Start C.J. Stroud or Fernando Mendoza? Week 10

Our Week 10 call

Start C.J. Stroud over Fernando Mendoza in Week 10.

Market-based projections have C.J. Stroud at 16.1 points and Fernando Mendoza at 11.9, a gap of 4.2.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.1 fantasy points for C.J. Stroud, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for C.J. Stroud is 241 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 8 rushing yards and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (6, 7, 6 and 7 market sources).

Player markets imply 11.9 fantasy points for Fernando Mendoza, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Fernando Mendoza is 181 passing yards, 12 rushing yards and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (11, 11 and 9 market sources).

That puts C.J. Stroud 4.2 points ahead of Fernando Mendoza on the market projections.

Week 10 matchups

C.J. Stroud and HOU visit CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 14.8 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 9 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 220 yards and 1.3 touchdowns a game against CLE, with 0.7 interceptions a game.

Fernando Mendoza and LV host SEA on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

SEA allowed 11.9 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 8 games, the 2nd fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 169 yards and 1.1 touchdowns a game against SEA, with an interception a game.

By points allowed to the position, C.J. Stroud has the softer matchup.

Injury status

C.J. Stroud is not on the injury report.

Fernando Mendoza is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 10

Through Week 9, C.J. Stroud played 98 percent of HOU snaps, dropped back 304 times and threw an average of 9.7 air yards per attempt.

C.J. Stroud, Week 5 against TEN: 66 of 66 snaps, 26 of 34 passes for 261 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 7 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 6 against JAX: 63 of 63 snaps, 24 of 34 passes for 312 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, 1 carry for 5 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 7 against NYG: 61 of 61 snaps, 17 of 28 passes for 153 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 4 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 9 against LAC: 62 of 70 snaps, 21 of 35 passes for 384 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception, 2 carries for 20 yards.

Through Week 5, Fernando Mendoza played 17 percent of LV snaps, dropped back 9 times and threw an average of 5.9 air yards per attempt.

Fernando Mendoza, Week 5 against NE: 10 of 60 snaps, 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 3 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, C.J. Stroud played 14 games for HOU and scored 216.5 PPR points, 15.5 a game, finishing QB21.

He completed 273 of 423 passes for 3041 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 48 times for 209 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 93 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 10 calls

• Start C.J. Stroud over Aaron Rodgers.
• Start Brock Purdy over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Aaron Rodgers over Fernando Mendoza.
• Start Bryce Young over Fernando Mendoza.
• Start Fernando Mendoza over Cam Ward.