The five best:
1. Tom Brady (New England Patriots): 27.62 Fantasy Points: After all of this Deflategate speculation Brady ended up being the best quarterback of week 1. Brady threw for 288 yards and 4 touchdowns completing 25 of 32 passes. This was an outstanding performance from a player who had a chip on his shoulder and an absolutely uncoverable tight end.
2. Carson Palmer (Arizona Cardinals): 25.68 Fantasy Points: Palmer was a surprise as the Saints were expected to do a lot of things better. Palmer is a veteran who might be injury prone but is great when he is on the field. Palmer completed 19/32 passes and finished with 307 yards and three touchdowns. One of the scores was to newly drafted running back David Johnson who ran it all the way to the end zone so realistically his ceiling is more of a 2- 1 touchdown window.
3. Marcus Mariota (Tennessee Titans): 24.96 Fantasy Points: Mariota shined in his debut but can it all be contributed to Mariota's play or is it the shoddy Buccaneers defense? It seemingly is Mariota, as he completed 13/16 passes and finished the game with 209 yards for 4 touchdowns. Mariota had an insane game by any account, he was accurate and polished while working with one of the worst offensive lines and receiving corps in the NFL. This does not look like a fluke.
4. Alex Smith (Kansas City Chiefs): 23.22 Fantasy Points: Smith had a great game finishing with 243 yards and 3 touchdowns. Smith went 22/33 from the field and looked more accurate and explosive than last year.
5. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers): 23.06 Fantasy Points: Rodgers rounds out the top 5, he should be up here every week. He did fine without Nelson and still threw for 3 touchdowns and 189 yards.
The five worst
1. Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos): 4.90 Fantasy Points: What a bust huh? One of the highest drafted quarterback played like he was a backup coming in for the very first time. His offensive line collapsed on him repeatedly which ended with him being sacked 4 times. Manning threw for 0 touchdowns and 1 interception but Denver managed to get the win. Manning looks like he has continued to regress and should struggle against a brutal Kansas City defensive line.
2. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens): 0.68 Fantasy Points: Flacco was worse than Manning somehow so if you waited to draft a quarterback and took Flacco then my deepest sympathy goes out to you because the Ravens do not have a passing game. None of the younger unknown players looked like real threats and routinely dropped catches. If the Ravens cannot find a playmaker through the air their offensive is in a lot of trouble.
3. Eli Manning (New York Giants): 8.52 Fantasy Points: Manning was also looked at as a draft day bargain however he failed to close out the Cowboys on Sunday night football. Manning finished 20/36 for 193 yards and only completed seven passes by halftime. Manning's offensive line did him no favors and will continue to make offensive consistency tough to find.
4. Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins): 11.74 Fantasy Points: Tannehill struggled mightily against the Redskins who looked pretty terrible as well. Tannehill completed 22/34 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown. Tannehill was said to have worked on his deep ball in the offseason however it has just been more of the same with Tannehill and Jarvis Landry.
5. Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers): 12.50 Fantasy Points: Cam managed to run for 35 yards on 14 attempts which would be awful for a running back but as a quarterback it is quite manageable. Cam is working with one of the worst wide receiving corps in the NFL and instead of allowing Devin Funchess to get acclimated to a starting role the Panthers have decided to make him a fifth string wide out. This will hinder his development and the Panthers passing attack.
