The Baltimore Ravens will face the Houston Texans in Week 17. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding QB Lamar Jackson.
Is Lamar Jackson Playing in Week 17?
Jackson is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play on Christmas.
We’ll continue to monitor the Ravens’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Lamar Jackson in Week 17?
The development of this Lamar Jackson and Todd Monken relationship is special. We knew it had the potential to take over, but what has impressed me is the growth behind the gaudy box-score numbers.
With two weeks to go, the two-time MVP already has a career-high in touchdown passes. Jackson has thrown for multiple scores in four straight games and in eight of his past nine. But it’s been the “how” that has me believing not only in this matchup and in his potential to make a run during the playoffs but for years to come.
Last season, Jackson had a quick throw rate of 59.1%. That’s below league average, but it was above his career rate and a second straight season of increase. There seemed to be a level of wanting to maybe not “hide” Jackson as a passer, but in the first season in this system, there wasn’t a rush to ask him to progress through reads.
That’s changed this season, and it’s looked amazing. Jackson’s quick throw rate through 16 weeks sits at 53.6% of the time, and he looks as comfortable as ever in letting the aerial game come to him, understanding that his elite athleticism is there if need be.
In-pocket passer rating by season:
- 2021: 87.2
- 2022: 92.2
- 2023: 100.9
- 2024: 118.7
The Texans’ three lowest sack rates have all been posted in the second half of the season, making it difficult to envision Houston knocking Jackson off of his perch this week.
There’s inherent risk that comes with betting on Baltimore’s passing game, but it has nothing to do with the passing game. That Derrick Henry guy is always a threat to limit Jackson’s volume (seven sub-20 completion games this season), but now that we are getting quality through the air, I’m less worried today about that than I was four months — or even four weeks — ago.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 17 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Lamar Jackson’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Thursday, Jackson is projected to score 23.4 fantasy points in Week 17. This includes 240.1 passing yards, 1.7 passing touchdowns, and 0.6 interceptions. It also includes 10.2 rushing attempts for 61.2 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Texans' Defense
The Houston Texans defense has become the team's backbone this season, but the unit delivered one of its worst performances in the Week 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Houston had its second-lowest Defense+ grade of the season (70.4, C-), with the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts being the only lower grade.
The Texans' pass defense had arguably its worst game of the year, posting season-lows in pass success rate (46.7%) and EPA per dropback (-0.34). Houston’s ferocious pass rush has carried the unit for much of the season but couldn’t take advantage of a Chiefs offensive line that has been leaky for most of the year.
The Texans recorded their fourth-lowest sack rate (2.4%) all season, bringing down Patrick Mahomes just one time.
Overall, any unit led by Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. up front will generate strong sack totals, so this shouldn’t be a weakness that carries over into the postseason. But Houston has the lowest Offense+ grade of any team in the field, leaving this unit with very little margin for error when its strengths aren’t clicking.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Lamar Jackson’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 3:45 AM ET on Wednesday, December 25. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 QB PPR Rankings
1) Josh Allen | BUF (vs. NYJ)
2) Lamar Jackson | BAL (at HOU)
3) Jalen Hurts | PHI (vs. DAL)
4) Joe Burrow | CIN (vs. DEN)
5) Jayden Daniels | WAS (vs. ATL)
6) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. CAR)
7) Sam Darnold | MIN (vs. GB)
8) Kyler Murray | ARI (at LAR)
9) Bo Nix | DEN (at CIN)
10) Jordan Love | GB (at MIN)
11) Jared Goff | DET (at SF)
12) Anthony Richardson | IND (at NYG)
13) Brock Purdy | SF (vs. DET)
14) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (at CLE)
15) Matthew Stafford | LAR (vs. ARI)
16) C.J. Stroud | HOU (vs. BAL)
17) Patrick Mahomes | KC (at PIT)
18) Justin Herbert | LAC (at NE)
19) Caleb Williams | CHI (vs. SEA)
20) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (at BUF)
21) Geno Smith | SEA (at CHI)
22) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. KC)
23) Cooper Rush | DAL (at PHI)
24) Bryce Young | CAR (at TB)
25) Drake Maye | NE (vs. LAC)
26) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (at WAS)
27) Aidan O'Connell | LV (at NO)
28) Mac Jones | JAX (vs. TEN)
29) Mason Rudolph | TEN (at JAX)
30) Tommy DeVito | NYG (vs. IND)
31) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (vs. MIA)
32) Spencer Rattler | NO (vs. LV)
Ravens at Texans Trends and Insight
Baltimore Ravens
Team: Since the start of the last regular season, no team has had more double-digit point wins than the Ravens.
QB: Lamar Jackson has set a career-high for touchdown passes in a season and now has tossed multiple scores in eight of his past nine games (three TD passes in his first three games this season).
Offense: Baltimore was 0-of-2 in terms of turning goal-to-go drives into touchdowns in Week 1 – they are 28-of-30 since
Defense: In Weeks 1-10, Baltimore allowed 7.9 yards per pass – that rate sits at 5.9 since.
Fantasy: Derrick Henry has failed to score a touchdown in four straight games, the first time he has done that since opening the 2018 season with six-in-a-row. Marcus Mariota led that Titans team in passing and Corey Davis in receiving – yea, it’s been a minute.
Betting: The Ravens blew out the Dolphins in Week 17 last season. Since then, they are 0-4 ATS on short rest, failing to cover by an average of 7.4 points in those games.
Houston Texans
Team: The Texans haven’t won a game in consecutive weeks since Weeks 5-6 (their wins in Week 13 and 15 were separated by their bye).
QB: C.J. Stroud has weapons around him, but the loss of Tank Dell is impactful in more ways than one.
- Yards Per Attempt with Dell: 8.0
- Yards Per Attempt without Dell: 7.0 (down 12.5%)
- Air Yards Per Non-Pressured Pass with Dell: 8.8
- Air Yards Per Non-Pressured Pass without Dell: 6.6 (down 25%)
- Deep Passer Rating with Dell: 107.4
- Deep Passer Rating without Dell: 90 (down 16.2%)
Offense: The vertical game this season simply hasn’t been clicking. In his first 19 games, Stroud didn’t throw an interception on 147 deep pass attempts – he has six INTs on 97 such attempts since.
Defense: Houston sits at 8-1 when holding opponents to a sub-40% conversion rate on third down (1-5 otherwise).
Fantasy: Dalton Schultz has scored at least 15 PPR points in two of his past three games and posted a 21.6% target share on Saturday against the Chiefs – his role could be as favorable this week as any up to this point given the matchup and injury to Dell.
Betting: Unders are 9-3-1 in Houston’s past 13 home games, most recently was Week 15’s 20-12 win over the Dolphins (closing total: 46.5 points).