- And he can pass: Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields has managed to put forward decent passing efficiency marks in addition to his obvious highs as a rusher.
- THE QB1, ya’ll: Josh Allen is on pace to join Steve Young and Brett Favre as the only players to finish as fantasy’s overall QB1 for three-straight seasons … ever.
- Injuries suck: Jalen Hurts (shoulder) hasn’t been ruled out for Week 17, so Gardner Minshew will get another start under center if Hurts isn’t healthy enough to return just yet.
Estimated reading time: 16 minutes
Week 17 is here, so it’s truly a great day to be great. Today’s goal is to break down the week’s key fantasy football questions facing the quarterback position before producing the group’s specific ranks. Updated ranks throughout the week from myself and the rest of the PFF Fantasy crew can be accessed with PFF+.
Dak Prescott has been really good at a little thing called scoring points
Specifically, the Dallas Cowboys have scored 24, 49, 28, 40, 28, 54, 27, 34 and 40 points in nine games since Prescott returned from injury. This has been arguably the NFL’s single-best offense during the stretch:
- EPA per play: +0.117 (No. 2)
- EPA per pass play: +0.188 (No. 4)
- EPA per run play: +0.038 (No. 2)
- Points per game: 36 (No. 1)
- Yards per play: 6 (No. 5)
Yes, Prescott has occasionally played with too much fire and already has more interceptions in 10 games this season (12) than he did in 16 last year (10). Also yes, he’s one of just five quarterbacks with six-plus interceptions stemming from non-turnover-worthy plays, meaning the receiver and/or defender was more responsible for the turnover.
Up next is a potential eruption spot against a leaky Tennessee Titans secondary that ranks among the league’s bottom-10 units in yards per attempt (7.4), passer rating (105.4) and contested target rate (14.6%) alike. Perhaps the Cowboys are stubborn and continue to run the ball at the league’s third-highest rate despite facing the league’s consensus second-best run defense, behind only the San Francisco 49ers. if not, don’t be surprised if Prescott and company put up all kinds of production through the air on Thursday night.
Another year, another Josh Allen overall QB1 fantasy finish?
Allen is back to sitting as the overall QB1 after Jalen Hurts (shoulder) missed Week 16. The Buffalo Bills’ fifth-year quarterback is the frontrunner to finish as fantasy’s QB1 for the third-consecutive season – a feat only Brett Favre and Steve Young have managed to accomplish … ever.
Up next is his first career matchup against Joe Burrow. While Allen isn’t expected to personally square off against Burrow on Monday night, he does have a battle on his hands against a Cincinnati Bengals secondary that has done a pretty great job at stopping the deep ball this season:
Bengals defense against passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield
- EPA per play: -0.06 (No. 4)
- Contested target rate: 33.8% (No. 8)
- Yards per attempt: 11.2 (No. 12)
- Explosive pass-play rate: 33.8% (No. 10)
- Passer rating allowed: 57.0 (No. 3)
Fingers crossed that Mother Nature allows Burrow and Allen to go back and forth in the sort of high-scoring shootout they were born to engage in on Monday night football.
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