We’ve hit the double-digit weeks, and only like half of the league is starting to add multiple players to the COVID-19 report every week. Things are fine! This isn’t bad at all! We stand on the edge of hitting a breaking point for the season: now that they are ten weeks in, I don’t see the NFL stopping this bad boy at all. So, let’s just keep our heads down and focus on our fantasy football teams. This week, we take a look at three quarterbacks who have had up-and-down seasons so far: should we start or sit Tua Tagovailoa, Cam Newton, or Carson Wentz?
Start or Sit Tua Tagovailoa at Denver
Tua Tagovailoa has three starts in the NFL, and he’s undefeated in all three starts. Yeah, and Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl. I’m not saying Tua is Trent Dilfer, not even close. What I am saying is the sinister quarterback hasn’t balled out as his numbers would indicate. To be honest, he hasn’t needed to. The Miami defense has scored touchdowns in two of the last three games and placed the Dolphins offense knocking on the door of the end zone last week. They’ve also kept Tua on ice, rushing the ball the ninth-most times over the last three weeks (they were middle of the road in this stat with Ryan Fitzpatrick).
Because Miami hasn’t needed him to do much yet, Tua hasn’t really come through for his fantasy managers. He has just one game over 15 fantasy points in his three starts because Miami let the running game and defense lead the way. I don’t see how that changes this weekend, especially since the Raiders ran all over these Broncos last week. If Miami wants to go RB-forward, they can. If they choose to center Tua, then we can look to Justin Herbert and Matt Ryan notching 23 fantasy points in back-to-back weeks against Denver
Tua isn’t a bad start per se, but the Miami victory formula moves against him producing for fantasy football. Still, he’s thrown two touchdowns in back-to-back starts, so you could get a decent floor. For me, I am going to sit Tua Tagovailoa this week, knowing that I’m likely getting backend QB1 production at best if I start him.
Start or Sit Cam Newton at Houston
Cam Newton has seemingly knocked himself out of his COVID-19-induced fantasy football haze over the last three weeks. Well, more accurately: Cam Newton really had just one bad game in his last four weeks. If you exclude the complete stinker against San Francisco, Cam has steadily produced fantasy points for your squad, averaging 19.98 fantasy points since returning from COVID-19. If you include the Niners game, that number drops to just 16.5 fantasy points. Not as good, but still good. The formula for success is pretty simple in New England: run the dang football with Cam Newton. He has the third-most carries since returning from COVID-19, the fourth-most rushing yards, and he’s tied with Kyler Murray with five rushing touchdowns in the last five games.
This week, Cam gets a Houston team that “held Baker Mayfield” to just 5.38 fantasy points last week. In reality, they “stood there while the wind made the Browns go to the running game.” Prior to that, four-straight quarterbacks had at least 19.8 fantasy points against the Texans. This includes Jake Luton who is… not good. The Texans are starting to vibrate apart, and I am going to lean into that and start Cam Newton this week.
Start or Sit Carson Wentz at Cleveland
Is Carson Wentz bad now? Was Carson Wentz ever really good? Can we trust Carson Wentz? Life is full of questions. And to all of those, I say: maybe? Wentz and the Eagles are starting to shake apart after he tried the Ryan-Fitzpatrick-by-hook-or-by-crook method of fantasy points accumulation. He’s running all over the place, he’s taking a ton of risks, and he’s sort of cobbling together a hideous-yet-functional fantasy football week out of flotsam and jetsam. What I’m trying to say is that he’s played like complete garbage but somehow turned in startable fantasy games for about five weeks. He’s absolutely spiked the last two good matchups (Dallas and the Giants). I can’t trust Carson Wentz this week until I see him start to do things that aren’t some of the dumbest stuff I’ve seen on a football field. Sit Carson Wentz if you have a decent alternative.
The Verdict
If I have to choose between these three players, I am going Cam Newton first. He has a great rushing floor and has a good matchup. Then, I am going to start Tua with the hopes he hits on a breakout game. I’m sitting Carson Wentz wherever I can, as he hasn’t had a good fantasy game since well before Halloween.
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