Who Should I Start? Matthew Stafford or Josh Allen

Sunday, December 28, 10:27 PM

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford continues to be a must-start fantasy option heading into Monday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17. Stafford tallied multiple touchdowns in each of his last nine games, and he only threw three interceptions during that span. The 37-year-old veteran is firmly in the hunt for the 2025 NFL MVP award, remaining in a neck-and-neck battle with Drake Maye as the regular season winds down. Despite lacking rushing upside, Stafford has ranked as the overall QB3 in fantasy football this season. The Falcons rank near the middle of the league in terms of fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks, but Stafford has shown that he is matchup-proof. He'll remain a high-scoring threat this week, even without Davante Adams (hamstring) at his disposal. Adams sat out Week 16, and Stafford still managed to rack up 457 yards and three touchdowns, albeit with a little help from overtime. He should be started in all leagues during Week 17.

Sunday, December 28, 8:52 PM

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (foot) told Dan Fetes of 13WHAM that he wasn't bothered by his foot injury at all during the second half of Sunday's Week 17 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. Specifically, when asked how much his foot impacted him, Allen said, "Zero." However, the star quarterback was seen exiting the X-ray room with a limp after the loss, according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. He added that the quarterback's X-rays came back negative. It's unclear whether Allen downplayed the injury in his postgame comments or whether the additional imaging was merely conducted out of an abundance of caution. The 29-year-old will likely do everything in his power to play in Week 18 against the New York Jets. With that being said, Buffalo has guaranteed that it will finish somewhere between the No. 5 and the No. 7 seed in the AFC, guaranteeing the Bills don't get a first-round home game. With this in mind -- and a relatively softer matchup against the Jets on tap -- we wouldn't be surprised to see Allen only play a portion of next week's game if the Bills take a substantial early lead. In other words, he should get a chance to lock up the No. 5 seed but might not play any more snaps than necessary. Fantasy managers should still view Allen as a high-end QB1 as he takes on the Jets, who just allowed Drake Maye to throw for five touchdowns in fewer than three quarters. We'll likely get more updates on Allen's status in the days leading up to Week 18.