The Philadelphia Eagles will face the Washington Commanders 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 Kenny Pickett.
Is Kenny Pickett Playing in Week 17?
Week 17 Status: PLAYING
Picket is dealing with a rib injury that will require some extra padding underneath his jersey. However, the backup QB practiced in full on Thursday and Friday. He is all set to make his first start this season on Sunday.
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.
Should You Start or Sit Kenny Pickett in Week 17?
Pickett has as many touchdown passes as interceptions for his career, and without much rushing equity, he’s not the type of backup quarterback that will walk into even reasonable fantasy value.
The Eagles have little motivation to force the issue this week, thus making Pickett far more risk than any reward as a spot-starting option.
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.
Kenny Pickett’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Sunday morning, Pickett is projected to score 8.7 fantasy points in Week 17. This includes 144.9 passing yards, 0.4 passing touchdowns, and 0.4 interceptions. It also includes 3.1 rushing attempts for 9.2 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 Cowboys' Defense
After a string of positive performances, the Cowboys' defense came crashing back down to earth in a tough test against the Buccaneers' offense. Dallas recorded a 66.7 (D) grade, its lowest since Week 6.
Each of the Cowboys' four lowest grades have come at home this season, a continuation of the team's vexing troubles at AT&T Stadium. For the season, Dallas has the worst Defense+ grade at home but the seventh-best on the road.
The Cowboys have typically generated a solid level of pressure with Micah Parsons available, but Sunday bucked that trend. Dallas generated its second-lowest non-blitz pressure rate on the season (14.7%), contributing to a tie for its second-worst third-down conversion rate allowed (50%).
The unit will rank nowhere near the heights of the Dan Quinn era. Having been a top-five unit for each of the last three years, falling to the bottom 10 is a massive drop-off and shows the value Quinn brought to the franchise.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Kenny Pickett’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)
Cowboys at Eagles Trends and Insights
Dallas Cowboys
Team: The Cowboys are 10-3 in their last 13 regular season games played on or after November 19 (they are 9-10 otherwise).
QB: The Cooper Rush experience may not be perfect, but the numbers don’t lie -- in 2024, the splits by starting QB:
- Win%: Rush (57.1%), Dak Prescott (37.5%)
- Non-TO%: Rush (87.8%), Prescott (85.1%)
- Red Zone TD%: Rush (55%), Prescott (45.5%)
Offense: Dallas has scored on at least half of their drives in consecutive games after having one such performance this year prior.
Defense: Opponents have scored a touchdown against Dallas on 26-of-29 goal-to-go trips this season and are a perfect 13-of-13 since Week 9 in such situations.
Fantasy: Brandon Aubrey has more 55+ yard made field goals this season (six) than the Cowboys have 55+ yard plays during the regular season since the start of 2023 (five).
Betting: Over tickets have cashed in four of Dallas’ past five road covers
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: Can they get lucky win #13 this week? This franchise has hit that total three times, and they’ve won the NFC in each instance (2004, 2017, and 2022)
QB: Philadelphia’s one-seed shots took a huge shot on Sunday – none of the QBs on the three favorites in the NFC have a greater drop in QB+ from home to road than Jalen Hurts.
Offense: Philadelphia was just three-of-16 on third down against Washington (18.8%), their second-worst rate of the season.
Defense: The Eagles forced a turnover on 38.5% of Commander drives last week and found a way to lose. In their first seven games this season with a double-digit forced turnover percentage, Philadelphia was 7-0 and had outscored their opponents by 93 points.
Fantasy: Saquon Barkley ran for 109 yards in the first quarter against the Commanders on Sunday, giving him the most in a first quarter since 2011. Who did he unseat? Saquon Barkley in 2019 – against the Commanders – on December 22 (2019).
Betting: Overs are 8-3 in Philadelphia’s past 11 home divisional games.