QB1 in Week 11? Facing the Bears defense at home might not be the best spot for Kirk Cousins.

Raven’s QBs vs CIN: A this point of the week it’s still a mystery who will start at QB for the Ravens, but honestly I could be a candidate to start against this vile Cincinnati defense. The Bengals have given up three straight 500-yard games, and it’s gotten so bad that Marvin Lewis has stepped in. Unless the head coach has defensive pixie dust in his pocket, this will remain a defense to exploit. Obviously Lamar Jackson gives the biggest fantasy upside, but even a hobbled Joe Flacco or the resurrection of Robert Griffin III should throw for 250 and a few scores. This is a perfect stream/daily fantasy pick of the week, so even if the Ravens stay quiet until the last minute, any Baltimore signal caller makes for a strong option.

Jared Goff vs KC: Yes, the loss of Cooper Kupp is going to affect this offense, but the match-up is too tasty to not take advantage of. This game should be a similar track-meet to the game against the Saints, as Goff and the Rams will need to score in bunches to keep up with the high flying Chiefs. Goff has been off at times this year, especially last week against the Seahawks, but the fact is he’s in a perfect system, surrounded by supreme talent. Vegas has given this game the highest over/under of all time, and 350 yards and 2+ scores might be Goff’s floor this week. Get him in your lineups.

Grab a Headset

Kirk Cousins @ CHI: Barely treading water as a low end QB1, Cousins has hardly transformed this offense. Yes injuries to the line and Dalvin Cook have made the offensive extremely one-dimensional at times, but despite being 5th in the NFL in pass attempts, he’s 12th in touchdown passes and hasn’t had a truly difference making fantasy game since Week 4. Going on the road against a division rival playing ferocious defense, the Vikings will likely deploy a conservative run-based game plan this week. The goal should be to control the clock and limit the amount of down field throws that Cousins makes. My hunch is the Vikings struggle to establish a run game, get stuck in too many 2nd and 3rd and longs, and Cousins has a long night being chased by Mack and his merry band of defenders.

Alex Smith vs HOU: In class the other day I had my students (yes, I’m a mild mannered elementary school teacher by day) building bridges using only scotch tape, toothpicks and paper. Of course, most of the groups created rickety structures barely strong enough to hold an eraser before falling over. This reminds me a lot of the Washington offense. With 4th string lineman trying to protect him, and no reliable receivers to catch passes, Smith is holding this offense together with scotch tape, toothpicks and exactly 178 yards passing in 3 of his past 4 games. They were only able to muster a feeble 16 points against a historically bad Tampa team that turned the ball over 5 times. The Texans have one of the best front sevens in all of football, and should be having plenty of project meetings at the body of Smith.

Matthew Stafford vs CAR: Stafford had been one of the most reliable fantasy quarterbacks in recent years thanks to high yardage and touchdown totals fueled by high volume games. Then a few weeks into the season Detroit realized that running the ball led to better results and Stafford’s stats dipped. The good news is the pass attempts are back up in the 40s again, but it seems the Lions offensive line has forgotten how to pass block. In the last two weeks they have surrendered a league high 16 sacks, and save for a few garbage time touchdowns, Stafford’s fantasy numbers have suffered. The Lions have lost three in a row, and have failed to be competitive in any of those games. Carolina should be fired up after giving up a 52 spot to the Steelers last week. I’m finding it very hard to find reasons Stafford should be in starting lineups this week and would look elsewhere if I had the flexibility, which in my FFToday league, I don’t!


Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers