Yahoo Sports Start 'Em, Sit 'Em quarterbacks: Week 6 fantasy football
Just when fantasy football managers thought they were figuring out the quarterback landscape, Week 5 came along to give everyone something on which to chew.
Kirk Cousins had his first breakout game with the Atlanta Falcons, indicating he may be trending back toward QB1 territory. Joe Flacco posted a top-five scoring output in place of Anthony Richardson, but he won't even start in Week 6 if Richardson is able to return to action. Bo Nix and Daniel Jones were top-12 scorers at the position and outpaced the likes of Dak Prescott, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.
It's anyone's guess whether the NFL's offensive outburst in Week 5 will continue on long-term, but at the very least, fantasy football owners now have a better idea of which players to trust at quarterback. There will still be key start 'em, sit 'em decisions at the position, especially as bye week season kicks into full gear, but there is plenty of data fantasy managers can use to select capable streamers and fill-ins from the waiver wire.
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Here's a breakdown of some streamers to trust at quarterback and some established starters to fade in Week 6 of the fantasy football season.
Fantasy football start 'em: Week 6 QBs
Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
Cousins enjoyed his first huge game with the Falcons on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 6, logging the 25th 500-yard passing game in NFL history and totaling four touchdowns in the shootout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 36-year-old has another favorable matchup on tap against the Carolina Panthers.
The Panthers are tied for the league lead in passing touchdowns allowed to quarterbacks with 11 and have allowed at least two passing touchdowns in every game this season. If Cousins can continue that streak, he should be a top-10 quarterback this week, and may be in even better condition since the Panthers are also allowing the 11th-most passing yards per game in the NFL at 226.6.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Williams seems to be settling into his starting quarterback role five weeks into his NFL career. He has logged two games with at least 300 yards passing and two touchdowns in his last three contests and averaged a career-best 10.5 yards per attempt against the Panthers in Week 5.
The Bears are taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6, and the Jaguars are allowing the most passing yards per game in the NFL (287.8). Williams may approach 300 yards again and should have a shot at multiple touchdowns, as the Jaguars have allowed nine passing touchdowns over their last three games.
Daniel Jones, New York Giants
As crazy as it sounds, trusting Jones in Week 6 may not be the worst idea. He has multiple touchdowns in three of his last four games and is coming off one of his best games of the season against the Seattle Seahawks. He posted 257 yards and two touchdowns in that contest against a solid Seahawks defense and now will take on a Cincinnati Bengals squad that has surrendered the fifth-most fantasy points to QBs this season.
The Bengals have also surrendered 164 rushing yards (second-most in the NFL) and a touchdown to quarterbacks, so Jones' scrambling ability will raise his floor in a favorable matchup. As such, if you're desperate for a streamer in league that's thin at quarterback, Jones may not be your worst option.
Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Nobody wants to trust Levis as a fantasy quarterback given his penchant to commit mind-boggling turnovers, but he will have his most favorable matchup yet against a declining Indianapolis Colts defense. The Colts allow the fourth-most passing yards per game (262.2) league-wide and all but one quarterback they have faced, Malik Willis in Week 2, has been a top-13 scorer at quarterback when playing Indianapolis, according to data from FantasyPros.
That's not to say Levis should be blindly trusted, but if you're looking for a potential-packed streamer, a second QB in a SuperFlex league or a DFS sleeper, playing Levis could pay off is spades.
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Fantasy football sit 'em: Week 6 QBs
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Smith is a fine bye-week fill-in in good matchups, but it's hard to consider his "Thursday Night Football" tilt with the San Francisco 49ers a favorable spot. The 49ers are allowing just 197 passing yards per game, good for 12th in the NFL, and have only allowed Smith to score one touchdown in his three starts against them with the Seahawks.
Smith has thrown exactly one passing touchdown in his five starts this year. That may give him an OK floor, but his lack of a ceiling relegates him to QB2 territory even with four teams on bye.
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Look, sitting Allen might sound like a foolish recommendation in theory, but there's reason to be at least a little apprehensive about his Week 6 matchup with the New York Jets.
Allen was a fantasy stud through his first three matchups of the 2024 NFL season, but the Bills played three of the worst defenses in the NFL according to FTN's DVOA metric, which "breaks down every single NFL play and compares a team’s performance to a league-average baseline based on situation and opponent." The Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Jaguars all rank bottom-10 in that metric, so Allen clearly benefitted from those easier matchups.
Comparatively, the Jets rank 11th in the league in DVOA. The Bills figure to have an easier time running the ball on the Jets than passing given New York's elite secondary, so this figures to be another lower-floor spot for Allen.
That's not to say you should blindly fade Allen to start another quarterback, but if you're among those who have the good fortune of rostering two high-end signal-callers (think Cousins or Baker Mayfield), it might finally be the week to give that backup a shot.
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Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener New Orleans Saints
One of the most important rules in fantasy is not to get too cute with start/sit decisions. Whoever is replacing Derek Carr after the quarterback's oblique injury may look like he has a decent matchup against against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but remember these points:
The Buccaneers allowed just one passing touchdown in their first four games before surrendering four to Cousins in Week 5;
Tampa Bay's defense may be getting some key players back in Week 6, namely All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., that could help their stop unit improve and limit their passing game.
Add in that both are unproven NFL commodities makes this an easy sit decision heading into the division matchup.
Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'ems, Week 6
Looking for more fantasy football advice? USA TODAY Sports has you covered:
→ Kickers are people, too: Here are some of the most clutch kickers to have on your fantasy team in Week 6.
→ A good running back makes all the difference. A bad running back can cost you a lot of points. Here's who to start and who to sit in Week 6.
→ The wide receiver position has been decimated this season. Protect yourself in Week 6 with start 'em, sit 'em advice for wideouts.
→ Tight ends can be the perfect X-factor for any fantasy team. Here's who you should start and sit in Week 6.
→ A good defense can shut down your fantasy opponent's offense. Here are some D/ST options to start and sit for Week 6.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 6: 7 QBs to start or sit
