By Chet Gresham

Copyright sbnation

Welcome to Week 3 of the fantasy football season. Week 2 had some big fantasy games for quarterbacks, as Jared Goff, Russell Wilson, and Lamar Jackson all went off. It was so great for some other high-profile fantasy quarterbacks, as Josh Allen didn’t need to do much to beat the Jets and Joe Burrow left his game with a close to season ending injury.
Below, we’ll take a look at Week 3 and the fantasy quarterback landscape.
QB injuries
Jayden Daniels, Commanders
Daniels sprained his knee against the Packers in Week 2. If he can’t go, Marcus Mariota would get to face his old team the Raiders. Mariota will likely be a downgrade for the offensive fantasy points for the skill players.
Joe Burrow, Bengals
Burrow has torn ligaments in his toe and will need surgery. His recovery time will be around three months. Jake Browning will take over as the starter. Browning has shown he can be a useful fantasy quarterback, but the Bengals do have a tough schedule, so he should be used more as a spot starter.
JJ McCarthy, Vikings
McCarthy suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Falcons and will be out 2-4 weeks. Carson Wentz is preparing to fill in while he is out. McCarthy wasn’t playing well enough to elevate his pass catchers for fantasy. Wentz isn’t a good real life quarterback, but he could be better in the short term for Justin Jefferson at least.
Justin Fields, Jets
Fields suffered a concussion against the Bills in Week 2 and will need to be able to practice by Thursday if he wants to start according to his coach. At this point it looks like Tyrod Taylor has a good chance of starting against the Buccaneers.
Brock Purdy, 49ers
Purdy is likely out again this week due to turf toe, but nothing is set in stone as of yet. Mac Jones performed well enough to get the win in New Orleans and has a good shot at starting agains this week against the Cardinals. He has some streaming appeal.
Week 3 odds
Highest point totals
Lions at Ravens (51.5)
Cowboys at Bears (50.5)
Dolphins at Bills (49.5)
Highest implied individual team totals
Buffalo Bills (31)
Baltimore Ravens (28.5)
Chicago Bears (26)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (25.5)
Green Bay Packers (25.5)
Lowest point totals
Saints at Seahawks (41.5)
Packers at Browns (42.5)
Bengals at Vikings (42.5)
Lowest implied individual team totals
Cleveland Browns (17)
New Orleans Saints (17.3)
Miami Dolphins (18.5)
New York Jets (19)
Largest point spreads
Dolphins at Bills (-12.5)
Packers (-8.5) at Browns
Saints at Seahawks (-7)
Jets at Buccaneers (-6.5)
Streaming QBs
Michael Penix Jr. vs. Panthers
Week 1 was a good one for Penix’s fantasy numbers, as he needed to throw and run in a close fought game against the Buccaneers. In Week 2, JJ McCarthy and the Vikings could get nothing going against the Falcons, and Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier were able to get yardage and points the safe way, on the ground. Penix wasn’t needed and ended up with an awful fantasy night.
This week he’ll face a much easier defense and an offense that has put up points, as Bryce Young continues to show signs he is continuing to get better.
Daniel Jones vs. Titans
This will be Jones’ first test outside of Indianapolis, but his test last week against a top Broncos defense was enough for me to list him as a streaming option this week. He’s now rushed for three touchdowns and is averaging a robust 9.4 yards per attempt.