It really is the most wonderful time of the year. And no, I’m not talking about the holiday season; although its arrival has made this crazy year a tad bit brighter. I’m of course talking about the fantasy football playoffs. Whether you slipped in by a hair with a lucky win last week, or you clinched a while back; now is your time to shine as you are one step closer to begin crowned your league’s champion. With even some of the most trusted quarterbacks having ‘off’ weeks as of late, who should you trust going into this first week of do or die mode so that you don’t abruptly end your season? Here’s a look at the top Week 14 quarterback plays.
Week 14 Quarterback Plays: Fantasy Football Playoffs
“Value” Top-Tier Quarterback: Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (vs New York Jets)
Up until a few weeks ago, number three was being crowned the early season MVP. Yet the past five games, in which Seattle has gone 2-3, he hasn’t put up his usual slew of incredible numbers and has been amassing a much larger number of turnovers than Seahawks’ fans are used to seeing, with 15 on the season. While head coach Pete Carroll has begun to not #letrusscook as much, Wilson has also not been finding the end zone as regularly, with just six passing touchdowns in his last five games (he was on a record-setting pace with 26 in his first seven). That all being said, look for Russ and this Seattle offense to pick up some steam as they look to gain momentum for the playoffs in that top NFC West division this week against the winless Jets after losing a tough battle with the other team that shares MetLife Stadium last week. Anticipate this game to potentially turn into a shootout as the Jets have been looking…decent? (such a ‘Jets-like’ loss last week).
Highest-graded red-zone QBs:
1. Kirk Cousins – 92.1
2. Aaron Rodgers – 90.7
3. Russell Wilson – 90.2
4. Derek Carr – 89.5
5. Baker Mayfield – 82.9 pic.twitter.com/ub5dHS7E0I— PFF (@PFF) December 9, 2020
“Bounceback” Quarterback: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (vs Atlanta Falcons)
The unbelievable rookie is human after all. Even on a team that has won just three games this season, the Chargers’ sixth overall draft pick has wowed the NFL in his first season. Last week Herbert had a bringing-everyone-back-down-to-Earth moment, however. With only 209 passing yards and two interceptions, Herbert and the Chargers got smoked by the Belichick-led Patriots’ defense by a score of 45-0 even after the future Hall of Fame coach sang his praises. And this couldn’t have come at a worse time for fantasy managers – trying to lock up a spot in the fantasy playoffs. However, don’t fret about his first poor performance as even the best quarterbacks play some clunkers from time to time. On top of that, this phenomenal young quarterback has a mouthwatering matchup to bounce back with this week against the Atlanta Falcons. While Atlanta’s defense has played better over the past few weeks, they are still giving up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks, which sets Herbert, who is on pace to break the single-season rookie passing touchdown record, up to redeem your fantasy squad this week.
#Chargers rookie QB Justin Herbert has thrown 23 TD passes this season. With 5 more games left, he's on track to easily shatter Baker Mayfield's rookie record of 27 TD passes. pic.twitter.com/Fni4TVK03y
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 4, 2020
“Continued Success” Quarterback: Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans (vs Chicago Bears)
Since Week 5, after the firing of former Texans head coach Bill O’Brien, Watson has 20 total touchdowns and accumulated over 300 air yards in six of eight games. Last week after a heart-breaking turnover on the potential game-winning drive against Indianapolis, who have one of the better pass defenses in the league, Watson still managed to produce 379 total yards and a rushing touchdown, salvaging his two-turnover day. I’m not concerned about any defense the Texans are going up against or who Watson is throwing the ball to. He has been playing MVP-caliber football since the head coaching change this season and he will continue his success for you in the first round of your fantasy playoffs against a Bears’ defense who got shredded last week by Aaron Rodgers.
🥇 Aaron Rodgers
🥈 Patrick Mahomes
🥉 Deshaun WatsonPFF's Highest-Graded QBs of 2020 🏆 pic.twitter.com/H3pbAM8dvL
— PFF (@PFF) December 8, 2020
