Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or Trevor Lawrence

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.

Sunday, January 4, 6:00 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 22 of his 30 pass attempts for 255 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and zero interceptions during Sunday's Week 18 win over the Tennessee Titans. He also rushed for 11 yards and took two sacks. Lawrence put together another terrific outing as the Jaguars cruised to victory, clinching the AFC South title. The former No. 1 pick was pulled from the game early in the fourth quarter so that he could stay healthy for the playoffs, and he handed the reins of the offense to Nick Mullens. Lawrence has been spectacular all season long, especially over the last six weeks. Through his final six regular-season games, he amassed 1,600 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, 149 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, and just one turnover. He's firmly in the mix to be a top-five quarterback in 2026 fantasy drafts.