Who Should I Start? Joe Flacco or Kirk Cousins

Sunday, November 23, 9:38 AM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco will get one more opportunity to start after Joe Burrow (toe) was ruled out for Sunday's Week 12 contest against the New England Patriots. While Burrow was trending in the right direction for this week, the Bengals have ultimately decided to keep him on injured reserve for at least a few more days. As a result, Flacco will remain installed as Cincinnati's starting quarterback for Week 12. He's coming off an uninspiring 199-yard clunker against the Steelers, and although he has five touchdowns over his last two games, he also has four turnovers during that span. To make matters worse, he'll be without Ja'Marr Chase (suspension), shifting Tee Higgins to the top receiver role. New England's defense has been strong this season, but it's best at stopping the run. The Patriots have allowed the ninth-most passing yards, seventh-most passing touchdowns, and 12th-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in 2025. This matchup and situation are best defined as "good, not great." That sentiment is reflected in RotoBaller's ranking of Burrow as the overall QB17 this week.

Saturday, December 20, 11:09 AM

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins had his best game of the season by far last week in a 29-28 win over the Buccaneers, completing 30 of 44 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The 37-year-old focused his attention on his top pass catchers, and should get another weapon back in Week 16, with Drake London (knee) expected to suit up on Sunday. The veteran should have a full complement on offense for Sunday's road matchup against the Cardinals, a defense that is middle of the pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, but that has yielded 35 points per game over their last three games, which is nearly the worst in the league over that stretch behind only the Cowboys and Jets (35.3). Even so, with a strong run game to lean on in the form of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, Cousins projects as a low-end QB2 for this week's contest.