Upgrades for Week 2 Quarterback Rankings: Josh Allen Leads Freedman's QB Favorites

Let's get into the Week 2 QB edition of Freedman's Favorites, where I highlight guys I'm upgrading because of …

• Favorable betting factors and situational spots
• Advantageous defensive matchups (perhaps aided by injury)
• Increased usage expectations (again, maybe aided by injury)

For process notes regarding this series, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my Week 2 favorites and fades.

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Week 2 Quarterback Rankings (The Top 20)

QB Rankings Week 2 Matchup Upgrades: Jayden Daniels at Cowboys & Jordan Love at Jets

There are a few "flow chart" defenses so bad that they provide automatic upgrades to whatever QBs they face. If a guy is playing one of them, I aggressively move him up my ranks. If not, I carry on.

Based on the numbers I see in our Fantasy Life DvP (Defense vs. Position) Matrix as well as RBs Don't Matter and FTN, the Cowboys and Jets last year were two of the biggest flow chart defenses for QBs.

• Cowboys: No. 1 in largest fantasy boost allowed to QBs (+5.1)
• Jets: No. 32 in defensive dropback EPA (0.291) and pass DVOA (45.3%)

Bang a gong.

Jayden Daniels (Commanders) at Cowboys: Daniels looked like the future of the league in his 2024 OROY-winning debut, but he missed 10 games to injury in 2025, and his efficiency declined (6.9 AY/A vs. 7.6; 4.8 yards per carry vs. 6.0). Now in 2026, his top pass catchers (WRs Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs) are potentially too ancient (31, 32 years old), and his new "mentor" (OC David Blough) is potentially too young (31) and inexperienced (no NFL playcalling experience prior to last week, just two seasons as a coach). But Daniels was solid last week against the tough Eagles (17.7 fantasy points), and although he's on the second game of a divisional back-to-back road trip this week, at least he's playing indoors in a game with a strong 50.5-point total. HC Dan Quinn has historically used Week 2 as a launchpad (7-1 ATS, 68.8% ROI, per Action Network), and while the Commanders are underdogs, in Weeks 1-4 divisional road dogs have outperformed (150-117-8 ATS, 9.3% ROI). The Cowboys could be without LB DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring) and FS Malik Hooker (forearm), both of whom exited Week 1 with injuries.

Jordan Love (Packers) at Jets: The Packers are unfortunately playing their second straight game on the road, where Love has tended to underwhelm (11-17-1 ATS, -24.1% ROI), but at least HC Matt LaFleur crushes in Week 2 (7-0 ATS, 93.0% ROI), Love impressed in 2023 in his first starting season (4,159 yards, 32 TDs passing), and then he improved as a passer over the next two years (8.1 AY/A vs. 7.4). I expect that progression to continue in 2026. One of my 2026 NFL bold predictions is that Love will win MVP, and after he passed for 387 yards and 2 TDs in Week 1 (albeit in a 39-22 loss), I expect Love's path to the award to begin in earnest this week. For the Jets, EDGE Joseph Ossai (foot) and FS Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin) are uncertain.

Week 2 Scoring Upgrades in my QB Rankings: Matthew Stafford vs. Giants & Brock Purdy vs. Dolphins

Sometimes upgrades are as simple as: "This team is going to score a lot of points, so I need to bump up the QB."

This week, after their long sojourn to and from Australia, the 49ers and Rams are respective Nos. 1 & 3 in implied team totals (29.5, 28 points).

Upgrades warranted.

Brock Purdy (49ers) vs. Dolphins: Purdy got the job done in Australia last week with a convincing 27-7 win against a tough Rams defense (205 yards, 3 TDs passing plus 5-29-0 rushing), and now he's at home with three extra rest days and facing the Dolphins, who are on back-to-back non-divisional West Coast road games and last year were No. 31 in defensive dropback SR (52.3%). Rookie WR De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle) is doubtful and No. 2 TE Jake Tonges (knee) is uncertain, but I'm not worried about the 49ers, who have a significant survivor-style edge: In the first half of the season, home favorites of more than a TD who have winning records and made the playoffs in the previous year have dominated opponents outside conference who have losing records and missed the playoffs (48-25-1 ATS, 29.3% ROI). As -13.5 favorites, the 49ers feel inevitable.

Matthew Stafford (Rams) vs. Giants: Before the season started, one of my 2026 NFL best bets was that Stafford would win MVP (+1400). His Week 1 performance didn't help his case (155 yards, no TDs, 1 INT, 4.4 AY/A), but now Stafford has a number of factors in his favor: He's home, he's indoors, he has a three-day rest-and-preparation advantage, and he's facing an East Coast team traveling across the country for a non-divisional primetime game way out of its typical 1 p.m. ET play window after getting a statement win against the rival Cowboys in HC John Harbaugh's first game with the franchise. This could not be any more of a letdown spot.

Week 2 Defensive Injury Upgrades: Josh Allen vs. Lions & Jacoby Brissett vs. Seahawks

Here are a couple QBs who get upgrades because of defensive injuries.

Josh Allen (Bills) vs. Lions: One of my 2026 fantasy favorites, Allen had an MVP-caliber performance in Week 1 on the road against a tough Texans defense (334, 2 TDs passing plus 6-23-2 rushing). This week, it gets even better against the Lions, who are without SS Brian Branch (Achilles, PUP), FS Kerby Joseph (knee, PUP), and maybe S/CB Christian Izien (groin), who missed Week 1. On top of that, the Bills have a maximized home-field advantage against the Lions, who are outside of conference, on grass (vs. turf), and outdoors (vs. indoors). I don't love the idea of first-year HC Joe Brady preparing a game plan on a short week, but Allen has historically done well in the first month of the season (20-12 ATS, 19.8% ROI). I expect he'll be his usual self.

Jacoby Brissett (Cardinals) vs. Seahawks: A consummate journeyman, Brissett is on his sixth team since 2020 and will probably be just a bridge to a 2027 rookie, but last year for the Cardinals he averaged 280.5 yards passing in his 12 starts (albeit with a 1-11 record), and in Week 1 he picked up where he left off with a legitimately great performance (277 yards, 1 TD, 73.0% completion rate, 8.0 AY/A) in a 26-14 road win. The Seahawks last year were No. 1 in defensive pass DVOA (-20.2%), but in his one 2025 game against them he still did his thing (258 yards, 2 TDs, 4-31-0 rushing), and they could be without SS Nick Emmanwori (ankle) and FS Ty Okada (hamstring), both of whom missed Week 1. If you're desperate, you could maybe get away with starting Brissett in Guillotine LeaguesTM this week. 

Week 2 Indoors Upgrades: Dak Prescott vs. Commanders & Drew Lock at Cardinals

In general, I want to be heavy on QBs playing indoors, where they don't need to worry about wind, temperature or precipitation. Here are two such QBs who stand out.

Dak Prescott (Cowboys) vs. Commanders: Prescott did not look like himself in Week 1 (175 yards passing, 5.0 AY/A), but over the past three years, Prescott has led the league with 400+ completions (good for 4,500+ yards and 30+ TDs passing) in each of his two full campaigns. He remains one of the league's purest pocket passers, and Week 1 aside, he usually dominates in division (32-16 ATS, 29.3% ROI), especially against the Commanders (11-4 ATS, 40.6% ROI), who last year were No. 31 in defensive dropback EPA (0.239) and this week are dealing with injuries to LBs Frankie Luvu (groin) and Jordan Magee (hamstring).

Drew Lock (Seahawks) at Cardinals: In Week 1, Lock was more than serviceable as an in-game injury fill-in (72.7% completion rate, 9.4 AY/A) for starter Sam Darnold (hip), who is doubtful for Week 2. Coming off the season opener, Lock has a four-day rest-and-preparation edge against the Cardinals, who last year were No. 32 in defensive dropback SR (52.7%) and might be without CB Garrett Williams (Achilles). HC Mike Macdonald historically has his team ready to play off a win (14-7-1 ATS, 26.7% ROI) and on the road (12-4-1 ATS, 41.2% ROI).

Notes

Week 2 Favorites & Fades: Here's the rest of the pieces.

• Introduction
• QB Favorites
• QB Fades
• RB Favorites
• RB Fades
• WR Favorites
• WR Fades
• TE Favorites
• TE Fades

Defensive Matchups: Since the season is just one week old, I still rely primarily on prior defensive data.

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Monday and Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings schedule.

• Tue AM: Publish
• Thu AM: Refresh
• Thu PM: Make necessary TNF changes
• Sat PM: Update
• Sun AM: Revise
• Sun PM: Finalize based on news prior to 1 p.m. ET kickoff

Accuracy: I'm a seven-time top-20 ranker in accuracy and a long-time profitable player prop bettor. 

Scoring: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated.

Abbreviations: Here are some abbreviations I might have used in the piece.

• Fantasy Points per Game (FPPG)
• Against the Spread (ATS)
• Over/Under (O/U)
• Team Total (TT)
• Moneyline (ML)
• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A)
• Expected Points Added (EPA)
• Success Rate (SR)
• Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE)
• Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA)
• AirYAC (Air Yards + Yards After Catch)
• Weighted Opportunity Rating (WOPR)
• Average Depth of Target (aDOT)
• Short Down and Distance (SDD)
• Long Down and Distance (LDD)

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