NFL Fantasy Football Week 15 2025 Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Quarterback

The The fantasy football playoffs are finally heregiving even greater importance to matches and setting the lineup. Starting the right quarterback is more important now than ever when everything is on the line.

At this point in a fantasy football campaign, most managers have a quarterback they trust heading into their seasons. That can often make benching them a tough decision, but sometimes it’s a necessary move.

Winning requires risk, and sometimes that means trusting players in bad games and benching others who seem to have the hot hand. The fantasy football championship will come down to making the right lineup decisions, starting in Week 15 of the NFL.

Before the matchups begin, see which players to start and which to sit in our Week 15 fantasy football running back rankings.

Lamar Jackson hasn’t been impressive lately, but his matchup in Week 15 is too juicy to start doubting him now. Jackson has surprisingly only had one double-digit fantasy performance in the last month, which makes it seem like he might be worth playing on the bench.

Jackson now faces the Cincinnati Bengals, who he was against ineffective in the 13th week. The numbers and history still say backing the 28-year-old is the best bet for any Jackson owner.

Not only did Jackson historically thrive against Cincinnati — he threw eight touchdowns and zero interceptions against the Bengals in 2024 — but their defense continued to be a fantasy football goldmine against quarterbacks in 2025. The Bengals were better as a team with Joe Barrow back in the lineup, but their Allenh 37 defense was still 37 points. 14.

The Bengals have successfully disrupted one quarterback all season, and it just so happened to be Jackson. Expect the two-time MVP to bounce back and regain control of the NFC North in Week 15.

sit: Drake MaiaNew England Patriots

If there were official fantasy football awards, Drake May would win the MVP award by a landslide. He’s arguably been the most consistent fantasy quarterback all season, but his managers may have to look elsewhere in Week 15.

As good as Maie has been all year, his production has dipped over the past month. He is fair on average 17.28 fantasy points per game since Week 9, lowering his season-long average to 20.0.

Mayo’s worst performance of the season came against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5. He was sensational on the field, completing 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards in the win, but his failure to get to the end zone hurt his fantastic output in the football box.

Considering Maye’s recent slump, he doesn’t seem in line for redemption against the Bills, who have allowed the fifth fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Temper your expectations for May, even if he’s the reason you’re in the playoffs.

Start: Jackson DartNew York Giants

After a two-game absence, Jackson Dart returned in Week 13 with a slightly disappointing performance against a tough New England Patriots defense. The game was Dart’s first since The New York Giants fired former head coach Brian Daboll.

Dart was on a tear before the injury, scoring at least 19 fantasy points in six of his first seven starts. The expected slump after Dart lost Malik Nabbers and Cam Skateb just wasn’t as severe as many feared.

Dart and the Giants had an extra week to prepare for a disinterested Washington Commanders defense that allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to a quarterback all season. Washington just allowed 20.4 fantasy points to Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy in Week 14.

Any concerns that the Giants will flop by the end of the season now that they control the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft should be put to rest with a lot resting on the shoulders of interim head coach Mike Kafka over the final four games.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffering through a 2-5 stretch, it’s easy to forget all about Baker Mayfield’s early season MVP campaign. The 30-year-old has struggled with the Buccaneers’ recent skid, failing to reach 200 passing yards in five of the last six games.

Things won’t get any easier for Mayfield in Week 15, when the Buccaneers face the Atlanta Falcons’ top-10 pass defense. Atlanta has allowed the 9th fewest passing yards per game with its struggling defense. Mayfield has struggled against similar coverage schemes all season.

The Falcons have faced Mayfield once before, holding him to 167 passing yards while completing 53.1 percent of his passes. Mayfield threw for three touchdowns to salvage his fantastic performance, but managers can’t rely on that this time around, especially with the veteran slump.

The Los Angeles Rams will welcome the Detroit Lions to SoFi Stadium in Week 15, pitting Matthew Stafford against his former team for just the third time in his career. All indications are that MVP is hoping to have another vintage performance against a well-known organization.

Aside from his enigmatic Week 13, Stafford has been virtually unstoppable since October. He recently ended Tom Brady’s consecutive touchdown streakmaking him a top five fantasy football quarterback in 2025.

The Lions have struggled against quarterbacks all season, but will be without two key secondary backs in Week 15. Detroit has already ruled out cornerback Terrion Arnold and safety Brian Branch, and Kerby Joseph is also questionable on the injury report.

Detroit can’t be underestimated, even with injuries, but Stafford has extra motivation against his former team and the NFC’s No. 1 seed in sight. Stafford has been one of the best in the league when it comes to taking on the man all year, and now he’s drawing the Lions’ defense by using such prospects at a top-10 rate.

On the opposite side of Stafford’s matchup is Jared Goff, who will also face his former team. Goff, however, is in a different situation against his former head coach, who has dealt him blows in the two previous meetings.

Apart from Dan Campbell, there is no coach knows Goff better than Sean McVaywho used it well to his advantage. Goff and McVay are 1-1 against each other, but the former kept the latter in check on the box score. Goff has thrown at least one interception and taken two sacks in each of his two games against the Rams, leading to an average of 11.2 fantasy points over the pair.

Goff’s worst fantasy performances this year came when he was under pressure. Los Angeles enters Week 15 sixth in the league with 36 sacks.

The former No. 1 overall pick has a lot to prove and enters the meeting as the most accurate quarterback in the NFL. There is simply no history to suggest that he will get the upper hand against his former coach on the road.