Who Should I Start? Geno Smith or Joe Burrow

Wednesday, December 31, 3:41 PM

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said that quarterback Geno Smith (ankle) will not play on Sunday against the division-rival Kansas City Chiefs in the Week 18 regular-season finale, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN. "I hate closing the door on any opportunity, but it's going to be really hard for him," Carroll said. Smith suffered a serious ankle injury in the Week 17 loss to the New York Giants and won't suit up for a meaningless contest to close out the regular season. With the 35-year-old veteran wrapping up a brutal first year in the desert, backup Kenny Pickett is expected to start this weekend. Aidan O'Connell could also end up splitting time with Pickett against KC. Smith was one of the worst starting QBs in football in 2025, completing 67.4% of his 448 pass attempts for 3,205 yards, 19 touchdowns, and a league-leading 17 interceptions in 15 starts.

Sunday, January 4, 6:23 PM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow finished off the 2025 season on a strong note during Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns. Burrow completed 29 of 39 passing attempts for 236 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the loss. Burrow did everything he could, but the special teams unit let him down this week. Burrow finishes the season with 1,809 passing yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games after missing a good portion of the year after having surgery to fix a turf-toe injury. The 29-year-old is clearly one of the best QBs in the league, but his inability to stay healthy is hurting this team. Burrow has missed significant time in two of the last three seasons. The hope is that he'll be able to put together a fully healthy season in 2026.