Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Ryan Boser
- Edited by Marc Caviglia
- Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

::RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF DECEMBER 27 2011::

The stars came out to play in Week 16, as Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Matthew Stafford, Tom Brady and Drew Brees all delivered when it mattered most. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Tim Tebow or Philip Rivers. Even worse, an early injury to Tony Romo turned fantasy football matchups on their heads. 

NFL playoff implications will likely take their toll this week, so be sure to get the scoop in our Fantasy Football Week 17 Quarterback Rankings!

Standard Scoring

Pass TD: 4 points |  All Other TDs: 6 points
25 Passing Yards: 1 point |  All Turnovers: -2 points
10 Rushing Yards: 1 point |  10 Receiving Yards: 1 point

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1. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) vs. Carolina

Monday night, Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s single season passing record, and he’s thrown nine touchdown passes in the last two weeks. He’s cracked 300 yards in six straight, and he diced up the Panthers in Carolina back in Week 5 to the tune of 359 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Red hot and playing on his home turf, Brees has a great chance of topping those numbers this week.
Point Projection: 25 points

2. Tom Brady (New England Patriots) vs. Buffalo

Tom Brady has accounted for three touchdowns and topped 300 passing yards in three consecutive games. Surprisingly, after going 21 straight games without a rushing score, he’s punched in a total of three in the last two games. Expect him to carve up the Bills’ bottom-10 fantasy pass defense in a more traditional manner this week, as he did in Week 4 (387 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions). It was his third consecutive matchup against Buffalo in which he threw at least three touchdown passes.
Point Projection: 24 points

3. Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) @ Green Bay

Matthew Stafford has been on fire, tossing seven touchdowns in his last two weeks, and cracking 370 passing yards in three of his past four games. Stafford struggled mightily in his first meeting with Green Bay’s bottom-tier pass defense, but he was playing injured. The last legitimate quarterback the Packers faced was Eli Manning, who threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns in Week 13. Stafford is in line for another monster effort, particularly if Green Bay decides to rest starters.
Point Projection: 23 points

4. Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers) @ New Orleans

Last week Cam Newton took his brilliant rookie season to new heights, throwing for 171 yards and three touchdowns, and adding another 65 yards and a score (a scintillating 49 yard run) on the ground. His notched another NFL record as he surpassed Peyton Manning for the rookie passing mark, and he’s now thrown multiple touchdowns in his last three games. Cam smoked the Saints’ bottom-five fantasy pass defense for over 250 total yards and three scores, and his 2012 draft stock is soaring.
Point Projection: 22 points

5. Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) vs. Tampa Bay

After chucking seven touchdown passes in his previous two games, Matt Ryan posted a season-high 373 yards and one touchdown Monday night against the Saints. He’s been among the best fantasy quarterbacks in the league since his Week 8 bye, and Tampa Bay’s bottom-five fantasy pass defense has given up four touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks in three of their past four games. Expect another outstanding performance in Week 17.
Point Projection: 20 points

6. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) @ New York Giants

In his two games prior to last week, Tony Romo has completed 44-of-61 passes (72 percent) for 570 yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. Tragically, an early hand injury against Philadelphia knocked him out of the game and likely ended seasons for fantasy owners. Diagnosed as a hand contusion, Romo is fully expected to play against the Giants, whose bottom-five fantasy pass defense he lit up for 321 yards and four scores just three weeks ago. Keep close tabs on the injury report, because this is a fantastic matchup if he’s full go.
Point Projection: 20 points

7. Eli Manning (New York Giants) vs. Dallas

Coming off a zero-touchdown, three-interception disaster in Week 15, Eli Manning managed only 225 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Jets’ outstanding pass defense. The real bounce-back should come this week, against an ordinary Dallas secondary that Manning shredded for 400 yards and two touchdowns just three weeks ago. Manning should at least be able to match the 293 yards and two scores that Michael Vick dropped on the Cowboys last week.
Point Projection: 19 points

8. Michael Vick (Philadelphia Eagles) vs. Washington

Michael Vick has cracked 270 yards and notched a pair of touchdowns in back-to-back games, but he’ll be hard-pressed to make it three straight. Washington ranks in the top third of the league in fantasy pass defense, and Vick managed just 237 passing yards, one touchdown and 54 rushing yards in the teams’ first meeting. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that another dual-threat quarterback (Joe Webb) had the Redskins on their heels as he notched three touchdowns in a relief appearance last week.
Point Projection: 18 points

9. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) @ Oakland

In Weeks 13 and 14, Philip Rivers totaled six touchdowns and zero interceptions. In Weeks 15 and 16 he totaled two touchdowns and two interceptions. He hasn’t cracked 300 yards in seven straight games, and this week he’ll put a bow on his disappointing season in Oakland. The Raiders’ bottom-three fantasy pass defense has been getting drilled all season, but in Week 10 Rivers completed just 23-of-47 passes for 274 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The way his season has gone, it’s hard to project anything better despite the plum matchup.
Point Projection: 17 points

10. Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buffalo Bills) @ New England

Ryan Fitzpatrick has been erratic in recent weeks, ultimately totaling two touchdowns and five interceptions in his last three games. Since signing his contract extension during Buffalo’s Week 7 bye, he’s thrown multiple touchdowns three times and multiple interceptions five times. Fortunately, he gets a fool-proof matchup this week against the league’s worst fantasy pass defense—the New England Patriots. Back in the Week 3 meeting, Fitzpatrick threw for a season-high 369 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He could push similar numbers this week.
Point Projection: 16 points

**BEAT THE BRUNO BOYS $350 WEEK 17 FREE CONTEST -  TOP 20 PAID**

We’ve partnered with DraftStreet.com to provide our fans an opportunity to play WEEKLY salary cap fantasy football against the Bruno Boys Staff.  Through the first 16 weeks of the NFL season we have given away over $6,600 in cash prizes. This week, we are offering a $350 free roll in which the TOP 20 win prize money. Make sure to sign-up now for a chance to win money and take on the Bruno Boys… IT’S FREE!!

Please use this link to enter:  Week 17 $350 Contest  (click to register)

11. Tim Tebow (Denver Broncos) vs. Kansas City

Tim Tebow was a major disappointment Saturday against a dreadful Buffalo defense. While he ran for 34 yards and a score, he contributed just three fantasy points (185 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions) through the air. He’ll return home this week to face an above-average Chiefs secondary that he came up short against in Week 10 (2-of-8 for 69 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 43 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown). Since then, Kansas City has stifled the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodger, so temper expectations.
Point Projection: 16 points

12. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) vs. Detroit  **STATUS UNKNOWN FOR WEEK 17**

Aaron Rodgers saved his best for last, breaking out of his two-game “slump” with 283 yards and five touchdowns Christmas night against the Bears. Rodgers threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns in his first meeting with Detroit’s shaky secondary, but with nothing left to play for, he could be in for less than a half of work in this contest. He’s the latest example of why fantasy championships should never be played in Week 17, as his owners will be penalized for drafting well.
Point Projection: 15 points

13. Josh Freeman (Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta

In his past four games, Josh Freeman has eclipsed 200 yards just once, and totaled three touchdowns against four interceptions. His only saving grace has been rushing touchdowns in two of his past three games. Coming off his best performance in two months, he has a fair chance at another solid outing this week against a middling Atlanta pass defense that was just torched by Drew Brees. Still, Freeman totaled 180 passing yards, two interceptions and one rushing score in the first meeting (Week 3), so he’s nothing more than a fantasy QB2.
Point Projection: 15 points

14. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) @ Cleveland

Ben Roethlisberger (ankle) gave way to Charlie Batch last week, but he was very close to playing, so he figures to be under center this week in Cleveland. He’d thrown just seven touchdowns in his previous six games, but he actually played well against Cleveland’s top-three fantasy pass defense in Week 14, completing 16-of-21 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and one interceptions. Cleveland is a sieve against the run, so consider Big Ben’s Week 14 output his ceiling this week.
Point Projection: 15 points

15. Alex Smith (San Francisco 49ers) @ St. Louis

In his past three games, Alex Smith has totaled one touchdown, zero interceptions, and has posted passing totals of 175, 187 and 179 yards. However, in the Week 13 matchup with St. Louis that preceded this underwhelming trend, Smith threw for 274 yards and two scores. Despite being down to their 11th and 12th cornerbacks, this was the best fantasy outing St. Louis has surrendered in their last 10 games (which has included opponents Tony Romo and Drew Brees). Don’t expect a repeat performance out of Smith.
Point Projection: 13 points

16. Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) @ Miami

Only Cam Newton has scored more rushing touchdwons than Mark Sanchez (6) at the quarterback position, and three of those scores have come in the past three weeks. It’s hard to project these touchdowns since Sanchez isn’t really much of a scrambler—he’s topped 13 rushing yards just twice all season. Last week against the Giants, his 258 passing yards marked the first time he’d topped 181 yards in his past five games, and while he added both a passing and rushing score, he’s now been picked off twice in back-to-back games. In short, Sanchez is all over the board, with no rhyme or reason to any of his box scores. He went for 201 yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown against Miami in Week 6, but you’re rolling the dice any time you start Sanchez.
Point Projection: 13 points