So far, the knock on Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer is that he had his worst game of the season on one of those rare occasions when Fantasy owners put their trust in him, completing just 16 of 41 passes for 215 yards and no touchdowns in what was supposed to be a favorable matchup Week 7 at Jacksonville.
But that performance came in the middle of what's proven to be a defensive awakening for the Jaguars. In retrospect, the matchup wasn't actually favorable, but unfavorable, which reconciles it with the rest of Hoyer's season.
Namely, Week 9 against Tampa Bay -- a legitimately good matchup for Hoyer in which he delivered legitimately good numbers, completing 21 of 34 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw two interceptions, but you're not expecting perfection from Hoyer. You're just hoping for quality production.
He's thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game but that Jaguars debacle, and his last three games with 250-plus yards -- along with Week 9, Week 8 against Oakland and Week 5 at Tennessee -- were all predictable based on the matchup.
His matchup Week 10 at Cincinnati is a questionable one, especially since it's on a Thursday night, but if you're in a pinch with your usual starter on bye, you could do worse than Hoyer at quarterback.