Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

As we enter Week 14 of the regular season, and likely the first or second round of your fantasy football playoffs, we find some intriguing match-ups at the quarterback position. It’s the reason why Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans, Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans all find themselves in the Top-10 this week. Of course there are some unfavorable match-ups, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Josh Freeman, who is coming off of a five-interception performance and will play against a tough New York Jets secondary. To find out where your quarterback stacks up against the rest, including projected point totals for all starting quarterbacks just continue reading the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week 14 Quarterback Rankings.

1. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) @ Chicago

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers only has seven interceptions this season and three of those came in one game. Since throwing three interceptions against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rodgers has thrown nine touchdowns with just two picks in four games. There’s no reason to believe he’s going to slow down anytime soon, especially this week against the Chicago Bears. Chicago is beat on defense and currently has a mediocre secondary at best, thus you should expect a big game from Rodgers, who is arguably this years fantasy football MVP.
Point Projection: 22 points

2. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) @ Atlanta

It’s just unbelievable. Even when the New Orleans Saints play poorly they still find ways to win as evidenced by their overtime win last week over the Washington Redskins. In that game, Brees threw for a season high 419 passing yards to go along with two touchdown passes. This week Brees and the Saints shouldn’t have much trouble against an Atlanta Falcons team that has trouble defending the pass. The previous time these two teams met Brees threw for 308 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. You can expect a similar performance the second time around, but sans the pick.
Point Projection: 21 points

3. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) @ Dallas

The San Diego Chargers are one of the hottest teams in the NFL and Philip Rivers is one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league as he’s thrown seven touchdowns with no interceptions in the last four games. The Chargers’ opponent this week, the Dallas Cowboys had also been one of the hot teams in the league until they lost to the New York Giants last week. What’s important about the Cowboys’ loss last week is that they allowed 31 points to a Giants offense that had been struggling mightily. Expect yet another big game from Rivers in this one as he should be able to exploit a Cowboys passing defense that allows 225 passing yards per game.
Point Projection: 19 points

4. Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles) @ New York Giants

Though the New York Giants are certainly looking forward to this rematch, they will have a hard time stopping quarterback Donovan McNabb. The Philadelphia Eagles handled the Giants by 23 points when the two teams met in Week 8 and in that game McNabb threw for 240 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Even with Brian Westbrook expected to miss another week of action the Eagles shouldn’t have much trouble moving the ball on a Giants defense that has surrendered 21 passing touchdowns in 12 games. McNabb should shine again this week.
Point Projection: 19 points

5. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) vs. Denver

Despite being 12-0, the Indianapolis Colts still have some tough match-ups in their quest for 16-0. This week, taking on a Denver Broncos team that has won two straight, will provide a good test for them. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, however, has owned the Broncos during his career. In Manning’s last three games against Denver he’s thrown 10 touchdowns and just one interception. Even though the Broncos have improved their defense you still shouldn’t expect anything less than a stellar performance from Manning in the first round of the fantasy playoffs.
Point Projection: 18 points

6. Tom Brady (New England Patriots) vs. Carolina

So far this season only two teams (New York Jets & New Orleans Saints) have slowed down quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, and both of those opponents have far superios defenses than that of the Carolina Panthers. Win or lose Brady generally gets his points, with the two aforementioned losses as the only exceptions, and there’s no reason to believe otherwise this week. The Panthers give up a lot of points (21.8 points per game) but not many yards, but with Wes Welker roaming the middle of the field and Randy Moss on the outside Carolina won’t have many answers for a hungry New England offense.
Point Projection: 18 points

7. Matt Schaub (Houston Texans) vs. Seattle  **CHECK INJURY STATUS**

Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub left last week’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars with a shoulder on his non-throwing arm, but he did return. He is currently listed as questionable for this week’s home game against the Seattle Seahawks but it appears he’s a good bet to play. Head Coach Gary Kubiak told reporters on Monday that Schaub likely will play this week, which is a good thing for his owners as Seattle is a very favorable matchup. The Seahawks are winners of two straight but are 20th or lower in every major defensive category except rushing yards allowed and have allowed 15 passing touchdowns over their last six games.
Point Projection: 17 points

8. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) vs. San Diego

Aside from a dud of a game three weeks ago in a close win over the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has been on fire, at least from a fantasy football perspective. He’s now posted back-to-back performances with 20 or more fantasy points, and that’s the kind of player we like at this time of the year. Unfortunately for Romo and his owners, he will have to limit turnovers if he wants to score 20 points again this week against the eight ranked San Diego Chargers passing defense. Still, we could easily see this game turning into a shootout. Regardless, Romo is still a must start this week.
Point Projection: 17 points

9. Vince Young (Tennessee Titans) vs. St. Louis

When Vince Young initially took over the starting quarterback job for the Tennessee Titans this season, he looked more like a game manager. That hasn’t been the case the last two weeks as he’s thrown for 628 yards with three passing touchdowns and just one interception. This week, Young is a good play as he will be at home against the lowly St. Louis Rams, who are 28th in the league in points allowed and will be without playmaking safety Oshiomogho Atogwe. Expect Young to shine in this game and if you are in a pinch for a quarterback in Week 14 feel confident using him.
Point Projection: 16 points

10. Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) vs. Cincinnati

This is an intriguing matchup for a few reasons. First of all, the Minnesota Vikings are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals where they looked completely helpless on offense. Secondly, they go against a Cincinnati Bengals defense that has given up an average of 13.3 points per game over the last three weeks but it should be noted that those three teams (Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns & Detroit Lions) all featured poor offenses. Despite throwing an interception for the first time since Week 7 last week, Favre managed 15 fantasy points and he should be able to lead his team to a win in this game. Don’t expect 20+ points from the signal caller but 250 passing yards with two touchdowns and a interception is a reasonable projection.
Point Projection: 16 points

11. Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals) @ San Francisco

Throwing for 285 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions last week in a win over the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner looked close to unstoppable. Not bad considering he had missed the previous game because of concussion-like symptoms. This week Warner faces the San Francisco 49ers, who are 27th in passing yards allowed but just 10th in points allowed. Something’s got to give, and we’re guessing it will lead to Warner having a pretty decent game. However, don’t expect it to be one of those games in which it looks like Warner is picking apart a defense like most of you reading this column do in Madden 2010. In a Week 1 loss to San Francisco, Warner was limited to just 11 fantasy points, which is his second lowest point total of the season.
Point Projection: 16 points

12. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) vs. Detroit

You may be wondering why Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is so high up this list after the way he played in the Monday Night Football loss to the Green Bay Packers last week. No doubt Flacco struggled but that came on the road at a tough place to play in Green Bay, against a Packers’ defense that’s really starting to find itself. Things are different this week as Flacco and the Ravens will play at home against a Detroit Lions defense that is last in the league in points allowed, which is why we like Flacco for a nice rebound in this game. The Lions secondary has allowed 28 passing touchdowns in 12 games and you can expect Flacco to add at least one TD to that total.
Point Projection: 15 points

13. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) @ Cleveland

Things are starting to get ugly for the Pittsburgh Steelers as they’ve now lost four straight games and will be in a dog fight for a postseason berth. Regardless of the team’s poor play, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been playing well for the most part. Last week in the team’s loss to the Oakland Raiders, Roethlisberger had 278 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, giving him eight touchdowns and five interceptions in the last four games he’s played. Were it not for a prediction of winds at 35mph at game time, Big Ben would be a top-10 play; however, thanks to mother nature aiding the Browns’ defense, Big Ben is more a borderline start.
Point Projection: 16 points

14. Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins) at Oakland

Maybe turning over playcalling duties to Sherman Lewis was a good idea after all. In the last six games Campbell has registered double-digit fantasy football performances five times, including throwing for five touchdowns in the last two weeks. Even against a team like the New Orleans Saints, which is so good at intercepting the ball, Campbell still played well. This week Washington travels to Oakland to face the Raiders, who are playing surprisingly well themselves. As long as Campbell avoids Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha in this one he should have a pretty good game.
Point Projection: 14 points

15. Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals) @ Minnesota

The Bengals have had two good seasons under head coach Marvin Lewis. The first, in 2005, came because quarterback Carson Palmer orchestrated a dangerous passing attack. The second, which is this season, has been mostly because of good defense and the Bengals’ ability to run the ball well. The last two weeks Palmer has put together single-digit fantasy football performances in both games but that’s because the Bengals took an early lead and ran the ball often. The Bengals will need to throw the ball more often in this game and even if that means Palmer throws a couple picks as well, it will only elevate his fantasy football value to a low-end QB1 option.
Point Projection: 14 points

16. Alex Smith (San Francisco 49ers) vs. Arizona

Would you believe that in the last three weeks that San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith has thrown seven touchdowns and just one interception? Yeah, we don’t believe it either. This is, after all, the same guy that has thrown six more interceptions than touchdowns in his career and that’s counting the last three games. He should be able to get a couple more touchdowns this week against the Arizona Cardinals and their bend but don’t break passing defense, but that will likely come with a couple turnovers as Arizona has 13 interceptions on the season and has really started to figure out how to disguise their coverages.
Point Projection: 13 points