The NFL released its entire 2024 schedule last week, with plenty of fanfare and a two-hour TV special. Every week matters in the NFL, but Week 17 is significant for best ball purposes as the season-long tournaments conclude and the fantasy football champions are crowned.
I’ve been helping you get ready for your best ball drafts at FantasyLabs by looking at my top 3 sleepers from Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft, some late-round fantasy sleepers, and rookies that I’m avoiding at their ADP.
One factor that radically affects your stack’s weekly success is the matchup. Now that we have our hands on the NFL schedule, we know what teams are squaring off during Week 17, which is also best ball championship week.
Check out our Underdog Fantasy promo code — the premier destination for Best Ball Fantasy Football — to kick off your draft season with a $250 deposit match for new users.
Week 17 Matchups to Target
Week 17 should be wildly entertaining on multiple levels. The games are scattered throughout the week, with a Christmas Day doubleheader on Wednesday and a Thursday Night Football matchup the following evening. A few days later, it won’t get much better than a Saturday tripleheader of playoff-impacting matchups (selected from a flex pool) followed by the usual Sunday and Monday prime-time games.
It’s quite tricky predicting outcomes this far ahead of time, so don’t go too crazy drafting all of your teams based on these Week 17 matchups. However, they will be impactful, so it’s important to know what they are and how to plan accordingly. Here are my way-too-early top matchups to try and stack for Week 17.
Dallas Cowboys at Philadephia Eagles
If recent history is any indication, a Cowboys stack should thrive against the Eagles in Week 17. This NFC East clash is locked in as FOX’s featured matchup in the late-afternoon window.
Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, and Jake Ferguson are once again the top pieces of a Dallas stack, with Ezekiel Elliott returning to the Cowboys after a one-year hiatus in New England.
Dallas is on the road for this matchup, but Prescott and company should be able to attack and score plenty of points. The Cowboys have scored 30+ points in five of their last seven head-to-head meetings with the Eagles, averaging 34.6 points per game.
Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders
While this matchup doesn’t look like a game to get super excited about (since these teams combined for an 11-23 record last season), it could actually set up very nicely as a year-ending boost to an Atlanta stack.
No team in the NFL gave up more points (30.5 per game) or total yards (388.9 per game) to their opponents last year than the Commanders, and while new coach Dan Quinn will probably help them improve those marks, they should remain a very favorable matchup. The Commanders were so much worse than the rest of the league last year that even significant improvements will still likely leave them in the bottom tier of the NFL in many defensive categories.
The Falcons confused everyone by drafting Michael Penix Jr. and public skepticism has since grown, dropping the ADP of Kirk Cousins and the other starters to very affordable levels. Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and Kyle Pitts should all benefit from the addition of Cousins under center, while Bijan Robinson will hopefully receive consistent playing time under new head coach Raheem Morris. This matchup against Washington should be a strong finish for the Falcons as a primary (or even as a secondary) stack this season.
New Orleans Saints vs. Las Vegas Raiders
If you’re looking for a sleeper stack late in your draft, the Saints offer some sneaky upside. Chris Olave has proven that he can be a strong No. 1 receiver, and Derek Carr does a good job getting his top receiver the ball. He also tends to keep his tight end very involved, which is good news for Juwan Johnson. Rashid Shaheed and A.T. Perry both have big-play potential, and Alvin Kamara has been a fantasy workhorse in the past, although he was a letdown last year.
The Saints play at home in Week 17 against Carr’s former team, as the Raiders will roll into the Big Easy. Carr could be injured or benched, but if you think he will keep the Saints in the playoff hunt (or at least the mix for the NFC South), we could have a huge revenge narrative here.
The Superdome has given us plenty of high-scoring games of fantasy goodness, and this might be a sneaky finish for either team (if they’re still in the playoff hunt). Stacks in the Washington and Philly games could have iffy weather in Week 17, so an indoor stack takes that concern out of the equation.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans
The Jaguars offense took a big step forward last season, as Trevor Lawrence continued to grow in 2023. They added Christian Kirk last year and brought in Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. this offseason. Travis Etienne Jr. is also a big contributor as a pass-catcher and projects to be one of the top RBs off the board.
Last season, Jacksonville faced Tennessee in Week 18 on the road in Nashville and needed a win to claim the division title. They lost, 28-20, after winning comfortably 34-14 at home against the Titans in Week 11. The Jaguars have gone 3-1 against the Titans over the past two seasons while averaging 27.5 points per game, but they’ll be especially keyed up by that one loss to hang big numbers against the Titans this season.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Detroit Lions
OK, OK. This probably isn’t a game that you really want to attack on either side, as both teams have good defenses. But what a great way to finish the best ball season, with an NFC Championship Game rematch on Monday Night Football.
With so many good fantasy options on both sides, this game will likely go a long way to determining the championships in many contests. Last year, the Lions built an early 17-point lead, but the 49ers stormed back with a huge second half in a matchup that totaled eight touchdowns and 65 points.
The Lions have worked to strengthen their defense this offseason, and the 49ers were one of the best offenses in the NFC last season. However, both offenses are so well-stocked in big-play options, that there should still be plenty of points scored in this matchup.
