Who Should I Start? Joe Flacco or C.J. Stroud

Sunday, November 23, 9:38 AM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco will get one more opportunity to start after Joe Burrow (toe) was ruled out for Sunday's Week 12 contest against the New England Patriots. While Burrow was trending in the right direction for this week, the Bengals have ultimately decided to keep him on injured reserve for at least a few more days. As a result, Flacco will remain installed as Cincinnati's starting quarterback for Week 12. He's coming off an uninspiring 199-yard clunker against the Steelers, and although he has five touchdowns over his last two games, he also has four turnovers during that span. To make matters worse, he'll be without Ja'Marr Chase (suspension), shifting Tee Higgins to the top receiver role. New England's defense has been strong this season, but it's best at stopping the run. The Patriots have allowed the ninth-most passing yards, seventh-most passing touchdowns, and 12th-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in 2025. This matchup and situation are best defined as "good, not great." That sentiment is reflected in RotoBaller's ranking of Burrow as the overall QB17 this week.

Friday, November 28, 8:51 PM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (concussion) has cleared the NFL's concussion protocol and will be ready to rejoin his team this week in a huge road game against the Colts. Stroud has missed the last three games since departing in Week 9 with a concussion against the Broncos. Davis Mills led the team to three straight wins, and they're 6-5, sitting on the edge of playoff contention. Stroud threw for 1,702 yards in his eight games with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. In his last full game, he looked very effective with 318 passing yards and two touchdowns against the 49ers. He was inconsistent in some of his early games this season and took some time to adjust to new offensive coordinator Nick Caley's system. However, he started to show off his upside just before his concussion, and he'll look to pick up where he left off in this important matchup on Sunday. He's the No. 20 QB in RotoBaller's rankings this week, making him a low-end QB2 for this week against the Colts.