Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings: QB

Fantasy owners have come to expect greatness from Philip Rivers, and for good reason. Through the Chargers first ten games of the season, Rivers had posted 20-point fantasy lines eight times. In his other two games, he still managed respectable numbers. Clearly, he was a fantasy QB that couldn't be stopped.

And then, over the next three weeks, he was stopped. Rivers' three lowest yardage totals of the season have come in their last four games, all a result of shooting out to big leads early and Rivers protecting leads in the second half.

Will things be any different in this week's Thursday night Chargers-49ers game? If not, Rivers owners could be in for another subpar performance from their ace. You can't sit the guy, as he could go off at any time with virtually anyone playing receiver and tight end. I still have him as a top-five option, even with his recent fantasy struggles. Unless you enjoy an embarrassment of riches at the QB position, keep riding Rivers.

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1. Peyton Manning, IND vs. JAC
2. Tom Brady, NE vs. GB
3. Philip Rivers, SD vs. SF
4. Drew Brees, NO at BAL
5. Michael Vick, PHI at NYG
6. Matt Ryan, ATL at SEA
7. Jon Kitna, DAL vs. WAS
8. Matt Schaub, HOU at TEN
9. Kyle Orton, DEN at OAK
10. Josh Freeman, TB vs. DET
11. Kerry Collins, TEN vs. HOU
12. Jason Campbell, OAK vs. DEN
13. Eli Manning, NYG vs. PHI
14. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT vs. NYJ
15. Sam Bradford, STL vs. KC
16. Joe Flacco, BAL vs. NO
17. Jay Cutler, CHI at MIN
18. Matt Hasselbeck, SEA vs. ATL
19. Donovan McNabb, WAS at DAL
20. David Garrard, JAC at IND
21. Chad Henne, MIA vs. BUF
22. Carson Palmer, CIN vs. CLE
23. Ryan Fitzpatrick, BUF at MIA
24. Aaron Rodgers, GB at NE
25. Alex Smith, SF at SD
26. Rex Grossman, WAS at DAL
27. Mark Sanchez, NYJ at PIT
28. Matt Flynn, GB at NE
29. Shaun Hill, DET at TB
30. Drew Stanton, DET at TB
31. Jimmy Clausen, CAR vs. ARI
32. Jake Delhomme, CLE at CIN
33. Matt Cassel, KC at STL
34. Brodie Croyle, KC at STL
35. Colt McCoy, CLE at CIN
36. Joe Webb, MIN vs. CHI
37. John Skelton, ARI at CAR

• We're not used to seeing Matt Ryan ranked this high, and the truth is that he's actually a bit worse than Rivers over the last three weeks. Nevertheless, Ryan is the eighth best fantasy QB in football this season, and Sunday's matchup against the Seahawks should mean big points for the Ryan-Roddy White combination. Ryan headlines a second tier of QB1s that looks much different than you could have imagined at the beginning of the year.

• With Jon Kitna at QB, the Cowboys have scored 27 points or more for five straight weeks. While Washington could get up for a game against their most hated rival, the Redskins have the look of a team ready for the offseason. Ryan Torain ripped off long run after long run in Week 14 to stake the Redskins to an early lead, and they still turned it into a late loss. Kitna should be a lock for multiple TDs.

• No highly rated QB has struggled more than Kyle Orton over the past few weeks. He was on a record pace to start the season, posting 295 yards or more in each of his first five games. Even after that stretch ended, Orton was able to post a couple more big lines later in the season, yet the last two weeks have been a complete disaster: 283 yards, no TDs, three INTs and two lost fumbles total. If you somehow survived the first round of the playoffs with Orton, I'd stick with him -- he's got a rebound performance lurking somewhere.

• Capping off the top 12 QBs in Week 15, we have two unlikely names. Kerry Collins is coming off a huge Thursday night performance where he threw three TDs and completed 71 percent of his passes for 244 yards. He should be 100 percent and ready to burn the league's worst pass defense (Houston) with Kenny Britt. Jason Campbell also posted a big total in Week 14, racking up 324 yards and two TDs against the Jaguars. He'll take on the Broncos next, and he's a borderline QB1.