Fantasy football decisions can make or break a playoff push, and this week’s matchups bring plenty of intrigue. Some quarterbacks are set up for huge games, while others face defenses that could easily stall their momentum. A few familiar names might surprise you — both on the start and sit lists. Let’s break down which signal-callers deserve your trust heading into the weekend.
Start ‘Em: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (vs. DAL)
Since the Detroit Lions’ Week 8 bye, fantasy managers have been mostly happy with Jared Goff. Outside of his 13.1 points against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11, he’s hit 18+ fantasy points in every game.
Last week, Goff was able to crest 20 fantasy points for just the fourth time all season despite losing Amon-Ra St. Brown in the first quarter to a sprained ankle. The good news is St. Brown is not expected to be out long. The bad news is he won’t play this week.
Fortunately, we saw Goff be able to overcome a very good Green Bay Packers defense with Jameson Williams as his WR1. Now, he gets a Dallas Cowboys defense that is…not very good.
The Cowboys managed to upset the Kansas City Chiefs last week. But it wasn’t because of their defense. Patrick Mahomes had his second-best game of the season, throwing for four touchdowns for just the second time all year.
Dallas allows the most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks by a sizable margin. The Lions are home. They are coming off another crushing defeat. And they really need to win this game to stay in the driver’s seat for a Wild Card spot. Expect a big-time performance from the Lions this week. As long as Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery don’t steal all of the touchdowns, Goff should be a QB1.
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (vs. PIT)
Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be putting Lamar Jackson in this column. After all, the entire purpose of this is to advise fantasy managers on players to start that aren’t necessarily automatic entries into lineups. Since 2019, Jackson has been that guy.
Jackson entered the 2025 season having never finished a single game in his career with single-digit fantasy points (excluding games he left with an injury). He’s now done it three consecutive times, failing to throw or rush for a touchdown over that span. It makes all the sense in the world that fantasy managers have had enough.
Maybe this is me clinging too much to my prior opinion of Jackson, but I refuse to believe that he is simply no longer good at football.
The Pittsburgh Steelers allow the sixth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. While they’ve historically played Jackson well, he lit them up for 175 yards passing, two touchdowns, and 81 yards rushing when they last met in the 2024 postseason.
Baltimore needs this game. They are at home. I am banking on a big-time bounce-back performance from the two-time MVP.
Sit ‘Em: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. HOU)
If you roster Patrick Mahomes, I sure hope you don’t need a big performance from him to make the playoffs this season. We know what this defense does to opposing quarterbacks, and it’s not pretty.
Mahomes is coming off his second-best outing of the season, posting 29 fantasy points against the No. 32-ranked Cowboys pass defense. Things couldn’t be more opposite this week against the best pass defense in the league.
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No team allows fewer fantasy points per game to quarterbacks than the Houston Texans. It is actually incredibly fortunate for anyone who started Daniel Jones last week that he was able to get to 16 fantasy points. Houston still has not allowed a single quarterback post QB1 numbers against them.
Prior to last week, Mahomes had thrown one touchdown over his previous three games total. He will be lucky to get one against the Texans.
Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals (vs. LAR)
No matter the matchup. No matter the game flow. Jacoby Brissett always finds a way. The veteran journeyman has now recorded at least 18 fantasy points in every start since taking over for an injured Kyler Murray. Even when things look grim, Brissett somehow gets there.
Over the past five weeks, Brissett has been able to figure out how to post QB1 numbers. He’s also had the benefit of not facing a single bottom-half pass defense. This just feels like an awful spot for him.
The Los Angeles Rams allow the ninth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They are coming off a very disappointing loss to the Carolina Panthers, and you know they are anxious to bounce back.
There’s really not much more to it than this. It’s a bad matchup against a tough divisional opponent for a quarterback who has gotten away with it more than anyone recently. This feels like the week the magic runs out.