Byes: Atlanta (Matt Ryan), Buffalo (Kyle Orton), Chicago (Jay Cutler), Detroit (Matt Stafford), Green Bay (Aaron Rodgers), Tennessee Titans (Zach Mettenberger)
Week 8 was a much more memorable QB2 streaming week than the returns we saw in Week 7.
Two of the quarterbacks recommended finished the week as Top-10 fantasy quarterbacks: Carson Palmer scored 21.16 standard fantasy points, on his way to finishing QB10, and Kyle Orton‘s 26.12 fantasy points were the fourth most in Week 8.
Ryan Tannehill was the lone dud of the week, coming in at QB19, but he did put up 14.64 fantasy points and still finished in the QB2 tier. He might have been able to score even more if the Dolphins didn’t return two Blake Bortles interceptions for touchdowns.
With the Week 8 QB2 streaming recap out of the way, let us move onto this week’s options…
Week 9 QB2 Circle of Trust
Carson Palmer @ Dallas
It’s going to be hard to keep recommending Palmer as a QB2 streamer, as he’s most likely graduating into weekly plug-and-play status.
In his four starts, Palmer has thrown for at least 250 yards in each contest, averaging 285 passing yards/game. He has also thrown for two touchdowns in each of his four starts, and has thrown only one interception this season.
A Week 9 matchup vs. the Cowboys gives Palmer a chance to put up another decent fantasy stat line, as in their past two games they have allowed 248 passing yards to Eli Manning and 299 passing yards to Colt McCoy.
While McCoy didn’t score through the air, he did run in a touchdown, and Eli threw three touchdowns vs. Dallas in Week 7.
Ryan Tannehill vs. San Diego
In his past four games, Ryan Tannehill has rushed for 35 yards, 49 yards, 48 yards, and 48 yards, respectively. His Week 9 opponents, the San Diego Chargers, have allowed four quarterbacks to rush for at least 24 yards against them.
The Chargers are also in the midst of a three game-streak where they have given up an average of 263 passing yards/game, and eight total touchdowns to only one interception. The quarterbacks they faced in their last three games are Derek Carr, Alex Smith, and Peyton Manning.
Alex Smith vs. New York Jets
This is all matchup because Alex Smith is dealing with a shoulder issue. He’s practicing in full this week, so it’s not a serious issue, but still one to monitor.
Even with the shoulder issue it’s hard not to like Smith’s matchup vs. the New York Jets. Yes, Smith is coming off a Week 8 performance where he didn’t throw a touchdown, but he’s going up against a Jets defense that has given up 22 touchdowns this year.
22!
That is by far the most in the league, beating out Washington and Chicago, who are tied for the second-most passing touchdowns allowed this year with 17 apiece, by five. Kyle Orton is coming off a four passing touchdown day vs. New York in Week 8, and he only completed 10 passes.
The last five quarterbacks to face the Jets have scored at least 20 fantasy points, no quarterback has thrown for less than two touchdowns against New York this season, and they have allowed at least three passing touchdowns in four straight games.
Bonus Streamer: Brandon Weeden vs. ARI
Using Weeden as a streaming option this week will only be an option if Tony Romo isn’t able to play through his back injury. If he doesn’t, Old Man Weeden will once again be a starting NFL quarterback, and his return to the NFL would be vs. the Arizona Cardinals.
Weeden was serviceable in Romo’s absence on Monday Night, completing four passes for 60 yards and one touchdown.
On the season, the Cardinals are allowing the 10th-most fantasy points/game to opposing quarterbacks (19.05). They were able to shut down Derek Carr in Week 7, holding him to 173 yards and zero touchdowns. But Peyton Manning, Kirk Cousins, and Nick Foles have each thrown for 350 or more passing yards and multiple touchdowns vs. Arizona in three of the past four weeks.
Those might be gaudy numbers for a backup quarterback to strive for (that didn’t stop Cousins though), and the Cowboys might give DeMarco 100 carries if Romo is out. However, if you’re willing to take a chance then Weeden might be a QB2 streaming option that puts up surprising fantasy numbers if given the chance.
*Stats used in this article from FantasyData, and Yahoo!
