Fantasy Football Week 2 QB Start Decision: Should Tua Tagovailoa be Starting Over Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow and Others?

Week 2 of the NFL season is nearly here, and there’s a bunch of start/sit decisions that need to be made already.

Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa is a trending name amongst quarterbacks. The FantasySP start/sit tool has Tagovailoa up against Dak Prescott, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield, and after adding in the QBs in decisions with those four, we add Matthew Stafford, Kyler Murray, Anthony Richardson and Brock Purdy to the mix.

Let’s discuss each quarterback and their week 2 matchups, then offer up rankings for all those guys.

Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.

Week 1 Performances

Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards (338) in week 1. He completed 23 of his 37 passes and threw one touchdown and no interceptions. Tagovailoa added an 11-yard run on his only rushing attempt.

Prescott was 19-of-32 passing, going for 179 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He rushed just once for three yards.

Burrow completed 21 of his 29 passes in week 1. He had 164 passing yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. Burrow rushed four times for 15 yards.

Goff was 18-of-28 in week 1. He threw for 217 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Goff rushed once for seven yards.

Mayfield had 289 passing yards and four touchdowns in week 1. He didn’t throw an interception and rushed three times for 21 yards.

Stafford completed 34 of his 49 passes for 317 yards, a touchdown and an interception in week 1. He did not attempt a run.

Murray was 21-of-31 for 162 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He added 57 rushing yards on five attempts.

Richardson was just 9-of-19 passing, but for 212 yards and two touchdowns in week 1. He threw one interception and added 56 rushing yards and a score on six attempts.

Purdy completed 19 of his 29 attempts for 231 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown or interception, while rushing once for 11 yards.

Week 2 Matchups

Tagovailoa faces the Bills on Thursday night. Buffalo allowed 14 fantasy points to Murray in week 1. The Bills allowed 162 passing yards and 57 rushing yards, along with one touchdown and no interceptions. 

Prescott and the Cowboys face the Saints this week. New Orleans allowed 10 fantasy points to Bryce Young in week 1. The Saints gave up 161 passing yards and 12 rushing yards, along with a rushing touchdown - they didn’t allow a passing touchdown and had two interceptions.

Burrow will take on the Chiefs in week 2. Kansas City allowed 25 points to Lamar Jackson in week 1. The Chiefs allowed 273 passing yards and a score, along with 122 rushing yards.

Goff will battle the Buccaneers in week 2. Tampa Bay allowed Jayden Daniels to score 28 points in the opener. The Bucs’ defense gave up 184 passing yards and 88 rushing yards and two scores.

Mayfield will face a Lions’ defense that allowed Stafford to throw for 317 yards, a touchdown and an interception in week 1. 

Stafford will take on the Cardinals, who allowed the most points (31) to an opposing quarterback in week 1. Arizona saw Josh Allen throw for 232 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 39 rushing yards and two scores.

Murray will face a Rams’ defense that allowed 11 fantasy points to Goff in week 1. LA allowed 217 passing yards and a touchdown and seven rushing yards, while picking off one pass.

Richardson will take on the Packers in week 2. Green Bay allowed 16 fantasy points to Jalen Hurts in week 1. The Packers allowed 278 passing yards and two touchdowns, but picked off two passes - the Pack allowed 33 rushing yards on 13 attempts.

Purdy will face the Vikings in week 2. Minnesota held Daniel Jones to five fantasy points in week 1. The Vikings’ defense allowed 186 passing yards and 15 rushing yards - they didn’t allow a score and picked off two passes.

Recommended Starters

In the week 2 projections, Goff and Tagovailoa are tied for 20 projected fantasy points. 

Stafford is projected for 19 points, while Murray and Burrow are at 18 points. Richardson and Prescott are at 17 projected points, while Mayfield and Purdy are at 16 points.

None of the dual-threat quarterbacks in this conversation have great matchups, so I’m leaning toward the pure passers this week.

I like Goff most in this nine-quarterback debate. The matchup is fantastic, and I think this could be a high-scoring game, allowing Goff to pass plenty and rack up a ton of fantasy points.

I'm all aboard the Mayfield hype train and am going with him second. The matchup against the Lions’ defense is a juicy one, and I think he’s in store for another monster showing through the air. Detroit defends the run well, so expect Mayfield to pass a ton to help the Bucs keep pace with the Lions.

Give me Stafford in his matchup against the Cardinals next. He’s not a running threat, but I still think Stafford can put up monster numbers this week. Don’t be scared by Puka Nacua being out, Stafford still has enough pass catchers available to him to put up more big numbers.

I’ll take Tagovailoa next. I was extremely high on Tagovailoa when I wrote the Dolphins Week 2 Fantasy Outlook yesterday, but am backing off Tagovailoa a bit now with De'Von Achane trending toward playing. I still think Tagovailoa will have a big passing game, just not quite as big as I anticipated before - if Achane is a late scratch, I’d bump him up past Stafford and Mayfield.

Give me Richardson next in his clash with the Packers. Green Bay did a solid job of slowing Hurts on the ground in week 1, but I think Richardson will find more success on the ground this week. The only reason I don’t have Richardson higher is because of his turnover issues, and after the Packers created a couple takeaways in the opener.

I’d roll with the other dual-threat option (Murray) here. He could easily finish as the top quarterback among the nine in this story, but he didn’t pass the best in week 1, and the matchup isn’t super favorable, so he gets dropped to here.

I’ll take Purdy next in his battle with the Vikings. Minnesota’s defense was great in week 1, but Purdy and the Niners aren’t Jones and the Giants. I expect Purdy to have another strong game, and the only reason why I don’t have him higher is because I think this is a lopsided game in which San Fran runs a lot more in the second half.

I’ll take Prescott next in his matchup against the Saints. Much like I just said with Purdy, the Cowboys and Prescott are not the Panthers and Young. Prescott was simply average last week, so this is as high as I’m comfortable going with him.

That means Burrow rounds things out for me. The matchup looks good on paper, but Burrow isn’t going to add the rushing stats that Jackson did last week to turn in a big fantasy score. Burrow struggled in week 1, and the Chiefs’ defense will be another tough challenge. I expect Burrow to be average at best this week - he’d need to throw multiple touchdowns and take care of the ball to reach an average mark, and I don’t see that happening.