Week 13 was all about a couple of huge fantasy football performances from a pair of surprising quarterbacks. Cincinnati Bengals backup Jake Browning threw for 354 yards in an exciting overtime win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, while Seattle Seahawks signal-caller Geno Smith rebounded from a rough showing to find the end zone four times against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.
Will either of these quarterbacks be able to build on their Week 13 breakout games? Find out in our Week 14 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Quarterbacks list.
QBs to Start in Week 14
Bears' Justin Fields (vs. Lions)
Justin Fields rushed 18 times for 104 yards against the Detroit Lions back in Week 11, putting up 21 fantasy points on the day. Considering the struggles of the Lions secondary in recent weeks, do not count out a strong day in the air for the Chicago Bears quarterback either. Fields is a strong QB1 in Week 14 as he goes up against a defense he is very familiar with.
Colts' Gardner Minshew (@ Bengals)
Gardner Minshew might not be the first, second, or even the third choice for fantasy managers in search of a starting quarterback this week, but in terms of mid-level quarterbacks, the Indianapolis Colts starter should be the go-to guy in Week 14. Minshew is coming off a 312-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Tennessee Titans in Week 13, and he will be facing a Cincinnati Bengals secondary in Week 14 that is among the worst in the league against the pass.
Can you really trust Browning to repeat his career day against the Jaguars or Joshua Dobbs to rebound from a four-interception showing at home? What about the inconsistent Baker Mayfield or the turnover-prone Jared Goff? Somehow, ESPN projects Minshew to finish with fewer fantasy points this week than each of those quarterbacks
Ignore the projections; Minshew is a top-12 quarterback this week and the best option for anyone scrambling to replace Trevor Lawrence after he suffered an ugly ankle injury against the Bengals.
Packers' Jordan Love (@ Giants)
After some mid-season struggles, Jordan Love has bounced back with some key wins for the Green Bay Packers and strong fantasy performances for a select few managers. Love now has 20-plus points in three consecutive weeks, including an impressive 23 point outing against a stout Kansas City Chiefs defense on Sunday Night Football. He is a back-end QB1 moving forward.
QBs to Sit in Week 14
Texans' C.J. Stroud (@ Jets)
After a 30-point fantasy football performance in Week 12, C.J. Stroud managed a respectable 16 points against the Denver Broncos in Week 13. Next on the docket is a New York Jets defense allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Benching Stroud is a tough but necessary decision in Week 14.
Bengals' Jake Browning (vs. Colts)
Browning is coming off a career day against the Jaguars in what was just his second career start. The 2019 undrafted free agent recorded 354 yards through the air, threw and ran for a touchdown, and did not turn the ball over. The end product was 26.66 fantasy points — fourth-most among quarterbacks in Week 13.
But there are a couple of details to note. First, nearly 60 percent of Browning's passing yards came after the catch. Browning also achieved his success against the third-worst passing defense in the league in terms of yards allowed.
This upcoming weekend, Browning faces a Colts defense that is average against the pass but has been much better in recent weeks — allowing just 171.5 passing yards per game over their last five contests. Keep an eye on Browning's performance, but don't expect another big game from him in Week 14.
Seahawks Geno Smith (@ 49ers)
Like Browning, Smith is another quarterback coming off an unexpectedly big game in Week 13. Smith paced all fantasy football quarterbacks in Week 13 with 29.96 fantasy points, racking up four total TDs and 334 yards through the air. The problem is that he now has a matchup against a San Francisco 49ers defense that limited Smith to 7.3 fantasy points back in Week 11. There is minimal upside for Smith this weekend unfortunately, which means he should be sitting on the bench just a week after his big outing.
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