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Factoid

Hitting the Marcus Mario-ta

Backup has been reasonably productive

I've got a win-and-you're in game this week, and I'm hurting at quarterback. Jaxson Dart is on his bye (Week 14 byes, grrr) and Justin Herbert has a broken hand. Maybe Herbert plays, but we might not know for sure (and it's a Monday night game). So I'm eyeing Marcus Mariota.

It's not certain that Mariota will start this week, with Jayden Daniels (elbow) a possibility. But Dan Quinn said the starter hasn't been cleared for contact yet, so early lean is Mariota. He's facing a Vikings defense that currently has a favorable ranking against the pass, but isn't actually very good (recent opponents have been running the ball and playing defense against Minnesota's comically inept quarterback play.

And Mariota the last four games he's started has been respectable, both NFL and fantasy wise.

Not great; for one thing, Washington has lost all those games. And Mariota will force some throws; there's a reason why he's bounced around the league for years. But in this offense, and his willingness to run, have made him a decent starter of late.

Table shows all quarterbacks who have started at least 6 games this year, plus Mariota in his last four. He comes in 11th in fantasy scoring (4-point TD passes, 1 point for every 20 passing and 10 rushing yards), just behind another veteran backup and just ahead of Daniels.

QUARTERBACKS, MINIMUM 6 STARTS
PlayerGSPass/GPaTDRun/GRuTDFF/G
Josh Allen1223619341127.0
Patrick Mahomes122702229425.7
Dak Prescott122722510223.9
Drake Maye132632325223.6
Jalen Hurts122101927823.5
Matthew Stafford12256320023.5
Daniel Jones122531913522.8
Justin Herbert122372129122.2
Jaxson Dart81561134721.9
Jacoby Brissett72431313121.7
Jayden Daniels6197844221.6
Marcus Mariota4233639021.6
Jared Goff12252254021.3
Bo Nix122291919321.2
Caleb Williams122271726321.1
Trevor Lawrence122201620520.8
Lamar Jackson92051529120.5
Baker Mayfield122171920119.7
Jordan Love122331914019.4
Joe Flacco10245153119.2
Sam Darnold12243194018.9
C.J. Stroud92201121018.0
Mac Jones8215136017.9
Bryce Young121951810117.2
Justin Fields9140743417.1
Aaron Rodgers11190192016.6
Michael Penix922098116.5
Geno Smith12211159016.5
Spencer Rattler8198821016.0
J.J. McCarthy6155620215.7
Tua Tagovailoa12190174015.6
Cam Ward12196710113.6
Dillon Gabriel6104710010.9

Maybe Herbert is practicing fully on Friday and I can go with him, or maybe somebody drops Brissett for whatever reason. But probably Mariota, and I could do worse, I think.

--Andy Richardson

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