If you're reading this, congratulations!
With most fantasy football leagues concluding after Week 17, there is no reason for you to be reading this if you weren't playing in your league's Championship Week.
Below you will find some players that could be starts or sits in your league, but my fantasy football rankings will better help you determine if I would start Player X over Player Y.
Week 17 Fantasy Football Start'em
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams (at ATL)
Despite non-existent rushing stats (actually, worse than non-existent at minus two yards), Stafford leads all passers in yardage (4,179) and touchdowns (40, 7.7%), has a league-low 1.0 INT% and currently ranks as fantasy's QB3 on the year. Based on Week 17 NFL implied totals, only the Cincinnati Bengals have a higher projected total than Stafford and the Rams. Even if Davante Adams (hamstring) misses another week, Stafford remains a top-five option in Championship Week.
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars (at IND)
Lawrence has been on a tear. Over the past five weeks, he has finished as fantasy's QB7, QB5, QB13, QB1, and QB2, respectively. Lawrence has a career-high seven rushing touchdowns this season including scores in back-to-back games. In fact, he has scored a combined 10 (TEN!) touchdowns over the past two weeks.
See the table below, but Lawrence is the only quarterback to throw for three-plus scores and rush for another in back-to-back games since 2022. And if he extends the streak, he'll become the first quarterback in league history to do so in three consecutive games.
| Player | Team | Streak | Streak Started | Streak Ended | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Att | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Lawrence | JAX | 2 | 12/14/2025 | 12/21/2025 | 43 | 68 | 609 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 71 | 2 |
| Joe Burrow | CIN | 2 | 10/16/2022 | 10/23/2022 | 62 | 79 | 781 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 45 | 2 |
| Lamar Jackson | BAL | 2 | 9/18/2022 | 9/25/2022 | 39 | 58 | 536 | 7 | 1 | 20 | 226 | 2 |
| Kyler Murray | ARI | 2 | 9/12/2021 | 9/19/2021 | 50 | 68 | 689 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 51 | 2 |
| Kyler Murray | ARI | 2 | 10/25/2020 | 11/8/2020 | 55 | 74 | 643 | 6 | 1 | 25 | 173 | 2 |
| Dak Prescott | DAL | 2 | 10/8/2017 | 10/22/2017 | 41 | 61 | 485 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 63 | 2 |
| Daunte Culpepper | MIN | 2 | 12/10/2000 | 12/17/2000 | 44 | 71 | 556 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 79 | 2 |
| Joe Montana | SF | 2 | 11/6/1989 | 11/12/1989 | 38 | 50 | 572 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 30 | 2 |
[Data from Stathead]
Tyler Shough, QB, New Orleans Saints (at TEN)
Have the Saints found their long-term answer at quarterback? Probably not (or at least it's too early to tell), but Shough has played reasonably well with four consecutive 17-point fantasy performances. Given the injuries at quarterback (Patrick Mahomes, Jayden Daniels, Lamar Jackson?, etc.), Shough could be a plug-and-play option off the waiver wire for managers battling the injury bug at quarterback and still alive.
Week 17 Fantasy Football Sit'em
Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. HOU)
Herbert has overcome a lot (season-ending injuries to Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, a broken non-throwing hand, etc.) to keep the train on the track. Herbert lit up the Cowboys defense (who hasn't, right?!) last week, but he scored under 15 fantasy points in each of his previous five outings. And the matchup this week gets much tougher. Only the Minnesota Vikings have allowed fewer fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season. While the Chargers are small favorites in Week 17, they play in one of only four games with an over-under below 40 points.
C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans (at LAC)
Missing several games earlier this season, Stroud has since returned to start (and finish) each of Houston's past four games. During that span, he has accounted for multiple touchdowns only once. As noted above, the Chargers-Texans matchup has a low total, and the Texans have a bottom eight implied total for the week.
Continue reading our full Week 17 Fantasy Football Start'em, Sit'em