Fantasy Football Week 12 Quarterback Late-Game Who Should I Start? Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield, and More

After missing six straight games and eight out of nine, Brock Purdy returned for the San Francisco 49ers last week. He only threw for 200 yards, but San Fran was leading the entire game, and Purdy was more efficient than volume-based, averaging 7.7 yards per attempt with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

While the matchup against the Cardinals was a little tougher on paper, the 49ers have had one of the best passing games in the league since Kyle Shanahan took over as coach, and that has led to good numbers and big fantasy scores for Purdy. After seeing him find success, Purdy is all over our FantasySP start/sit tool this week.

Let's look at Purdy and four quarterbacks playing in the late/night games who he has been compared to often on the start/sit tool. We'll do a head-to-head quick-hit exercise to determine the best starter in each situation. Most stats are from NFL.com.

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Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers vs. Carolina Panthers

In his three games, Purdy is completing nearly 68% of his passes and averaging 262 yards per game on 7.9 per attempt. While it's a small sample, we have seen Purdy find success over multiple seasons now, and it's best to think of him as a guy who will produce numbers most weeks.

The Panthers seemed like a team to go after often before the season, but they actually look much better on defense, ranking just a hair worse than average in yards per pass attempt allowed and giving up the ninth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They're probably not as good as their 6-5 record, but Carolina is fighting toward being an average team, something that seemed nearly impossible last year.

Despite the middling matchup, Purdy still has a good outlook here. His numbers add up fast with guys like George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey running after the catch, and the matchup is still fine, even if it's not as good as it seemed before the year started.

Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Brissett is coming off what has to be the best day of his career, as he completed 47 of 57 pass attempts for 452 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. His 47 completions were an NFL record, but it was mostly a product of the team throwing to catch up, as they trailed the whole game and lost 41-22.

Jacksonville has allowed the 10th-fewest yards per pass attempt, but they are still giving up the fifth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. A big reason for that worse fantasy performance is volume, as the Jags have given up around 250 passing yards per game with 21 touchdown passes (though they do have 13 interceptions, second in the league).

Advice: Start Brock Purdy over Jacoby Brissett. Despite his big numbers so far, we've seen Brissett as a more middling quarterback in the past, and I don't want to count on him to keep putting up huge days. Even with the Arizona quarterback having a better matchup on paper, I feel safer with Purdy than Brissett.

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Los Angeles Rams

Mayfield has had stretches this season in which he looked like an MVP candidate, but he has mixed in enough uneven work to keep him below that level and closer to average overall. His 236.5 passing yards per game on 7.0 per attempt are middling, though 17 touchdowns and just three interceptions are very nice.

The Rams pose a tough matchup, allowing the sixth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. QBs have also averaged just 15.7 rushing yards per game with one touchdown, so Mayfield won't have any easy avenue toward fantasy points.

Advice: Start Brock Purdy over Baker Mayfield. Mayfield looks more like the average player he has been most of his career rather than the stud from last year, and while that's fine, it keeps him a notch lower in fantasy (though his rushing helps make up that difference).

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Prescott spent time among the leaders in QB fantasy points, most notably throwing 21 touchdowns with just six interceptions while averaging close to 260 passing yards per game. That came from volume more than efficiency (7.1 yards per attempt), but it all counts the same in fantasy, and Dak is racking up stats.

The matchup here is the real issue, as the Eagles have allowed the seventh-fewest yards per pass attempt and the 10th-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. These teams met in the opening game in Week 1, and Prescott was held to 188 yards on just 5.5 per attempt with no touchdowns or interceptions. A similar quiet game is likely here.

Advice: Start Brock Purdy over Dak Prescott. I love Prescott's bulk numbers, but he hasn't shown great efficiency, and this is a tough matchup. Based on what we saw in Week 1, I'm not expecting a big day from the Dallas QB in this one.

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Stafford is my MVP pick so far. Part of that might be because he hasn't won the award yet in his accomplished career, while Josh Allen (probably the favorite) just won last year, but Stafford has also been fantastic, averaging 255.7 passing yards per game on 7.6 per attempt with 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

The Bucs also offer a nice matchup here, as they have given up the sixth-most yards per pass attempt and the seventh-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Injuries have run rampant on Tampa's offense, but they have also missed plenty of time from talented players on the defense, leaving them vulnerable to the pass.

Advice: Start Matthew Stafford over Brock Purdy. This one is close, as they both do well throwing the ball but don't run much, but Stafford has the better matchup and has been on fire, making him a good bet for a positive fantasy day.