Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Jordan Love

Thursday, January 8, 12:25 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk won't be a very popular fantasy option for playoff leagues going into the team's Monday night Wild-Card matchup against the hosting Pittsburgh Steelers, even though the Steelers' defense was a top-10 matchup for opposing wideouts in 2025 in terms of half-PPR points per game. In the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Indianapolis Colts, Kirk caught just one of two targets for minus-three yards, even with top receiver Nico Collins getting the day off. However, the Texans did bench starting quarterback C.J. Stroud after halftime. Still, the 29-year-old Kirk had fewer snaps than both rookie Jayden Higgins and Xavier Hutchinson, and he has only 28 catches for 239 yards and one touchdown on 52 targets all year. Kirk has been on the field plenty for Houston, but he hasn't been targeted much and has basically been sharing slot duties with rookie Jaylin Noel of late.

Thursday, January 8, 4:40 PM

After suffering a concussion early in his team's Week 16 loss to the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love missed the final two games of the 2025 season. However, Love is off the injury report and ready to go for his team's Wild Card Weekend rematch against Chicago. The 27-year-old was very solid when healthy this season, completing 66.3% of his pass attempts for 3,381 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Love was also highly productive in the one full game he played against the Bears this season, completing 17 of 25 pass attempts for 234 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Chicago's defense was generally a favorable matchup for quarterbacks throughout the regular season, allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to the position. Fantasy managers in playoff leagues may feel the need to be cautious about trusting Love coming off the injury, but he could be a sleeper option at the quarterback position in the first round of the postseason.