Quarterback (QB) Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Picks for Week 12 (2025)

Matt's quarterback (QB) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 12 of 2025. His QB lineups advice for Week 12 fantasy football start/sit decisions.

In Week 11, all bets were off. Jacoby Brissett, Bryce Young, Davis Mills, and Justin Fields all topped 16 fantasy points while Drake Maye, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Matthew Stafford all fell short of the 16-point mark, just as we all predicted behind the safety of our screens.

As we enter Week 12, injuries to Aaron Rodgers and Michael Penix Jr., along with byes for Bo Nix, Marcus Mariota, Justin Herbert, and Tua Tagovailoa, make the fantasy waters a little murkier than usual.

However, we are here to navigate these waters with the RotoBaller Week 12 starts and sits for the quarterback position.

Week 12 - Fantasy Football Booms

Drake Maye - QB, New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals

Maye continues to make a case, not only for the NFL MVP, but more importantly, the fantasy football MVP. If not for Josh Allen's six-touchdown performance last week, more people would be talking about Maye. He has quietly gone about business and sits behind Allen and Mahomes, averaging 20.6 fantasy points per game.

Maye had a down week last week against the Jets, but that was no fault of his own as the former Tar Heel completed 25-of-34 passing attempts for 281 yards and a touchdown. In seven of Maye's previous nine contests, the second-year pro had produced 19 or more fantasy points, and has eight QB1 finishes through 11 games.

watching Drake Maye's breakout szn in real time 🥹

NYJvsNE on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/zMMY7GHDej

— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2025

Prior to Dak Prescott taking to the field for the conclusion of Week 11, Maye leads the NFL in passing yards, completion percentage, EPA, sits second in yards per attempt and passer rating, and his 20 passing touchdowns are the third most. If you are the Cincinnati Bengals, Maye is the last quarterback you want to face.

Since Week 7, no team has made life easier for opposing quarterbacks than the Bengals. Over Cincinnati's last three contests, this defense has allowed 28.3 fantasy points per game and has conceded eight passing touchdowns and 264.3 passing yards per game.

Jared Goff - QB, Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants

We all know Jared Goff is more of an indoor cat, and that's fine. This week, Goff and the Lions host the New York Giants in the friendly confines of Ford Field.

At home this season, Goff has completed 69.4% of his passes while averaging 256.8 yards per game (11th most). In those four home games, Goff has tossed 10 touchdown passes (fifth most) and thrown just a pair of interceptions, helping pave the way for 19.8 fantasy points per game.

On the road, Goff's numbers have taken a slight hit as he averages 17.5 fantasy points per game (QB20), throwing for 241.6 yards per game. This has been Goff's best home/away split of his career, but there is a difference worth noting, especially coming off the heels of 14-of-37 passing against the Eagles, where Goff threw for 255 yards. 

As for Goff's opponent this week, over the Giants' last four games, opposing quarterbacks have thrown for nine touchdowns and run three more in, not that Goff is much of a threat with his legs. But the 26.7 fantasy points per game that the Giants have allowed bodes well for Goff's fantasy outcome this week.

Jacoby Brissett - QB, Arizona Cardinals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Move over, Goff and Drew Bledsoe, there is a new all-time single-game completion leader, and his name is Jacoby Brissett. Brissett's 47 completions last week surpassed the previous record of 45 completions. With those 47 completed passes on 57 attempts (82.5%), Brissett also set a career-high in passing yards with 452. Add in a couple of touchdown tosses, and you have yourself a 23.9-point fantasy performance.

Every one of Jacoby Brissett’s record-setting 47 completions 😎 pic.twitter.com/BBibQ1qppS

— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2025

Brissett's Week 11 fantasy production marked the fifth time in five starts in which the Arizona Cardinals quarterback has produced 19 or more fantasy points, making him the only quarterback to finish in the top 12 in each of their previous five starts. Since taking over under center in Week 6, Brissett is the QB4 in fantasy, averaging 21.9 fantasy points per game.

Over that five-game period, Brissett's 279.5 passing yards per game is second only to Joe Flacco, which is even more impressive considering Brissett has been sacked 18 times in those five contests. Luckily for Brissett, the Jaguars are toothless in the sack department, ranking 30th and registering just 15 sacks in 10 games.

As for fantasy managers, you're also in luck as Jacksonville has allowed 27.2 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks over its last three contests, the second most, and has allowed 11 touchdown passes over that period.

Brissett has done what no one thought was possible during the Kyler Murray era, and that's get the ball to Trey McBride in the end zone, who now has six touchdowns in five games with Brissett after just two touchdowns in 21 games with Murray.

Week 12 - Fantasy Football Busts

Kirk Cousins - QB, Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints

In Week 11, Michael Penix Jr. suffered the same knee injury that kept him out of the lineup back in Week 8, and right now, there is concern that this latest setback will likely force the lefty to miss the rest of the season. Atlanta is seeking a second opinion, but it doesn’t look good right now. 

Michael Penix Jr.'s Knee Injury is "Potentially Season-Ending"https://t.co/RTNhw4mGUC

— RotoBaller (@RotoBaller) November 17, 2025

In that Week 8 contest, Kirk Cousins was asked to step up, and fantasy managers did not like that. In Cousins' return to the starter's role, the veteran quarterback completed 21-of-31 passing attempts against Miami for 171 yards and produced just 7.1 fantasy points.

In that contest, Cousins didn't have a full complement of weapons, as Drake London missed that contest as well. At least this week, if called upon, Cousins will have the Falcons' top weapon in the passing game available. Not so fast. London was scheduled for an MRI on his knee on Monday, and the star wideout is expected to miss this week's game. 

In relief last week, Cousins completed just 42.9% of his 14 passes for 48 yards against the Carolina Panthers. That effort won't cut it against the New Orleans Saints, who have allowed just 10.2 fantasy points per game to the quarterback position since Week 7. In those four contests, New Orleans has allowed 182.3 passing yards per game and four total touchdowns.

Trevor Lawrence - QB, Jacksonville Jaguars at Arizona Cardinals

Let's circle back to this Jaguars and Cardinals game. While Trevor Lawrence has been better as of late, so has the Cardinals defense. In the Cardinals' last three outings, they have surrendered just three passing touchdowns and 12.4 fantasy points per game (fourth fewest).

As for Lawrence, in his last two games, he hasn't been quite as precise as Davis Mills. While Mills has torn defenses apart and averaged 22.5 fantasy points per game, Lawrence has been subpar, averaging a lowly 13.4 fantasy points per game (QB17). It's not just Mills who's bested the once-generational talent; it's Tyler Shough, Justin Fields, Marcus Mariota, and Bryce Young who have been more viable fantasy quarterbacks.

If Lawrence were playing Herbert again this week, I'd have no problem starting him once again. I swear, Lawrence evolves into a completely different dude when facing the Los Angeles Chargers.

J.J. McCarthy- QB, Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers

Over the Packers' previous three contests, they have limited opposing quarterbacks to 50-of-82 passing for 504 yards and three touchdowns. When you bust out the fantasy calculator, it equates to 11.3 fantasy points per game, the fourth-fewest.

J.J. McCarthy continues to display inefficiencies on the field. In reality, he's still working through his first season as a starter and has once again missed time due to injury. But at some point, either it starts to come together or it doesn't, and last week it didn't. Against the Bears, McCarthy completed 16-of-32 passes for 150 yards while throwing a couple of interceptions and frustrating his star receiver in the process.

Now, it's not all on McCarthy; going back and rewatching the film, the other receivers didn't do him any favors, dropping at least four passes, two of which were on Jordan Addison. But the facts are what they are, and McCarthy has thrown at least one interception in all five of his starts while averaging 14.5 fantasy points per contest. McCarthy has also thrown two or more interceptions in three of those contests.

Having a legacy game may have to wait, as the Packers rank 10th in passing yards allowed this season, allowing 195.3 per game.

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