The Buffalo Bills will face the New York Jets 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 Josh Allen.
Is Josh Allen Playing in Week 17?
Updated at 11:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 29
Allen is active for today's game
Allen continues to practice in full with right elbow and shoulder issues. He is going to play this week.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bills’ 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 Josh Allen in Week 17?
I think we can give Allen a pass for last week from an analysis standpoint. You, of course, can’t do that if his slow game against the Patriots knocked you out of the playoffs.
Yet, if you’re still playing a meaningful game this week, there should be exactly zero hesitation in going back to the MVP front-runner, who was a top-two signal-caller in each of the three weeks prior to Week 16.
The Bills showed us that they knew how to beat the Jets back in Week 6 (Allen had a rushing score, but he also completed 15 of 18 non-pressured passes for 148 yards and a touchdown), and I see no reason to think they can’t have success in a similar fashion this time around.
Jets’ pressure rates, 2024:
- Weeks 1-13: 39.9%
- Weeks 14-16: 24.8%
Don’t overthink this.
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.
Josh Allen’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Sunday morning, Allen is projected to score 24.8 fantasy points in Week 17. This includes 260.2 passing yards, 2.1 passing touchdowns, and 0.8 interceptions. It also includes 6.9 rushing attempts for 38.1 yards and 0.5 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 Jets' Defense
Since Robert Saleh's departure, the New York Jets' defense hasn't been pretty. At the time of his firing, this was a top-three unit, with two top-five weeks and two others that had ranked seventh through five weeks.
The Jets have now slowly regressed towards league average, with their final ranking likely to drop further as they finish their season against a pair of strong division opponents (Bills, Dolphins).
The Week 16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams resulted in a 70.3 (C-) grade, the team's fifth-worst of the season. Three of the Jets' three lowest grades have come in the last three weeks, as the unit plays out the string on a lost season.
Sunday's grade was brought down by a 44.8% rushing success rate, New York's worst of the season and the second-worst by any team in Week 16.
This is a frustrating downturn for a unit that Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich had built into a juggernaut together. They inherited a bit of a mess from the Adam Gase regime, and while the first year (2021) was equally bad, the Jets had been a top-five unit in each of the last two seasons. They won't approach that in 2024 as one of the league's most disappointing teams overall.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Josh Allen’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:25 AM ET on Sunday, December 29. 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) Joe Burrow | CIN (vs. DEN)
4) Jayden Daniels | WAS (vs. ATL)
5) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. CAR)
6) Sam Darnold | MIN (vs. GB)
7) Kyler Murray | ARI (at LAR)
8) Jordan Love | GB (at MIN)
9) Bo Nix | DEN (at CIN)
10) Jared Goff | DET (at SF)
11) Brock Purdy | SF (vs. DET)
12) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (at CLE)
13) Matthew Stafford | LAR (vs. ARI)
14) C.J. Stroud | HOU (vs. BAL)
15) Justin Herbert | LAC (at NE)
16) Patrick Mahomes | KC (at PIT)
17) Caleb Williams | CHI (vs. SEA)
18) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (at BUF)
19) Geno Smith | SEA (at CHI)
20) Bryce Young | CAR (at TB)
21) Cooper Rush | DAL (at PHI)
22) Joe Flacco | IND (at NYG)
23) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. KC)
24) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (at WAS)
25) Drake Maye | NE (vs. LAC)
26) Aidan O'Connell | LV (at NO)
27) Tyler Huntley | MIA (at CLE)
28) Mac Jones | JAX (vs. TEN)
29) Kenny Pickett | PHI (vs. DAL)
30) Mason Rudolph | TEN (at JAX)
31) Drew Lock | NYG (vs. IND)
32) Spencer Rattler | NO (vs. LV)
33) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (vs. MIA)
Jets at Bills Trends and Insights
New York Jets
Team: The Jets have two Sunday wins this season. Only six teams since 2017 have ended a season with two or fewer, and those teams combined to win one Thursday game (these Jets have two Thursday wins).
QB: Aaron Rodgers joins Tom Brady (seven occurrences) and Drew Brees (one) as the only 40+ year-old QBs with three straight games of 250 passing yards and zero interceptions.
Offense: New York converted both of their red zone trips in Week 1 in San Francisco – they haven’t cashed in all of their chances in a single game since.
Defense: This defense wasn’t given a chance on Sunday. The Rams' average starting field position was the 46.6-yard line (the previous highest average starting position against New York this season was the 37-yard line).
Fantasy: Davante Adams has four straight games with 65+ receiving yards and a touchdown catch – only three receivers have had a longer such streak at age 30 or older (Terrell Owens, Cris Carter, and Muhsin Muhammed).
Betting: The Jets have covered consecutive road games (both in Florida) after going 2-9-1 ATS in their previous 12 contests away from home.
Buffalo Bills
Team: After averaging 45 points per game over a two-week stretch, there were a total of 45 points scored in Buffalo’s win over New England on Sunday.
QB: Is aggressive Josh Allen back? Over the past three weeks, the MVP front-runner owns an 11.2-yard aDOT (four games prior: 5.9).
Offense: The Bills scored a touchdown on their fourth-lowest percentage of drives in a game this season, while the Patriots matched their highest touchdown rate of the season.
The Bills beat the Patriots
Defense: In December, opponents are seven-of-seven on fourth down against Buffalo.
Fantasy: James Cook has 42 red zone touches this season compared to 35 last year – he’s scored 16 touchdowns this season compared to six last year.
Betting: After covering six of seven games, the Bills are 1-2 ATS over their past three games. They have seen six straight games decided by more than five points off of the spread.