Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 12: Quarterbacks

Welcome to Week 12 of the fantasy football season. The playoffs are just around the corner and the bye weeks are almost over. Owners should be sticking with their top stars the rest of the way, but there are still a few tough decisions to make about which players should be starting.

Andrew Luck owners will have to scramble with him missing the Thanksgiving game with a concussion, but otherwise there are no real injury or bye concerns at the quarterback position this week. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some top starting options, along with QBs you should probably avoid.

Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals (@ Atlanta Falcons)

Palmer simply hasn’t been that good this season, and he was an abject disaster last week, throwing two interceptions and taking four sacks against the Minnesota Vikings. He has five picks in his last three games and hasn’t gotten much out of Michael Floyd or John Brown. But if there’s ever a week for Palmer to potentially return to QB2 value, it’s against the Falcons’ worst-ranked pass defense on the Georgia Dome turf. 12-team league owners can take the plunge.

Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Green Bay Packers)

The Packers have the league’s 23rd-ranked pass defense and just got smoked by Kirk Cousins last week on Sunday night. Wentz has been playing like a rookie in recent weeks, throwing just three touchdowns to four interceptions in his last four games, but this is a prime bounce-back spot for the No. 2 overall draft pick. The only thing capping his upside is Philly’s conservative run-first approach.

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (vs. Oakland Raiders)

Yeah, you probably don’t need a reminder to start last year’s MVP, but Newton’s struggles have been well-documented this year. He hasn’t been making big plays like he did in 2015, and a patchwork offensive line is getting him destroyed. Still, Newton has a great matchup here with Oakland’s 28th-ranked pass defense, and with Luke Kuechly out, this figures to be one of the highest-scoring games of the weekend. Newton has been a frustrating fantasy player this year, but keep the faith for at least one more week.

Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals (@ Baltimore Ravens)

No A.J. Green, no Giovani Bernard. That spells trouble for the entire Bengals offense, to say nothing about Dalton himself. His fantasy value has long been propped up by Green’s explosive playmaking ability, and with Green out for possibly the year the Bengals might employ a run-heavy offense with Jeremy Hill. Either way, Dalton shouldn’t be in fantasy lineups against the Ravens’ solid defense.

Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Seattle Seahawks)

Earl Thomas is set to miss the first game of his career with a hamstring injury, but the rest of Seattle’s defense is a tough matchup for Winston. Although the sophomore QB has cut down on interceptions (just two picks in his past six games after throwing eight in the first four), playing QBs against the Seahawks’ defense is a hard sell most weeks. Seattle made Wentz look like a chump and even managed to slow down Tom Brady. Keep Winston on the bench for now.

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers (@ Miami Dolphins)

Kaepernick has been ... competent, at times, since replacing Blaine Gabbert. If you’ve been starting him in two-QB leagues, you’re probably not regretting it. That said, Kaepernick faces one of his toughest matchups yet with the Dolphins and their eighth-ranked pass defense. Jay Ajayi is set to make mincemeat of the 49ers’ run defense, so there’s some shootout potential here. But more likely, Miami goes up big early and the defense shuts down Kaepernick.