Who Should I Start? Brandon Allen or Sam Darnold

Friday, November 29, 10:13 PM

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brandon Allen could get a second consecutive start filling in for starter Brock Purdy (shoulder) when the 49ers play at the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Friday that he expects Purdy to play, but "lots of things could happen between now and then." In last week's 38-10 loss to the Packers in Green Bay, Allen completed 17-of-29 attempts for 199 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. In 10 career starts, Allen has only provided two fantasy-useful performances: A two-touchdown, 193-yard, zero-interception performance in his first career start with Denver back in 2019 and a two-touchdown, 371-yard, zero-interception game with the Bengals in 2021. A large snowstorm is predicted on Sunday in Western New York, and although most of the snow is supposed to fall before kickoff, it could still be windy. Even in perfect weather, the career-backup Allen would not be a recommended fantasy starter against a good Buffalo passing defense.

Friday, December 20, 5:00 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold will get a rough matchup this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks on the road. The 27-year-old had his fourth outing of the season with fewer than 16 fantasy points last weekend in a win over the Chicago Bears and has another stiff test on tap in Week 16. The Seahawks are vulnerable on the ground but have allowed the twelfth-fewest passing yards per game to opponents (213.6). Despite letting up a friendly 21:11 TD:INT ratio, Seattle is affording fantasy QBs 17.0 points per game -; a top-eleven mark in the NFL. Still, the Vikings deploy one of the better sets of offensive weaponry in the league, and Darnold should put up a fight with a first-round playoff bye on the line. He comes in at RotoBaller's QB8 ahead of the fantasy semi-finals.