With the holidays right around the corner, the fantasy football season approaches its stretch run as owners make a final push toward the playoffs. This is also the final week we have to worry about byes, but the waiver wire will continue being an important factor.
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Week 10 was yet another reminder of how thin the quarterback pool is this season, and if that’s not enough, even the backups are starting to get hurt. Brett Hundley pulled his hamstring, while Jacoby Brissett and Drew Stanton were hobbling all over the field. Things will get really hairy if we have to watch the third-stringers on any of those teams.
This week’s bye teams are the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers. Cam Newton is really the only fantasy-relevant quarterback owners will miss, but Josh McCown, Brissett, and C.J. Beathard are off the table as streaming options.
Once again, let’s dive in with a look at the best waiver wire quarterbacks, owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! standard leagues.
Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars (31 percent)
Despite having Leonard Fournette back in the lineup, the Jaguars dialed up a pass-happy game plan with Bortles, who threw 51 passes in their overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Bortles almost got through the game clean, but he threw two horrible interceptions near the end of the fourth quarter that should’ve lost the game. He finished with 273 yards and a touchdown to go along with those picks. Bortles is mostly on this list because he has a great matchup with the Cleveland Browns next.
Jay Cutler, Miami Dolphins (17 percent)
Cutler had his best performance of the season last week, shredding the Oakland Raiders defense for 311 yards and three touchdowns on 34-of-42 passing. Getting DeVante Parker back from injury surely helped, but the Dolphins are clearly planning to throw more often after trading away Jay Ajayi. Miami’s offense has been stuck in the mud for most of the year, but it has a good bounce-back matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cutler will be on the QB2 map this week.
Case Keenum, Minnesota Vikings (16 percent)
Teddy Bridgewater is back, but the Vikings are sticking with Keenum for now after a tremendous Week 10. He had little trouble picking apart Washington’s defense, throwing four touchdown passes and putting up 304 yards. The lone blemish was a pair of interceptions that let Washington stage a mini-comeback, but the Vikings kept them at arm’s distance and secured the win. Playing the best football of his NFL career right now, Keenum is worth considering as a streamer even with the Los Angeles Rams offering a tough matchup.
Honorable mentions: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater, Jimmy Garoppolo
