No more bye weeks and the Thursday Night game is between the Packers and Lions, who are on a week's rest after playing Thanksgiving in Week 12. These rankings are for standard scoring leagues of four points per passing TDs and minus-two for INTs.
Rank | Player, Team | Opponent |
1 | Cam Newton, Panthers | at Saints |
2 | Tom Brady, Patriots | vs Eagles |
3 | Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers | vs Colts (SNF) |
4 | Aaron Rodgers, Packers | at Lions (TNF) |
5 | Carson Palmer, Cardinals | at Rams |
6 | Andy Dalton, Bengals | at Browns |
7 | Derek Carr, Raiders | vs Chiefs |
8 | Drew Brees, Saints | vs Panthers |
9 | Matthew Stafford, Lions | vs Packers (TNF) |
10 | Blake Bortles, Jaguars | at Titans |
11 | Brian Hoyer, Texans | at Bills |
12 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jets | at Giants |
13 | Brock Osweiler, Broncos | at Chargers |
14 | Jay Cutler, Bears | vs 49ers |
15 | Jameis Winston, Buccaneers | vs Falcons |
16 | Philip Rivers, Chargers | vs Broncos |
17 | Marcus Mariota, Titans | vs Jaguars |
18 | Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins | vs Ravens |
19 | Matt Ryan, Falcons | at Buccaneers |
20 | Eli Manning, Giants | vs Jets |
21 | Matt Hasselbeck, Colts | at Steelers (SNF) |
22 | Alex Smith, Chiefs | at Raiders |
23 | Kirk Cousins, Washington | vs Cowboys (MNF) |
24 | Russell Wilson, Seahawks | at Vikings |
25 | Blaine Gabbert, 49ers | at Bears |
26 | Sam Bradford, Eagles | at Patriots |
27 | Austin Davis, Browns | vs Bengals |
28 | Tyrod Taylor, Bills | vs Texans |
29 | Matt Cassel, Cowboys | at Washington (MNF) |
30 | Teddy Bridgewater, Vikings | vs Seahawks |
31 | Matt Schaub, Rams | at Dolphins |
32 | Nick Foles, Rams | vs Cardinals |
Notes:
- QB9 through QB20 are very close. They can all finish top-10. It is safe to say that there are 24 startable QBs this week. There are circular arguments to be made between any two of those players. Hasselbeck-Hilton or Hasselbeck-Moncrief are the lowest we can go for DFS stacks.
- Drew Brees was very difficult. At home, he is historically great, regardless of opponent. We can almost bank on 300 yards. The matchup provides so much variance between one and four TDs with one or four INTs. His upside is always #1 at home, but the floor is disastrous against the Panthers.
- I don't think Andy Dalton is a great QB, but the Browns make everyone look good, so Dalton should look great. No Tyler Eifert would take a weapon away, but Dalton feeding A.J. Green non-stop usually goes well.
- I am not dissing Russell Wilson's recent play. I believe in it. But the Vikings and Seahawks both have a knack for slowing games down so much that the ceiling remains too low for this week.
- The top-five are probably the only QBs who I would not consider streaming this week. It is very plausible to have a Carr-Stafford or Dalton-Brees or Osweiler-Ryan decision this week. The rankings reflect how I would make those decisions. Feel free to ask why in the comments or on Twitter, where you can find me at @AlexSontySBN.