QBs who will outperform their mid-tier  Week 3 ESPN FFL Rankings:

Blake Bortles (ranked 23) vs. NE – This is a classic letdown game for the Pats after their emotional win over Buffalo. They’ll still win of course, but Bortles will have a productive fantasy day, likely picking up points in garbage time.

Derek Carr (ranked 26) vs. Cle – Carr is a nice fantasy sleeper this week heading into Cleveland.

Ryan Tannehill (ranked 12) vs. Buf – Tannehill has historically thrived against the Bills at home.

Nick Foles (ranked 21) vs. Pit – The Steelers pass D has a number of issues and Foles will exploit some of them at home.

Teddy Bridgewater (ranked 16) vs. SD – San Diego has been victimized through the air and Bridgewater will notch 250 total yards and 2 TDs.

QBs who will underperform their Week 3 rankings

Drew Brees (ranked 10) vs. Car – The Saints offense looks awful. Don’t expect that to change heading into Carolina.

Matt Ryan (ranked 9) vs. Dal – The Cowboys D is a lot better this year than in year’s past. So long as Weeden doesn’t complete collapse this unit will slow Ryan and Co. down.

Top Pick

1. Seattle Seahawks (-10) vs. SF – It’s over in San Francisco for Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll’s squad will put the final nail in the coffin. It’s fitting with their rivalry over the years. QB Colin Kaepernick is struggling horribly as is the entire offense. Expect the Seahawks to roll and easily top the point spread.

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2. Detroit Lions (-7) vs. Min – Teddy Bridgewater is improving, but still a rookie. The Lions D is legit. Matt Stafford may make a few mistakes but the Lions will win by double digits at home.

3. New York Giants (-6.5) vs. Was – If RGIII gets the call this could be a blowout. The Giants will still cover with Colt McCoy behind center.

4. Cincinnati Bengals (+1) vs. Cle – See money line bet.

Rounding Things Out

Denver Broncos (-4) vs. SD – Denver is getting a few key pieces back.

Tennessee Titans (+2.5) vs. NYJ – It’s Geno Smith and the Jets.

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) vs. Dal – The Eagles are slightly ahead of the Cowboys and Dallas’s D is wearing down.

Money Line Bet

Cincinnati Bengals (+105) vs. Cle – Johnny Manziel brings a lot of hype but little experience. The Bengals D will have a few tricks that will force turnovers. Expect a close affair which the Bengals pull out in the end.

Must Start

Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck and Matthew Stafford

Tier 1

Ben Roethlisbger vs. Atl – Roethlisberger and Co. will light up the Falcons secondary.

Tom Brady vs. Mia – Brady will top 250 yards with 2-3 TDs.

Aaron Rodgers vs. Buf – This is a trickier matchup. The Bills D is tough – especially at home.

Philip Rivers vs. Den – Expect 22-25 FFL points vs. the Broncos.

Tony Romo vs. Phi – Look for a bounce back from the last performance against the Eagles.

Cam Newton vs. TB – Newton is coming off a monster performance and faces a healthy matchup here.

Drew Brees vs. Chi – Brees threw in a stinker in Week 14. The Bears D is poor.

Jay Cutler vs. No – Only because the Saints D is just as bad.

Tier 2

Eli Manning vs. Was -Manning will hit 13-17 FFL points against the Skins.

Mark Sanchez vs. Dal – The Cowboys D is winded. Sanchez will put up 3 TDs and 225 yards against this unit.

Russell Wilson vs. SF – The 49ers are done. Expect Wilson to put up between 15-17 points.

Bust

Ryan Tannehill vs. NE – The Patriots D will force a few turnovers.

Fantasy Sleeper

Joe Flacco vs. Jax – Jacksonville’s D is ripe to give up a lot of pass yards.

Must Start

Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers

Tier 1

Tony Romo vs. Chi – Romo will bounce back from an awful Thanksgiving performance.

Matthew Stafford vs. TB – With a healthy Calvin Johnson the Lions QB is now a 22-25 FFL point candidate.

Tom Brady vs. SD – Expect 300 yards and 3 TDs in SD.

Jay Cutler vs. Dal – The Cowboys D is suddenly tired and showing signs of wear and tear.

Russell Wilson vs. Phi – His maneuverability will be good for 20+ FFL points in Philly.

Tier 2

Ben Roethlisberger vs. Cin – Roethlisberger’s numbers are down on the road and Cincy’s D is tough at home.

Philip Rivers vs. NE – The tough Patriots pass D brings Rivers down a notch.

Fantasy Sleeper

Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. Jax – Don’t expect 6 TDs but is a fantasy football sleeper against the Jags.

Bust

Mark Sanchez vs. Sea – Chip Kelly’s innovative offense will have its hands full with the Seahawks.

Must Start

Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Andrew Luck

Tier 1

Aaron Rodgers vs. NE – This is his toughest test of the season.

Tony Romo vs. Phi – The Eagles will be forced to commit more against the run which will open up the passing games.

Ben Roethlisberger vs. NO – It’s been light and day Roethlisberger when playing at home or the road. He’s home this week.

Drew Brees vs. Pit – He’ll be firing and the Steelers D is a bit limited. But Brees struggles on grass surfaces away from home.

Matt Stafford vs. Chi – Nothing like the Bears D to get Stafford back on track.

Ryan Tannehill vs. NYJ – Jets are midpack stopping the pass.

Eli Manning vs. Jax – The Eli to ODB connection should be on display against a giving Jaguars D. Eli is a low No. 1.

Tier 2

Mark Sanchez vs. Dal – Dallas ranks 19th vs. the pass and Philly will be throwing all afternoon. Expect 17-20 points.

Cam Newton vs. Min – Newton will put 14-17 FFL points at Minnesota.

Andy Dalton vs. TB – This is another strong play for Dalton. Bucs bottom 25.

Russell Wilson vs. SF – The 49ers run a strong D, so look for Wilson to pick up points with his legs.

Matt Ryan vs. Arz – The Cards rank at the bottom 3rd of the league against the pass.

Bust

Jay Cutler vs. Det – The Lions aggressive D will be all over Cutler on Thursday.

Fantasy Sleeper

Drew Stanton vs. Atl – The Falcons pass D ranks dead last. Look for Stanton to put up 17-20 FFL points.

Must Start

Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Matt Stafford

Tier 1

Andrew Luck vs. NE – You’re starting him but the Pats are very good against the pass.

Philip Rivers vs. Oak – This is one of the few easy remaining opponents. Rivers will put up 300 yards with a 3 TDs.

Tom Brady vs. Ind – Brady is on fire and will put up 30 FFL points in a high scoring game.

Ben Roethlisberger vs. Ten – They overlooked NYJ. Roethlisberger will top 300 yards with 2-3 TDs on MNF.

Cam Newton vs. Atl – Newton will top 25 FFL points against a porous Falcons D.

Tier 2

Matt Ryan vs. Car – The Panthers pathetic D means Ryan is still a borderline No. 1 this week.

Jay Cutler vs. Min – He’ll turn the ball over a few times but also find the end zone twice.

RGIII vs. TB – RGIII will put up 17-20 against a defensively challenged Bucs team.

Bust

Russell Wilson vs. KC – Wilson is struggling tremendously now outside of what he is doing with his legs. He’ll find Kansas City a very tough place to play.

Fantasy Sleeper

Josh McCown vs. Was – He’ll top 18-20 FFL points against a generous Skins D.

Must Start

Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Stafford and Drew Brees

Tier 1

Tony Romo vs. Hou – Romo will put up 25 FFL points against the Texans.

Philip Rivers vs. NYJ – The Jets are vulnerable in the secondary.

Eli Manning vs. Atl – Manning is firing on all cylinders and will continue his hot hand vs. the Falcons.

Russell Wilson vs. Was – The Skins are abominable stopping the pass.

Nick Foles vs. Stl. – Things will get better for Foles at home. Look for 300 yards with 2-3 TDs.

Joe Flacco vs. Ind – Flacco is putting up low No. 1 FFL numbers relatively consistently. This will be a high scoring game.

Ben Roethlisbger vs Jax – Roethlisberger catapults to a No. 1 FFL QB against this D.

Tier 2

Cam Newton vs Chi – He’ll get back on track against a porous Bears D.

Matt Ryan vs. NYG – Ryan will put up 2nd tier numbers against an improving Giants D.

Tom Brady vs. Cin – This is a tough game for Brady. May be worth looking elsewhere if you have a good No. 2.

Colin Kaepernick vs. KC – He’s a high No. 2 option at this point. Has difficulty reading defenses in the pass game.

Alex Smith vs. SF – Smith will put up 15 points against his old squad.

Bust

Jay Cutler vs. Car – The Panthers have been embarrassed the past few weeks. They’ll get after Cutler at home.

Fantasy Sleeper

Brian Hoyer vs. Ten – Hoyer’s been a sneaky fantasy option and has a favorable matchup in Tennessee, a D coming off giving up 4 TDs to Luck.

No real surprises a week ago. All teams that were supposed to win did win. Now we move to Week 4 of the NFL Suicide Pool and here are our top three teams.

Top Pick

1. San Diego Chargers vs. Jax – The sight of QB Blake Broyles starting is a welcome one for the Chargers. They’re a bit banged up coming back from Buffalo but will have little trouble in this game. Look for Rivers and Co. to have their way with the Jacksonville D and for San Diego’s defense to force Broyles into multiple mistakes.

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2. Atlanta Falcons vs. Min – Things have really gone awry in Minnesota after their impressive week 1 win against the Rams. Their franchise runner is still out and now QB Matt Cassel is gone for the year. Look for the Falcons, coming off a 10 day rest, to head into Minnesota and roll the Vikings in their home park.

3. San Francisco 49ers vs. Phi – The Eagles are banged up on the OL and that will catch up to them. Playing against the 49ers expect them to pressure Foles heavily. Offensively, look for SF to take the ball out of Colin Kaepernick’s hands and put it into their RBs hands.

Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Andrew Luck

Tier 1

Philip Rivers vs. Jax – Expect 250 yards and 3 TDs vs. a horrible Jaguars D.

Matt Ryan vs. Min – Ryan will top 25 fantasy points again.

Tony Romo vs. NO – This is a great matchup for Romo and Co. The Saints D is missing something.

Nick Foles vs. SF – The 49ers secondary is highly suspect.

Kirk Cousins vs. NYG – It doesn’t look like RGIII will reassume his job. Cousin’s fits perfectly into this offense.

Matt Stafford vs. NYJ – He’ll bounce back against a weak Jets secondary.

Jay Cutler vs. GB – He’ll put up 2-3 scores in what should be a high scoring game.

Tier 2

Colin Kaepernick vs. Phi – The Eagles D is giving up points in bunches.

Tom Brady vs. KC – Something is missing although he is still good for 15 points.

Bust

Cam Newton vs. Bal – This is a very difficult place to play and Newton’s lacking at the skill positions.

Fantasy Sleeper

Eli Manning vs. Was – He is a 17-20 point candidate against the Skins D.

Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford and Drew Brees

Tier 1

Jay Cutler vs. NYJ – The Jets are undermanned in the secondary.

Nick Foles vs. Was – There will be big plays for the taking.

Cam Newton vs. Pit – Look for Newton to top 250 yards with 2 TDs.

Philip Rivers vs. Buf – Rivers is a solid No. 1 against a better D than people realize.

Tom Brady vs. Oak – He hasn’t played like a No. 1 thus far but this Raiders D is inviting.

Kirk Cousins vs. Phi – It’ll be hard for RGIII to get his job back. The Eagles secondary is vulnerable.

Matt Ryan vs. TB – Expect better results than a week ago. 250 yards with a few TDs.

Russell Wilson vs. Den – Look for Wilson to use play action to his advantage.

Tier 2

Tony Romo vs. Stl.  - Look or 15-20 fantasy points.

Andy Dalton vs. Ten – Check AJ Green’s status. Dalton’s start worthiness depends on him.

Colin Kaepernick vs. Arz – The Cards D is down 3-4 starters.

Bust

Peyton Manning vs. Sea – It won’t be as bad as the Super Bowl, but Seattle is a tough place to play. Expect a less than stellar performance.

Fantasy Sleeper

Matt Cassel vs. NO – The Saints D has stopped nothing thus far.