Streaming Quarterbacks – Week 9

Week 8 is officially in the books and low-owned quarterbacks were featured all over the leaderboard. Daniel Jones overcame an early U-G-L-Y (seriously so ugly) turnover and channeled his inner 2011 Eli Manning (aka the best version of Eli) to rip apart the Lions for 322 yards and four scores. His 28.2 fantasy points secured Jones the first QB1 finish of his career.

Speaking of the Lions, they’ve now allowed the QB1 and QB2 in consecutive weeks. It’s not that they were world burners leading up to these matchups, but they weren’t pushovers. So what changed? Darius Slay left in the Lions Week 7 matchup against the Vikings with a hamstring injury, which also caused him to be out in Week 8. In addition, they traded starting safety Quadre Diggs to the Seahawks leading into their Week 8 matchup. We’ll have to keep an eye on Slay’s availability, but the Lions may be a team for us to attack moving forward. Let’s take a look at the rest of the Week 8 leader board:

 

 

If you listen closely, you can still hear my stream of obscenities that began last Friday, when Drew Brees was announced to be returning from injury, replacing Teddy Bridgewater. My “Stream of the Week” and more importantly, the quarterback I had added in the two leagues as a bye week replacement, hit the bench. Much to my chagrin, Brees played well in his return going 34/43 for 373 yards (queue sobbing), throwing three touchdowns and an interception for 24.9 fantasy points. It’s worth noting this was Patrick Peterson‘s second week back and the Cardinals pass defense still looks terrible.

For 97% of the first half, I wondered if Mason Rudolph was still feeling the effects of the concussion he sustained in Week 5. I even texted my buddy, “He does know he’s playing against the Dolphins, right?” Thankfully for us, the Dolphins remembered their nature and on a 3rd and 20 on the Miami 45, with just 17 seconds to play in the half, the Dolphins brought an all-out blitz, leaving just three defenders in the secondary. This was the type of defensive call your little brother would make on Madden when he chose “Block Punt”. Rudolph hit Diontae Johnson on a quick slant and he took it to the house. In the end, Rudolph finished with a solid 16 fantasy points to finish as QB16.

In the other league that I originally picked up Bridgewater, I threw up a little in my mouth again and turned to Ryan Tannehill. Imagine my shock when I checked the stat lines expecting misery and instead found a decent day. Against one of the league’s worst secondaries, Tannehill went 21/33 (meh) for 193 yards (meh) and three scores (yeh!), to finish as QB10 with 19.4 fantasy points. One week after we saw Corey Davis and A.J. Brown get a combined 12 catches on 15 targets against the Chargers, we saw them get just 4 catches for 20 yards. Brown saved his line with a touchdown, but the primary beneficiaries of Tannehill’s day were Jonnu Smith, Anthony Firkser (huh?), and Tajae Sharpe.

With Week 8 in our rearview mirror, let’s take a look at our Week 9 options.

 

Derek Carr (26% Owned)

 

Since we did our research on what’s ailing the Lions, why not pick on them with Derek Carr, who is coming off back-to-back solid performances. Carr finished as QB16 after putting up 15.7 fantasy points in his Week 7, before finishing as QB6 in Week 8. Carr managed to push the Texans to the brink by throwing for 285 yards and three scores. With the Lions’ secondary in shambles, we could see a good old-fashioned shootout between Carr and Matthew Stafford. Whether you’ve been streaming all year or have Drew Brees out on bye, Carr should provide a decent fantasy day to keep you in your matchup.

 

Sam Darnold (23% Owned; Pick of the Week)

 

Here we go guys, the start of the Sam Darnold breakout. Darnold had himself a decent game in the Jets Week 6 upset of the Cowboys, putting up 338 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, the schedule makers were not kind as he faced a stout Patriots defense in Week 7 that forced Darnold into four turnovers. Finally, Week 8 saw Darnold go 21/30 for 218 yards and two scores while throwing three picks.

Starting in Week 9 the schedule makers give the gifts that keep on giving in the form of matchups against the Dolphins, Giants, and Redskins. The Dolphins have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing passers and just allowed Mason Rudolph to finish as QB16 despite him looking terrible for most of the first half. Rudolph had his highest aDOT of the season against the Dolphins as they attacked the Miami secondary down the field, which should bode well for Robbie Anderson this week.

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick (5% Owned)

 

We’ll have to keep an eye on the news because, in reality, there’s no reason to not start Josh Rosen, but for fantasy purposes, we’d rather see Ryan Fitzpatrick under center. In two starts since Rosen hit the bench, Fitzpatrick has been okay, scoring two touchdowns in each of his games, which is rather impressive considering Rosen had just one touchdown over three starts. Fitzpatrick gets a matchup against the Jets, who just allowed Gardner Minshew to throw for 279 yards and three scores. This isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you have Jared Goff or Drew Brees on bye and your wire is picked clean, Fitzpatrick should provide high-end QB2 production against the Jets.

 

 

(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)