Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield

Friday, January 23, 5:52 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (oblique) was removed from Friday's final injury report and is set to take on the division-rival Los Angeles Rams for the third time this year in Sunday's NFC Championship game. Darnold tweaked his oblique in practice last Thursday and was questionable for the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The 28-year-old ended up playing and going 12-for-17 passing for 124 yards with one touchdown in the 41-6 blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks didn't really need Darnold to do much, but that probably won't be the case this weekend against a Rams offense that scored a league-high 30.5 points per game. In the two previous games against L.A. this year, Darnold threw for 549 yards and two touchdowns on 78 total attempts, but he also threw six total interceptions. The volume should be there for Darnold on Sunday, but he'll need to take care of the football if Seattle wants to advance to the Super Bowl.

Thursday, January 1, 2:43 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (knee, shoulder) practiced in full for the second straight day on Thursday and has been cleared to play in Saturday's Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Carolina Panthers. Mayfield is nursing knee and shoulder injuries, but he will be active as the Bucs look to win the NFC South this weekend with a win over Carolina and a loss by the Falcons to the Saints. The 30-year-old won't be a very inspiring QB1 option for fantasy managers still playing for something in Week 18, although he is coming off a 346-yard passing effort with two touchdowns in last week's loss to the Miami Dolphins. In the first meeting against the Panthers two weeks ago, Mayfield threw for only 145 yards with a touchdown and an interception. After four straight games without multiple passing TDs, Mayfield has two TD passes in two of his last three games.