Jacoby Brissett or Marcus Mariota: Who should I start in fantasy football? (Week 15, 2025 season)

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Welcome to the first week of the playoffs! To win your matchup and advance to the semifinals, you may have to choose between Jacoby Brissett or Marcus Mariota. Which player would Basement Brewed Fantasy Football recommend you start? Let's go through the details to find out.

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Game Scripts

The Cardinals are entering this game as desperate 9-point road underdogs with a dangerously low projected team total of 16.5 points, the 6th fewest among all 32 teams on the week 15 slate. The desperate spread suggests a potentially pass-heavy approach while the dangerously low projected team total suggests touchdown opportunities will be severely limited.

The Commanders are entering this game as slim 2-point road underdogs with a mediocre projected team total of 22.5 points, the 14th fewest among all 32 teams on the week 15 slate. The narrow spread suggests a balanced offensive approach while the mediocre projected team total suggests modest touchdown opportunities. With two terrible defenses, Commanders @ Giants has a strong over/under of 47.5 points with both teams sporting solid projected team totals of 22 or more, giving this game the look of a sneaky shootout that should offer no shortage of fantasy football fireworks. This is a game to target in week 15.

Positional Matchups

The Texans present the worst possible matchup for QBs, allowing the 8th most rushing yards (20.77 per game) but holding them to the 5th fewest passing yards (193.38 per game), fewest passing TDs (0.92 per game), fewest rushing TDs (0.0 per game) and fewest fantasy points (11.35 per game). Just 5 QBs in 13 games have been able to reach 14+ fantasy points against the Texans, none of which were able to reach 20 points.

The Giants present a terrific matchup for QBs, allowing the 9th most passing yards (244.85 per game), 6th most passing TDs (1.77 per game), 3rd most rushing yards (24.15 per game), 5th most rushing TDs (0.31 per game) and 2nd most fantasy points per game (20.36). 11 QBs in 13 games scored 15+ fantasy points against the Giants.

Jacoby Brissett: Bottom Line

I expect Jacoby Brissett to finish, on average, around 13–16 fantasy points on ~38–45 pass attempts, ~240–280 yards, and ~1 total TD in a severely low-scoring spot. He's been a high end QB 1, but there's a ton of QB 2 downside in this low-scoring environment and worst-possible matchup. This one projects as Brissett's worst game of the year.

Marcus Mariota: Bottom Line

I expect Marcus Mariota to finish, on average, around 17–21 fantasy points on ~28–32 pass attempts, ~210–235 yards, ~1–2 passing TDs, plus ~30–45 rushing yards in a sneaky shootout. He's a high end QB 2 and quality streamer with genuine QB 1 upside in this mouthwatering matchup and potentially sneaky shootout.

Should you start Jacoby Brissett or Marcus Mariota?

There are times where streaming a QB over a previously proven commodity is just getting cute for no reason. This is not one of those times. It felt inevitable that the shoe would eventually drop on Jacoby Brissett, so I'm taking Marcus Mariota for this week.

Don't drop Jacoby Brissett to the waiver wire in your leagues, though - you'll want him for the upcoming matchups.

Week Winners + Discord = Winning your league in 2025

Portions of this article come directly from our Week Winner tool (formerly Heat Map), designed to help you make more confident decisions on your way to a championship. And our private Discord server features a specific Start/Sit channel where any questions you have can get answered in real time - plus our community of hardcore fantasy football players talking DFS, sports betting, dynasty, best ball, and more. From draft to trophy, we have you covered with every decision along the way.

Sign up to Basement Brewed Fantasy Football today and start making smarter lineup decisions that can dominate through the 2025 NFL season.