It's Fantasy finals time in some leagues, so the stakes are big. Injuries to Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Teddy Bridgewater, Nick Foles and Colt McCoy could make things tricky for Fantasy survivors.
Jamey Eisenberg has his Start and Sit calls for QB here. His Waiver Wire column also can direct you to the best options who may be available in your leagues. And don't forget to check out Heath Cummings' quarterback preview for more help with matchup notes, Week 18 numbers to know and more.
Fantasy Football Today Newsletter
Know What Your Friends Don't
Get tips, advice and news to win your league - all from the FFT podcast team.
By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge Paramount's Privacy Policy.
Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
START 'EM & SIT 'EM
Quarterbacks
QBs to Start
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Goff finally had a good outing on the road in Week 16 at Carolina with 31 Fantasy points, and he's in a groove right now, scoring at least 21 Fantasy points in five of his past six games. The Packers have been stingy against quarterbacks lately, keeping Justin Fields, Baker Mayfield, Tua Tagovailoa and Kirk Cousins to 19 Fantasy points or less, but I'll stick with Goff in this matchup, which could be for the final wild-card spot in the NFC.
| ||||||||||||||||||
If Prescott could cut down on the turnovers he would be playing like an elite Fantasy quarterback. He's scored at least 22 Fantasy points in three of his past five games, but he has eight interceptions and one fumble over that span. I hope he'll play a cleaner game against Washington in Week 18, and the Commanders have allowed three of their past four opposing quarterbacks to score at least 19 Fantasy points.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Smith was better than I expected in Week 17 against the Jets with 20 Fantasy points, and he's now scored at least 20 points in seven of his past nine games. One of those outings was against the Rams in Week 13 at Los Angeles, and Smith had 367 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The Seahawks are playing for a wild-card berth in this game, so Smith will hopefully have a big performance against the Rams, who just allowed Justin Herbert to score 21 Fantasy points against them in Week 17.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Sleepers (Start/Sit)
Projections powered by
Sportsline
I'll stick with Purdy again in Week 18 against the Cardinals, and this is a big game for San Francisco. The 49ers can get the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a victory against Arizona and an Eagles loss to the Giants, so San Francisco has plenty of motivation for this game. Purdy has scored at least 20 Fantasy points in three of four starts, and his worst outing was 19 points against Washington in Week 16. No quarterback has scored more than 13 Fantasy points against Arizona in the past four games, but for the season the Cardinals allow 19.0 Fantasy points per game to the position. And Jimmy Garoppolo had 33 Fantasy points against Arizona in Week 12.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Stidham is dealing with an elbow injury, but hopefully he will be OK for this matchup with the Chiefs. He's coming off a tremendous game against the 49ers in Week 17 where he scored 31 Fantasy points with 365 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, along with 34 rushing yards. It's a great matchup for him in Week 18 against the Chiefs since Kansas City has allowed four of the past five opposing quarterbacks to score at least 22 Fantasy points. And for the season, the Chiefs allow opposing quarterbacks to score 22.7 Fantasy points per game on average.
| ||||||||||||||||||
QBs to Sit
Projections powered by
Sportsline
As of Wednesday morning, we don't fully know what the Buccaneers plan to do with their starters in Week 18 at Atlanta. The game is meaningless since Tampa Bay is locked into the No. 4 seed in the NFC, so risking the health of Brady and other key members on offense makes little sense. That said, Todd Bowles did say, "you can't take your foot off the gas," which could indicate Brady and Co. are playing quite a bit. I'm not expecting Brady to play much, if at all, which is why he's listed here. If you play a Fantasy matchup in Week 18 you should find a different quarterback than Brady.
| ||||||||||||||||||
The Giants seem likely to rest their starters in Week 18 at Philadelphia since they are locked into the No. 6 seed in the NFC. Brian Daboll said he'll "do what's best for the team," which should be keeping Jones on the sideline. He's had a great season and helped plenty of Fantasy managers down the stretch, scoring at least 20 Fantasy points in three of his past four games. But the Giants shouldn't play him at Philadelphia since this game is meaningless, and the Eagles will be highly motivated trying to lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Maybe Nathaniel Hackett's departure is just what Wilson and the Broncos needed. Or maybe Wilson just likes facing the Chiefs. In the first game for Denver without Hackett in Week 17 at Kansas City, the Broncos nearly pulled off an upset in a 27-24 loss, and Wilson had 24 Fantasy points. Now, he also scored 30 Fantasy points against Kansas City in Week 14, so it could be the matchup, but let's give Wilson a little credit. However, I would look to sit Wilson in Week 18 against the Chargers. Wilson only scored 15 Fantasy points against the Chargers in Week 6, and this defense has held Tua Tagovailoa, Ryan Tannehill, Nick Foles and Baker Mayfield to a combined 26 Fantasy points over the past four games.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Watson was fantastic in Week 17 at Washington with 27 Fantasy points, and he did it with just 9-of-18 passing for 169 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, along with 31 rushing yards. It was his first game with more than 18 Fantasy points in his five appearances this season, and we'll see if he can build on that performance this week at Pittsburgh. But this matchup is daunting since the Steelers have allowed just one quarterback to score more than 15 Fantasy points since Week 10, which was Joe Burrow in Week 11. Granted, the level of competition was mediocre -- Andy Dalton, Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota, Sam Darnold, Derek Carr and Tyler Huntley twice -- but I'm not expecting Watson to have a big outing in Pittsburgh in Week 18.
| ||||||||||||||||||
