Who Should I Start? Geno Smith or Josh Allen

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, 4:41 PM

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen played the first snap of Sunday's Week 18 contest against the New York Jets before being replaced by Mitch Trubisky. The Bills are locked into the fifth, sixth, or seventh seed in the AFC, and they didn't feel compelled to risk Allen's health with a Wild Card spot already secured. By playing the first snap of the game (which was a hand-off), Allen has now started 122 consecutive regular-season games. He reclaimed the honor of holding the longest active starting streak among quarterbacks after Philip Rivers, who had started 243 consecutive regular-season games, was benched in favor of Riley Leonard this week. Now, Trubisky will play the rest of the game while Allen rests on the sideline and gets ready for next weekend's playoff game. With that being said, the Bills have no other active quarterbacks, so if Trubisky gets injured, Allen would need to re-enter the game.