Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Michael Penix Jr.

Sunday, December 7, 7:30 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold completed 20 of his 30 pass attempts for 249 yards, three passing touchdowns, and one interception during Sunday's Week 14 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He also rushed for 23 yards. Darnold bounced back from a quiet game last Sunday against the Vikings in which he had zero touchdowns. The 28-year-old has been a fringe top-12 quarterback in fantasy football all season long and has benefited from having Jaxon Smith-Njigba at his disposal. He should continue to be worth starting next week against the Indianapolis Colts as a low-end QB1.

Wednesday, November 26, 1:06 PM

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said on Wednesday that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee) had successful surgery on his knee on Tuesday, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Penix had full reconstructive surgery to fix a partially torn ACL in his left knee, which will keep him out for the rest of this season and possibly for the start of the 2026 season next fall. The 25-year-old second-year signal-caller is facing a nine-month recovery, which will force Atlanta to rethink its long-term plan at the QB position this offseason. This is Penix's third ACL reconstruction in his career after he had two knee surgeries in college. Kirk Cousins will start the rest of the year under center for the Falcons, but depending on how he finishes the season, the Falcons could opt out of the final two seasons of his four-year deal.