Who Should I Start? Younghoe Koo or Kaimi Fairbairn

Wednesday, December 18, 1:04 PM

The Atlanta Falcons are placing kicker Younghoe Koo (undisclosed) on Injured Reserve on Wednesday, according to a source. In a corresponding move, the Falcons have signed kicker Riley Patterson off the Cleveland Browns practice squad and onto their 53-man active roster. Koo is now out for the rest of the season and would be unavailable to kick in the wild-card round of the playoffs if the Falcons get into the postseason. The 30-year-old suffered an undisclosed injury in the Monday night win over the Las Vegas Raiders and will now go on the shelf. Normally a very reliable kicker, Koo struggled with accuracy in 2024, making 25 of his 34 field-goal attempts, although he made all 26 of his extra points. Patterson will now fill in heading into a Week 16 contest against the New York Giants. With rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. making his first career start, fantasy managers will want to steer clear of Patterson.

Saturday, January 18, 7:32 PM

Houston Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn had a rough day in the team's 23-14 defeat in the Divisional Round at Kansas City, making only two of his four field-goal attempts and missing his only extra point. The veteran converted from 30 and 48 yards, but badly missed on a 55-yarder in the first half, pushed an extra point wide on Houston's lone touchdown, and had a low kick blocked in the Texans' last-ditch attempt to get back into the game. It would have taken a special effort for Houston to unseat the defending champs, but between Fairbairn's bad day and the offensive line surrendering eight sacks, the Texans weren't able to do enough as their year ends in the Divisional Round for the second straight season.