Week 17 Fantasy Football Quarterback Start/Sit: Baker Mayfield, Tua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff and More

Week 17 is championship week for many fantasy football leagues. NFL teams sit guys the last week of the season when there is nothing to play for, so it’s good to end things when most teams are still going out and trying to win.

Most fantasy owners are out of the championship running, but there might still be something to play for. Those who lost last week can still get a third-place trophy and maybe a cash prize that goes along with it. Consolation brackets are finishing up as well; if you can’t win the big thing, at least you can finish the year on a high note.

And maybe most importantly, some are playing to avoid a last-place punishment. When there’s the possibility of getting a Steve-O tattoo on your back, your fantasy instincts kick in like a mother bear protecting her young.

Let’s look at three quarterbacks to start and three to sit in Week 17 of the NFL season. I used stats from NFL.com and our FantasySP defensive fantasy rankings to help determine the best and worst matchups. I will reference those numbers often.

Start

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers

Mayfield is QB5 heading into Week 16, a pretty amazing feat for a guy who was dumped by the team that drafted him first overall for literally the worst quarterback in football. Mayfield has the highest completion percentage of his career, tied for his most yards per attempt, and his most touchdowns with two weeks still to play. He’ll set a new career season high in passing yards during Week 17.

Most important for his fantasy score, Mayfield has already run for over 140 more yards than in any other season while averaging a whole yard more per attempt. He has also tied his career high with three scores.

Carolina has allowed the ninth-most yards per pass attempt and third-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Specific to the run game we just talked about, the Panthers have given up the fourth-most rushing yards to QBs.

Mayfield is a good fantasy option if you’re going for a fantasy championship. He was just OK when these teams faced off on December 1, throwing for 235 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions as the Bucs sweated out an overtime victory. He’s a good bet for a better day this time around.

Mason Rudolph, Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Rudolph was installed as Tennessee’s starter last week, pushing Will Levis to the bench. He took advantage of a decent matchup with the Colts, throwing for 250 yards and two touchdowns (with three interceptions). Rudolph is an OK backup, capable of stepping in and playing NFL football.

He has a great matchup this week: Jacksonville has allowed the most yards per pass attempt and the most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Every quarterback has fantasy value against the Jags, who are also in the top 10 in most rushing yards given up to QBs.

Rudolph is just a mid-level streamer and shouldn’t be played over your regular guy. If you’re without a weekly starter or dealing with a bad matchup, though, Rudolph is able to fill in this week.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns

The Dolphins are still alive in the playoff hunt; they just need to win both of their remaining games and get some help. It starts with beating the lowly Browns, a team starting the overmatched Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback. Their defense has also been sub-par, as Cleveland has allowed the fifth-most yards per pass attempt and eighth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.

Tagovailoa’s four missed games earlier in the season bring down his overall stats and fantasy score. He has a career-high completion percentage near 73%, though, and is QB14 in fantasy points per game. Tua has the weapons around him to excel, especially in good matchups.

The Miami QB is a good play this week. He is set up to have a nice day as his team looks to stay alive in the postseason hunt.

Sit

Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers

I mentioned that Mayfield was dumped by the team that took him first overall and is now excelling. Darnold was taken third in that same draft by the Jets, who gave up on the quarterback just to see him flourish this year in Minnesota. He has blown away his career bests across the board and made himself tens of millions of dollars in the process.

The Packers are a tough defense, though. They are right near average in yards per pass attempt allowed, but Green Bay has given up the least fantasy points to quarterbacks. Darnold did have a good game when the teams played in Week 4, throwing for 275 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

Darnold is likely to have a slower game this time around. He has the weapons to excel, as Justin Jefferson leads a strong group, but the matchup points toward a quiet week for the Minnesota QB.

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers

After finishing as a top-10 fantasy quarterback each of the past two years, Goff is currently QB7 with two weeks left to go. Detroit’s offense is a well-oiled machine; they are the 49ers from the last few seasons. No matter who you want to give most of the credit to, there’s no denying that Goff has operated about as well as anyone in the league at his position.

While San Francisco has felt the effects of injuries on offense, their D has still operated at a high level. The 49ers have given up the third-least yards per pass attempt and fifth-least fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Even as the Dolphins scored 29 against San Fran last week, Tagovailoa had just 215 yards on 6.3 yards per attempt and one TD.

Goff could feasibly be used as a weekly starter on a championship-level fantasy team. This is a tough matchup, though, and it’s probably worth seeing if you have a better option than the Detroit quarterback.

Cooper Rush, Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles

Rush has had a few big games since stepping in for Dak Prescott, reaching 247 yards three times and topping 290 twice. Last week in a good matchup against Tampa Bay, Rush had 292 yards on 8.3 per attempt. He’s a credible fantasy option on the right weeks.

This isn’t one of those weeks, though. The Eagles have allowed the least yards per pass attempt and the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They showed vulnerability against Jayden Daniels last week when the Commanders came back to beat the Eagles late, but they won’t be the only ones to fail against Daniels in the coming years. This is a solid unit.

Rush is a bad choice this week. His few decent weeks were nice for future reference and for his bank account, but he’s at a severe disadvantage against Philly’s defense.