2026 NFL Week 17 games to stack: Ravens and Bengals set for a shootout

The NFL schedule is set. I've already broken down the schedule as a whole and the fantasy football playoffs slate. Here, I'm diving deeper into just the games in the fantasy championship week. This is every Week 17 game ranked by how strong a game stack it is, with a lean toward best ball drafts.

1. Ravens at Bengals (51.5)

This is theWeek 17 game. These two teams have faced each other eight times with both quarterbacks active over the past five seasons. The Ravens averaged 26.75 points per game in those contests and the Bengals contributed 25.75, bringing the actual totals to 52.5. Most of the players involved in this game average more fantasy points when facing one another, but Ja'Marr Chase's splits are particularly shocking.

He has posted 25.2 PRR points per game against the Ravens since 2021. Tee Higgins' fantasy output has also jumped by over three points per game in this marquee matchup. This is two teams with a lot to prove in 2026, possibly trying to decide the fate of the AFC North. It's the clear favorite to be the game you had to have to win best ball tournaments.

2. Lions at Bears (49.5)

No surprises here as this game is tied for the second-highest total of the fantasy championship round. It's also the only game of the week that sees two top-10 scoring offenses from 2025 squaring off. Chicago's offense, on the other hand, might be drastically different. Both Colston Loveland and Luther Burden were efficient, part-time players for most of their rookie seasons. Now Ben Johnson has cleared the runway for them to be focal points of the team's passing attack. Even if it takes them a few weeks to figure things out, this offense should be humming by Week 17.

3. Rams at Bucs (48.5)

A Bucs/Rams shootout hinges on Baker Mayfield returning to form. He dealt with foot, bicep, shoulder, and knee injuries in 2025. The sprained AC joint appeared to be the final nail in the coffin for his season. He was averaging 20.8 PPR points per game before Week 12, when he went down with the injury. He posted 17.2 weekly points after the injury. The Bucs also went from a -.9% pass rate over expected pre-injury to -6.2% post-injury. Mayfield doesn't need to be perfect in 2026. He just needs to stay healthy. If he does, we know the Rams will hold up their end of the bargain in Week 17.

4. Giants at Cowboys (49.5)

The Cowboys are kingmakers for opposing fantasy options. Their games went 12-4-1 to the over last year, meaning that even as expectations for their games rose during the season, Vegas could not keep up with how many points were being scored. No team allowed more fantasy points to opposing wideouts or quarterbacks last year.

The tricky part of attacking this game is that Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo are both hurt. A good outcome would see the tandem start slow before erupting over the second half of the year. If you're stacking the Giants, it might be best to pair them with a hot start team. The Packers have the third-easiest opening month of the year. Their next three games feature totals of 49.5, 51.5, and 50.5.

6. Eagles at 49ers 45.5

These teams spent four top-100 picks on skill position players in the 2026 NFL Draft.

• Eagles WR Makai Lemon - pick No. 20
• 49ers WR De'Zhaun Stribling - pick No. 33
• Eagles TE Eli Stowers - pick No. 54
• 49ers RB Kaelon Black - pick No. 90

The Eagles are betting on a vibes shift turning the offense around in 2026. Kevin Patullo is out as OC, replaced by Sean Mannion, who has his roots in the McVay/Shanahan offenses. A.J. Brown is expected to be gone on June 1st and the team has already replaced him with Lemon. The 49ers are in a similar spot with Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, and Brandon Aiyuk (who will be cut soon) all off the roster. Stribling was likely drafted to backfill the Jennings role, but a healthy Ricky Pearsall may also be needed to step up. TLDR: This game will be decided by how the rookies perform. If I'm stacking it, I want at least one of Stribling or Lemon.

7. Chiefs at Chargers 45.5

Both of these offenses are relatively unchanged from 2025, with the major exception being Kansas City's addition of Kenneth Walker. The bigger shift for both teams could come via the sidelines. The Chiefs let OC Matt Nagy walk and replaced him with Eric Bieniemy. Patrick Mahomes averaged 26.9 fantasy points per game in his five seasons with Bieniemy as his coordinator. That dropped to 21.1 points with Nagy on the headset. Both quarterbacks are fun bets in best ball this year, but Mahomes is my pick if building a game stack here.

In LA, Jim Harbaugh threw in the towel on his coaching tree calling plays and handed the reins over to a Shanahan disciple in Mike McDaniel. Ladd McConkey looks like an ideal fit for McDaniel's offense, making him a strong bring-back option to a Mahomes-Rice or even a Mahomes-Worthy stack.

7. Commanders at Jaguars (48.5)

I couldn't bring myself to move this game any lower than seventh on the list because of its lofty total. But boy did I want to. The reason to stack Week 17 is that if you make it to the championship round, you want a lineup that is highly correlated. Your players move in tandem and if one puts up a big score, you're likely to get several other big scores and take home first place. Where I think best ball drafters have generally gone wrong is that they assume two players in the same game automatically have a strong relationship in how they score. I buy that Zay Flowers and Ja'Marr Chase's scores have a positive relationship. They're both the target-dominators of their elite offenses. I'm not sure anything is tying the Jaguars' cornerback and the Commanders' RB3 together. And this game is full of similar situations. Quarterbacks aside, I'm only sure of Terry McLaurin's role in this game. With no clarity anywhere on these depth charts, stacking this game is shockingly difficult.

8. Broncos at Patriots 42.5

Vegas is understandably low on a game that features a pair of top-five scoring defenses. When they faced in the AFC Championship, New England only needed 10 points to win. Their rematch should look like the teams are playing a different sport. Most importantly, Bo Nix will presumably be healthy.

Beyond that, these are two teams who were more than willing to pass in 2025. They ranked fourth and seventh in pass rate over expected last year. That was before the Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle and so far before the Patriots traded for A.J. Brown that it hasn't even happened yet. The floor for this game is an old-fashioned rock fight. The ceiling, however, is a pair of young quarterbacks hitting new heights with their superstar receivers leading the way.

9. Saints at Falcons 44.5

This game has plenty of potential, but reality doesn't always match our lofty expectations. Michael Penix ranked 21st in EPA per play last year, putting him slightly ahead of Tyler Shough at 23rd. Fantasy managers are expecting some progress from Penix and a leap from Shough, but these quarterbacks will be 26 and 27 years old by the time the game kicks off. For this game to be a shootout, both quarterbacks need to take the next step. Otherwise, it's just two below-average passers playing in a game with a middling total.

The good news is that if they do improve, the weapons are there to make this a fantasy bonanza. Both teams will feature first-round picks at running back, WR1, and pass-catchers No. 2. That's Kyle Pitts for Atlanta and Jordyn Tyson for New Orleans. Both teams also spent Day Two picks on more firepower for their offenses in Zacharia Branch and Oscar Delp. These teams desperately want this game to be a gunfight for the NFC South. It's on the quarterbacks to make that happen.

10. Vikings at Jets 40.5

Even in a potential blowout, the Vikings should put up plenty of fantasy points. Since taking over as the Vikings coach in 2022, Kevin O'Connell has the second-highest pass rate (52 percent) and the second-fastest pace (25.7 seconds per snap) when playing with a two-possession lead.

That will help push the Jets toward meaningless volume stats for their young pass-catchers. Adonai Mitchell averaged 50 yards per game over the final five weeks of the fantasy season last year after spending the first three months of the year on fantasy waiver wires across the country. Now the team has a pair of first-round pass-catchers plus Garrett Wilson to rack up counting stats in a lost season.

11. Bills at Dolphins 47.5

This is the first of our true beatdown spots. A 7.5-point spread is the largest of Week 17 by a considerable margin. Over the past two years - Joe Brady's three seasons as the team's permanent play-caller - Allen has lost 2.4 fantasy points per game when the Bills win by more than a touchdown. This isn't a reason to move him down your draft boards, but it does make his Week 17 matchup a bit underwhelming.

On the other side of the ball, a catch-up game script could be fun for the Miami pass-catchers. The problem is, who are you actually drafting from this receiver room? In early Underdog drafts, Miami has one receiver or tight end going inside the top 200 picks: Rookie wideout Chris Bell, who may not be ready for Week 1.

12. Raiders at Cardinals 42.5

The hope will be that Jacoby Brissett keeps the starting job all year and this game features a pass-crazed Cardinals offense versus an efficient, Klint Kubiak-designed Raiders attack, helmed by a peaking Fernando Mendoza. In reality, this is likely a run-oriented Raiders team traveling to take on Carson Beck, a week before the Cardinals lock up the No. 1 overall pick. The good news is that the Raiders could get there on efficiency. Arizona's defense isn't good in most regards, but their reliance on base personnel, particularly when teams show them two-receiver sets, makes them a great matchup for Kubiak's scheme.

Overall base nickel dime (green). Sub package usage vs number of WRs on field (blue) pic.twitter.com/b7xe4qT6eN

- Football Insights (@fball_insights) May 7, 2026

The Arizona matchup makes me more willing to stock up on Raiders in my early drafts. I'm not nearly as interested in running it back with Cardinals players.

13. Texans at Packers 42.5

This showdown features two offenses that could genuinely be great. C.J. Stroud finished ninth in EPA per play last year while Jordan Love trailed only Drake Maye in that stat. The bad news is that neither team wants to throw the ball. Green Bay logged a -4.4 percent pass rate over expected and Houston was at -1.0 in 2025. As a spreadsheet surfer, I find that style of football abhorrent. However, I can understand why the Texans - with a world-class defense - want to play this way. The Packers could be in a similar spot once Micah Parsons is healthy.

14. Steelers at Titans 42.5

A strong contender for the worst game of the slate, this contest narrowly edges out one other matchup by way of Cam Ward. Was he good last year? Of course not. Ward ranked dead last in EPA per play last year by a comfortable margin. He was doing so with Elic Ayomanor as his top wideout for a chunk of the year. His play-calling head coach has since been canned and replaced by Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator. The Titans also added No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson via free agency. There's enough turnover here to give us some hope that Ward can right the ship in his second season.

Similar improvements are being made in Pittsburgh, though the quarterback himself isn't taking the next step. Pittsburgh swapped Arthur Smith for Mike McCarthy and acquired two new starting receivers in Michael Pittman and Germie Bernard. While I don't expect these changes to revive Aaron Rodgers at the age of 43, they could be enough to keep this game modestly interesting.

15. Seahawks at Panthers 42.5

This is a matchup between two teams that ranked bottom-five in pass rate over expected in 2025. The Panthers' defense also faced a bottom-10 pass rate over expected, meaning teams generally chose to play into their run-heavy script. Both squads also logged below-average pass-rates when playing from behind last year. The most interesting players in this game may be the running backs. Jonathan Brooks may finally be healthy for the Panthers and first-round rookie Jadarian Price is penciled in for a starting role out of the gates.

16. Colts at Browns 43.5

It's hard to imagine the Browns being a competitive team this year. It's even harder to envision them being even a competent offense by Week 17. Over the past five years, the Browns' top three quarterback options on the roster ranked 71st, 72nd, and 79th out of 82 qualified passers in EPA per play.

They also have rookie Taylen Green on the roster, though he's as developmental as they come. The Browns are racing to the bottom in search of a top draft pick next year.

The only silver lining of this matchup is that Jonathan Taylor should run wild in the arctic tundra that will be Cleveland, Ohio, circa December of 2026. The Browns' defense was elite against the passes and middling against the run last year. Add in a terrible offense and Cleveland became one of the league's premier run-funnels, ranking bottom-five in pass rate over expected against.