Week 12 Fantasy Football Rankings: QB

Lamar Jackson readies for his best matchup of the season, Kyler Murray aims to prove he’s back to being a QB1, and Trevor Lawrence eyes up a hot streak in Houston.

Other positions: Running Back | Receiver | Tight End/Kickers/Defense

Week 12 Quarterbacks

QB Notes: The Bills played a calmer, broader style of offense in Joe Brady’s first game as play-caller, and Josh Allen finished as the … QB4 overall against an elite Jets defense. Now he gets an Eagles D still allowing the third most QB fantasy points even after neutralizing Patrick Mahomes. … Jalen Hurts had his first scoreless outing through the air all year in Week 11 and still finished as the QB14 thanks to his two rushing touchdowns. He’s the most un-benchable quarterback in fantasy football. … Lamar Jackson just lost his No. 1 pass catcher — and is facing the Chargers. The most embarrassing defense in the league just permitted the Packers’ first 300-yard passing effort since Dec. 2021. Fire away. … An already bad Commanders pass defense is predictably imploding after trading away top linemen Montez Sweat and Chase Young. That’s how you get such amazements as “Tommy DeVito, QB7.” A previously frustrating fantasy O, the Cowboys have now spent an entire month rocking massive pass rates over expected. Dak Prescott is going to be carving the Commanders’ turkey on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas.

Patrick Mahomes bookended the Chiefs’ Week 10 bye with sub-200 yard efforts. The lack of any receivers whatsoever finally seems to be catching up with the planet’s best player, though Mahomes is still putting the biscuit in the basket. They just have to catch it. Resurgent though the Raiders have been under Antonio Pierce, they don’t have the personnel to prevent Mahomes from bouncing back in Vegas. … The Texans stubbornly refuse to up their pass rate over expected. And yet, they are producing mammoth volume for soaring rookie starter C.J. Stroud. He has been up to the challenge, while the Texans will have to keep the passing lanes open for a 48.5-totaled affair with the Jaguars. … The most promising aspect of Justin Fields’ Week 11 return? The Bears didn’t make him return to Go. There was no square pegging a round hole. They just let Fields be Fields. When Fields is allowed to be Fields, QB1 days tend to follow. … Brock Purdy keeps exploiting good matchups, and the short-week Seahawks should be another one for Week 12 even though Seattle is not a passing-game smash spot.

Tua Tagovailoa’s home/road splits aren’t as pronounced as you might fear, though they are still pronounced, with double the amount of scores in Miami despite a nearly identical amount of attempts. The Jets remain a difficult road trip despite their offensive issues. We don’t ever drop Mike McDaniel’s quarterback out of the top 12, but we must temper turkey week expectations. … The Sam Howell train nearly derailed in Week 11 but still rallied for a QB6 effort in a humiliating loss. The Cowboys are an almost impossible short-week matchup, but what other options do the Commanders have? To the skies they will take, with a few scores hopefully joining the inevitable sacks and turnovers. … Justin Herbert seems to lose a different pass catcher each week. Now he must deal with the Ravens’ elite defense. As is the case with Washington and Sam Howell, the Chargers will still have no choice but to throw, keeping Herbert QB1 live. … Jared Goff’s play grows a little less inspiring with each passing week. Perhaps a concern for the playoffs, but not Thanksgiving Day against an admittedly solid Packers D. You simply can’t fade the Lions’ offense at home.

It’s still not entirely clear what we are getting with 2023 Kyler Murray. That does not include on the ground, where Murray is running like his ACL tear never happened. The Cardinals could need several more weeks to find their identity through the air, but Murray has already established a low-end QB1 baseline. Ceiling could follow in short order. … Week 11 was an overdue explosive outing for Trevor Lawrence. It’s hard to get too excited considering the two months that preceded it, but the Texans are a strong matchup, while the nation’s bookmakers expect JAX/HOU to be amongst the week’s highest-scoring contests. … Jordan Love is coming off the best two-game stretch of his career. Becoming an extreme “pass-funnel" defense, the Lions are really struggling through the air. The early Thanksgiving games can be sleepy affairs, but Love is in excellent position to make his double a turkey. … We saw a little of why Josh Dobbs has been a career backup in Week 11. We also saw how he keeps producing QB1 numbers, as he yet again found the end zone on the ground. Although improving, the Bears’ defense is an excellent place to stream.

The Colts are doing their best to keep Gardner Minshew buttoned up, but you can’t keep a good gunslinger down vs. the Bucs’ outrageous pass-funnel. Every quarterback not named Will Levis continues to tomahawk dunk on Todd Bowles’ unit. … Opposing Minshew will be Baker Mayfield, who offers zero ceiling but an every-week floor. … Derek Carr is at a 2023 crossroads. Jameis Winston played the liveliest half for any Saints QB all year when he took it to the Vikings for the quarters 3 and 4 in Week 10. Fantasy managers could be forgiven for wanting to see Winston, but it will again be Carr vs. a fraudulent Falcons defense that has decent rate states but has allowed the fifth most passing scores. Atlanta is bottom 10 in dropback EPA. … Geno Smith appears poised to play through his arm injury. With Smith playing decent against bad defenses and struggling against good ones, the 49ers are an awful short-week matchup for a quarterback nowhere close to 100 percent healthy. … Matthew Stafford’s play continues to cliff dive while he’ll now (probably) be missing Cooper Kupp (ankle). Don’t expect any QB2 miracles even against Arizona’s mediocre defense.

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