The Philadelphia Eagles will face the New York Giants in Week 18. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding QB Jalen Hurts.
Is Jalen Hurts Playing in Week 18?
Last Updated Sunday at 11:30 AM
Hurts is inactive for today's game as the Eagles are resting starters.
Head coach Nick Sirianni said Jalen Hurts remains in the concussion protocol. Regardless of his status, Hurts was never going to play this week. He was formally listed as out on Friday’s report.
Concussions are tricky, but it would be pretty surprising if Hurts wasn’t able to return for the Eagles’ Wild Card game.
We’ll continue to monitor the Eagles’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Jalen Hurts’ Fantasy Outlook
Hurts completed one of his four passes for 11 yards in Week 16 before entering concussion protocol and being ruled out for the remainder of the game. This was obviously a brutal break for fantasy managers, as there was no reason to not play him with the utmost confidence (2023 was his first season without a DNP).
Philadelphia sat him out last week against the Cowboys and is now locked in the two-seed. With Hurts still in protocol, there is no reason to rush him back.
Kenny Pickett will likely draw a second straight start. He looked fine last week against an overmatched Cowboys team (10-of-15 for 143 yards and a touchdown), but that was with DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown dominating down the field.
It would stand to reason that all valuable Philadelphia pieces are players you want to avoid, and that would wipe Pickett off of my DFS player pool, even with a cheap price tag.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 18 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Jalen Hurts’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
Hurts is projected to score 0 points in Week 18.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Giants' Defense
The Giants ranked in the top half of Defense+ for much of the season but have declined into the bottom half of the NFL.
Week 17's shocking win over the Colts was entirely driven by one of the unlikeliest offensive outbursts in recent memory. Defensively, the Giants posted their fifth-worst grade of the season (69.3, D+), even with three takeaways off Joe Flacco goosing the overall numbers.
For the season, the Giants are not an above-average unit at anything except sack rate and red-zone defense. New York led the league in sack rate for much of the season but ranks 19th in that category since Dexter Lawrence went on injured reserve after Thanksgiving.
New York's defense is in the same neighborhood as last year's unit that finished 25th and behind the pace of the 2022 team that ranked 18th. This will be a disappointing outcome, considering how they began the season, and it won't help Brian Daboll's tenuous job security.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Jalen Hurts’ 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)
Giants at Eagles Trends and Insights
New York Giants
Team: Not only did the Giants cash ‘over’ betting tickets by themselves last week against the Colts with 45 points, but they easily cleared their December point total entering the game (32 points across three games).
QB: Players since 2020 with a 300 pass yard, four pass TD, one rush TD game:
- Josh Allen (3)
- Patrick Mahomes (1)
- Tom Brady (1)
- Justin Herbert (1)
- Dak Prescott (1)
- ... Drew Lock (1)
Offense: Lock posted the fourth-best QB+ game of the season and earned the first ‘A’ grade for a Giant quarterback in our database that dates back to 2019.
Defense: Opponents have picked up 24-of-38 third downs (63.2%) against New York over the past three weeks.
Fantasy: Malik Nabers is four receptions away from breaking Steve Smith’s franchise record (107 in 2009), and with 135 receiving yards, he can join Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, Homer Jones, and Del Shofner as the only Giants to average 85 receiving yards for a season.
Betting: The Giants have seen eight of their past 11 road divisional games go over the total (most recent: 27-20 loss to Dallas with a 39-point total).
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: The Eagles lost a shootout with the Commanders in Week 16, but that hasn’t been their path to success – that’s the only game over the past two months in which they've allowed more than 20 points.
QB: Without Jalen Hurts, the Eagles completed 13-of-19 passes with three scores (all three to their star receivers) and zero interceptions.
Offense: Philadelphia has scored at least three offensive touchdowns in 11 straight games, a streak that started after failing to reach three scores in Weeks 2-3-4.
Defense: The Eagles rebounded from their second-worst points-per-drive defensive showing of the season (Washington: 2.77) with their third-best against the Cowboys (0.70). Philadelphia’s top-three games in this regard for the season have all come in divisional games.
Fantasy: Saquon Barkley needs 101 rushing yards to set the single-season record – he’s done that in a half of action five times this season (including the second half in Week 7 against these Giants).
Betting: The Eagles were 2-3 ATS to open this season but have covered eight of 11 games since.