Bye weeks are hitting us hard this week. The Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers will all be missing from action, and with them some prominent starting quarterbacks.
Jay Cutler has come back from injury to post three really strong weeks. The week off should give him even more time for rest and recuperation. Andy Dalton continues to have a great season. He has passed for at least two touchdowns in five of his six starts this season. The balance of their schedule is a mixed bag, which may cause concern down the stretch. Peyton Manning has been pretty disappointing to all of his fantasy owners. I can't see much improvement in his numbers as we approach November and December. Then we have Aaron Rodgers, who has been everything we could have asked for. I don't see much changing for him unless a major injury happens.
We got our first chance to see Landry Jones in Week 6 and it was a very good showing. He made great use of the Steelers' skill position weapons. It looks like he'll be starting this week against the Chiefs. Kansas City has a poor secondary, which could mean another great week for Jones, making him a viable bye week replacement. It doesn't make sense for the Steelers to rush Big Ben back to the lineup, and Vick hasn't had the success that Jones showcased.
Marcus Mariota will probably miss Week 7 with a knee injury. He almost finished the game in Week 6, but again the smart thing to do may be to take a week and re-evaluate. Zach Mettenberger will get the start if Mariota can't go. Mettenberger has great quarterback skills, but you're probably better off going with another choice this week.
The quarterback that I'm going to grab off the wire as a bye week replacement is Ryan Fitzpatrick. He has good skill position players to throw to in Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, while the running game has been able to take pressure off and create a balanced attack for the Jets thus far. And this week they face the Patriots, a team that doesn't have the strongest secondary. Fitzpatrick has thrown multiple touchdowns in four of his five games and the offense seems tailormade for him this year. I'm confident he'll continue his strong play in Week 7.
Quarterbacks, Week 7
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; SK: Scott Kaliska. Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Green Bay are on bye)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | DC | AM | SK |
| 1 | Carson Palmer | ARI | BAL | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Tom Brady | NE | NYJ | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Andrew Luck | IND | NO | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Philip Rivers | SD | OAK | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| 5 | Cam Newton | CAR | PHI | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Matt Ryan | ATL | @TEN | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
| 7 | Drew Brees | NO | @IND | 10 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | Eli Manning | NYG | DAL | 4 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Russell Wilson | SEA | @SF | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
| 10 | Tyrod Taylor | BUF | JAC (London) | 9 | 12 | 11 | 14 |
| 11 | Blake Bortles | JAC | BUF (London) | 14 | 10 | 13 | 10 |
| 12 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | NYJ | @NE | 11 | 19 | 9 | 13 |
| 13 | Matthew Stafford | DET | MIN | 16 | 11 | 15 | 11 |
| 14 | Ryan Tannehill | MIA | HOU | 12 | 16 | 16 | 12 |
| 15 | Josh McCown | CLE | @STL | 15 | 14 | 14 | 17 |
| 16 | Sam Bradford | PHI | @CAR | 20 | 15 | 12 | 15 |
| 17 | Brian Hoyer | HOU | @MIA | 19 | 13 | 17 | 16 |
| 18 | Derek Carr | OAK | @SD | 21 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
| 19 | Teddy Bridgewater | MIN | @DET | 25 | 17 | 18 | 18 |
| 20 | Joe Flacco | BAL | @ARI | 18 | 21 | 20 | 22 |
| 21 | Colin Kaepernick | SF | SEA | 13 | 24 | 21 | 25 |
| 22 | Jameis Winston | TB | @WAS | 22 | 20 | 24 | 20 |
| 23 | Landry Jones | PIT | @KC | 17 | 25 | 23 | 23 |
| 24 | Nick Foles | STL | CLE | 24 | 22 | 22 | 21 |
| 25 | Alex Smith | KC | PIT | 23 | -- | 25 | 24 |
| -- | Kirk Cousins | WAS | TB | -- | 23 | -- | -- |
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SB Nation presents: NFL Week 7 start/sit fantasy advice