The injuries were supposed to end when we reached the fantasy playoffs, but the hits just keep on coming. Andy Dalton quickly went down with a fractured thumb and is considered week to week. Brian Hoyer was knocked out of his game with a concussion and will probably miss this week's start. Matt Hasselbeck left with a rib injury and is questionable for this week's game. The Dalton injury knocked a lot of our teams out in the first round of the playoffs, but others survived because injuries devastated our opponents. Let's take a look at the backups for these three quarterbacks.
Fantasy football rankings 2015: Quarterbacks, Week 15
The championship is only a week away but you need to win this week to make it there. Check out our Week 15 QB rankings and coverage of the latest quarterback injuries.
AJ McCarron came into the game and performed admirably. He was able to move the team down the field and took advantage of the team's skill position talent. He also threw two interceptions and one of them was returned for a pick-six. The offense won't be as dangerous without Dalton but it can still do some damage with McCarron starting. He has the most upside of any of these three but mostly because he has Green, Tyler Eifert and Marvin Jones to throw to. I would probably avoid starting him unless I absolutely had to. The Niners have played very good defense at home and should hold McCarron in check.
T.J. Yates has been in this position before and held his own as a rookie. He'll face an Indianapolis Colts defense that just gave up a bunch of points to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yates has a great receiver in DeAndre Hopkins and a defense that won't force him to do all the work. I'm not expecting much out of Yates, but around 200 passing yards and a touchdown sounds about right. If Hasselbeck can't start, Charlie Whitehurst will get the call. The Colts have receiving talent, but will he be able to take advantage of it? I don't think he will because the Texans defense is so tough. Whoever starts for Indy will finish with 170 passing yards and a touchdown.
In other injury news, the Broncos will start Brock Osweiler in Week 15 but Peyton Manning could return for Week 16. He might even start if Osweiler struggles this week. Matt Schaub could start in Week 15 for the Baltimore Ravens. If he can't, Jimmy Clausen would get a second straight start. They signed Ryan Mallett, but he has little chance of seeing any action.
Last week I suggested Jameis Winston and he didn't play up to expectations against the New Orleans Saints. This week I'm thinking that Ryan Fitzpatrick is our best shot at some easy points. He's had three straight 24-plus-point games and has thrown nine touchdowns in that span. The Dallas Cowboys have not been easy on quarterbacks, but Fitzpatrick has passed for multiple touchdowns in all but three starts. I'm looking for him to pass for 240 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday night.
Quarterbacks, Week 15
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | DC | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | Russell Wilson | SEA | CLE | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Cam Newton | CAR | @NYG | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Tom Brady | NE | TEN | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Carson Palmer | ARI | @PHI | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | @OAK | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Drew Brees | NO | DET | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Blake Bortles | JAC | ATL | 12 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | DEN | 6 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 10 |
| 8 | Matthew Stafford | DET | @NO | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 10 | Tyrod Taylor | BUF | @WAS | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 |
| 11 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | NYJ | @DAL | 8 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| 12 | Derek Carr | OAK | GB | 14 | 11 | 17 | 12 | 12 |
| 13 | Alex Smith | KC | @BAL | 15 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
| 14 | Eli Manning | NYG | CAR | 11 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 15 |
| 15 | Jay Cutler | CHI | @MIN | 13 | 19 | 13 | 17 | 17 |
| 16 | Ryan Tannehill | MIA | @SD | 21 | 14 | 19 | 15 | 16 |
| 16 | Kirk Cousins | WAS | BUF | 17 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 18 |
| 18 | Marcus Mariota | TEN | @NE | 16 | 16 | 25 | 16 | 14 |
| 19 | Matt Ryan | ATL | @JAC | 20 | 18 | 15 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | Philip Rivers | SD | MIA | 18 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | Jameis Winston | TB | @STL | 19 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 |
| 22 | AJ McCarron | CIN | @SF | 22 | 24 | 21 | 22 | 22 |
| 23 | Brock Osweiler | DEN | @PIT | -- | 25 | 24 | 23 | 23 |
| 24 | Johnny Manziel | CLE | @SEA | 25 | 22 | -- | -- | 25 |
| 24 | Teddy Bridgewater | MIN | CHI | 23 | 23 | -- | -- | -- |
| 24 | T.J. Yates | HOU | @IND | -- | -- | 23 | 25 | 24 |
| -- | Blaine Gabbert | SF | CIN | -- | -- | 22 | -- | -- |
| -- | Sam Bradford | PHI | ARI | 24 | -- | -- | 24 | -- |
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SB Nation presents: NFL quarterbacks keep abusing their tablets
