Fantasy Football Week 16 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Sam Darnold vs. J.J.McCarthy

Evaluating who to play in fantasy football in week 16 between Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold and Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy.

Dec 7, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) warms up on the field prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The memes have been rolling in on the Minnesota Vikings ' second-year QB J.J. McCarthy for a while, with subpar performances beginning to pile up for him in 2025. But in his last couple of games, he has silenced that bit with some great play. This has led him to be fairly high in our fantasy football QB rankings in week 16. In this, he is above a QB playing on Thursday night, that being Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold. Here is a breakdown of who to start and who to sit between the two this week in fantasy football

Sam Darnold

Dec 7, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws a pass against the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Sam Darnold played no means bad in Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, but his performance did not equate to big fantasy numbers. In the contest, he went 22-36 passing for 271 yards, while throwing no touchdowns or interceptions. This is the third game in his last four where he has not thrown a TD pass. Over this stretch, he has been QB17 in fantasy football. When he plays the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, it appears this trend could break, given how the Rams' passing defense has performed of late.

In Los Angeles’ last three games, their passing defense has given up 261 passing yards per game. This ranks as the fourth most of any team in the NFL over this stretch. In this, the last three opposing QBs the Rams faced had a combined eight touchdown passes against them. This is certainly encouraging for Darnold fantasy GMs, but they should remain wary given how he performed against Los Angeles in week 11 of this season. In this contest, Darnold threw for 279 yards, zero TDs, and four INTs. 

J.J. McCarthy

Dec 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) throws during the first half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy is coming off his best game of the year in week 15 against the Dallas Cowboys. In the game, he was 15-24 passing for 250 yards and had two passing TDS and one INT. Also, he showed his versatility of being a potential dual-threat QB in moments, rushing four times for 15 yards and a TD. This all added up to McCarthy being QB6 last week in fantasy football. He will look to continue this trek against the New York Giants in week 16.

McCarthy had the benefit of facing the worst passing defense he had played all year, in facing the Cowboys last week. He will get the same benefit of facing another bad passing defense this Sunday, as he plays the Giants. New York this year is allowing the 10th most passing yards per game this year. In their last three games, they are allowing the eighth most. Over this span of their last three games, QBs have combined for five TD passes and one INT. Also, in the year, they are giving up the second most fantasy points to the QB position in PPR fantasy formats.

Final Verdict

When it comes to who should start and who should sit in week 16 of fantasy football between Darnold and McCarthy, Darnold should sit, and McCarthy should start. 

Both QBs look to have favorable matchups in week 16, but how Darnold played against the Rams earlier this year, and his overall recent form, is enough to give McCarthy the start, especially with his encouraging play in his last two games.