By
Jonathan Munshaw on Wednesday, December 11
th 2013
Congratulations on getting through another week of fantasy football. At this point, everyone should be in the fantasy playoffs, and if you’re reading this, you’re probably just sticking with the guys who got you here. But, in the event you’re not satisfied with your quarterback slot and are looking for options in your playoff matchup, avoid these three players.
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
Fifteen weeks into the season, this is the first time Roethlisberger is on this list. Not because he has always been a must-start in fantasy, but because he’s played so well in the last four games he is becoming a top five fantasy quarterback. In the last four games, Roethliberger hasn’t thrown an interception, and has a total of 11 touchdowns. But don’t hop on the Roethlisberger train too quickly this week when he takes on the Cincinnati Bengals. When the Steelers faced the Bengals in Week 2, Roethlisberger threw for just 251 yards and a touchdown, and threw an interception. After a number of injuries in the middle of the season, the Bengals defense was expected to drop out, but they are still allowing only 14 fantasy points to quarterbacks. With Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler out, Roethlisberger saw his owned percentage increase, but he shouldn’t be started this week.
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Luck has continued to have an up-and-down season, along with the rest of his team. The Colts continue to struggle with finding their offensive identity without Reggie Wayne and a struggling running game, which has hurt Luck’s fantasy value. Last week, Luck had a great fantasy day, throwing for four touchdowns against the Bengals, but against the Texans, Luck will go back to his disappointing fantasy numbers of Weeks 10 – 14. Prior to Sunday’s game, Luck was on a four-game skid, throwing just two touchdowns in all in those four games. And despite Houston’s terrible record and their head coaching position up in the air, they are still only allowing 14.7 points per game to opposing quarterbacks. There are just better options than Luck this week, and should be on your bench until the Colts can show their offense can be consistent.
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
By now, everyone has seen the comeback that Brady led on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns with just two minutes to go, but don’t let those highlights fool you, he’s not a good fantasy option going forward. The Patriots lost Rob Gronkowski in the game against Cleveland for the year, which will certainly hurt Brady’s stats. Prior to Gronkowski’s return from a different injury in Week 7, Brady had eight touchdowns, but with Gronk in the lineup, Brady had 13 touchdowns in only one more game. New England is also playing the Dolphins, who are allowing the fourth fewest points to quarterbacks this season. The game is also in Miami, and Brady has thrown seven less touchdowns on the road this year than he has at home, and he’s completing about three percent less of his passes. At this point in the season, you probably have another quarterback on your roster because of the slow start Brady got off to, and this is a good week to utilize that backup.