to put the Vikings ahead. His chemistry with Adam Thielen yielded another 2 touchdowns, and his growing bond with Justin Jefferson makes Cousins immediately fantasy-relevant.

 

Kirk Cousins goes DEEP to Justin Jefferson for the 39-yard TD and the Vikings (-7) lead 27-24 #BarstoolSportsbook
pic.twitter.com/l8UuedJKdU

— Bet The Pigskin (@betthepigskin) November 22, 2020

 

Derek Carr, Raiders vs. Falcons

 

It was a joy to watch Derek Carr go head-to-head with Patrick Mahomes once again in another shootout that only served to show us that Carr is approaching Top 12 fantasy QB status going into the business end of the season. Another 3 TDs put him firmly in the top 12 for passing touchdowns so far this season, a 19:3 TD: INT ratio is new territory for Carr, who has blossomed under Gruden this year. He has 7 multi-touchdown games and faces a Falcons defense that gives up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.

 

Derek Carr has been using the hard count really well this year & Nelson Agholor has been a revelation at the X WR spot. Perfectly placed ball on this fade. #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/y1O83W6j9k

— Chris Reed (@ChrisReed_NFL) November 23, 2020

 

“Start the TE at QB…again!”

 

Taysom Hill, Saints at Broncos

 

Akin to the phenomenal output from Lamar Jackson at the position in 2019, Taysom Hill announced his arrival as an NFL starting quarterback with an electrifying performance in the Saints’ 24-9 demolition of the Falcons. Read this twice to make sure you imprint it in your memory – Hill ran 10 times for 51 yards and 2 rushing TDs. That is RB1 production even before he starts throwing the ball. That went very well too, as a rekindled Michael Thomas caught 9 passes for 104 yards. It was a little worrying that Alvin Kamara failed to register a catch for the first time in his career, however, that is more of an upside for Hill, who will likely benefit further if he builds his chemistry up with him also. A trip to Mile High is a tough ask but the Saints are rolling and Hill is pumped.

 

Taysom Hill turns on the jets 💨

His 2nd rushing TD of the game

(via @Saints)pic.twitter.com/JQvruC0YwO

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 22, 2020

 

Don’t hesitate to give me your thoughts and hit me up for questions at @benjaminhaller1.

 

(Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire)