Week 3 QB Rankings

By my count, 23 quarterbacks broke 15 fantasy points in Week 2. Not among them? Andrew Luck and Drew Brees, two passers drafted highly this season. Personally, I think both will end up in the top 12 quarterbacks by season’s end, if only for volume’s sake.

Here's how last week's recommendations performed.

Carson Palmer
Week 2 Finish: 13

What happened: Well, you don’t see four passing touchdowns and only 185 passing yards every often. Palmer’s numbers could have been even better if Arizona decided to run up the score even farther.

Joe Flacco
Week 2 Finish: 12

What happened: We’re not here to talk about the Ravens losing to the Raiders, just that Flacco threw for 384 yards and two touchdowns against a porous Oakland defense. Flacco is a bit polarizing this week against Cincinnati.

Colin Kaepernick
Week 2 Finish: 4

What happened: This was almost a miss, as Kap and the 49ers’ offense did not look good to open the game. He made up for it while the 49ers were down big, ending up with 335 passing yards and 51 yards on the ground.

Andy Dalton
Week 2 Finish: 11

What happened: Dalton now has two solid performances in two weeks, and threw for 214 yards and three touchdowns versus the Chargers. Enjoy it before Cincinnati’s schedule gets tough.

Nick Foles
Week 2 Finish: 27

What happened: The Washington defense has proven it is not a punching bag, and Foles floundered big time. In the future, he’s a low-end streamer at best.

And now onto this week’s streamers.

Teddy Bridgewater vs. San Diego Chargers

While a rushing score inflated Bridgewater’s numbers versus the Lions, the Chargers are not a team to avoid. I expect a bounceback this week.

Tyrod Taylor vs. Miami Dolphins

Miami just made Blake Bortles look competent last week. Taylor had a great fantasy day despite three interceptions thanks to his rushing ability.

Johnny Manziel vs. Oakland Raiders

The Raiders’ defense is not very good. Manziel is a risk/reward play but a viable one, and this could be Manziel’s big breakout week.

Alex Smith vs. Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay defense has been pretty tough this season against opposing passers, and they would look even better if Russell Wilson hadn’t added 78 yards on the ground. Smith is likely under the radar after a down game versus Denver.

Marcus Mariota vs. Indianapolis Colts

After two decent games to open his NFL career, Mariota gets a Colts defense that has allowed good but not great weeks to Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

I'm not too strict with my ranks, so please don't be either. The gap between a lot of these players is so small there's no reason to fret about what looks to be a poor rank. For the column '2014 Pass Defense Rank', I used numberFire's Adjusted Defensive Pass Net Expected Points per Play, which adjusts for strength of schedule and measures how good a pass defense was on a per-play basis. You can learn more about Net Expected Points here.