Week 14 Busts: Expect Derek Carr and Alex Smith to Struggle

Looking for some top-notch quarterback play this weekend? Let’s be honest here—most fantasy football fanatics are always in need of some help under center. Yes, there are the point producers: Cam Newton, Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. That said, there’s a second tier of quarterbacks that, though by no means superstars, have managed to show some real potential out on the field.

Quarterbacks like Derek Carr and Alex Smith top this list. However, this weekend, you’d be best served looking elsewhere for some breakout quarterback performances. Sure, Carr has been pretty good for fantasy owners this year. Seriously, he’s actually scored more than 20 fantasy points in seven games. That said, he’s also had some not-so-great starts, bringing in a lowly 11 points in Week 5 against the Denver Broncos. More recently, he scored only six points against Detroit in Week 11 and 17 points against Kansas City just last week.

Facing the Broncos on Sunday, Carr will have to square his shoulders and try to pick apart—for the second time, mind you—a Denver defense that’s only allowed two quarterbacks to tally more than 17 points this season. Furthermore, because of the Bronco’s robust defense, it’s likely that Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree don’t perform as well as they normally would.

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But Carr’s not the only quarterback who’s pegged to fight a losing statistical battle this weekend; Smith isn’t likely to do much better, honestly. No, it wouldn’t be shocking if Smith turned in a solid performance on Sunday. Heck, he’s taking on the Chargers, and they’re horrible. The issue here comes from what Smith must do to score points for fantasy owners—chase points.

Less than a month ago, the Chiefs faced San Diego and Smith had one of his worst games of the year, scoring only 14 fantasy points. The Chiefs played well. No joke—Kansas City ran for 153 yards and scored three touchdowns in the process.

Do you see the dilemma here? This is a strange one. Listen, more than likely, the Chiefs will dominate this game; however, Smith probably won’t play much of a role in his team’s success. So, seeing as how it’s always important to have great quarterback play in fantasy football, do yourself a favor and pass on Carr and Smith come Sunday.