Who Should I Start? Dak Prescott or C.J. Stroud

Wednesday, January 7, 1:12 PM

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is optimistic about the team's future based on quarterback Dak Prescott's impressive 2025 season. "I think I've seen Dak at the best he's ever been," Jones said. Prescott certainly had one of the best seasons of his 10-year NFL career, completing 67.3% of his 600 pass attempts for 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in 17 starts. His 404 completions were a league-high, and he finished as the QB5 in terms of overall fantasy points. The 32-year-old veteran entered Week 18 action with the most passing yards, completions, and pass attempts in the NFL, but he wasn't able to add much to those totals after the Cowboys pulled him in a meaningless game. Dallas' failure to make the postseason this year shouldn't rest on the shoulders of Prescott and the offense. Going into 2026, he'll be a strong QB1 target if the Cowboys bring receiver George Pickens back to work with CeeDee Lamb.

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.