Who Should I Start? C.J. Stroud or Anthony Richardson Sr.

Tuesday, January 6, 12:34 AM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud rested in the second half of the season finale versus the Colts after completing 14 of 23 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Once it was known that the Jaguars were up big in their game against the Titans, thus eliminating the Texans from winning the division, the team decided to give Stroud the rest of the day off with a playoff spot already locked up. Houston will travel on the road to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild-Card round. The 24-year-old signal-caller has had another solid season, completing a career-high 64.5% of his passes for 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while adding 48 carries for 209 yards and another score on the ground in 14 games. The Ohio State product has posted 7.0 yards per attempt or higher in 10 of 14 games this season. The Steelers sit in the middle of the pack against the pass in most metrics, ranking 14th in net yards per pass attempt (6.3) and 16th in dropback EPA (0.060). Stroud and the Texans may need to air it out more often Monday night, with how dominant Pittsburgh has been against the run recently, allowing a league-low 73.3 rushing yards per game over the final four weeks. In one career game versus Pittsburgh in Week 4 of the 2023 season, Stroud threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, posting the second-highest yards per attempt (10.2) in a game of his career. Stroud projects as a quality option for fantasy managers in playoff leagues and can be trusted as a borderline QB1/QB2.

Wednesday, December 31, 12:30 PM

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said on Wednesday that the team will not activate quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. (eye) from Injured Reserve for the final week of the regular season, according to Jake Arthur of Sports Illustrated. Richardson is still dealing with vision limitations and will not play in the Week 18 regular-season finale this weekend against the division-rival Houston Texans. With the Colts officially eliminated from the playoffs, they will sit veteran Philip Rivers in favor of rookie Riley Leonard to close things out with an eye toward the future. A-Rich suffered a fractured orbital bone on Oct. 12 in a freak pre-game incident. The 23-year-old former first-rounder had returned to practice in recent weeks, but he didn't make enough progress to be a realistic starting option for Indy. Richardson appeared in just two games in 2025, and his future with the Colts is very much up in the air.