NFL Today: Minnesota’s QB Woes

This week, the Steelers gave Aaron Rodgers a new weapon, claiming Adam Thielen off waivers; Giants’ GM Joe Schoen’s seat is getting warmer with the team accumulating just five wins over the last two seasons combined; and Indy swapped out its kicker, but opted against adding the recently reinstated Justin Tucker. Other Fantasy football stories we’re following include…

Max Brosmer Is Not the Answer

Heading into the season, we expected that the Minnesota Vikings would be hard-pressed to come anywhere near repeating 2024’s excellent 14-win effort. However, few predicted this level of regression.

Minnesota’s offense has collapsed and the defense has mostly gotten worse, too.

A decent start (2-1) unraveled quickly and the Vikings have gone 2-7 since, including a four-game losing streak heading into a home matchup against an equally disappointing Washington squad.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy (concussion) is expected to start, but honestly, his first season has been a real slog leaving many to question Minny’s decision to let Sam Darnold leave.

The offensive woes really hit a low last week as the Vikings got shut out for the first time in over 18 years.

And along the way we found out that rookie QB Max Brosmer is not the answer, either, as he had the dubious distinction of being the first player in over eight years to throw at least four interceptions in his first career start (including the ugly one you can see in the video below). Yuck.

In parts of five games this season, the undrafted rookie has yet to throw a TD pass.

And with Carson Wentz out for the year after shoulder surgery, Minnesota doesn’t have a lot of answers at QB, does it?

It’s too bad Wentz went down, as this was a glorious opportunity for him to revitalize his career, as we recently discovered (as per Purple PTSD) that stud receiver Justin Jefferson’s per game results with each QB, projected over a full season, massively favour Wentz.

With McCarthy, Jefferson would post 74 receptions and 901 yards; under Brosmer, it would be 34 catches for 68 yards; with Wentz, he’d haul in 116 grabs for 1,622 yards.

That’s very telling.

Coming off perhaps the most nightmarish first start ever, Brosmer is not someone you want to touch, even if he does wind up playing. He might have been a speculative waiver wire add for Week 13, especially given Minnesota’s very positive schedule down the stretch, but at best, he’s a top 30 QB for Week 14, and even that might be too generous (especially if McCarthy is indeed good to go, as understood).

Surely the fans are hoping for the best for Brosmer given that he’s a University of Minnesota product, but his upside is that of an average backup given his inconsistent accuracy when going deep.

Houston Is Back in the Race

Back in late-August, we wondered whether the Houston Texans’ offense would bounce back this season. The answer, so far, is not really. The unit may be slightly better, but still middling at best.

Thankfully, the team’s defense is second to none in the NFL, allowing Houston to turn things around after a lousy first half (3-5) with four straight wins to make headway in a very tight AFC South. A third straight playoff appearance is still a real possibility, but the Texans’ Super Bowl odds (+2200 on FanDuel) remain long.

In his first season with Houston, veteran running back Nick Chubb has had a somewhat resurgent campaign after missing most of the previous two years with injuries. He’s certainly not a bellcow back anymore, but had a golden opportunity to begin the season as the lead back in the wake of Joe Mixon’s injury. However, Chubb he didn’t exactly seize it, and had been mostly sharing totes with Woody Marks, who has gradually gained traction as the No. 1 option as the season has progressed.

Still, Chubb did see his most work (nine carries) in four weeks on Sunday. He didn’t exactly shine with the extra reps, gaining a mere 34 yards, but he salvaged his Fantasy showing with his first TD in seven games.

It’s clear that the yeoman’s work Chubb exhibited in his first five seasons with the Browns is not likely to return, but he has reestablished himself as a somewhat useful asset in Houston, even if his 6.9 Fantasy PPG is the lowest of his career.

Consider him a low-end RB4 for Week 14.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

While hitting it big immediately with “Sultans of Swing,” Dire Straits proved to be anything but a one-hit wonder, churning out a series of successful songs over the next few years. In 1991, they released their sixth and (sadly) final album, On Every Street. The title track was the album’s third single, becoming a top 25 hit in France.

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