In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Underdog ...
This is going to be a tricky week for fantasy managers fortunate enough to have made it to the championship.
The games are spread out like a trail of cookie crumbs—three games Thursday, two on Saturday, 10 games Sunday and one game Monday—which means you’ll need to make tough start/sit decisions at each juncture.
Complicating matters are a variety of RB injuries that will make these choices even trickier.
Here is a chronological flow chart for all of the sketchy RB situations …
Jordan Mason → Aaron Jones (Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET). Mason DNP Monday or Tuesday with an ankle injury, which means we are likely going to get bell cow Jones vs. the Lions on Christmas Day. He’s a low-end RB2/solid FLEX option based on our early rankings.
Kimani Vidal → Omarion Hampton (Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET). This matchup vs. the Texans looks less scary after fellow rookie phenom Ashton Jeanty lit them up in Week 16. If Hampton has the backfield to himself—Vidal is day-to-day with a neck injury—he’ll be a strong RB2 option.
Woody Marks → Jawhar Jordan (Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET). If Marks misses again (he did return to practice yesterday), you can fire up Jordan in a pinch. As Dwain noted in the Utilization Report, Jordan accounted for 65% of the rushing attempts and 67% of the short-yardage snaps. I would add him even if you don’t need him to block your opponent.
Josh Jacobs → Emanuel Wilson (Saturday at 8 p.m. ET). Who knows whether Jacobs will play or not with this knee injury, but the Packers turned to Wilson in the fourth quarter and OT vs. the Bears. Dwain said he’d rank Wilson as a “mid-range RB2” vs. the Ravens if Jacobs can’t go.
TreVeyon Henderson → Rhamondre Stevenson (Sunday at 1 p.m. ET). Hendo seems unlikely to go after suffering a head injury, which means a massive workload is on tap for Stevenson in a very good matchup vs. the Jets. If you have Stevenson, I would ensure space in your lineup to start him Sunday because the setup is extremely good.
Dylan Sampson? Raheim Sanders? (Sunday at 1 p.m. ET). This one is dicey because we haven’t seen Sampson for a long time, but if he returns, he’s worth a spot start and/or block a la Jordan. And on the flip side, if he doesn’t return, Rocket would be similarly positioned for a solid start. FWIW, I prefer all of the other options over these two, but it’s Week 17 and we can’t leave any stone unturned.
Quick side note before closing: You may have noticed our column artwork has been awesome and holiday-themed since mid-October. That’s all thanks to our Lead Designer, George Zainoun. His latest work? Mingling Christmas cookies with Trey McBride and Ashton Jeanty.
Freedman’s Championship Week Favorites: All in One
For Championship Week, Freedman’s Favorites is a one-stop shop to give you a breakdown on Matthew Freedman’s favorite plays in a single article. Whether its extreme matchup advantages because of players facing lesser defenses, optimal scoring environments and even injury upgrades, Freedman brings the analysis from several different angles. Joe Burrow is one player facing a distinct advantage this week and should be started:
“Since returning to action in Week 13, Burrow has put up 1,079 yards and 10 TDs passing (to 4 INTs) in four games. The Cards are No. 31 in defensive dropback SR (51.9%), and could be without three secondary starters in CBs Max Melton (heel) and Garrett Williams (Achilles) and FS Jalen Thompson (hamstring).”
This comprehensive look at a collection of players is a gift that will keep on giving even after all the presents are unwrapped and New Year’s Eve plans are starting to take shape. Hopefully with a championship under your belt.
Last week, we brought you a one-stop shop to track the most important 2025 NFL contract incentives and what each player had to do to unlock an additional payday before the end of the regular season.
After another week of action, some players hit their incentives, some remain on pace, and others, well, better luck next season.
Week 17 brings us yet another week of players chasing their incentives, which could lead to betting angles and narratives that may be useful in your fantasy football championship matchups.
Where do these players sit with two weeks of regular-season action to go? …
Sam Darnold | QB | SEA
Darnold is the No. 1 QB to watch from an incentives standpoint. He can earn an extra $500k apiece if he gets to 28 passing touchdowns and 4,000 passing yards. He’s currently sitting at 24 passing touchdowns and 3,703 yards, so he’d need to average two touchdowns and 148.5 passing yards if he plays in his final two outings. The Seahawks are currently one game ahead of Rams in the NFC West standings and in the top spot in the conference overall.
He also has two other incentives related to his on-field performance. He gets $500k if he finishes the season with a passer rating of at least 100 and another $500k for a completion percentage of at least 67.5%.
Darnold picked up 270 passing yards and two TDs in a thrilling win over the Rams on Thursday Night Football in Week 16. He now needs four passing TDs and 297 yards over his final two outings to hit those milestones. With the Seahawks fighting for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, he should at least be on the field for those games.
Saquon Barkley | RB | PHI
This has not been the year that Barkley was hoping for. He’s taken a major step back in basically every category across the board, and he’s not going to hit most of his lofty contract incentives.
However, he does pick up an extra $250k if he can get to 1,500 scrimmage yards.
Barkley kept his hot streak going in Week 16, finishing with 132 scrimmage yards vs. the Commanders. He now needs just 155 over his final two games, or an average of 77.5 per contest. Unfortunately for Barkley, the Eagles have already locked up the NFC East and have little hope of finishing with the No. 1 seed, so it’s very possible that he sits out in Week 18. He should look to get this done this week vs. the Bills.
The last 16+ weeks have led to this moment. It’s your time to shine and ship your home league (or avoid being crowned the toilet bowl champion). Stay in the know with more updates, silliness and banter from our merry band of football nerds …
