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Those of us in 2QB leagues know the importance of picking the right QB2. Our choice between Brandon Weeden and Ryan Tannehill could mean the difference between a win and a loss.

For that reason, TwoQBs will provide weekly QB rankings, focusing on every team’s starting quarterback. We won’t rank just the top 20 quarterbacks like most of the major sites; instead, we’ll rank every starter and sometimes even a few backups. Check back with us each week as you make your roster decisions.

Each week, our site rankings will be the average of our writer rankings. Where we disagree individually, we’ll make note of that in the average. You can hear more of our thoughts on QB rankings on the TwoQBs podcast.

Enough intro already — here are our 2013 Week 1 QB Rankings:



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Drew Brees, Saints. It is still early in the season, so many of the rankings are going to look similar to our 2013 QB Rankings because we simply don’t know which defenses are going to surprise us this year. Against the Falcons, this should be a high-scoring shootout.

Tom Brady, Patriots. When Newton, Manning, and Rodgers are playing the Seahawks, Ravens, and 49ers . . .

Peyton Manning, Broncos. Denver is furious about the Mile High Flop in the postseason last January, and even conservative Coach John Fox is going to let Manning make a statement this week. Also, the RB situation has not solidified so there is less threat of multiple running TDs than most weeks.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers. Rodgers has a good chance of finishing first overall at the QB position this year, but he’s facing one of the league’s toughest defenses this week. That, combined with some lingering question marks about the health of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb knocks him down a couple spots this week.

Matt Ryan, Falcons. It’s the Saints D, and Ryan is going to need to win this game through the air, regardless of whether Steven Jackson plays well. Expect a shootout.

Cam Newton, Panthers. Newton is too dependent on the run game for me to love this matchup against the Seahawks.

Matthew Stafford, Lions. Stafford will throw a lot, and the Lions will look to kick off 2013 with a high-scoring performance.

Tony Romo, Cowboys. Romo generally does well in season-openers, and all his favorite targets are healthy to start 2013.

Russell Wilson, Seahawks. Berger is much higher on Wilson this week, arguing that he could finish top 3 if Lynch doesn’t take the TDs. Lake has Wilson ranked a bit lower, wanting to see whether the Seahawks keep opening up the offense like late 2012, or whether they’ll stay with a conservative run-based offense like early 2012.

Andrew Luck, Colts. They’re playing the Raiders, who are going into Week 1 of their season-long collapse. You have to like that.

Colin Kaepernick, 49ers. We’re still not sure who Kaepernick is going to be throwing the ball to, but he’ll need to pass well against a Packers team that is sure to put up points.

Robert Griffin III, Redskins. On paper this is a great matchup for RG3, as the Eagles played terribly on defense last year. The questions are more about RG3′s knee and about how conservatively Mike Shanahan plays this one.

Michael Vick, Eagles. Vick has looked great this preseason and offseason, and he’s not even injured yet. Love this matchup too.

Carson Palmer, Cardinals. This is the ugly line where you start guessing on which QBs perform well. Palmer to Larry Fitzgerald gives us some reason for hope, and Lake is on record saying that this is Palmer’s year to shine.

Eli Manning, Giants. Averaged 8.5 points against the Cowboys last season…. 8.5. (And that offense struggled to move the ball all preseason, which is moderately concerning.)

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers. Playing the Titans, the Steelers might have more success with the running game than they will most weeks. Expect a short-passing, possession-style offense from the Steelers, particularly now that Mike Wallace is gone.

Matt Schaub, Texans. Could be a very low-scoring game against the Chargers. Schaub is solid in 2-QB formats, but there’s not a lot to love in Week 1.

Josh Freeman, Bucs. Tough matchup against the Jets’ defense, and Freeman has fallen off dramatically since the second half of 2012. Berger is higher on Freeman this week than Lake is. (For more on Freeman, check out this review of the 2012 Bucs.)

Alex Smith, Chiefs. Dwayne Bowe and Jamaal Charles are the best receivers Alex Smith has ever had. Both Smith and Reid are going to want to make a statement.

Andy Dalton, Bengals. Tough matchup against the Bears, but the Bengals offense has more passing weapons this year with Giovani Bernard and Tyler Eifert.

Joe Flacco, Ravens. The Broncos defense has holes, but it may not matter with the fury that is going to be Mile High this week.

Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins. Playing on the road in Cleveland is a tough matchup, and Tannehill may take some time to build chemistry with Mike Wallace and Brandon Gibson. (For more Tannehill analysis, check out this review of the Dolphins’ 2012 season.)

Jay Cutler, Bears. Cutler will struggle behind a bad offensive line, and it remains to be seen whether he has learned to spread the ball around. If he continues to stare down Brandon Marshall, eventually teams will start shutting down the passing game.

Sam Bradford, Rams. Jeff Fisher is going to try to make a point, but so is Patrick Peterson for the Cardinals. Boom-or-bust week for Bradford.

Brandon Weeden, Browns. Josh Gordon is out for these first two weeks, and that greatly limits Weeden’s potential. For those interested, check out a review of the Browns in 2012.

Terrelle Pryor, Raiders. He has a good matchup against the Colts, but hide your kids, hide your wife — this is going to be an ugly performance. Rushing alone might keep Pryor fantasy relevant this week, but it’s not going to be pretty. (That said, we think Terrelle Pryor should be owned in every 2QB league.)

Philip Rivers, Chargers. Playing the Texans on Monday night. Rivers is not the great quarterback he used to be, his wide receivers are mediocre at best, and the Texans are fired up to make a Super Bowl run this year. Avoid Rivers if at all possible.

Christian Ponder, Vikings. Ponder is bad and the offensive line is questionable. Adrian Peterson will run well, but we don’t want any part of this passing game in Week 1.

Blaine Gabbert, Jaguars. As of right now, the team expects Gabbert to start, but six days before gameday Gabbert still can’t take snaps due to a fractured thumb. Keep an eye on the Jaguars quarterback situation, although we don’t love either option for fantasy this week.

Jake Locker, Titans. A struggling young quarterback against the Steelers defense. Not a matchup for success.

Geno Smith, Jets. It looks like he’ll be starting Week 1. The only fantasy relevance that has is that you should be starting any defense that plays the Jets.

E. J. Manuel, Bills. We should get word Wednesday as to whether Manuel or Tuel starts for the Bills. Regardless, you shouldn’t be starting either one against the Patriots in Week 1.

Jeff Tuel, Bills. See E. J. Manuel, above.

Kirk Cousins, Redskins. There is a fair chance that Cousins sees playing time against the Eagles, whether it be through a reinjury to RG3′s knee or through an abundance of caution that leads Shanahan to bench RG3 later in the game.

Matt Flynn, Raiders. See Terrelle Pryor, above. (Frankly, however, we’re not sure Flynn’s arm is healthy enough that he’d come in if Pryor is benched.)

Chad Henne, Jaguars. See Blaine Gabbert, above.