Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or Brock Purdy

Wednesday, December 17, 1:21 PM

Kansas City Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder said that quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) was operated on quickly to fix the LCL part of his ACL/LCL knee injury that he suffered in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Jesse Newell of The Athletic. Mahomes has started his rehab in Dallas this week and will continue through Thursday before returning to KC. The fact that the 30-year-old tore both his ACL and LCL will make his recovery more complicated, but reports suggest that Mahomes is "hellbent" on returning for the Week 1 season opener in 2026. For the final three weeks of the 2025 season, Gardner Minshew will run KC's offense, which is an obvious downgrade for all of the Chiefs' offensive skill players. Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, threw for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 14 games in 2025 in his ninth NFL season.

Saturday, December 27, 3:55 AM

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has turned in four top-12 finishes in five games since returning from a six-week absence due to turf toe. Purdy stepped things up since the 49ers' Week 14 bye, putting up 295 passing yards in consecutive games and a total of eight touchdowns. Purdy has a great chance of keeping his hot streak alive in Week 17 against the Chicago Bears. The Bears have given up the seventh-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks and are tied with two other teams for the third-most passing touchdowns allowed. Tight end George Kittle (ankle) will be a game-time decision, but deep threat Ricky Pearsall (knee, ankle) is trending towards playing. Purdy projects as a QB1 given his recent track record and favorable matchup, making him a worthy starter in the fantasy championship round.