It was a holiday weekend so it makes sense that the best quarterback games came on Thanksgiving. Most of the performances after black Friday turned out rather bland or blase, however.
Fantasy Week 12 leaders: Thursday quarterbacks Robert Griffin and Tom Brady lead the way
It was a Thanksgiving to remember for the passing game. One to forget for defenses. The biggest impacts for the guys the threw the ball in Week 12.
Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
It wasn’t all bad, but there wasn’t that much that was great. I guess that happens when Charlie Batch and Ryan Lindley are starting professional games. At least no one got hurt, so here is the good and the bad from Week 12:
The Good
Robert Griffin III against the Cowboys (RG3 YA LATER!)
It was a day to give thanks to the Dallas defense for Robert Griffin III after he had his second straight 4-touchdown game on Thursday. Immediately his season passing numbers have gone from good to crazy-good, doubling his season total of touchdowns in a five-day span.
The rookie now has 16 TD and 4 INT with a QB rating of 104.6 and 8.2 yards per pass attempt. And of course he is fleet of foot with 642 rushing yards. He's like the Johnny Manziel of the NFL! A combination of Michael Vick's athleticism on the ground with the passing production of a young Aaron Rodgers. With Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson also having fine seasons, it's a rookie class of quarterbacks we rarely see.
And RG3 is lining up to be a top five quarterback in fantasy by next season.
The top four fantasy days came on Thursday and everyone is thankful for getting to play the Jets. Tom Brady was not mad bro after a 3-TD game on New York. Brady now has 14 TD and 0 INT over his last five games. He was like an old RG3 when he rushed for his third touchdown on the year, a career-high.
Yeah, seriously. Tony Romo leads the NFL with 15 interceptions but he only threw two of them on Thursday! He also threw 3 touchdowns and a season-high 441 yards in a loss to Washington. But fantasy doesn’t care about interceptions all that much and therefore owners were finally pleased with Romo.
Cowboys fans probably aren’t as forgiving.
Matthew Stafford against the Texans (LIKE A YOUNG TONY ROMO!)
Nobody has attempted more passes over the last two years than Matthew Stafford, it just isn’t resulting in much this season. Stafford was 31-of-61 for 441 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to the Texans. He has nine touchdowns over his last five games after throwing just five of them in his first six.
There’s still hope for Stafford yet, plenty of quarterbacks have struggled in early seasons, and there’s hope that he could be a great steal in 2013 drafts. Or he could throw like 20 interceptions in the first half of games again.
Andy Dalton against the Raiders (ANDY LOL-TON AGAINST LOL-KLAND)
And then one day Andy Dalton became one of the best quarterbacks in the league? Maybe.
Dalton had 3 TD and 0 INT against the Raiders, giving him 9 TD and 0 INT over his last three games and 23 TD in eleven games. It helps having A.J. Green and it helps playing the Raiders, but Dalton is also just playing really well. Still, Oakland is really bad. Can Brandon Weeden be a sleeper in Week 13? He could be! Or Colt McCoy!
Honorable Mentions: Russell Wilson, Eli Manning
The Bad
Josh Freeman against the Falcons (WELL, IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S 2011-BAD)
It’s nice that Freeman posted a QB rating over 90 and threw for over 250 yards without an interception, but fantasy owners were left in want with a zero-touchdown performance. Josh Freeman came into the game with 16 TD and 3 INT in his last six games, but hit a bump in the road against Atlanta.
He faces a good-not-great Broncos pass defense in Week 13.
Jake Locker against the Jaguars (I AM DISAPPOINT)
Few people probably felt compelled to start Jake Locker, but there was probably reason to give it a shot against the 29th ranked scoring defense in the league. Not only did Locker fail to produce (1 TD, 2 INT) but the Titans lost to the Jaguars. The Jaguars! Okay, the Titans aren't all that good either and the game was in Jacksonville, but still.
A massive drop-off from their blowout in Miami.
Andrew Luck against the Bills (NOT SO LUCKSTRONG)
Well, at least he did get the win. Just a low-scoring fantasy day for the rookie ‘nom with 1 TD and 1 INT with hopes that he’d do much more over the 30th ranked scoring defense.
The Colts go on the road for three of the next four and you might want to plan to use someone besides Andrew Luck during that stretch. At home, he has 9 TD and 3 INT. On the road? 4 TD and 10 INT.
Charlie Batch against the Browns (ANYONE STARTED CHARLIE BATCH?)
I suppose some desperate Ben Roethlisberger owners did what they had to do. They won't do it again after Charlie Batch had 0 TD and 3 INT against the Browns. He probably won't have to come back out though, Ben should be forced back by the next game.
There are few quarterbacks in the league that are clearly worse than Batch and the sad thing is that Ryan Lindley has no business starting in the league as it is. That's how bad John Skelton is. There's the two that might be worse than Batch.
Honorable Mentions: Ryan Lindley
The Injured
Peyton Manning underwent concussion tests but says he’s okay and he’s never lied to me that I know of.
Brandon Weeden also underwent concussion tests, because he’s an NFL quarterback, and it went less okay. Colt McCoy might get the start in Week 13. McCoy might actually have a good game since: Raiders.
