Who Should I Start? Bailey Zappe or Sam Howell

Saturday, January 4, 9:28 PM

Cleveland Browns quarterback Bailey Zappe completed 16 of his 31 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions while adding two yards on two carries in a 35-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18. Zappe made his first and only start of the season for the Browns in the finale while showing spotty accuracy and a lack of arm strength in the lopsided loss. His first interception came in the first quarter and was a back-breaker as it was thrown right into the hands of rookie corner Nate Wiggins, who returned it 26 yards for a touchdown. The Browns turned to Dorian Thompson-Robinson to lead a drive at the end of the first quarter but he only wound up taking six snaps in the contest before the team reinserted Zappe at the beginning of the second quarter. An unrestricted free-agent heading into the offseason, Zappe will look to catch on as a backup quarterback somewhere ahead of the 2025 season.

Wednesday, January 1, 5:04 PM

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said the team doesn't plan on playing backup quarterback Sam Howell in their Week 18 regular-season finale on Sunday against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams. The Seahawks were eliminated from postseason contention in Week 17, but it sounds as though they plan to play all of their starters this weekend to close out the season. Howell has played only 25 offensive snaps in his first year in Seattle and didn't look particularly confident in the rare instances he got into a game this year. Despite dealing with a nagging knee injury of late, the 34-year-old Geno Smith should start and play all of the Week 18 game, lining him up as a QB1 option this week with so many starters across the league being rested in the season finale. Smith enters Week 18 as the QB13 in overall fantasy points with 4,097 passing yards, 17 TDs and 15 interceptions in 16 games.