It all comes down to this. After months of draft discussions, trade talks, waiver Wednesdays, and everything in between, Week 17 is the finale of the fantasy football season. Championships will be won and lost (and humiliating punishments will be avoided or suffered) based on how players score this week. With these lofty stakes in mind, here are the best and worst fantasy football matchups at every position in Week 17.
- Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Points Allowed: Best & Worst Matchups (Week 17)
Week 17 Quarterback Fantasy Football Matchups
Good Matchup: Jacoby Brissett (QB — ARI) @ Cincinnati Bengals
After posting an incredible nine straight QB1 finishes, Jacoby Brissett finally dropped a dud last week. It was just his second time passing for less than two touchdowns as the Cardinals’ starter (he still got one), as well as his first time below 249 yards (all the way down to 203). Perhaps the fact that this was a relatively competitive game actually hurt Brissett, who has done most of his damage in quarters’ (or halves’) worth of garbage time each week.
Thankfully, the garbage gravy train should get back on the tracks in Week 17. The Cardinals are seven-point underdogs against Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ potent offense. Cincinnati’s defense also ranks as the fourth-softest opponent for QBs, giving up over 20 fantasy points per game. It’s sometimes hard to trust a surprise fantasy stalwart after they appear to have turned back into a pumpkin, but I recommend giving Brissett one final chance as your QB1 if you don’t have an elite option for Week 17.
Bad Matchup: Jared Goff (QB — DET) @ Minnesota Vikings
Coming into last week, the Vikings were the third-toughest opponent for fantasy QBs. After holding Jaxon Dart to a laughably bad 1.0 points in Week 16, they now rank as the absolute worst matchup, allowing just 12.6 points per contest.
While the Vikings were embarrassing Dart and the Giants, the Lions’ Week 16 loss to the Steelers essentially killed their playoff hopes for this season. Maybe Dan Campbell and Co. will stay firing on all cylinders this week … or maybe not. Either way, Jared Goff has been just a borderline QB1 this season, ranking as the QB9 in both points per game and total points. On the road against Brian Flores’ defense, he isn’t someone I’d recommend starting in standard-sized leagues this week.
Week 17 Running Back Fantasy Football Matchups
Good Matchup: Michael Carter (RB — ARI) vs. Cincinnati Bengals
It turns out, as well as being a team to target for quarterbacks, the Bengals are by far the easiest opponent for fantasy running backs. Running backs have averaged 28.2 half-PPR points per game against Cincinnati’s defense, 3.5 points more than against any other team.
For his part, Carter was the Cardinals’ clear RB1 in their first week without Zonovan Knight. His 50% RB rush share (11 carries) wasn’t great, but he easily led the backfield in snap rate (54%) and route participation (52%) and saw two targets. Although this pick might be one more for the beleaguered teams in the toilet bowl than the stacked rosters in the championship, Carter — who is still available in over 50% of leagues — is a sneaky option as a very viable flex play or even RB2 this week.
Bad Matchup: Rico Dowdle (RB — CAR) vs. Seattle Seahawks
It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for Rico Dowdle (and his fantasy managers). He started the season as an afterthought behind Chuba Hubbard. Then, when Hubbard missed time, he was briefly possessed by the spirit of Barry Sanders. Recently, he has settled in as a low-end RB2/high-end RB3 as the lead back in a competent, run-heavy Panthers offense.
However, I don’t expect Dowdle’s wild season to end on a high note. This week, the Panthers face the Seahawks. Seattle’s defense is the fourth-toughest fantasy opponent for RBs. They also give easily the fewest yards per carry to the position, just 3.5. It certainly also doesn’t help that Carolina is a seven-point underdog for this one, meaning Dave Canales may have to abandon his usual run-heavy approach. Especially given that Dowdle only saw three more carries than Hubbard last week (nine to six), I recommend benching him if you have another option for Week 17.
Week 17 Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Matchups
Good Matchup: Terry McLaurin/Deebo Samuel (WRs — WAS) vs. Dallas Cowboys
This is a tough one. It looks as though the Commanders will be without both Jayden Daniels (done for the season with an elbow issue) and Marcus Mariota (yet to practice this week with hand and quad issues) for their Christmas matchup with the Cowboys. Journeyman extraordinaire Josh Johnson will likely get the start, his first since 2021 with the Ravens. I wouldn’t fault any manager for just benching every Commander on principle this week.
But if you find yourself without any reasonable replacements, this matchup at least provides some hope for the Washington WR duo of McLaurin and Samuel. The Cowboys’ defense allows 34.6 points per game to opposing wideouts, by far the most of any team. Even with Johnson presumably under center, the Commanders have respectable implied totals of around 21 points.
At the end of the day, these are talented players in good roles. Once we also consider the matchup, they can be worth playing even with a 39-year-old with a career 6.4 yards per attempt throwing them the ball.
Bad Matchup: Ladd McConkey/Quentin Johnston (WRs — LAC) vs. Houston Texans
We move from one WR duo facing a Texas team to another. But this Texans’ unit is an incredibly different beast from the Cowboys’ “defense.” Along with being by giving up easily the fewest points per game (16.6), they also rank first in yards allowed, EPA per play, and EPA per dropback. To be fair, they aren’t the toughest fantasy opponent for WRs in particular … but they are the second-toughest.
McConkey and Johnston are both coming off productive outings, but those came against the aforementioned shambolic Cowboys secondary. For the season, they have both been inconsistent, with excellent games mixed in with total duds. The Chargers’ offense is crowded, so they average target shares of just 21% (McConkey) and 17% (Johnston). You can still play both of them, with McConkey being a WR3 and QJ being a flex option. But if you have comparable options, break ties against Chargers receivers (and Chargers players in general) this week.
Week 17 Tight End Fantasy Football Matchups
Good Matchup: Brenton Strange (TE — JAC) @ Indianapolis Colts
It feels wrong to end the season highlighting a tight end against anyone other than the Bengals’ defense, as Cincinnati has been historically inept against the position this season. But you don’t need me to tell you that Trey McBrdie is the smash of all smashes this week, so let’s slide down the rankings to Brenton Strange.
Strange is a classic mediocre, borderline TE1, averaging 7.4 half-PPR points on a 15% target share in the Jaguars’ offense (those numbers would also be slightly higher if we removed a game or two impacted by injury). But he is a genuine TE1 candidate this week, as the Colts have struggled to stop tight ends this season, allowing the fifth-most points (12.7) and second-most yards (70) on a per-game basis. Especially with Trevor Lawrence absolutely cooking over the last few weeks, Strange is a solid streamer for TE-needy teams this week.
Bad Matchup: Dalton Kincaid (TE — BUF) vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Even coming off a literal donut, Dalton Kincaid is the TE11 in fantasy points per game (among players not done for the season). That’s despite a couple of injury-shortened outings on his resume.
However, Kincaid’s injury-shortened outings are sometimes difficult to distinguish from his healthy ones, as the former first-round pick has played a distinctly part-time role in the Bills’ offense. He has averaged just a 46% route participation rate and a 14.5% target share this season, relying on efficiency (and a red zone connection with Josh Allen) to score fantasy points.
However, that formula might not be enough this week. The Eagles are the worst fantasy matchup for tight ends, allowing just 6.2 half-PPR points per game. That number looks even worse when we spell it out as a stat line: 3.87 catches for 30.7 receiving yards and 0.20 touchdowns per game. He could still catch a TD and get there, but I wouldn’t feel confident starting Kincaid in the most important fantasy week of the year.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasyPros.com. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.