It’s Week 3, and the fantasy football world is wrestling with a wild one: Tyler Shough and Jordan Love are squaring off in the QB rankings, both hovering right in that QB8-12 sweet spot. Despite some truly massive statistical differences, these guys are creating the ultimate start-em, sit-em debate, and your lineup decisions just got way harder.
Shough’s League-Leading Numbers Are No Fluke
Tyler Shough is off to a league-leading start, plain and simple. We’re talking 331 passing yards per game, leading the Saints to a 1-1 record already. He bagged a win over a highly touted Ravens team and only lost to the Lions 31-30 after a failed two-point conversion. This ain’t some fluke. Delving into the details, Shough boasts a 68.9% completion percentage, firing off 4 touchdowns against just 2 interceptions. His 8.3% big-time throw rate and 7.4 yards per attempt are legit, pushing him to 10th in PFF Grade among quarterbacks. He was projected around QB20 previously, but now he’s shot up to QB10 for Week 3.
His Week 3 opponent? The Las Vegas Raiders. They’re power-rated as the NFL’s 31st-best coverage unit and the 31st-ranked defense overall. Plus, they have to travel to New Orleans, which is one of the more difficult projected home-field endeavors this week. Shough’s projection for Week 3 sees him hitting 31.5 passing attempts for 20.3 completions, 223.6 passing yards, 1.4 touchdowns, and 0.5 interceptions. He’s even adding 2.6 projected rushing attempts for 14.4 rushing yards. The numbers are screaming “start him”!
Love’s Toughest Tests Are Over, But the Grades Are Low
Then you have Jordan Love, and his season is, shall we say, up for interpretation. On one hand, he’s put up 265.5 yards per game, with 4 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Those are solid fantasy points, right? But then you look at the other side of the coin: a 52.1% completion percentage, a brutal 1.3% big-time throw rate, and a shocking 31st out of 33 in PFF Grade. Ouch. The saving grace for Love over these first two weeks? He’s faced some absolute grinders, losing to a very strong Brian Flores Vikings defense and then barely scraping a win against a Jets defense that ranks first in total defense.
Heading into Thursday Night Football, Love is projected as the QB8 for Week 3. He’s looking at 34.8 passing attempts, 22.5 completions, 247.4 passing yards, 1.7 touchdowns, and 0.6 interceptions, plus another 7.0 rushing yards on 1.3 attempts. He’s playing the Falcons in Green Bay, which is ranked as the best home-field advantage of the week. Love is also historically very good on a short week, and he gets a Falcons defense that’s ranked 26th overall. Even though they pull up to rank 10th in coverage, Billy Bowman Jr. is questionable, and they just lost AJ Terrell to the IR. That’s a huge break for Love.
So, which one do you pick? Both quarterbacks have incredibly favorable matchups for Week 3, making either a totally viable option for your lineup. If you’re forced to make the call between these two, you really have to dig deep into those projections. Get ready for some nail-biting action this weekend!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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