Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or Trevor Lawrence

Saturday, November 22, 4:44 PM

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins will make his second start of the season on the road in Week 12 against the Saints, with the team losing Michael Penix Jr. (knee) to injury for the rest of the year. The 37-year-old started the team's Week 8 contest against the Dolphins, but unsurprisingly looked rusty, completing 21 of 31 passes for 173 yards and no scores (and zero interceptions). Expectations should not be high for managers considering the veteran as a streaming option, as he lost his job to Penix last year and was unable to wrest it back to begin 2025. Also, the Saints have been solid on defense, limiting opposing quarterbacks to the 17th-most fantasy points in the league, and they get the benefit of this game being played in New Orleans. With a low implied point total for Atlanta in this one (19), there isn't expected to be a lot of scoring, and if there is, it could come from the one-two punch of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier on the ground, especially given that top wide receiver Drake London (knee) will be out. As such, Cousins projects as a low-end QB2 in this matchup.

Saturday, November 22, 2:57 PM

The Jacksonville Jaguars have limited quarterback Trevor Lawrence's pass volume over the past two weeks. Lawrence attempted 23 passes in Jacksonville's Week 10 loss to the Texans, then 22 in last week's win over the Chargers. He's thrown a touchdown and an interception in both games, while making an impact on the ground, scoring his fifth rushing touchdown of the season against the Chargers. From Weeks 1 through 9, the Jaguars leaned slightly more pass-heavy, ranking ninth in pass rate over expectation (+4%). In the past two weeks, they've dropped to 23rd with a -4.2% pass rate over expectation, per Fantasy Points Data Suite. The Jaguars have started to rely more on their dynamic running back duo of Travis Etienne Jr. and rookie Bhayshul Tuten, which may limit Lawrence's fantasy upside. However, he draws a matchup in Week 12 against an Arizona Cardinals defense that just allowed 41 points to Brock Purdy and the 49ers last week. Lawrence ranks as RotoBaller's QB16 for Week 12.