RADIO
As if 2015 hadn't already seen its fair share of injuries, several more players fell victim to injury last Sunday. Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (foot) and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (shoulder) will both miss Sunday's games and possibly longer depending on the severity of their injuries. Both quarterbacks have been struggling heavily this season, so there's a possibility that if their replacements play well, they could be without jobs even when they return to health.
It seems like Brock Osweiler has been waiting his turn to start since Nixon was in office. The soon-to-be 25-year-old was drafted as the "quarterback of the future," but he's been sitting behind Peyton Manning since his rookie season. We all know what Peyton Manning has done in his career and what type of legacy he's created for himself, but Manning has been downright awful this season. His 35-yard, four-interception game against the Chiefs last week was easily the worst of his career, and he's now facing the possibility of completely losing his job.
I expect Osweiler to be usable if you have a quarterback on a bye week, especially in 10-team, two-quarterback leagues. Osweiler looked decent in his limited outing against Kansas City, throwing for 146 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He faces a surprisingly tough passing defense this week, as the Broncos travel to Chicago to take on the Bears. Despite what you might think about Chicago's defense, they actually rank fourth in total passing yards given up, and fourth in yards per game with only 227 per contest. The catch, however, is that Chicago has given up 17 touchdown passes, which ties them for 22nd in the league. While Osweiler is certainly unproven at this point, I think he has potential to produce decent numbers against a Chicago defense that is susceptible to giving up scores through the air.
Mark Sanchez will forever be remembered for his "butt-fumbling" days in New York, but he's started the re-branding process in Philadelphia. In nine games last season, Sanchez threw for 2,418 yards, 14 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. Sanchez did have a bit of a turnover issue, but he still went plus three in touchdown passes to interceptions ratio. Sanchez has been a backup this season to Sam Bradford, but his chance to prove himself as a starter begins this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sanchez has a pretty favorable matchup, with Tampa Bay giving up 19 touchdown passes this season, which ties them for 29th-worst in the league. They only give up 233 yards per contest, however, which is 10th-best in the league.
If you are playing Brock Osweiler or Mark Sanchez this week, chances are that you're probably forced to, but sometimes you have to rely on the waiver wire to get you by so don't feel too bad. I think both guys have a good shot to put up decent numbers against bad defenses and they both have offensive weapons that should help their cause. I prefer Sanchez slightly this week, just because he's been the starter before and has more experience, but Osweiler doesn't make for a bad play either. I'm expecting these guys to score in the 12-15 point range for fantasy, so don't bank on them to carry your team this week.
