RADIO
While it’s true that, even as a rookie, Marcus Mariota has seen some success this season, before the end of the year, he’s bound to have another one of those forgetful performances. He’s a young guy; it has to happen. Now, how about Eli Manning?
He’s in his twelfth season as a starter for the Giants, and has obviously done some pretty remarkable things in the NFL. That said, even he’s capable of reverting back to his days as a rookie. You guessed it—this week both Mariota and Manning are likely to play as if they were newcomers to the league.
Let’s start things off with Mariota—yes, he managed to score 20 fantasy points against the Jets last week, but that was due in large part to a 41-yard touchdown catch from Antonio Andrews. Even worse, this week, Mariota and his offense will be facing the Patriots.
Sure, Mariota has scores at least 20 fantasy points in four of his last six games, but the last quarterback to score more than 16 fantasy points in New England was Ryan Patrick of the Jets, and that was way back in Week 7—shocking stuff, to say the least. Mariota could potentially be considered in two-quarterback leagues, but not in any other situation.
On the other hand, Manning’s Week 15 fortune doesn’t look much brighter. Manning’s got two Super Bowl rings to his name and a wealth of top-tier fantasy production under his belt, but don’t expect Manning to match the 35-point performance he put put last week in Miami.
Not only are the Carolina Panthers a much tougher matchup than the Miami Dolphins, but only three quarterbacks have scored 20 fantasy points or more against Ron Rivera’s tenacious defense this season.
Are you one of those people that still doubt’s the reality of Carolina’s success? This should help out—through 14 weeks of play, the panthers defense has allowed only 16 touchdowns, while nabbing 21 interceptions in the process. That’s an extremely impressive accomplishment.
Truthfully, it’s hard to believe that Manning can both find and exploit a defensive weakness against the Panthers. Because of this, much like Mariota, unless you’re involved in a two-quarterback league, it’ll be best to pass on Manning.
