Who Should I Start? Philip Rivers or Lamar Jackson

Sunday, January 4, 11:38 AM

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers is officially a healthy scratch for the Week 18 regular-season finale on Sunday against the division-rival Houston Texans. Rookie Riley Leonard will make the start to close out the year, with Seth Henigan set to work as the backup. The Colts brought the 44-year-old Rivers out of retirement after Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn Achilles. Rivers was unable to save Indy's season, losing all three of his starts against the Seahawks, 49ers, and Jaguars. He completed 63% of his 92 pass attempts for 544 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions in his three games played. Rivers predictably struggled with his arm strength, but he wasn't terrible. The eight-time Pro Bowler already announced that he'll be retiring for a second time following this weekend's game.

Monday, January 5, 12:35 AM

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson completed 11 of 18 passes for 238 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, along with four carries for nine yards in a 26-24 Week 18 loss in a win-or-go-home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jackson returned for the season finale after missing last week's game due to a back injury and delivered his most efficient performance of the season by yards per attempt (13.2) on only 18 throws, but he fell short of winning a third straight AFC North title. The star quarterback has battled through a long list of injuries throughout the entire season and hasn't experienced the same highs as his excellent 2024 campaign. The 28-year-old signal-caller threw three touchdowns for the first time since returning from his early-season hamstring injury in Week 9 against the Dolphins, and the second time he's done so in 10 career games against the Steelers. Jackson will have some time to recover from his injuries in the offseason, and he could return to elite QB1 status with better health in 2026.