Let’s kick off the rankings for the coming week with a look at the top quarterbacks in the league:

1. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – vs. Oakland
2. Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – vs. Atlanta
3. Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – at Tennessee
4. Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys – vs. New York Giants
5. Eli Manning – New York Giants – at Dallas
6. Tom Brady – New England Patriots – at Washington
7. Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions – vs. Minnesota
8. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – at Carolina
9. Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers – vs. Buffalo
10. Michael Vick – Philadelphia Eagles – at Miami
11. Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – vs. Cleveland
12. Tim Tebow – Denver Broncos – vs. Chicago
13. Carson Palmer – Oakland Raiders – at Green Bay
14. Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens – vs. Indianapolis
15. Matt Moore – Miami Dolphins – vs. Philadelphia
16. Rex Grossman – Washington Redskins – vs. New England
17. Ryan Fitzpatrick – Buffalo Bills – at San Diego
18. Matt Hasselbeck – Tennessee Titans – vs. New Orleans
19. Alex Smith – San Francisco 40ers – at Arizona
20. Caleb Hanie – Chicago Bears – at Denver
21. Christian Ponder – Minnesota Vikings – at Detroit
22. Mark Sanchez – New York Jets – vs. Kansas City
23. Sam Bradford – St. Louis Rams – at Seattle
24. Josh Freeman – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Jacksonville
25. Kevin Kolb – Arizona Cardinals – vs. San Francisco

Thoughts:

• Matthew Stafford is coming off a big game against the Saints (408 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), but it isn’t enough to overshadow the problems.  He has 8 TD passes in his past four games, but five of them came in one game.  With the Lions trying to keep up with the Packers & Saints, he has a mere two TD throws.  Over his past four games he also has 10 INT (and at least one in every game).  The matchup with the Vikings is alluring and he definitely is going to be a must use option, but you have to temper any expectations you have for him.
• Tony Romo continued to put up strong numbers in Week 13 and has thrown for 1,087 yards, 9 TD and 2 INT over his past four games.  It is widely expected that Miles Austin will return to the lineup this week, giving him yet another weapon at his disposal.  Throw in a matchup against the Giants (allowing 260.2 passing yards per game), a team he has thrown 17 TD passes in eight career games against, and you get one of the better plays for the coming week.
• Over his past four games Eli Manning has thrown for over 300 yards three times.  Over his past nine games he’s accomplished the feat six times.  He’s failed to throw for at least two touchdowns just three times on the season and only twice has thrown more than one interception in a game.  He is arguably having the best year of his career.  He’s always at his best with the pressure on and no game is bigger for the Giants, as a loss could signal the end of their season.  Look for him to thrive once again.
• It’s quite likely that Michael Vick returns to the Eagles lineup this week against a Dolphins team that has been playing significantly better.  The question is, exactly what can we expect from Vick?  Having not played over the past few weeks he’s a real wild card.  Obviously, with fantasy titles riding in the balance, he’s a usable option, though.
• Carson Palmer has quickly shown that he can be a productive option in Oakland and, if his receivers can get healthy, could be even better.  He’s thrown for at least 270 yards in four of his first five starts as a Raider, despite the offense being geared more towards the run (whether it is Darren McFadden or Michael Bush).  Against the Packers, there’s no reason to think that he’s going to slow down now.  Consider him a viable option as a low-end QB1 in all formats.
• I am including both Josh Freeman and Sam Bradford on the rankings, though there is questions of if either will play in Week 14 or not.  Monitor the situations and make sure they are playing before committing to either of them.