It's Week 16 and we are heading for the semi-finals of most fantasy football leagues. The playoffs mean that paying attention to injury/COVID news is even more vital to your team's success. An interesting COVID situation is the one regarding Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
Goff has been playing extremely well with a 105.1 passer rating over the last four weeks. Unfortuantely for him, he was placed on the COVID list earlier this week. Is Jared Goff going to play this week? If not, who will be the quarterback for the Detroit Lions? Let's jump into it.
Is Jared Goff Playing This Week Against the Falcons?
Jared Goff hit the COVID-19 list earlier in the week, with a possibility that he would make it back for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons. However according to recent reports, that is looking fairly unlikely:
The loss of Goff is a big one for a Detroit Lions team that has been heading in the right offensive direction over the last few weeks. In a shocking game, the Lions beat the Arizona Cardinals in Week 15 and saw players like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Craig Reynolds and Josh Reynolds play well.
The Lions also beat the Viking in Week 13, while keeping things close with the Bears and Browns the previous two weeks. The Lions offense will undoubtedly suffer from whomever the backup quarterback will be.
Who Is Starting at QB for the Lions In Week 16?
We now know that Tim Boyle will get the start at quarterback over David Blough against the Atlanta Falcons. Boyle has previous experience starting for the Lions, but it likely didn't matter which quarterback was going to start as both are a significant downgrade from Goff.
Should I Consider Starting Tim Boyle This Week?
Tim Boyle saw some time in the Lions' Week 11 loss to the Browns. He went 15-for-23 with 77 yards and two interceptions, good for a 34.1 passer rating. Ouch. Comparatively, Goff has produced a 90 passer rating in 2021.
The matchup against the Falcons is fantastic as they represent the 30th ranked pass defense in DVOA, but there is little faith that Boyle is capable of taking advantage. Boyle isn't in consideration this week for fantasy football managers, and the Lions receivers take big hits to their values as well.
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