NFL Player News

The Washington Redskins will go with quarterback Kirk Cousins over Robert Griffin III this week at Atlanta, according to ESPN.

There has been speculation since Sunday about the prospect of coach Mike Shanahan starting Cousins over Griffin Week 15. The team has not confirmed its quarterback plans for the game, but several reports this morning state the game plan has Cousins starting.

Cousins replaced Griffin in last week's loss to Kansas City, completing seven of 16 pass attempts for 59 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. Griffin did not play the entire fourth quarter during a snowy game, completing 12 of his 26 passes for 164 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Just like he did in 2012, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is headed for another strong finish after an uneven start to the season. Wilson moves onto the Giants in Week 15 after the 49ers stopped his hot streak Week 14, so this could end up being an ugly week for the New York defense.

Wilson has thrown multiple touchdowns in seven of his last nine games. He's been held to less than 20 Fantasy points just three times in his last nine games. 

The Giants did have a run of games from Week 7 through Week 11 where they held quarterbacks to less than 10 Fantasy points over a four-game span. But quarterbacks have averaged 22 Fantasy points in the last three games against the Giants, so the defense is starting to have its problems again. Through the first six games this season, quarterbacks were averaging 27 Fantasy points per week against New York.

The 49ers were a tough matchup for Wilson, who has combined to total 23 Fantasy points in two games against the NFC West foe. The Giants won't be as difficult of a matchup, so consider Wilson a viable Fantasy start in all formats Week 15.

Though Texans quarterback Case Keenum has been in hot water recently, getting relieved by Matt Schaub two of the last four weeks, he's expected to start Week 15 at Indianapolis. And if recent history is any indication, it's a good matchup for him. Making just his second career start, Keenum threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns against the Colts in Week 9.

Generally speaking, the Colts have been middle-of-the-road against the pass. They've allowed 241.5 passing yards per game and have given up the 13th-most Fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. They've also failed to generate much of a pass rush over their last six games, averaging 1.5 sacks.

Still, averaging just 192.5 passing yards with two touchdowns to four interceptions over his last four games, Keenum is a risky start regardless of the matchup. Of the three CBSSports.com Fantasy Football analysts, Dave Richard ranks him the highest at 20th among quarterbacks.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who's trying to come back from a broken collarbone, said he felt pain and discomfort when he practiced last Wednesday, reports ESPN.com. "I shouldn't be having pain doing simple movements," he said.

Rodgers will try to practice this Wednesday in hopes of playing Sunday at Dallas. "I don't feel like I need a ton of reps (to play)," he said, per the website. If he can't go, Matt Flynn will get another start.

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan hasn't named a starting quarterback for Week 15 at Atlanta, as he considers benching struggling starter Robert Griffin III. A team source told ESPN it appears Shanahan wants to start Kirk Cousins the remainder of the season to protect Griffin, but it seems Washington owner Daniel Snyder wants Griffin to remain under center.

"Mike is pushing it with benching the quarterback, but I don't think Dan is going for it," the source said.

Although he's coming off a four-touchdown performance, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton isn't a surefire Fantasy starter Week 15. Dalton visits the Steelers, and his history vs. Pittsburgh is not encouraging.

In five career meetings, Dalton has completed 53 percent of his throws. He's averaged 194 passing yards with five touchdowns, five interceptions and a 67.8 passer rating. Dalton did play fairly well in Week 2 vs. Pittsburgh, throwing for 280 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 10 yards.

But Dalton's last three road games were ugly: eight turnovers, three touchdowns. The Steelers rank in the middle of the pack in defending Fantasy quarterbacks; they're capable of eliciting the "bad" Dalton.

Dalton has been up and down all season. With Fantasy playoffs on the line, place your trust elsewhere if possible.

Although the Raiders suffered a third straight defeat Sunday against the Jets, coach Dennis Allen said Matt McGloin will remain the starting quarterback heading into Week 15 vs. Kansas City. McGloin is 1-3 as a starter, throwing for 200-plus yards in three straight games and totaling six touchdowns to three interceptions in his four starts.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday quarterback Aaron Rodgers (collarbone) will work out Tuesday and be evaluated Wednesday morning, but he still hasn't been medically cleared to play. He said Rodgers is progressing and started to feel better Friday, but the plan for now is to prepare for Matt Flynn to start Week 15 at Dallas.

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said Monday he hasn't made a decision on his Week 15 starting quarterback. However, he said if he benches Robert Griffin III Sunday against the Falcons, then Kirk Cousins will start the final three games.

Shanahan said his decision will come down to keeping Griffin healthy heading into the offseason. The Redskins have allowed 24 sacks in the last five games, and Shanahan expressed concern about the amount of hits Griffin has been taking.

With his team trailing 45-10, Redskins backup quarterback Kirk Cousins got a chance to play the entire fourth quarter Week 14 against the Chiefs, replacing Robert Griffin III. He wasn't particularly impressive, completing 7 of 16 passes for 59 yards and nearly throwing an interception, but he was satisfied with the performance, according to The Washington Post.

"First of all, I really benefit from getting reps. Just playing. Even if I had thrown a pick on every play, it still would've been a good thing to be out there, playing," Cousins said. "I did some good things, did some things I want to improve upon. But the fact that I could put some stuff on tape, go back watching, be hard on myself, watch it, that's always a positive coming away from a game."

Though coach Mike Shanahan didn't say Griffin's job was in jeopardy, he did leave room for speculation after the game.

"We'll talk about all that later," he said. "I would say that about anybody at any position. We'll talk about that. We'll look at injuries. We'll look at where we're at and what direction we're going."