Who Should I Start? Matthew Stafford or Marcus Mariota

Friday, December 19, 12:26 AM

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 29 of his 49 pass attempts for 457 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions during Thursday's Week 16 loss against the Seattle Seahawks. He also rushed for six yards and didn't take a sack. Although the Rams came up short, Stafford delivered a fantastic final stat line for his fantasy managers. Not only did he set a new season-high in fantasy points, but he also delivered his highest passing yards total since 2013, more than a dozen years ago. As a result, this was also his highest passing yards total as a Ram. The veteran quarterback managed to have such a spectacular performance despite being without Davante Adams (hamstring) against a strong Seahawks defense. Instead, he found Puka Nacua for 12 completions, 225 yards, and two touchdowns, while the rest of his pass-catchers accounted for the remaining volume. Stafford remains a high-end QB1 heading into a very favorable Week 17 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

Thursday, December 18, 5:29 PM

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota has a tough matchup in Week 16 against his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Mariota will remain Washington's starter for the remainder of the regular season after the team shut down Jayden Daniels (elbow) after aggravating his elbow injury in Week 14. The 32-year-old signal-caller has been solid all season while filling in for Daniels, completing 62% of his passes for 1,600 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while adding 49 carries for 298 yards and a touchdown as a runner in 10 games (seven starts). Mariota is averaging 18.4 fantasy points per game in his seven starts, which would be tied for QB11 on the season among quarterbacks with at least six games. Mariota profiles as a QB2 on Saturday against an Eagles defense that has allowed the 10th-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.