The Rams carry the biggest team total of the week, Buffalo's defense keeps handing out points, and Pittsburgh walks into the lowest total on the board. Our Week 6 quarterback calls.
Same goal as every week: calls you can act on, and the reasons behind every one of them. Last week's board held up. Brissett and Rodgers delivered, and Shough, Darnold, and Cousins all came in under. Five weeks in, the samples are getting real, and this week the injury report does as much work as the matchups. Four starting quarterbacks are out or on IR, and a fifth is questionable.
Here's the short version. Start Stafford, and stream Shough or Cousins if you need a body. Sit Rodgers, Daniel Jones, and Jalon Daniels. Now, let's jump right into it.
A quick note on scope: this covers every Sunday and Monday game, including London (HOU @ JAX, 9:30 a.m. ET), Sunday night (DAL @ GB), and Monday night (WAS @ SF). Thursday's SEA @ DEN is already in the books, so Sam Darnold and Bo Nix are left out. Cincinnati, Detroit, Miami, and Minnesota are on bye. Updated for Friday's injury reports.
| QB | Matchup | Opp pts allowed | Proj | Call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Allen | BUF @ LV | 21.8 · 5th | 25.5 | Start |
| Brock Purdy | SF vs WAS | 23.8 · 2nd | 23.2 | Start |
| Matthew Stafford | LAR vs ARI | 23.2 · 3rd | 22.8 | Start |
| Jordan Love | GB vs DAL | 21.5 · 6th | 21.5 | Start |
| Dak Prescott | DAL @ GB | 13.8 · 27th | 20.2 | Start |
| Bryce Young | CAR @ PHI | 19.3 · 12th | 20.1 | Start, lower the bar |
| Jayden Daniels | WAS @ SF | 13.7 · 28th | 19.8 | Start |
| Drake Maye | NE vs NYJ | 13.4 · 29th | 19.8 | Start |
| Patrick Mahomes | KC vs LAC | 15.9 · 21st | 19.7 | Start, lower the bar |
| Caleb Williams | CHI @ ATL | 19.1 · 13th | 19.1 | Start, lower the bar |
| Tyler Shough | NO @ NYG | 19.9 · 9th | 19.1 | Stream |
| Jacoby Brissett | ARI @ LAR | 19.3 · 11th | 18.4 | Fringe |
| Trevor Lawrence | JAX vs HOU | 17.0 · 18th | 18.2 | Superflex only |
| Kirk Cousins | LV vs BUF | 22.9 · 4th | 18.1 | Stream |
| C.J. Stroud | HOU @ JAX | 15.2 · 23rd | 16.9 | Superflex only |
| Aaron Rodgers | PIT @ TB | 15.0 · 24th | 16.5 | Sit |
| Deshaun Watson | CLE vs BAL | 16.5 · 20th | 16.2 | Superflex only |
| Jameis Winston | NYG vs NO | 17.1 · 17th | 16.1 | Superflex only |
| Tyler Huntley | BAL @ CLE | 17.5 · 15th | 16.0 | Superflex only |
| Daniel Jones | IND vs TEN | 15.5 · 22nd | 16.1 | Sit |
| Jalon Daniels | TB vs PIT | 12.9 · 31st | 15.6 | Sit |
| Michael Penix | ATL vs CHI | 17.5 · 14th | 15.6 | Sit |
Projections are ours, in full-PPR points with DraftKings scoring. "Opp pts allowed" is the fantasy points per game that defense has given up to quarterbacks so far, with 1st being the most generous.
01 · Start
Matthew Stafford (LAR vs ARI). Our favorite quarterback call of the week. The Rams carry a 32-point implied total, the biggest of anyone in Week 6, and Arizona has given up the third-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. The prop markets agree: Stafford's passing line sits at 282 yards and 2.4 touchdowns, both the highest of any quarterback this week. The one worry is the spread. Los Angeles is a 12.5-point favorite, and blowouts can turn into a second half of handoffs. We'll take that risk when the first half looks this good. Fire him up.
The number: 32.0. The Rams' implied team total, the highest of the week.
Josh Allen (BUF @ LV). The obvious one. Buffalo-Las Vegas is tied for the highest total of the week (53.5), Buffalo is implied for 29 points, and the Raiders have allowed the fifth-most points to quarterbacks. Allen is averaging 29.4 points per game, and the betting market gives him a 58% chance to find the end zone himself. Lock him in.
Brock Purdy (SF vs WAS) and Jordan Love (GB vs DAL). Two prime-time starts with the matchups to back them up. Purdy gets Washington on Monday night, and only one defense has given up more to quarterbacks. San Francisco is implied for 30 points. Love draws a Dallas defense that ranks sixth in points allowed to the position, in a game totaled at 53.5. We had Love as a fringe play last week and he dropped 25.3 on us. Fair enough. He's a start this week.
Dak Prescott (DAL @ GB). This isn't a matchup play. Green Bay has allowed the sixth-fewest points to quarterbacks. It's a volume play. Dallas-Green Bay is tied for the highest total of the week (53.5), and the market has Prescott around 277 yards on almost 36 attempts, the second-biggest passing line on the board behind Stafford. Think 20 points, not 25. Start him.
Jayden Daniels (WAS @ SF) and Drake Maye (NE vs NYJ). Neither matchup looks good on paper. The 49ers and Jets both rank near the bottom in points allowed to quarterbacks. It doesn't matter much, because both of these guys score with their legs. Daniels ran nine times last week on his way to 32.3 points, and as a 7.5-point road underdog, Washington should be throwing late, too. Maye carried seven times last week on his way to 39.5, and the market has him around 28 rushing yards. Start them both.
Start, but lower the bar: Young, Mahomes, and Williams. Bryce Young is averaging 23.2 points per game, and Carolina is a three-point road favorite against a Philadelphia team without Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. The catch is a 39.5-point total. The market has him throwing about 34 times, which buys a floor more than a ceiling. Patrick Mahomes is coming off the bye in a 41.5-point game against a Chargers defense that has been a little stingier than average with quarterbacks. You're starting him. Just don't expect fireworks. Caleb Williams is questionable with a hamstring injury, but he practiced in full all week. If he's active, Chicago is implied for 27 points in a 52.5-point game, and the prop markets have him close to 20 points. We moved him up to 19.1 to meet them partway. Check the inactives, but plan on playing him.
02 · Stream
Tyler Shough (NO @ NYG). Funny how a week changes things. We told you to sit Shough against Minnesota, and he scored 1.8 points. This week he gets a Giants defense that has allowed the ninth-most points to quarterbacks, in a game the Saints are favored to win. The market has him around 235 passing yards. If you lost your quarterback to a bye or an injury, he's our first call.
Kirk Cousins (LV vs BUF). Another one we faded last week, and another one we're coming back to. Buffalo has allowed the fourth-most points per game to quarterbacks, and Las Vegas should be chasing a 4.5-point spread in a 53.5-point game. Cousins' market line is 36 to 37 pass attempts and about 250 yards. In a game like this, that's a usable floor.
The number: 22.9 fantasy points per game allowed to QBs by Buffalo. Fourth-most in the NFL.
03 · Sit
Aaron Rodgers (PIT @ TB). Last week's stream is this week's sit. Rodgers came through with 22 points against Indianapolis, but this is a different spot. Pittsburgh-Tampa Bay has the lowest total of the week, Tampa Bay is down to its backup quarterback, and the market gives Rodgers just 1.2 touchdown passes. Tampa has been stingier than average against quarterbacks, too. We still have him ahead of Watson, Winston, and Huntley, so in superflex he's a QB2 you can live with. In one-quarterback leagues, there's no ceiling here. Look elsewhere.
The number: 38.5. The PIT-TB game total, the lowest of the week.
Daniel Jones (IND vs TEN). This is where we break from our own projection. Jones' 16.1 is propped up by Indianapolis' 25.75-point implied total, and that's the team, not the quarterback. Jones is averaging 10.3 points per game, and he hasn't topped 11.1 in any of his last three starts. Tennessee has been slightly stingier than average against the position. If the Colts score, we expect the points to come from somewhere else. Our projections have Jones a tenth of a point ahead of Tyler Huntley, and we rank Huntley ahead anyway. In superflex, we'd rather play Huntley.
The number: 10.3. Jones' points per game this season.
Jalon Daniels (TB vs PIT). With Baker Mayfield out, Daniels gets the start against a Pittsburgh defense that has allowed the second-fewest points to quarterbacks. He's averaging 9.1 points per game, and the Bucs are implied for 18. His rushing line (35.4 yards) is the only thing keeping him on the board. Even in superflex, we'd look elsewhere.
Michael Penix (ATL vs CHI). The game total (52.5) is tempting, but Penix hasn't scored more than 15 points in any of his three games this season. The market has him around 238 yards and 1.5 touchdowns. That's a QB2, not a starter. Justin Herbert, just outside the table at 14.1, is still a no in Kansas City, too.
04 · Close calls
These are the spots where our projections are tied, or close to it. Here's how we'd break the tie.
05 · Injury watch
Inactives come out 90 minutes before kickoff, and London kicks off at 9:30 a.m. ET, so set your Jacksonville and Houston players early. Disagree with a call? Good. Let us know.
