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There were some solid quarterback performances in Week 14. In the most unlikely of events, we got Desmond Ridder, Joe Flacco, and Zach Wilson as three of four 300-yard passers. Additionally, five quarterbacks had three passing touchdowns, which helped sustain the quarterback position in fantasy scoring.
The fantasy playoffs are finally upon us, which means that fantasy managers need to pull out all of the stops to win their fantasy league. That may mean taking an upside swing on a quarterback on waiver wires over an established starter in a bad matchup.
In this article, I will be focusing on players under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered). Let’s look at who you should consider picking up in Week 15 below.
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Single-QB Waiver Wire Options
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Yahoo: 56% rostered
Matthew Stafford is on a roll as the Rams look to stay alive in the NFC playoff race. The Rams took a tough overtime loss against the Ravens in Week 14, but Stafford was superb throwing in the elements to give the Rams a chance to win the game.
Stafford completed 23 of 41 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions, continuing his hot streak since Week 11’s game against the Seahawks. In Weeks 12-14, Stafford has thrown for 802 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one interception. From a fantasy perspective, Stafford has rattled off three straight performances with over 23.0 fantasy points. Two of those matchups were against excellent defenses.
Stafford will be regarded as a QB1 in Week 15’s matchup against the Washington Commanders, a defense that lacks a pass rush and is the best matchup for quarterbacks during the 2023 season.
Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals
Yahoo: 27% rostered
The Jake Browning experience continued to provide fantasy goodness in Week 14’s matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. Browning completed an efficient 18 of 24 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also added three carries for seven yards and an additional score.
In his last start, Browning relied heavily on Ja'Marr Chase in the passing attack. Week 14 showed that he could distribute the ball to other places to succeed, with nine different players catching a pass. Seven of those players had multiple receptions with Chase Brown (three receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown) and Tee Higgins (two receptions for 72 yards) leading the way.
Browning has gone for over 25.0 fantasy points in each of his last two starts. Additionally, he has at least double-digit point totals in all four games that he’s played a majority of the offensive snaps. Browning needs to be on the fantasy radar with a matchup against an average Vikings defense in Week 15.
Two-QB League Waiver Wire Options and Stashes
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Yahoo: 53% rostered
Baker Mayfield continues to win ugly as the Buccaneers have climbed into the top spot in the NFC South. It isn’t always pretty, but Baker has continued to be a steady presence in fantasy as well.
The veteran quarterback completed 14 of 29 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns while adding three carries for three yards and a rushing touchdown. Mayfield had his fourth performance this season with 20+ fantasy points.
More importantly, the Buccaneers' secondary keeps the offense throwing the ball, which has allowed Mayfield to provide a solid weekly floor at the quarterback position. Mayfield has just one start this season with fewer than 29 pass attempts and he has just one week with fewer than 10.0 fantasy points.
His Week 15 matchup against the Packers won’t be easy, but it will be a potential shootout scenario with Tampa Bay’s pass funnel secondary taking on arguably the hottest offense in the NFL.
Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns
Yahoo: 6% rostered
The Cleveland Browns secured a massive win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14, which keeps the team’s playoff hopes alive. A big reason for the win is the strong play of Joe Flacco.
Flacco has been such a steady force for the Browns' offense during the last two weeks that head coach Kevin Stefanski named him the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. In Flacco’s last two starts, the Browns have averaged 44.5 pass attempts per game. That has allowed Flacco to throw for 565 yards and five touchdowns with just two interceptions.
The veteran has stepped into Cleveland’s offense and looked like a legitimate fantasy option, scoring at least 16.0 points in consecutive games. Now that we know Flacco is the starter, he has huge streaming potential with matchups against the Bears (Week 15) and Texans (Week 16) on the horizon.
Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots
Yahoo: 2% rostered
Bailey Zappe lit up the Steelers' defense in Week 14, completing 19 of 28 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns with just one interception. The performance was likely enough to keep Zappe under center as the starter, which puts him on our collective fantasy radars.
Zappe put up 20.0 fantasy points against a strong Steelers defense in Week 14 (on a short week of preparation) but has difficult matchups against the Chiefs and Broncos on deck. He may not have ceiling performances in those matchups but would be in negative game scripts with higher passing volume.
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