Who Should I Start? Andy Dalton or C.J. Stroud

Sunday, November 2, 11:49 AM

Carolina Panthers veteran quarterback Andy Dalton (thumb) is active for the Week 9 contest against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and will serve as the backup to Bryce Young, who is returning from a one-game absence due to an ankle sprain, according to Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer. The 38-year-old Dalton made his first start of the year in place of the injured Young last weekend and fell flat in the blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills, going 16-for-24 passing for 175 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. The Red Rifle sustained a broken right thumb in the process, which limited him in practice this week. Dalton is apparently good to go as the backup this weekend, though, so third-stringer Mike White will be a healthy scratch.

Monday, January 12, 3:00 PM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud averaged 234 passing yards per game in his five full starts since returning from the mid-season concussion that cost him three games. In that time, he threw six touchdowns to two interceptions while adding 169 yards and a score in a Week 18 win over the Colts that saw most of the team's starters pulled early. On Monday night, the Texans travel to Pittsburgh to face a Steelers defense that ranked 30th out of 32 teams against fantasy quarterbacks in the regular season. While Stroud doesn't offer the ceiling of some of the other quarterbacks in the playoff field, he is a smart, reliable passer with an underrated stable of pass catchers. He is RotoBaller's QB10 for the weekend, but given the plus-matchup, he makes for a smart start in any fantasy playoff format that allows players to be used only once.