Yes, Week 16 of the NFL has come and gone, and along with it, many fantasy football championships have been decided.
For the most part, Week 16 is the standard championship week of the fantasy football season, as many fantasy players don’t want to risk having to play for a fantasy championship during a week that could be meaningless for some NFL clubs.
There is always the risk NFL clubs rest starters for a post-season run, or teams out of playoff contention rest injured stars, which both greatly impact the world of fantasy football.
Some fantasy football leagues do run through Week 17 though, and I used to be part of a fun points only 2-QB league that included Week 17.
If you’re in a 2-QB league where Week 17 matters, this is going to be a very important week for you, as you might find yourself without your QB1 or QB2.
For example, the Kansas City Chiefs have made it known they may be in a position to rest their starters this week, and for Alex Smith owners in 2-QB leagues, Chase Daniel is on their radar.
We might not know until later in the week how some teams will handle the rest/not rest conundrum, but for now, if you own a quarterback you think might not play this week, drop a bench player from your roster you won’t use, and pick up the back-up quarterback to your starting fantasy quarterback.
This playoff guide from NFL.com also tells us a bit about potential playoff scenarios, heading into Week 17, which could also be of some use, come line-up submission time.
Once your done with the playoff scenarios, keep reading for a list of potential quarterbacks to look into picking up for your 2-QB league this week.
Terrelle Pryor
Terrelle Pryor should be the priority quarterback pick-up in 2-QB leagues this week, as Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen is already on record saying Pryor will get to start the team’s regular season finale.
Pryor getting one more chance to show the team what he can do has been talked about since he was benched, but this will be his first true shot at extended playing time.
Now, what the true motivations of Allen are won’t be publicly known. We’ve heard the team say they want to evaluate Pryor for the future, but we’ve heard Pryor’s agent say that the team is setting Pryor up to fail.
What matters to 2-QBers is that Pryor will be a starting quarterback this week, and he goes up against a Denver Broncos defense that has given up at least one passing touchdown to every starting quarterback they’ve faced this year, minus Michael Vick and Chad Henne.
The Broncos defense has also allowed multiple passing touchdowns in four of their past seven games.
Mobile quarterbacks have also had some success running on the Broncos defense, with four quarterbacks rushing for 29 yards or more, including Alex Smith doing it twice.
In Week 3, Pryor ran for 36 yards against the Broncos, in addition to throwing for 281 yards, and one passing touchdown, en route to being the 11th highest scoring fantasy quarterback that week.
Kyle Orton
The news of Tony Romo being shut down for the year took Twitter by storm yesterday, but now the news of Romo missing the Cowboys’ regular season finale are cloudy, as the team won’t officially confirm, one way or another, his status for this week’s game.
If Romo does indeed sit out this week, Kyle Orton would be starting at quarterback for the Cowboys, which is something he hasn’t been in two years. Since being signed as Romo’s back-up, Orton has only attempted 15 passes.
Rolling with Orton isn’t about his past, but more about the match-up, as the Cowboys face the Eagles, in what should be a plus match-up for Orton.
Opposing quarterbacks versus the Eagles have been able to put up a decent amount of fantasy points when playing the Eagles, unless their name is Eli Manning, or you played in a blizzard game like Matthew Stafford.
Every single starting quarterback to face the Eagles, minus the aforementioned Eli/Stafford duo, have scored at least 14 standard fantasy points, with five in the 20+ point range, and an additional four quarterbacks putting up 18 or more standard fantasy points.
Matt Moore
Ryan Tannehill had to leave part of Sunday’s game versus the Bills for a brief moment due to a knee injury, but it doesn’t look like Tannehill is any serious danger to miss this weeks’ game. If he does, however, Matt Moore would get a chance to start for the Dolphins.
In the past, Moore has shown glimpses of talent, and he would get a chance to showcase his skills versus a New York Jets secondary who is allowing an average of 321.71 passing yards, 2.14 passing touchdowns, and 1.14 interceptions in their past seven games.
Chase Daniel
It was mentioned earlier how the Kansas City Chiefs have already discussed the possibility of resting starters in Week 17, and we’ve read the reports how he has had success with the strategy in the past.
If Alex Smith were to be one of the players to earn a game of rest, it would look like Chase Daniel would get a shot at his first start as a Kansas City Chief.
The Chiefs take on the Chargers in Week 17, and on the season, they have allowed every quarterback they’ve faced to throw for at least 200 passing yards, except Andy Dalton (190). They’ve also allowed 12 passing touchdowns, and have eight interceptions in their past eight games.
Daniel will be an intriguing name in 2-QB leagues, because he might be starting, but he also might be quarterbacking a team without its top wide receiver in Dwayne Bowe, and top running back in Jamaal Charles. It could very well be the Chiefs’ B-Team playing, and that might take away some of Daniels’ appeal.
Tyrod Taylor
The Baltimore Ravens face a must-win situation this week, as they need a win and some help, to make the playoffs, and they could be doing so with a banged up Joe Flacco.
Flacco didn’t look right Sunday, as he was dealing with a knee injury, and Ravens’ Head Coach John Harbaugh made it known Flacco isn’t 100% healthy.
It was already going to be a tough match-up for the Ravens, as they face the Cincinnati Bengals, who have had overall success keeping quarterbacks in check this season.
Flacco hasn’t been ruled out this week, nor has their been any word of such a move, but monitoring Flacco’s injury report this week to see how he progresses is something all Flacco owners in 2-QB leagues should make a priority.
If Flacco misses the game, Tyrod Taylor would get the start, but he would be hard to trust facing the Bengals.
T.J. Yates
The quarterback situation in Houston has been a traveling circus show since Matt Schaub went down with an injury, and Case Keenum took over the starting gig.
A thumb injury to Keenum forced Schaub back into the starting quarterback role for the team Week 16, but at this point, the Texans have seen everything they need to out of Schaub.
If Keenum is out again Week 17, the team might turn to T.J. Yates in their regular season finale. Yates was bypassed by the undrafted Keenum earlier in the season, so we already know how the team feels about him.
It’s kind of a dumpster fire situation in Houston right now, and the team might be rolling with Jonathan Grimes at running back, who may or not be related to Homer Simpson foil Frank Grimes.
With nothing to play for other than the first overall pick in the upcoming 2014 NFL Draft, avoiding any Texans quarterback this week versus the Tennessee Titans is a good idea, be it Yates, Keenum, Schaub, or the ghost of Y.A. Title.
Matt Hasselbeck
The Indianapolis Colts have already clinched the AFC South, and are pretty much locked into their playoff positioning.
There is a chance, however slightly, they could earn a first-round bye, but would need a lot of help.
In order for that to happen, the Colts would have to beat the Jaguars, and then have both the Patriots and Bengals lose.
We don’t know whether or not the Colts will rest their starters this week, but if you start to hear rumblings that they might, 38-year-old Matt Hasselbeck could get a chance at some playing time.
Brock Osweiler
Peyton Manning already broke the single season record for passing touchdowns, but is 266 passing yards away from breaking the single season passing yards record. The Broncos also need a win to seal home-field advantage for the AFC.
With the #1 seed in play, and another record Peyton could break, look for Manning to play as much as possible. However, the Broncos are playing the Raiders, and Manning could find himself resting early in this game, after breaking the record.
If everything goes right for Manning and the Broncos, Brock Osweiler might get a shot at throwing the pigskin around versus the Raiders. If you’re a Peyton 2-QB owner in a situation without a clear-cut QB2, a Peyton/Osweiler combination could be something to try out.
