It’s time to win a championship! Cam Newton went off for fantasy owners and led all fantasy quarterbacks in Week 15. Aaron Rodgers returned and played as well as he could under the circumstances.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Newton has had a few bumps throughout his 2017 fantasy season but looks to be finishing strong. He currently sits in the top five fantasy quarterbacks for 2017. It would take an immense collapse for him to drop out of that tier. Newton passed for 242 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for 58 yards. After a disappointing 2016 season, Newton has been able to reassert himself as a fantasy superstar. He faces Tampa Bay in Week 16 and should be able to cap the season with another strong performance at home.
Rodgers return from a fractured collar bone was bittersweet. He threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns. On the other hand, he threw three interceptions and Green Bay was eliminated from the playoffs. We knew it would be a miracle for Rodgers to step back in and not show some signs of rust. Green Bay placed him back on IR this week, so he’ll miss the last two weeks of the season. I’m sure Rodgers will come back in 2018 and finish among the top fantasy quarterbacks once again.
Trevor Siemian has been placed on IR with a dislocated shoulder. The Denver quarterback situation remains up in the air this week. Brock Osweiler replaced Siemian in Week 15 and had one of the best games of his career. The team may want to give Paxton Lynch the last two starts of the season. Lynch is still viewed as having upside and the team may want to give him another shot. Neither are worth a shot this week in fantasy leagues against a tough Washington defense.
Arizona will be turning back to Drew Stanton in Week 16. Blaine Gabbert had two pretty good starts to begin his stint as the starter. He has followed those up with three straight busts. Stanton will provide a marginal improvement but shouldn’t be anywhere near your starting lineup.
SB Nation’s sleeper pick for Week 16 is Case Keenum. He has one of the best matchups of the week against Green Bay. The Packers defense has been giving up loads of points to fantasy quarterbacks over the last six weeks. We only need to look at Week 15 and the performance that Cam Newton put up. I think Keenum will pass for 280 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback rankings, Week 16
(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett; ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)
QB rankings, Week 16
Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp | SK | JG | DG | KB | ZS | JM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Brady | NE | vs. BUF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Russell Wilson | SEA | @ DAL | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | Cam Newton | CAR | vs. TB | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Philip Rivers | LAC | @ NYJ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Matthew Stafford | DET | @ CIN | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | @ HOU | 4 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | Alex Smith | KC | vs. MIA | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | Dak Prescott | DAL | vs. SEA | 11 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| 9 | Drew Brees | NO | vs. ATL | 5 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
| 10 | Case Keenum | MIN | @ GB | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | Blake Bortles | JAC | @ SF | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 11 |
| 12 | Kirk Cousins | WAS | vs. DEN | 16 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| 13 | Matt Ryan | ATL | @ NO | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| 14 | Jimmy Garoppolo | SF | vs. JAC | 20 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 16 |
| 15 | Jared Goff | LAR | @ TEN | 13 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 15 |
| 16 | Nick Foles | PHI | vs. OAK | 10 | 19 | 22 | 16 | 15 | 18 |
| 17 | Tyrod Taylor | BUF | @ NE | 18 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 |
| 18 | Marcus Mariota | TEN | vs. LAR | 21 | 18 | 13 | 19 | 20 | 14 |
| 19 | Joe Flacco | BAL | vs. IND | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 21 |
| 20 | Derek Carr | OAK | @ PHI | 19 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 20 |
| 21 | Jameis Winston | TB | @ CAR | 15 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 19 |
| 22 | Eli Manning | NYG | @ ARI | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | Brett Hundley | GB | vs. MIN | 25 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 23 |
| 24 | Andy Dalton | CIN | vs. DET | -- | 24 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 |
| 25 | Jacoby Brissett | IND | @ BAL | -- | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 |
| -- | Mitchell Trubisky | CHI | vs. CLE | 23 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Drew Stanton | ARI | vs. NYG | 24 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
