Who Should I Start? Matthew Stafford or Jared Goff

Monday, January 19, 11:00 AM

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford managed to lead his team to victory, but he did not have his most productive day in the NFC Divisional Round against the Chicago Bears. The 37-year-old completed 20 of 42 pass attempts for 258 yards (6.1 yards per attempt) without a touchdown. He also fumbled twice, although both were recovered by the Rams. Stafford is playing through a sprained right index finger that he suffered in the Wild Card Round, which could be negatively impacting his performance. Still, his team will likely need more from him in the NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle completely dominated San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy in the Divisional Round, holding him to 140 passing yards and holding the 49ers to just six total points. However, Stafford had plenty of success against the Seahawks in the regular season, completing 44 of 77 pass attempts for 587 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions across two meetings between the two NFC West foes. Fantasy managers may be wise to closely monitor reports on Stafford's injured finger heading into the NFC Championship Game.

Wednesday, December 24, 8:16 PM

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff has played solid football all season long, completing 68.6% of his pass attempts for 4,036 yards, 32 touchdowns, and five interceptions across 15 games. Goff's production has ramped up to another level in recent weeks, as he's attempted 129 passes and thrown for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns without an interception over his last three games. However, Goff and the Lions will face a very difficult matchup in Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings. Entering the week, Minnesota ranks second in the NFL in total passing yards allowed (2,790) and tied for second in passing touchdowns allowed (14). In their Week 16 win over the New York Giants, the Vikings allowed Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart to throw for just 33 yards on 13 pass attempts. In his first matchup of 2025 against Minnesota in Week 9, Goff was sacked a season-high five times. Fantasy managers in single-quarterback formats may want to avoid Goff if possible in Week 17.