Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or C.J. Stroud

Friday, December 12, 3:54 PM

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is coming off his worst game of the season in last week's 10-20 loss to the Houston Texans. Mahomes completed 14 of 33 pass attempts (42%) for 160 yards and three interceptions. Despite his ineffectiveness through the air, Mahomes was the team's leading rusher with 59 yards on the ground. The Kansas City Chiefs now sit at 6-7 with an 11% chance of making the playoffs, which hinges on them winning out the rest of the season. The Chiefs superstar will have to pull off a miracle to bring the team back from the brink of elimination, and he will have to start with the Los Angeles Chargers this week. The Chargers defense has allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season, which means another difficult matchup for Mahomes this week. Mahomes was also listed on the injury report with a knee injury, but he practiced all week fully and does not have an injury designation for the game. Mahomes is ranked QB10 in our RotoBaller rankings, making him a low-end QB1 in a make-or-break game.

Friday, December 12, 9:47 PM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud will try to help the Texans earn their sixth straight win when they host the Cardinals this week. Stroud missed the first three games of the winning streak but took back over and led the team to big wins over the Colts and Chiefs. This week, he gets a much easier matchup against the Cardinals, who have allowed 10 passing touchdowns in the last four weeks, including three games of three touchdown passes against them. Stroud has not had outstanding numbers in his two games since returning, totaling 276 passing yards against the Colts and 203 passing yards against the Chiefs. He threw only one touchdown in those two games, but he also threw only one interception and did what was needed to keep drives alive. With an easier matchup, it could be a breakout day for Stroud, but he will most likely continue to rely on his game management skills along with his strong defense and running game. Stroud is the QB19 in RotoBaller's Week 15 rankings, making him a strong second QB in most dual-QB leagues but not a great starter in single-QB formats.