The fantasy playoff season is in full swing, as most leagues are in the semifinals this week. Patrick Mahomes and Geno Smith are questionable after leaving their Week 15 games with injuries. Below are the quarterback rankings, tiers, and analysis to help you navigate your lineup decisions for Week 16.
Quarterback Rankings for Week 15 Fantasy Football
Tier 1: Superstar Quarterbacks
1. Josh Allen
2. Joe Burrow
3. Jalen Hurts
4. Jayden Daniels
5. Lamar Jackson
Allen put on a show again, finishing as the top quarterback for the second week in a row with his second straight 40-point performance. He threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Allen is playing out of this world right now. He is a matchup-proof overall QB1 for Week 16 in the quarterback rankings.
Jackson came out of the bye-week firing. He had 290 passing yards and five passing touchdowns. He added 65 rushing yards, but he did lose a fumble. In Week 16, Jackson has to play the Steelers on Saturday. Jackson has struggled against the Steelers in his career. In Week 11, Jackson only scored 14.88 fantasy points and finished as the QB23 against Pittsburgh, and it was the only week that he finished outside of the top twelve quarterbacks. Jackson has eight interceptions and five touchdown passes in his career against the Steelers. Jackson will try to rewrite that narrative this week and is still a must-start.
Tier 2: Mid to Low-End QB1s
6. Baker Mayfield
7. Jordan Love
8. Jared Goff
9. Justin Herbert
10. Bo Nix
11. Kyler Murray
12. Patrick Mahomes*
Mayfield led the Buccaneers to a 40-point performance against one of the best defenses in the league. He threw for four passing touchdowns and finished with 28.02 fantasy points. Mayfield gets the Cowboys next week, who are in the top five for most fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks on the year.
Goff had a season-high 41.06 fantasy points in the loss to the Bills. He threw the ball 59 times. He had 494 passing yards and five passing touchdowns. Goff finished as the QB2 on the week behind Allen. Goff has a tough matchup against the Bears this week, but he had a solid performance against them earlier this year.
Nix only had 130 passing yards last week and threw three interceptions but three touchdowns salvaged his day. He finished with 13.5 fantasy points. Nix only had three interceptions combined in the last seven games. Nix battles Herbert and the Chargers this week. The Chargers just allowed 40 points to the Buccaneers, so the defense showed that they can be beat. Both Nix and Herbert are borderline top-ten plays this week in the quarterback rankings for their Thursday Night Football battle to kick off Week 16.
*Mahomes injured his ankle in the Week 15 victory. It was ruled as a high-ankle sprain, and he is week-to-week. The Chiefs play two games in the next ten days, putting Mahomes’ status at risk for both games.
Tier 3: High to Mid-Tier QB2s
13. Sam Darnold
14. Tua Tagovailoa
15. Russell Wilson
16. Matthew Stafford
Tagovailoa had his worst game of the season, scoring just 3.84 fantasy points. He had one passing touchdown but three interceptions. He only had one interception in the previous seven games since returning from his concussion. Tagovailoa has a tougher matchup with the 49ers this week, making him a risky play in Week 16.
Wilson and the entire Steelers offense struggled in the Week 15 loss. Wilson had 128 yards and one touchdown. He scored below ten fantasy points for just the second time this season in eight starts. The other time scoring single-digit points was against the Ravens in Week 11. Wilson and the Steelers visit Baltimore this week. The Ravens secondary has struggled this season, but they shut down Wilson earlier this season. Wilson is a risky QB2 option this week.
Tier 4: Streaming Options
17. Brock Purdy
18. Drake Maye
19. C.J. Stroud
20. Anthony Richardson
Maye finished between the QB10 and QB18 for the sixth consecutive week. He had 202 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and one rushing touchdown last week in the loss. Maye travels to Buffalo this week, who have given up 40 points in two straight weeks. Maye is a solid streaming option in Week 16.
Main Photo: [Bill Streicher] – USA Today Sports
