Week 11 Fantasy Football Quarterback Streaming: A Showdown in Washington
Week 10 brought multiple solid streaming options at the quarterback position, and those players didn't disappoint. Mark Sanchez, Josh McCown, Michael Vick and Kyle Orton were all likely available on your waiver wire, and wound up as QB1 performers this past weekend.
Week 11 has just as many solid matchups for signal-callers likely on the free agents list in your fantasy football league, so if you're looking to replace an injured player or fill in for a bye week, you're in luck. Here are six guys to scoop up and plug in for this week's action.
Robert Griffin III vs. Tampa Bay
Robert Griffin III hasn't been impressive at all this season, throwing only one touchdown on his 68 attempts while failing to get anything going as a runner. But he's also not been catastrophically bad, and that means he's good enough to do well against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend. Washington's at home and favored to win by a touchdown over Tampa, who have the worst pass defense in the league by a very wide margin according to our Adjusted Defensive Net Expected Points (NEP) metric.
Griffin may not be a week-in, week-out QB1 from here on out, but he'll be a good matchup play over the final few weeks of the season, and no matchup is quite as good as one against the Buccaneers. The Bucs have allowed two or more passing touchdowns in all of their road games this season, so that should be a safe expectation for Washington's offense this weekend.
Josh McCown vs. Washington
On the other side of this matchup is Josh McCown, who has returned to the quarterback position after taking over for Mike Glennon. McCown finished as a top-five quarterback in most fantasy formats this past week against Atlanta, and gets a similarly easy matchup with Washington this week.
Washington allows the third-most points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and are currently fifth-worst in our pass defense NEP rankings. They've also been hurt by quarterbacks who can run the ball, highlighted by Russell Wilson's 100-yard performance a few weeks ago. McCown has weapons to throw to and is a capable athlete who can pick up yards on the ground as well, so while he may not be quite the fantasy superstar he was last year, he's still a great option in an easy matchup like the one his Bucs have this week.
Teddy Bridgewater vs. Chicago
The Bears are a total mess heading into the home stretch of the season, and while it's easy to blame Jay Cutler for their issues, the defense has been one of the worst in the league as well. Chicago's pass defense ranks 29th within our metrics, and allows the most fantasy points per contest to opposing quarterbacks. That's great news for yet another solid streaming option this week, Teddy Bridgewater, who is still waiting for a breakout game as a passer.
Bridgewater has topped 300 yards once, and had a respectable line of 268 yards and 1 touchdown against Washington his last time out, but hasn't put it all together and posted a truly impressive stat line yet. His passing volume has increased over the past couple of weeks, so he'll likely have plenty of shots at posting the best game of his young career against a division rival in a tailspin.
Mark Sanchez vs. Green Bay
If no one in your league picked up Mark Sanchez, take advantage of their mistakes and claim the new leader of the ridiculously good Chip Kelly offense in Philadelphia. Sanchez has looked even more efficient than Nick Foles under center for the Eagles, currently averaging nearly five times the Net Expected Points per drop back as Foles was when he was healthy. Obviously the sample size here is quite small, but things are pointing up for the former Jet, and he gets another good opportunity this week.
Green Bay is an average passing defense in both real football and fake football rankings, which is good enough for a player like Sanchez in such a good situation. Vegas agrees, as they currently have the total for this game set well above 50. The Eagles are going to score, and if they do, Sanchez will likely be involved.
Derek Carr vs. San Diego
The last time young Derek Carr faced the Chargers, he threw for four touchdowns and had the best game of his rookie season by a mile. Carr will get another shot at San Diego this weekend, and they're still just as poor on defense as they were when the two teams met a few weeks ago.
San Diego currently ranks as the third-worst team in our pass defense rankings, and allow the ninth-most points to enemy quarterbacks in fantasy football. Carr has found the end zone twice in back-to-back games, and while he has been prone to turnovers as of late, his positive statistics will be enough to produce a solid streaming option even if he stumbles into a couple of interceptions in a division road game.
Andy Dalton vs. New Orleans
Even if Andy Dalton isn't on your free agent list at this moment, he might hit waivers after frustrated owners hit the drop button to pick up one of the players above. If they do, you should take advantage and pick Dalton up to start in a great matchup this week against New Orleans.
Dalton is incredibly streaky, and has been held without a passing touchdown in three of his last four games. But this week's matchup with New Orleans is too good to pass up. The Saints allow the 11th most points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and rank 20th in our pass defense rankings. The betting lines predict that this game will end somewhere in the neighborhood of 28-21 in favor of New Orleans, which means Cincinnati will score three touchdowns. Dalton is almost certain to find a receiver in the end zone for one or two of those scores, which will make him a productive streamer this week.
