Who Should I Start? Jalen Hurts or Emari Demercado

Monday, December 15, 12:06 AM

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts turned the ball over five times in last week's Monday night loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but he bounced back in a big way in a favorable Week 15 matchup on Sunday against the visiting Las Vegas Raiders. Hurts only attempted 15 passes in the 31-0 rout, but he completed 12 of them for 175 yards and three touchdown passes. The 27-year-old signal-caller added seven carries for 39 yards on the ground. He was sacked only once for a loss of four yards. Two of Hurts' touchdown passes were short dump-offs to tight end Dallas Goedert, with his third passing TD coming to receiver A.J. Brown on a 27-yard hookup. It hasn't always been pretty in 2025, but Hurts now has 22 touchdown passes, eight rushing TDs, and six interceptions in 15 games. He has been a top-five fantasy QB and has another plus matchup for the fantasy semifinals in most leagues in Week 16 versus the division-rival Commanders.

Friday, December 19, 1:09 PM

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said on Friday that running back Michael Carter will get the starting nod in the backfield on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons with Bam Knight (ankle) done for the year, according to Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports. Emari Demercado is "expected to be involved as well." Carter should handle most of the early down work for Arizona in the final three games of the season, with Demercado serving as the team's passing-down specialist. The 26-year-old returned from a three-game absence due to an ankle sprain in last week's loss to the Houston Texans. Demercado played just 11% of the snaps and had one carry for one yard and two catches for no gain on three targets. In 10 games in 2025, he's averaged only 3.2 yards per carry for 242 yards, and no touchdowns on 32 carries on the ground, adding 10 catches for 64 yards and a TD. At best, Demercado will be a low-upside RB3/flex option for fantasy managers in deeper leagues this weekend.