Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

With just three weeks left in the regular season, and likely less in your fantasy football season, it is now or never both in reality and fantasy. One thing the final weeks of the season are good for are some good divisional games, which typically means tighter contests, but another thing to look out for is the late-season weather. How much did inclement weather play into the poor performance for the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers last week in a win over the Chicago Bears? Will weather play into the equation this week for Rodgers when he travels to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers, Tom Brady when the New England Patriots travel to Buffalo or Jay Cutler when the Chicago Bears head to Baltimore? Well, weather hasn’t affected Rodgers or Brady all that much in the past, a fact that reflected in our rankings this week. Of course with Cutler, playing him at all is a gamble, so to see where he and the rest of the quarterbacks rank for week 15 just read the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week 15 Quarterback Rankings.

1. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) @ Jacksonville

We all know how impressive Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning is, but what was impressive about him last week was he led the team to a win over the Denver Broncos while throwing three interceptions. Those three picks also came with 220 passing yards and four touchdowns as well, giving him yet another solid fantasy football performance. This week, the Colts travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars, and it’s going to be another huge game for Peyton. In week one, Manning went for 301 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a win over the Jaguars, and we expect him to post similar stats but with another touchdown this time around.
Point Projection: 22 Points

2. Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals) @ Detroit

The Arizona Cardinals were absolutely terrible on Monday Nights as the offense turned the ball over seven times. Quarterback Kurt Warner contributed directly with three turnovers, two of which were interceptions. Watching the game, it was clear the San Francisco 49ers came to play and the Cardinals didn’t. Don’t expect that to happen again this week as the Cardinals travel to Detroit to play the Lions. Warner will have the luxury of playing in a dome, so weather will play no role in this game. It also helps that the Detroit defense is the worst in the league in every major category except for rushing yards allowed, where the Lions are 25th. Expect a big rebound this week from Warner and the Cardinals offense.
Point Projection: 20 Points

3. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) vs. Dallas

As impressive as Manning has been this season, the New Orleans Saints and quarterback Drew Brees have been equally as good, if not better. Brees has been good all season, but the past four weeks he’s absolutely been on fire with 13 touchdowns and one interception in those games. This week Brees finds himself in another favorable match-up as the Saints will be at home against the Dallas Cowboys. Not only does Dallas typically struggle in the final month of the season, but the Cowboys rank just 21st in the league in pass defense.
Point Projection: 20 Points

4. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) vs. Cincinnati

We’ve been saying it for weeks now, but we’ll reiterate it again; the San Diego Chargers are on fire and don’t appear to be cooling off any time soon. Quarterback Philip Rivers has thrown just one interception in his last five games despite facing some tough defenses and being on the road in three of those games. This week Rivers has the luxury of playing at home against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have a surprisingly good defense. However, as good as the Cincinnati defense has been, they are without safety Chris Crocker and cornerback Jonathan Joseph is banged up. Additionally, the Bengals have not played well on the road this season outside of their divisional games, so expect another big game from Rivers this week.
Point Projection: 19 Points

5. Matt Schaub (Houston Texans) @ St. Louis

Owners who made the decision to draft and stick with Houston Texans’ quarterback Matt Schaub have been rewarded this season as he’s been able to stay healthy, for the most part. Schaub played well this past Sunday despite a dislocated shoulder as he threw for 365 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a win over the Seattle Seahawks. And, Schaub finds himself with a favorable game this week when Houston travels to St. Louis to play the Rams. The Rams are second-to-last in the NFL in points allowed per game and gave up 47 points last week to the Tennessee Titans.
Point Projection: 18 Points

6. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) @ Pittsburgh

Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the team to a win this past weekend at Chicago despite having his worst game of the season. The Packers didn’t need him as the running game and defense were working fine, but Rodgers threw for just 180 yards with no touchdowns and two fumbles, marking his first single-digit fantasy football game of the season. This week the Packers will need everything Rodgers has as they travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, who are still without safety Troy Polamalu and could be without cornerback William Gay. Without those guys, Rodgers should not have much difficulty as long as his line can hold the Steelers’ pass rush at bay.
Point Projection: 17 Points

7. Tom Brady (New England Patriots) @ Buffalo

In two of the past three weeks New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady has put together single-digit fantasy football performances, an alarming trend for his owners who were counting on him to play well at this point of the season. The good news is that Brady faces the Buffalo Bills this week, the same team he torched in week one for 378 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The bad news is that it appears it’s going to be cold and snowy in Buffalo this weekend. Expect a solid game from Brady but nothing too big as the Patriots will likely get the running game more involved to try to control possession.
Point Projection: 16 Points

8. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) vs. Green Bay

There’s no other way to say that last week’s loss to the Browns was an embarrassing one for the Steelers. Not only did they play poorly, but it looked like they didn’t even want to be there, and that’s not the same Pittsburgh team we’ve all come to know and love — or hate. Either way, you shouldn’t expect a second-consecutive game like that from Roethlisberger or the Steelers even though they’re facing the streaking Packers. With Rodgers opposing him, this game could turn into a shootout, though we would expect to see more running of the ball, thus limiting Roethlisberger’s value this week.
Point Projection: 16 Points

9. Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles) vs. San Francisco

Having watched the Philadelphia Eagles in recent weeks, especially in their win this past Sunday Night over the New York Giants, we wonder why the fans choose to boo quarterback Donovan McNabb at all. McNabb is damn good and is operating within that offense at a surprisingly high level despite having a very young receiving corps and starting running back Brian Westbrook on the sidelines. If the Giants couldn’t stop McNabb and the Eagles last week, do you think the San Francisco 49ers will fare any better? We don’t either, but we would expect the Eagles to do some more work on the ground this week, which is why McNabb is projected for 15 points instead of 20.
Point Projection: 15 Points

10. Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) @ Carolina

Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Brett Favre has three interceptions in the last two games after throwing just three in his first 11 games, and he was repeatedly throwing into tight coverage last week in a win over the Bengals. We have seen this before. Remember back to last season when Favre started out hot then faded as he threw two touchdowns and nine interceptions in the final five games for the New York Jets. Favre may be reverting to his ways of trying to force too many throws into tight spaces, and he’s never been shy about throwing interceptions before, but this season he has the luxury of being on a much better team than the Jets.
Point Projection: 15 Points

11. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) vs. Chicago

After a poor performance two weeks ago against the Packers, Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco rebounded well last week as he threw for 230 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions in a big win over the Detroit Lions. Though the Bears aren’t as bad defensively as the Lions are, you should still expect a similar result to his week 14 performance. Chicago is 21st in the league in points allowed, and Flacco will be playing at home, where he has been much better as opposed to the road where he’s not played all that well.
Point Projection: 14 Points

12. Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos) vs. Oakland

We expected Denver Broncos’ quarterback Kyle Orton to struggle last week against a strong Indianapolis defense but that was quite the contrast as he had 277 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a close loss to the Colts. What happened is Orton discovered what former Denver quarterback Jay Cutler had found out early on and that is if you throw the ball to receiver Brandon Marshall, good things will happen. The duo hooked up for an NFL-record 21 receptions last week. This week Orton has a more favorable match-up against the Oakland Raiders. Expect something in between Orton’s game last week and his game the first time the Broncos met the Raiders when he threw for 157 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Point Projection: 14 Points

13. Matt Cassel (Kansas City Chiefs) vs. Cleveland

The Cleveland defense was quite impressive last week in a win over the Steelers, but that was likely more of a case of a team rising to the occasion against a hated rival than anything else. Frankly, the Browns defense isn’t that good, and we expect them to revert back to their old selves this week on the road against the Chiefs. Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel threw four interceptions and no touchdowns this past Sunday against the Bills, who are a much tougher defense than the Browns, but three of those picks weren’t Cassel’s fault. For those reasons we expect a solid bounce back game this week against Cleveland.
Point Projection: 13 Points

14. Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears) @ Baltimore

As we predicted last week, Cutler bounced back from consecutive single-digit games to post a double-digit performance in a loss to the Packers. He didn’t quite reach our point projection, but it was close. The point is that for as bad he has played at points this season, Cutler is still a quarterback with great potential. Unfortunately not all of that potential will be reached this week when the Bears travel to Baltimore. The Ravens defense hasn’t been too great at home in the second half of the season, so expect an OK game from Cutler, but nothing too astounding.
Point Projection: 13 Points

15. Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle Seahawks) vs. Tampa Bay

Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has now posted back-to-back double-digit games, and you can choose to look at this one of two ways. The first is that Hasselbeck is healthy enough again and that his true skill is beginning to show despite being stuck behind a porous offensive line. Or, you could say that the Seahawks played the 49ers and Texans, teams that don’t possess elite defenses, and thus his perceived value is higher than it should be. Either way Hasselbeck faces a favorable match-up this week at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who gave up 26 points in week 14 to a New York Jets offense led by Kellen Clemens.
Point Projection: 13 Points

16. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) at New Orleans

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo has been playing extremely well recently, even if the rest of his teammates aren’t doing the same. His owners have been rewarded with three great games in a row now, but that trend will stop this week when Dallas travels to New Orleans. The Saints defense has been stellar this season despite dealing with a number of injuries at the defensive back positions, but when considering whether or not to start Romo keep in mind that in six home games thus far this year New Orleans has created 16 turnovers and four defensive touchdowns.
Point Projection: 13 Points