The Houston Texans will face the Tennessee Titans 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 C.J. Stroud.
Is C.J. Stroud Playing in Week 18?
Stroud is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Texans’ 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 C.J. Stroud in Week 18?
The Texans don’t have any upward mobility this weekend. They are locked into the No. 4 seed, and that means that, if chalk holds, they will draw the Chiefs in the second round. They are going to have a battle on their hands just to get to that point, and they really haven’t looked like a legitimate threat for a while (5-1 start to the season, 4-6 since).
C.J. Stroud was just ordinary in the Week 12 loss to these Titans (he threw for 247 yards with a pair of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions), but it’s difficult to see him playing a full 60 minutes this weekend with the understanding that Houston will be hosting a Wild Card game next week.
When looking forward, be it for DFS purposes this postseason or early 2025 rankings, Stroud’s regression as a field stretcher has to be considered. We’ve seen the Bengals adapt their offense and draw back Ja’Marr Chase’s aDOT in the process — do the Texans try something similar in short order to make their second-year QB more efficient?
Stroud threw 116 deep passes (15+ air yards) as a rookie, averaging 14.5 yards per attempt with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions in the process. This season, on 122 such passes, Stroud is averaging 11.0 yards per pass with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.
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.
C.J. Stroud’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Sunday, Stroud is projected to score 10.3 fantasy points in Week 18. This includes 152.7 passing yards, 0.8 passing touchdowns, and 0.2 interceptions. It also includes 1.8 rushing attempts for 8.1 yards and 0.1 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 Titans' Defense
Similar to the Bears, the Titans' defense looks like a talented unit that has finally begun to crack under the strain of supporting a non-functional offense.
The pass defense has really dropped off. The Titans ranked 10th in EPA per dropback from Weeks 1-9 but have fallen to 30th since Week 10. Only the Jets and Giants have worse pass defenses over that stretch.
Tennessee's defense hasn't been bad for most of the year, and it helped the team steal a couple of wins. Still, the overall results are below average, and the unit has plenty of room to improve next season.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
C.J. Stroud’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)
Texans at Titans Trends and Insights
Houston Texans
Team: The Texans are 4-6 over their past 10 games after winning 12 of 16 regular season games prior.
QB: C.J. Stroud threw 116 deep passes as a rookie, averaging 14.5 yards per attempt with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions in the process. This season, on 122 such passes, Stroud is averaging 11.0 yards per pass with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Offense: On Wednesday, the Texans averaged under 20 yards per drive for the fourth time this season – they did it once in 2023.
Defense: Week 17 was the fifth time this season that Houston failed to prevent a touchdown on a single red zone trip.
Fantasy: John Metchie III was the player who saw his stock rise the most in the first game following Tank Dell’s injury – he matched a season-high snap share (72.2%) and earned a 25.8% target share in the loss to the Ravens.
Betting: The Texans are 3-1 ATS against the AFC East this season and 3-8-1 ATS against the rest of the NFL.
Tennessee Titans
Team: Tennessee’s last home win in regulation was Week 18 last season (28-20 win over the Jaguars).
QB: Mason Rudolph has completed four passes against the blitz over the past three weeks – three have resulted in touchdowns.
Offense: The Titans are seven-of-20 on fourth downs this season (35%; they haven’t finished a season under 50% since 2019).
Defense: Tennessee fell to 0-7 on Sunday in weeks in which they did not force a turnover.
Fantasy: The on-field target share distribution with Mason Rudolph under center is about as split as it can be and that’s a pain for fantasy managers:
- Calvin Ridley: 23.6%
- Josh Whyle: 25%
- Chig Okonkwo: 23.4%
- Tyjae Spears: 23.4%
Betting: Tennessee is 0-7 ATS at home this season (failing to cover by an average of 6.2 points per game) and have covered just one of their past 11 in front of their fans.