Fantasy Football Week 3 Quarterback Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Tyler Shough vs. Jordan Love
Tyler Shough and Jordan Love are both close in the current fantasy football rankings. They fall inside the QB1 range, but only slightly. They range around that QB8-12 range. Yes, Shough is off to a league-leading start, but that shall normalize in the long term. Thus, Shough and Love create the perfect Week 3 start-em, sit-em debate.
The Case of Tyler Shough
Tyler Shough on deep passes this season
— PFF (@PFF) September 22, 2026
Best in NFL
99.9 Grade ✅
156.3 Pass Rating ✅*
75.0% comp pct ✅*
5 Big Time Throws ✅
0 TO Worthy Plays ✅*
24.6 yards/att ✅
*tied for best pic.twitter.com/VDLGB3MtMe
Shough's league-leading start features 331 passing yards per game. He has led the Saints to a 1-1 record that includes a win over a highly touted Ravens team and a failed two-point conversion that led to a 31-30 loss to the Lions. The start doesn't look all that fluky; it doesn't look like the gunslinging Shough.
On a deeper dive, Shough has a 68.9% completion percentage. He has thrown 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Shough has an 8.3% big-time throw rate, 7.4 yards per attempt, and he ranks 10th in PFF Grade at quarterback.
The projection of Shough has, of course, been boosted. Previously, he ranked around QB20 in fantasy football. In Week 3, Shough is up to QB10 when facing the Las Vegas Raiders.
Las Vegas is a unit that I power-rate as the NFL's 31st-best coverage. They are my 31st-ranked defense, and they must travel to New Orleans, which is among my more difficult projected home-field, 31st-ranked endeavors of the week.
Shough's projection foresees 31.5 passing attempts, 20.3 completions, 223.6 passing yards, 1.4 touchdowns, and 0.5 interceptions. Shough adds 2.6 projected rushing attempts for 14.4 rushing yards.
The Case of Jordan Love
Love's season is up for interpretation. On the one hand, Love has 265.5 yards per game, with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. On the other hand, Love has a completion percentage of 52.1%, a 1.3% big-time throw rate, and is 31st/33rd in PFF Grade.
Over two weeks, Love does have the excuse of tougher matchups. He lost to a very strong Brian Flores Vikings defense, and then narrowly defeated a Jets defense that is first in total defense through two affairs.
Jordan Love balls out on Thursday Night Football
— Tom Carelli | Fantasy Football (@TCarelliTakes) September 24, 2026
Last 4 TNF starts -> Passer Ratings (Watson is an outlier)
💚Start Love in Week 3 fantasy football. pic.twitter.com/jlUhFObLIh
Coming into Thursday Night Football, Love is projected as the QB8 in Week 3. He is projected for 34.8 passing attempts, 22.5 completions, 247.4 passing yards, 1.7 touchdowns, and 0.6 interceptions. Love schemes to add another 7.0 yards of rushing on 1.3 attempts.
The Falcons play their opponent in Green Bay. I rank this as the best home-field advantage of the week. Love is also historically very good on the short week, and he gets a Falcons defense, which I rank 26th in the NFL. While they pull up to rank 10th in coverage, the team has Billy Bowman Jr. listed as questionable, and they just lost AJ Terrell to the IR.
Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Tyler Shough vs Jordan Love
Both quarterbacks appear to have very favorable matchups in Week 3. I would go so far as to say that either quarterback is a viable option for the game ahead. If I had to choose between the two, I would go with the one who has upside.
The Saints have a projected pass rate of 60.5% per week. The Packers are at a 57.5 pass rate. However, that factors in game script. The Saints are expected to trail Green Bay more often. In Week 3, both teams have favorable matchups and are expected to win more often than they lose.
Shough has proven himself better at football over the past two games. As the saying goes, "Strike the iron while it's hot."
I am not going to advertise benching Love. However, Shough has proven to be better at football. He is also primed for a closer-than-expected game against the Raiders, whereas Love and the Packers might get loose on the Falcons in primetime. That adds a mild risk of a second-half run script.
It is the case I make. Start Shough in Week 3.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.