DFS DRAWING BOARD - NFL Week 15 - Quarterbacks
Welcome back to another edition of the DFS Drawing Board. Each week we sit down to highlight out favorite players at each major position in DFS. Here, we highlight our top plays at the QB position for Week 15.
Each week we take a step back to review the upcoming weeks matchups and crunch the numbers to develop a series of position specific articles related to top daily fantasy sports plays. Whether you are playing on FanDuel, DrafKings, or even configuring your season long NFL lineups, these articles should serve as a reference tool and helpful guide to choosing the best players. I've shortened these articles to give you only the necessities and bottom-line reasoning as to my top choices. This is a no bullshi*t article and by that I mean the players and plays I suggest are those that I will be using in my personal lineups. Nothing is excluded. We intend to win. The goal is to make great lineups, win money, have a great time, and share our success stories. If you are new to my blog or daily fantasy sports in general, I encourage you to check out my DFS Introduction post which provides some general context on what DFS is and how to play. Spoiler alert, if you like playing fantasy sports and winning money, DFS is the platform for you. Also, if you haven’t already, feel free to follow my referral links and sign up for Fanduel and Draftkings. Each provides its own set of bonuses for new users.
With that being said, here are my top plays at the quarterback position for Week 15. Enjoy, upvote, and comment on your weekly outlook. Note, pricing now reflects what is posted on FanDuel.
QUARTERBACKS
Ben Roethlisberger - Pittsburgh Steelers
$8,500 / vs. NE / PIT + 1
Big Ben leads the NFL this season in attempts with 546, averaging nearly 40 attempts per game. It's safe to say he and the Steelers are throwing the ball a ton this season and with that Roethlisberger is averaging well over 300 yards per game through the air. All good things in terms of fantasy. As a Steelers fan, this has been frustrating periodically as Pittsburgh has a great offensive line, sound rushing game, and good back in James Conner but still finds a way to keep chucking the ball through the air. However, all indications point to Conner missing time again this weekend which in turn should lend itself to Big Ben airing it out a ton. Looking back to Week 15 of last season, Roethlisberger and the Steelers had a similar matchup against New England at home. Ben managed to only throw the ball 30x that game but did put together a decent performance with 281 yards and 2 scores. With no Bell, no Conner, and a tendency to just rely on passing, I suspect a substantial jump in Ben's numbers this weekend. New England has been very favorable for opposing QBs this season, ranking 8th in the league with nearly 20 FD points given up per game. Their secondary and defense in general has taken a big step back this season, especially on the road. Last week in Miami, Ryan Tannehill was able to put up 265 yards and 3 TDs. Before that, lesser tiered QBs such as Trubinksy, Mariota, Stafford, and even Bortles have all had success against the Patriots secondary. As an underdog, at home, coming off several brutal losses including last year at home vs. New England, I suspect this game will flow completely through Big Bens arm. Even with an injury scare last week, Big Ben should have a big week in Pittsburgh.
Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers
$8,100 / at CHI / GB + 5
This one is a little more of a gut call rather than an actual statistically supported play. I called out Rodgers last week for a big game and although we didn't get the monster performance we wanted, he legitimately had one of his better games of the season and didn't disappoint. For the same reasons I liked him last week, I like him again this week. Coach gone, slim playoff chance, playing with something to prove, etc. His opponent, the Chicago Bears, has been a nightmare for opposing offenses all season which understandably is scary and makes this play look dumb. I mean, the Bears completely shutdown the explosive LA Rams last week and it wasn't even close. More to that point, Khalil Mack and the Bears basically ruined Rodgers knee earlier this season. But, and there are many buts, Aaron Rodgers is different. If you watched that game earlier this season, Rodgers was carted off the field before half and his season looked done. The Packers looked done and as expected they started trailing. Sure enough, Rodgers marched back onto the field in the second half and literally on one knee willed his team to victory over the Bears. That performance awarded us a solid 25 FD points. He just gets it done when he has his way and for the rest of this season this should be the Aaron Rodgers show. I honestly don't think he lets the Packers lose this week or next, giving them every shot possible to make the playoffs. It starts this week in Chicago. It will be a tough game but I have a lot of faith in Rodgers putting together one of his best if not best performance of the season and upsetting the Bears.
Derek Carr - Oakland Raiders
$6,800 / at CIN / OAK + 3
It pains me to say this but Derek Carr has actually put together a couple good weeks in a row now. Oakland has been throwing the ball a lot lately and with relative success. Last week at home vs. Pittsburgh, Carr managed 25/34 performance for 322 yards and 2 TDs. Prior to that he led a close game vs. a weak Kansas City pass defense that saw him pass for 285 and 3 TDs. The recent trend has shown Carr has the ability to put together some respectable numbers vs. lower quality defenses and it just so happens he gets a juicy matchup vs. a very weak Cincinnati defense. The downside is that Oakland is traveling to Cincinnati this weekend and quite frankly, Carr hasn't had 1 good game on the road this season. In my opinion, this game includes two teams that have almost nothing to play for. In fact, the incentive would be to almost lose. The difference here however is that I believe Oakland is playing hard and wants to win, whereas Cincinnati seemly has already turned in their season. Carr has specifically mentioned that they want to "screw up the draft" by continuing to win games so I do have some faith that he is hungry to play and put up numbers. As I mentioned, Cincinatti sucks this season on defense. They are the 2nd best matchup for QBs this season according to RotoGrinders and are surrounding over 22 FD points per game to opposing gun slingers. The Bengals give up nearly 275 yards per game through the air and are 5th in the league with 27 total passing TDs given up. Its a dream matchup for almost any NFL QB, lets just hope Carr finds a way to correct his road struggles this season and finishes 2018 strong.
That wraps up the Week 15 QB article. As always, good luck out there and lets win some money!
Sourced: USA Today's FTW / Lombardi Ave / Just Blog Baby