The Houston Texans will face the Baltimore Ravens 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 C.J. Stroud.
Is C.J. Stroud Playing in Week 17?
Stroud 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 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 17?
No part of this season has been what you paid for from C.J. Stroud. He was the fifth quarterback off of most draft boards (don’t worry, the name closest to him in ADP at the position was Anthony Richardson, so it’s not as if you flipped a coin and landed on the wrong side).
If you’re anything like me, you didn’t want to fully punt on Stroud, understanding that Nico Collins is a special receiver who has the ability elevate those around him.
I mean, we’ve seen Courtland Sutton support Superman Bo Nix weeks and Calvin Ridley put Will Levis on streaming radars. We all prefer this Houston situation to those by a mile, so how bad could things really get?
And if you were really overthinking things, “at the very least, I get a competitive team hosting a Ravens team that can both push this offense to score while also being vulnerable through the air” likely crossed your mind. I know it did for me.
Now? Now, we’re in trouble, and I’m looking to stream out the position with my championship on the line.
Not great, Bob. Not great.
Stroud still has talent 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%)
To make matters worse, this matchup is no longer the cupcake we thought. Two months ago, we saw Jameis Winston carve Baltimore up (334 yards and three touchdowns), and in Week 10, Joe Burrow force-fed Ja’Marr Chase on his way to 428 yards and four scores.
At the very least, I thought a ceiling week had the potential of happening for Stroud, but that’s no longer the case. Since that Burrow explosion, Baltimore’s yards per pass allowed is down 25.3%, and I no longer trust Stroud to take advantage of the Ravens’ primary flaw — if you still believe it’s a weakness.
In his first 19 games, Stroud didn’t throw an interception on 147 deep pass attempts. Since then, he has had six interceptions on 97 such attempts.
The Ravens are always a threat to dictate tempo (five games this season with over 33.5 minutes of possession). Although the Texans can do that as well, they haven’t been lately (three of their four lowest time-of-possession games this season have come since Week 12).
I can’t put Stroud in the Bo Nix (at CIN) or Kyler Murray (at LAR) tier this week. Heck, he or Richardson (at NYG) is something I struggled with ranking-wise, though it’s unlikely to be a decision you’re actually faced with.
There may be a buy-the-dip situation with Stroud this summer, but I’m actively making excuses to look elsewhere for fantasy championships.
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.
C.J. Stroud’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Thursday, Stroud is projected to score 15 fantasy points in Week 17. This includes 221.1 passing yards, 1.2 passing touchdowns, and 0.3 interceptions. It also includes 2.6 rushing attempts for 11.7 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 Ravens' Defense
For much of the season, the Ravens were stuck in a funhouse. After years of banking on elite production from the defense and Justin Tucker, both had turned into pumpkins threatening to drag down an MVP-caliber production from Lamar Jackson and the offense.
Don’t look now, but Baltimore's defense is back to ranking as an above-average unit after another positive performance vs. Pittsburgh (77.0, C+ grade). Baltimore has taken advantage of some weak recent opponents, including a Pittsburgh offense missing George Pickens. Still, the Ravens deserve credit for generating a season-high 48.4% pressure rate without blitzing.
Baltimore is still a relatively weak pressure team, ranking 20th in non-blitz pressure rate for the season. However, the Ravens have done a great job of converting those into sacks, owning the eighth-highest sack rate.
Baltimore has the 11th-best pressure-to-sack conversion rate on the year, bringing the QB down 23.3% of the time when they do generate pressure.
Although the Ravens led the league in scoring defense in 2023, they only ranked 10th in Defense+. This year’s unit is getting close to that level while pairing it with a much more well-rounded offense, which bodes well for the postseason.
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 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).