The Indianapolis Colts will face the New York Giants 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 Joe Flacco.
Is Joe Flacco Playing in Week 17?
Flacco is not listed on the injury report. He will start in place of Anthony Richardson, who has been ruled out for the game.
We’ll continue to monitor the Colts’ 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 Joe Flacco in Week 17?
This is a good spot for Flacco, though counting on a pocket-locked quarterback with a peaking run game is a bit dangerous. He’s completed 66.5% of his passes this season, but his best counting number performances have come in passing favorable game scripts, something this does not project as.
I currently have him sitting at QB14 this week behind another pocket QB in Aaron Rodgers, a signal-caller who is more likely to be playing catchup (at BUF) than Flacco (at NYG).
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.
Joe Flacco’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Sunday morning, Flacco is projected to score 12.3 fantasy points in Week 17. This includes 182.4 passing yards, 1.3 passing touchdowns, and 0.5 interceptions. It also includes 1 rushing attempts for 1.7 yards and 0 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 Jaguars' Defense
The Jaguars wouldn't rank this poorly if they could face the Titans every week. Two of Jacksonville's four best grades have come against Tennessee this year, with Week 17's win registering as a 76.4 (C).
If we're being generous, it's worth pointing out that the pass defense has improved since the Week 12 bye. Since the 52-6 disaster against Detroit, the Jaguars rank 11th in pass defense success rate. They were 31st in that category from Weeks 1-11, ahead of only Tampa Bay.
Still, the Jaguars don't rank above average in a single metric that goes into Defense+ for the season. They're closest in EPA per rush, where they rank 18th. It seems highly unlikely Doug Pederson and Ryan Nielsen can make a case that things will only get better in Year 2 of their partnership.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Joe Flacco’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:00 AM ET on Sunday, January 5. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 QB PPR Rankings
1) Lamar Jackson | BAL (vs. CLE)
2) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at DAL)
3) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. NO)
4) Joe Burrow | CIN (at PIT)
5) Sam Darnold | MIN (at DET)
6) Jared Goff | DET (vs. MIN)
7) Jordan Love | GB (vs. CHI)
8) Bo Nix | DEN (vs. KC)
9) Kyler Murray | ARI (vs. SF)
10) Justin Herbert | LAC (at LV)
11) Drake Maye | NE (vs. BUF)
12) Bryce Young | CAR (at ATL)
13) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. CIN)
14) Geno Smith | SEA (at LAR)
15) Caleb Williams | CHI (at GB)
16) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (vs. MIA)
17) Joe Flacco | IND (vs. JAX)
18) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (vs. CAR)
19) Mason Rudolph | TEN (vs. HOU)
20) Aidan O'Connell | LV (vs. LAC)
21) Mac Jones | JAX (at IND)
22) Tanner McKee | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Kenny Pickett | PHI (vs. NYG)
24) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. WAS)
25) C.J. Stroud | HOU (at TEN)
26) Drew Lock | NYG (at PHI)
27) Jimmy Garoppolo | LAR (vs. SEA)
28) Carson Wentz | KC (at DEN)
29) Davis Mills | HOU (at TEN)
30) Tyler Huntley | MIA (at NYJ)
31) Joshua Dobbs | SF (at ARI)
32) Spencer Rattler | NO (at TB)
33) Mitchell Trubisky | BUF (at NE)
34) Taylor Heinicke | LAC (at LV)
35) Bailey Zappe | KC (at DEN)
36) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (at BAL)
37) Sam Howell | SEA (at LAR)
38) Josh Allen | BUF (at NE)
Jaguars at Colts Trends and Insights
Jacksonville Jaguars
Team: The Jaguars went on bye after their 46-point loss in Detroit. Since then, they’ve played five straight one-score games (2-3 in those contests).
QB: On 19 play-action throws over the past three weeks, Mac Jones has two touchdowns and zero interceptions (other 88 throws: three touchdowns and two interceptions)
Offense: Jacksonville has converted all three of their red zone trips into touchdowns over their past two games (they were five-of-11 over their previous four games).
Defense: The Jags allowed the Titans to gain 41.1 yards per drive on Sunday, the third-highest mark they’ve allowed this season.
Fantasy: Since 2020, three times has a rookie receiver posted consecutive games with 85 receiving yards and a touchdown catch:
- Amon-Ra St. Brown (2021)
- Brian Thomas Jr. (Weeks 15-17)
- Brian Thomas Jr. (Weeks 4-5)
BTJ is the only receiver in NFL history with two such streaks as a rookie. If he can post a fourth straight game in Week 18, he’ll join Randy Moss (1998), St. Brown (2021), and Odell Beckham Jr. (2014) as the only players to accomplish that feat.
Betting: Jacksonville is 6-1 ATS in their past seven road divisional games (2-0 this season despite scoring 30 points and allowing 30 points).
Indianapolis Colts
Team: Should Colts fans like Sunday’s result? It locked in a losing season—Indianapolis has improved its win total by at least four games following each of its past six losing campaigns.
QB: Joe Flacco has 56 fewer pass attempts than Anthony Richardson this season – he has three more touchdown tosses and 13 more completions.
Offense: Indianapolis has averaged 2.75+ points per drive in consecutive games, matching their total of such games through the first 15 weeks.
Defense: The Colts have held the Packers, Lions, Bills, and Vikings all under 2.5 points per drive – the Patriots, Texans, Jaguars, and Giants (3.17 on Sunday) have all cleared that rate against Indianapolis this season.
Fantasy: Jonathan Taylor has at least 29 carries, 125 rushing yards, and a pair of rushing scores in consecutive games – he is the eighth player ever to hit all of those benchmarks in two straight games, the first since Julius Jones did it for the Cowboys in 2004.
Betting: The Colts are 3-1 ATS in their past four home divisional games, not bad for a team that had covered just two of their previous 11 such games.