The bye weeks are back in Week 13 and they're coming strong. With a whopping six teams on bye this week, the pickings are slim at quarterback. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Fields, Josh Dobbs, Tommy DeVito and Aidan O'Connell are all off the slate this week with the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders on a bye.
Jamey Eisenberg has all the Start 'Em & Sit 'Em insight you'll need to make sound decisions at quarterback ahead of Week 13, right here. And don't forget to check out Heath Cummings' quarterback preview for more help with matchup notes, numbers to know and more. Plus check out Heath's Week 13 projections over at SportsLine.
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QBs to Start
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Stroud had another big game in Week 12 against Jacksonville with 34.9 Fantasy points, and he now has at least 21 Fantasy points in three of his past four games. Denver has held seven quarterbacks in a row to fewer than 20 Fantasy points, including Patrick Mahomes twice and Josh Allen, but I still like Stroud as a top-10 Fantasy quarterback this week given his recent success. Stroud also has yet to score less than 18.2 Fantasy points in six home games this season, and he's averaging 29.3 Fantasy points per game in Houston.
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Purdy had a bad Fantasy outing in Week 12 at Seattle with 12.5 points, which snapped a three-game streak of him scoring at least 20 points. While he's struggled on the road this season -- he has four games with fewer than 15 Fantasy points in six games outside of San Francisco -- I still like him in this spot. The Eagles are No. 2 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and four quarterbacks in a row have scored at least 20.9 points. Philadelphia's defense just played 95 snaps in Week 12 against Buffalo, which is the most of any team this season, so the Eagles should be tired. That's a huge advantage to Purdy and all the 49ers, who last played on Thanksgiving against the Seahawks.
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After a down season, Lawrence has rebounded the past two games against Tennessee and Houston, and hopefully he's getting hot at the right time. He scored 36.2 Fantasy points against the Titans and 26.6 points at the Texans, and he should be considered a top-10 Fantasy quarterback in Week 13 against the Bengals on Monday night. Cincinnati could be without linebacker Logan Wilson (ankle) and cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (quad), and the Bengals have allowed four of the past five opposing quarterbacks to score at least 20.3 Fantasy points. Lawrence will hopefully add to that total with another strong performance in prime time.
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Goff stumbled his way into 22.2 Fantasy points in Week 12 against the Packers on Thanksgiving. The positive was 332 passing yards and two touchdowns. The negative was three lost fumbles in a 29-22 defeat, but I expect him to perform better in Week 13 at New Orleans. He's been better on the road of late with at least 25.1 Fantasy points in two of his past three away games, and the Saints have some key injuries on defense with pass rusher Cam Jordan (ankle) potentially out and cornerback Marshon Lattimore (ankle) on injured reserve.
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Sleepers (Start/Sit)
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Wilson comes into Week 13 with two consecutive games under 19 Fantasy points, but that was in tough matchups against the Vikings and Browns. But he also has one game with more than 200 passing yards in his past seven outings. Still, Denver has won five games in a row, and Wilson has multiple touchdowns in three of his past four contests. The Texans have allowed four quarterbacks in a row to score at least 23 Fantasy points, and Wilson is worth trusting as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues in this matchup.
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There's a lot to like about Howell this week against the Dolphins. He's passed for at least 300 yards in four of his past five games. He's attempted at least 42 passes in six games in a row. And he's been below 19 Fantasy points just once in his past five outings, which was at Dallas on Thanksgiving. The Dolphins have only allowed three quarterbacks to score more than 19.8 Fantasy points this season, but Miami just lost one of its best pass rushers after Jaelen Phillips (Achilles) was hurt in Week 12 at the Jets. Howell should be considered a low-end No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues in this matchup.
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Minshew hasn't scored more than 18.8 Fantasy points since Week 7, and he's been below 15 Fantasy points in each of his past three games. But I like the setup for him in Week 13 at Tennessee. The Titans allow an average of 18.1 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and two of the past three quarterbacks against Tennessee have scored at least 22.2 Fantasy points, with only the struggling Bryce Young below that mark. And with Jonathan Taylor (thumb) out, as much as I like Zack Moss, Minshew should do more heavy lifting to carry the Colts offense. He's worth trusting as a low-end starter in all leagues.
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QBs to Sit
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Murray has performed well in his comeback from last year's torn ACL with at least 22.4 Fantasy points in two of three games this season. He's rushed for a touchdown in each outing, and he has two contests with at least 33 rushing yards. He's more of a bust alert than a sit in Week 13, but I don't love this matchup for him at Pittsburgh. The Steelers have only allowed one quarterback to score more than 16.7 Fantasy points since Week 4, including matchups with Lamar Jackson and Trevor Lawrence, and Pittsburgh's pass rush should be a problem for Murray. I would only start him in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues in Week 13.
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Mayfield is expected to be OK despite dealing with an ankle injury, but he's not playing at 100 percent. He comes into Week 13 against Carolina having scored fewer than 18 Fantasy points in each of his past two games against San Francisco and Indianapolis, and he has an interception in three outings in a row. While this is a revenge game for Mayfield, the Panthers allow an average of just 15.2 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and only three quarterbacks this season have scored more than 20 Fantasy points (Jared Goff in Week 5, Tua Tagovailoa in Week 6 and Dak Prescott in Week 11). Kirk Cousins (13.6 Fantasy points in Week 4) and C.J. Stroud (12.9 Fantasy points in Week 8) have struggled against Carolina this season, and I expect Mayfield to have a down game as well.
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Stafford is coming off his best game of the season in Week 12 at Arizona with 31.4 Fantasy points, and he did that with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua having subpar performances. He might get a break this week if Cleveland star pass rusher Myles Garrett (shoulder) is out, but this is still a tough matchup against the Browns. Cleveland is No. 2 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and only Lamar Jackson in Week 4 and Gardner Minshew in Week 7 have scored more than 18.8 Fantasy points. Joe Burrow (3.1 Fantasy points in Week 1), Brock Purdy (9.7 Fantasy points in Week 6) and Jackson (15 Fantasy points in the rematch in Week 10) all struggled against the Browns, and Stafford will follow suit in Week 13.
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It's hard to sit Smith in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues this week with six teams on a bye, but I don't like this matchup for him at Dallas. The Cowboys have only allowed three quarterbacks this season to score more than 19 Fantasy points (Brock Purdy in Week 5, Justin Herbert in Week 6 and Jalen Hurts in Week 9), and I don't expect Smith to join that group. He has only two games this season with more than 17.9 Fantasy points, and he's scored fewer than 16 Fantasy points in four road games in a row against the Giants, Bengals, Ravens and Rams. This should be another ugly game for Smith in Week 13.
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Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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Love is getting hot at the right time with three games in a row with at least 20.7 Fantasy points heading into Week 13. And he's done that in games at Pittsburgh in Week 10 and at Detroit in Week 12 on Thanksgiving, which are tough spots. But I don't love this matchup for him against the Chiefs, who are No. 7 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Three quarterbacks this season have scored at least 23 Fantasy points against Kansas City (Zach Wilson in Week 4, Kirk Cousins in Week 5 and Russell Wilson in Week 8), but the Chiefs have been tough on some big-time quarterbacks. For example, Jared Goff (16 Fantasy points in Week 1), Trevor Lawrence (9.2 Fantasy points in Week 2), Justin Fields (12.7 Fantasy points in Week 3), Justin Herbert (12.9 Fantasy points in Week 7), Tua Tagovailoa (14.4 Fantasy points in Week 9) and Jalen Hurts (18.9 Fantasy points in Week 11) have all struggled against Kansas City. I love Love in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues, but I would sit him in one-quarterback leagues with this matchup against the Chiefs.
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