Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy

Tuesday, December 9, 7:01 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has had his share of ups and downs in his first year in Seattle, but overall, it's been another strong season while leading the Seahawks to a 10-3 record going into Week 15 action. Darnold had a disastrous four-interception game in the loss to the Rams on Nov. 16 and also failed to throw a touchdown in last week's shutout win over the Vikings. The 28-year-old bounced back in Sunday's 37-9 rout of the Falcons, though, going 20-for-30 for 249 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception while adding 23 rushing yards on three carries. Darnold has a 22:11 TD:INT ratio in 13 games in 2025 and ranks as the QB19 in fantasy points per game. Overall, he's the QB14, and he'll be a high-end QB2 for fantasy managers in the first week of the playoffs in most leagues. Darnold will be facing a fading Colts team that has allowed the fourth-most passing yards per game (246.3). He's rostered in only 54% of Yahoo leagues.

Tuesday, December 9, 9:55 AM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy led his team to a 31-0 rout of the Commanders in Week 14 in a triumphant return from injury. He threw for 163 yards and three touchdowns in the win while adding 19 rushing yards on six carries as well. McCarthy completed 16 of his 23 pass attempts in one of his best performances of the season. This week, he'll be in a tougher matchup on the road against the Cowboys, but even though Dallas's defense has shown potential, they're still giving up a lot of points. The Vikings have a favorable few weeks ahead, so McCarthy can be an interesting play if you need a second QB for the rest of the season. His rushing potential and good pass-catching weapons give him good upside, even though he has struggled to reach his high ceiling throughout his first year as the team's starter.