Week 2 Fantasy Football Rankings: Projecting Numbers for QBs with Ideal Matchups

Fantasy football was kind to many owners who inserted even moderately successful quarterbacks into their starting lineups.

Although the total was partially inflated by Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning's seven touchdown passes in the season opener, the first week of 2013 NFL action saw an unprecedented 63 total scoring tosses, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Only three players had 100-yard games on the ground.

Two running backs pulled it off, but so did promising Oakland Raiders signal-caller Terrelle Pryor, who scampered for 112 yards.

It's hard to project what Manning will do facing his kid brother Eli and the New York Giants' ferocious pass rush on the road.

Pryor is entering just his third career start, and although it's against the seemingly putrid Jacksonville Jaguars, there are other more established signal-callers facing particularly favorable matchups in Week 2.

Let's take a look at the three must-start options at the position this week and what to expect from them in terms of numbers, followed by a power ranking of the top 10 QBs and their opponents.

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The presence of Sean Payton back on the sidelines as head coach and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's aggressive scheme contributed to the Saints' season-opening 23-17 win over the defending division champion Atlanta Falcons.

Brees no longer has an historically awful defense to support him, and with the early opportunity to go 2-0 in the NFC South, don't expect him to let it pass without putting up a monster game.

Tampa Bay's secondary is definitely improved by the presence of Darrelle Revis, who should give Marques Colston some problems. However, the Saints have plenty of other weapons for Brees to utilize.

The running game behind Brees only produced 2.7 yards per carry in Week 1, and the Bucs were the top rush defense a season ago and limited the Jets to 90 yards in their opener.

That will give Brees more opportunities to go to the air, exploiting everyone aside from Revis against a Buccaneers team that allowed rookie Geno Smith to throw for 256 yards and a touchdown in his debut.

The Bucs' pass rush was notoriously awful a year ago, and Smith's hesitancy was more of a reason for the Jets yielding five sacks. Brees will get the ball out quicker and do everything in his power to get the Saints out to a magnificent start in a bid to return to the playoffs.

Projections: 35-of-45 for 380 yards passing, 4 TDs, 1 INT

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers vs. Washington Redskins

Even as the Packers defense was cut as easily as cheese by San Francisco 49ers star Colin Kaepernick, Rodgers managed to keep Green Bay in striking distance in Week 1 on the road.

Now that he's back in the friendly confines of Lambeau Field against a lesser opponent in Washington, who was just blitzed by the Philadelphia Eagles' revamped offense, it is time for Rodgers to shine again.

Even the vaunted San Francisco defense didn't even bother trying to defend the run with how dangerous Rodgers is, per B/R's NFL draft expert Matt Miller:

If Rodgers can put up 333 yards and three touchdowns against one of the better defenses in the league without a running game to complement him, he should be able to light it up in his first 2013 home game.

Between a now-healthy Jordy Nelson, the explosiveness of Randall Cobb and the strong form flashed by tight end Jermichael Finley to start the season, the Packers should overwhelm the reigning NFC East champions.

Plus, James Jones had zero catches against the Niners, so his impact should only increase considerably from here.

Projections: 22-of-30 for 310 yards passing, 3 TDs; 3 carries, 20 yards, TD

Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles vs. San Diego Chargers

Surprise? Maybe not so much after last week, when Vick used both his arm and his legs to devastate Washington in the Monday night opener in a 33-27 victory.

Chip Kelly's groundbreaking, uptempo offense suits Vick's strengths well, as it's heavily reliant on the running game. That allows Vick to use his huge arm strength to exploit defenses down the field and opens up big throwing lanes off of play-action.

Vick has been prone to turnovers in recent years, but looks revitalized in this system. His only giveaway was a controversial backwards pass that was ruled a fumble.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted how long it had been since Vick had produced three touchdowns without tossing a pick:

This new efficiency should help Vick thrive in the Eagles' home opener against a San Diego Chargers team that just blew a 21-point lead in the second Monday night game. The league isn't ready to catch up with Philadelphia's offense yet, and the Chargers are at a significant disadvantage from multiple standpoints.

A short week makes preparing for such a freshly developed offense all the more difficult.

Compounding the problem is that the Chargers were shredded by the Texans for 346 yards through the air and have to travel all the way from the West Coast.

All signs point to Vick having a second consecutive stellar performance.

Projections: 16-of-27 for 260 yards passing, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 7 carries, 40 yards, TD