Fantasy Football Rankings for Championship Game Round: Quarterbacks
During the regular season, Saints quarterback Drew Brees set multiple single-season passing records: yards (5,476), completions (468), completion percentage (71.2 percent), etc.
In the first two weeks of the postseason, Brees threw for more than 460 yards in each game and now has accounted for two of the three highest passing yardage games in NFL postseason history. In those two games, Brees completed 73 of his 106 attempts for 928 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
Despite those performances, however, Brees and the Saints lost in the most exciting game of the weekend.
Of the remaining four quarterbacks, there are two elite quarterbacks but they face elite defenses. While the other two quarterbacks aren't elite from a fantasy perspective, they have better matchups.
Here are our quarterback rankings for the championship-game round of the playoffs:
1. Tom Brady, Patriots (vs. BAL): With all the media attention surrounding last week's matchup against the Broncos, Brady and the Patriots put on a clinic, especially as he threw a postseason-record five touchdowns in the first half. Brady ended the game with six touchdowns and 363 passing yards, which was a postseason high for Brady. Counting their postseason win over the Texans, the Ravens defense has allowed only 11 passing touchdowns and has 18 interceptions this season.
2. Eli Manning, Giants (at SF): Earlier in the season, Manning threw for 311 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions the first time the Giants played the Niners. Going back to the regular-season finale, an elimination game for the Giants (and Cowboys), Manning has thrown exactly 32 or 33 passes in each game. During this three-game stretch, Eli has completed 68 of his 98 pass attempts for 953 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception.
3. Alex Smith, 49ers (vs NYG): Down 24-23 with four minutes to go, Smith led the Niners to a go-ahead score and later a game-winning score against Brees and the Saints. While Smith still has not reached 300 passing yards in any games this season, he came really close (a season-high 299) last week. It was also the first time he threw more than 40 times in a game and only the second time this season that he threw three touchdowns (plus he ran it in for another).
4. Joe Flacco, Ravens (at NE): For me, there is less difference between Smith and Flacco than there is between Brady and Manning. The good news is Flacco has a 5:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his past three games and he faces the league's 31st-ranked pass defense this week. The bad news is he has had 15 or less completions and 176 passing yards or less in all three of those games.
Other Positions: Running Backs - Wide Receivers - Tight Ends
Related: Super Bowl Matchup Poll - Historical Championship Game Results: AFC - NFC
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