Fantasy Football Wild Card Round Quarterback Start/Sit: Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Hurts, Matthew Stafford, and More

Fantasy football changes when the NFL playoffs start. Most fantasy leagues play through Week 17, ending before a chaotic final week and the postseason. Those still partaking in fantasy football are either playing DFS or some type of contest that is different from standard fantasy.

In the start/sit world, we usually don't include obvious names that you start every week. When it gets down to the playoffs, though, we are short on options, so everyone is on the table. This is mostly about the matchup rather than the player in question (though that is flexible when necessary).

Let's look at four quarterbacks worth considering for your lineup and four who are probably better left on the bench in the Wild Card Round. The guys who aren't listed below are somewhere in the middle, including Josh Allen and Drake Maye, who were top-three fantasy QBs this season but have really tough matchups to start the postseason. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's weekly projections to compare players and help make your toughest lineup decisions each week!

Start-of-the-Week Contenders

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles vs. San Francisco 49ers

Hurts probably takes the crown as my favorite fantasy player this week. Allen was awesome throughout the season, as he always his, but his matchup against the Jaguars isn't one I want to attack when he will be the most expensive quarterback in DFS.

Hurts did his thing most of the season, ranking as QB8 through Week 17. He was down from previous seasons, most notably with his running: Hurts' 421 rushing yards and eight touchdowns are both career lows not counting his rookie season as a backup. He lost 209 yards and six touchdowns from 2024.

His passing is mostly in line with career numbers, though he added volume and lost a lot of efficiency from last season. Now into the postseason, I expect Hurts and the Eagles to operate their best offense, which includes the quarterback running the ball often. Hurts had just 105 carries this season, 34 less than in any other.

The 49ers were right in the middle in both yards per pass attempt allowed and fantasy points given up to quarterbacks. They are plenty vulnerable, particularly with all the injuries they have dealt with; teams averaged more than 240 passing yards per game with 26 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. They didn't give up much running to QBs but a few good runners found success, like Jaxson Dart (56 yards) and Kyler Murray (37).

It's not the perfect matchup, but nothing is when we reach the playoffs. Hurts is a high-level fantasy player going against a middling defense here, and he might have the best outlook of the week.

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams @ Carolina Panthers

Carolina pulled off the surprise upset when these teams played back in Week 13, knocking off the Rams 31-28. They picked off Matthew Stafford twice when he was on a streak of not throwing interceptions, even taking one back for a touchdown.

The Panthers allowed the 12th-most yards per pass attempt but the seventh-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. That was partly a product of volume, as they faced the sixth-fewest pass attempts. Carolina's defense was much improved from last year, but they still top out somewhere in the middle.

In that Week 13 game, Stafford had 243 yards and two touchdowns (but also lost a fumble). He has had a phenomenal season, averaging nearly 280 yards per game with 46 TDs and just eight interceptions, ranking as QB3 in fantasy. Stafford has been on fire all year, and he's in line for another big one against the Panthers here.

Good Matchups

Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears

Chicago finished the season allowing the fifth-most yards per pass attempt and the sixth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They were on a good streak late in the season, keeping four of six opponents below 200 yards between Weeks 11 and 16, but they finished by giving up over 300 passing yards to both the 49ers and Lions.

When these teams played in Week 14, Love had 234 yards on 9.4 per attempt with three touchdowns and an interception. He got hurt during the Week 16 matchup, but he and Malik Willis combined for nearly 200 yards on a well-above-average 8.3 per attempt.

Love is a good fantasy player, not a great one. He doesn't have the ceiling of Allen, Hurts, and Stafford, but he is a perfect streaming-level guy who can have big games. In DFS, he's a great cheaper option to open the postseason.

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans @ Pittsburgh Steelers

We can pretty much copy-paste what was just said about Love into this section, though everything to a lesser level. Stroud isn't as good of a fantasy player; he played just 14 games to 15 for Love, but the Green Bay quarterback was better from both a volume and efficiency standpoint.

Pittsburgh also isn't as bad as Chicago against the pass, though they are still plenty vulnerable. The Steelers allowed the 11th-most yards per pass attempt and the fifth-most fantasy points per game to QBs, including over 300 yards five times and over 250 in another three.

I'm not excited to count on Stroud, but he's another bargain option in DFS who has a strong matchup. While there is a lower floor, the Houston passer has things in his favor this week.

Sit - Good Players, Tough Matchups

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills

Lawrence is one of the biggest surprises of the season, helping turn around a moribund Jacksonville team and finishing as a top-five fantasy quarterback along the way. He was good throwing the ball, but Lawrence made his biggest fantasy impact as a rusher, picking up 359 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.

The real issue is the matchup here, as the Bills gave up the fourth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the fourth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. A few mobile QBs found room to run, including Lamar Jackson and the Justin Fields/Tyrod Taylor duo going for 70 yards in Weeks 1 and 2, but the position averaged around 20 yards per game with just four touchdowns.

I like Lawrence and his fantasy prospects many weeks, but you can find a better option this week. While he's destined to fail, the outlook is much better elsewhere.

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles

Purdy had a very stop-and-start season. He played in Weeks 1 and 4 around injuries but otherwise missed everything until Week 11, when he returned to the starting lineup for good. Purdy was productive when on the field, averaging over 240 yards with 20 touchdowns in nine games, but his efficiency wasn't where it was previously in his career.

Like Lawrence, the biggest issue with Purdy is his matchup, as the Eagles allowed the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the 10th-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. Only four QBs reached 30 rushing yards against Philly, and they were all good runners: Patrick Mahomes, Jaxson Dart, Justin Herbert, and Josh Johnson in Week 18 with the starters out.

Purdy isn't a great runner anyway, so this one is pointing toward a slower game. San Francisco puts up numbers, so there's a chance he could excel while the game turns into a shootout, but I like other matchups better.

Must-Sit Players

Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans

These last two guys are lower-level fantasy players with tough matchups; there's not a lot to say. Rodgers has obviously slowed way down from his prime, and he faces maybe the best defense in football here. Houston gave up the seventh-fewest yards per pass attempt and the third-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks.

Rodgers is only a fantasy option in the best matchups at this point in his career. When the playoffs start, those matchups disappear. Even if the Steelers find a way to sneak past the Texans, Rodgers probably won't be a fantasy option this postseason.

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers vs. Los Angeles Rams

There are times when Young has looked better, and that probably has the team set to bring him back next year (hopefully with some competition), but he is still a very low-level statistical player who I'm not excited about in fantasy in any matchup.

In this one, he also has a tough opponent, as the Rams allowed the 10th-fewest yards per pass attempt, though they were in the middle fantasy points given up. He did have 206 yards and three touchdowns the first time these teams played, but I'm not counting on him or his team to have as good of a game this time around.

Even if he finds success, this is another case where there are just too many better DFS options. You likely won't be using Young at all in the fantasy world during the postseason.