Who Should I Start? Matthew Stafford or J.J. McCarthy

Sunday, January 4, 8:18 PM

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 25 of his 40 pass attempts for 259 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and zero interceptions during Sunday's Week 18 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He also took one sack and rushed for three yards. The 37-year-old quarterback entered this week in a neck-and-neck race with Drake Maye for the MVP award, and Stafford might have pulled ahead on Sunday afternoon, even without Davante Adams (hamstring) at his disposal. He finishes the regular season with an NFL-leading 4,707 passing yards, 46 passing touchdowns, and just eight interceptions. Los Angeles secured the NFC's No. 5 seed and will move on to face the Carolina Panthers in the opening round of the NFL playoffs next weekend.

Sunday, January 4, 3:08 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (right hand) exited during the third quarter of Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Green Bay Packers. He is officially listed as questionable to return. Given that Minnesota is eliminated from playoff contention and Green Bay is penciled into the No. 7 seed, it seems somewhat unlikely that the Vikings will put McCarthy back into the game if he's not fully healthy. For the time being, Max Brosmer has taken over at quarterback. At the time of his departure, McCarthy had completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 182 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero turnovers. He also had seven rushing yards. Injuries continue to be a common theme for the former first-round pick. McCarthy missed the entire 2024 season, and he played 100% of the snaps in fewer than half of the Vikings' games this year.