Most fantasy football leagues begin their playoff rounds in Week 15 of the season, meaning that there are only six weeks left to clinch a berth. I sincerely hope you’ve been on the fortunate side of injuries and depth chart shifts so far, with little time remaining to alter the course.
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Week 8 provided plenty of excitement — the Chicago versus Cincinnati and Buffalo versus Kansas City games immediately come to mind, along with a fair bit of heartbreak. Season-ending injuries at quarterback and tight end will have managers scrambling to make trades or scour the waiver wire for band-aid options.
Teams that appeared to be early-season favorites to make deep playoff runs faltered (Detroit, Green Bay, Kansas City), causing survivor pools to thin out dramatically. The league’s tradeline is tomorrow, and we could see several fantasy-relevant players on the move. Miami, New Orleans, Arizona and Tennessee (amongst others) have been reported as sellers.
Now is the time to finalize the shape of your roster and make that final push. Lock in.
Here are a few of the more notable performances from Week 9.
Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 9
Quarterback
Stud: Caleb Williams (QB – CHI)
Following consecutive dud appearances, it was a welcome change to see Caleb Williams perform well against an inferior defense and finish as the QB1 this week (Monday Night Football results pending). Against a toothless Cincinnati squad that was unable to cover downfield or generate any pressure up front, Williams completed 20-of-34 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns, contributing another 53 rushing yards on scrambles.
Accuracy remains a sticking point with Williams to make the next leap into the “elite” tier, but he is a streamable asset with tremendous upside, surrounded by a talented core around him. Williams has another cake matchup against the inept New York Giants in Week 10, and I’d expect another strong finish from him. Chicago’s schedule becomes much harder afterward, with games against Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Green Bay. Perhaps this is a good time to consider selling high, if possible.
Stud: Sam Darnold (QB – SEA)
That sound you heard in the background was Seattle scoring yet again against Washington. Woof. Following the Seahawks’ bye in Week 8, Darnold came out with a dominant performance against the Commanders, completing 21-of-24 attempts for 330 yards and four touchdowns (and that was largely with the foot off the throttle the majority of the second half).
Darnold currently ranks as the QB14 on the season, and is poised to have another strong performance in Week 10 against Arizona, as the Cardinals rank in the bottom-10 in passing yards allowed. Darnold’s connection with wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is impressive, as they continue to dominate even when opposing defenses know he is the focal point of their passing attack.
Rookie Tory Horton filled in admirably for Cooper Kupp, seizing his opportunity by catching two touchdowns on Seattle’s opening drives, before the game became out of reach.
Dud: Patrick Mahomes (QB – KC)
After three consecutive games with three touchdown passes and a completion rate over 73%, Patrick Mahomes came crashing back down to Earth against Buffalo, passing for a hollow 250 yards on 15 completions and an interception against the Bills. Constantly under duress, Mahomes was never able to set his feet and be comfortable in the pocket, with Joey Bosa and Greg Rousseau breathing down his neck.
This marks Kansas City’s fourth loss on the season, and suddenly the Chiefs find themselves in a race to make the playoffs. The team’s home/road splits are concerning, with a 4-1 record at Arrowhead and a 1-3 record while traveling. A healthy Rashee Rice has proven beneficial for Mahomes, but I’m beginning to wonder if too much of the game script revolves around getting him the ball at the cost of targets to Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown.
Dud: Daniel Jones (QB – IND)
Indiana Jones picked a tough time for his worst game of the season, turning the ball over five times on the road against Pittsburgh, taking a beating in the process. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith lived in the Colts’ backfield all game, forcing Daniel Jones out of his comfort zone.
Week 9 was the first time that Jones didn’t throw multiple touchdown passes since Week 4, so we’d consider this a blip on the radar rather than a return to his prior erratic self. Looking ahead, Indianapolis has a challenging road. The Colts face the league’s top passing defense against Atlanta in Week 10, before a bye week, and then square off against Steve Spagnuolo’s stingy Chiefs secondary in Week 12.
Currently the QB8 on the season, Jones will have an uphill battle to keep Indianapolis atop the AFC South, with Jacksonville right behind them.
Running Back
Stud: Rico Dowdle (RB – CAR)
Hopefully, Carolina’s front office has finally seen the light of day — when you feed Rico Dowdle the ball and make him the Panthers’ feature back, the team wins. Entering Sunday as an underdog against Green Bay, Dowdle rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
It isn’t an exaggeration to say that he was the Panthers’ entire offense, with quarterback Bryce Young passing for just 102 yards on the afternoon. His ability to keep churning out yardage and gaining first downs allowed Carolina to have possession of the clock, en route to a 16-13 upset victory.
Should the Panthers elect to continue this sort of game script, Dowdle enters the RB1 discussion instantly — it is rare to find players that reliably see more than 20 touches per contest. Carolina faces New Orleans and Atlanta the next two weeks, two critical matchups that may well decide the balance of power in the NFC South. Expect Dowdle to continue dominating touches over Chuba Hubbard, as the upstart 5-4 Panthers make a run.
Stud: Kyle Monangai (RB – CHI)
Christian McCaffrey may have finished as the overall RB1 on the week (Monday Night Football results pending), but Kyle Monangai was the one who caught my attention the most, so I wanted to highlight his stellar effort here. With both D’Andre Swift (groin) and Roschon Johnson (back) out against Cincinnati, Monangai dominated touches out of the backfield, rushing for 176 yards on 26 carries, with three receptions for 22 yards.
Touted by many analysts and experts as a strong DFS play, Monangai surpassed everyone’s expectations, and one has to wonder what this means for the Chicago backfield moving forward. The Bears now have the luxury of sitting Swift as long as necessary to recover from his soft tissue injury, without fear of a step backward in the offense.
Monangai’s strong pass-blocking skills and ability to be a passing outlet for Caleb Williams are just frosting on the cake. If he draws the start in Week 10 against the New York Giants, he could yet again finish as a top-three back.
Dud: Jahmyr Gibbs (RB – DET)
Head coach Dan Campbell summed things up nicely when he admitted that the team was “unprepared” for this contest, coming out of their bye in Week 8. Against a stout Minnesota defensive front that held him to a mere 2.8 yards per carry (YPC), Gibbs totaled 28 yards from scrimmage on 12 touches and was rendered a non-factor for the entire afternoon.
Hope is on the horizon for a quick bounce-back, though, with three consecutive outings against NFC East opponents who have struggled to stop the run (Washington, New York, Philadelphia). Are we overly concerned about Gibbs at this point? Not particularly.
Gibbs hasn’t lived up to the lofty preseason billing at this point, but I have faith that several strong efforts in a row will vault him back within the top five at the position.
Dud: Kimani Vidal (RB – LAC)
After a dominating performance against Minnesota in Week 8, analysts pegged Kimani Vidal as a low-end RB1 against Tennessee, knowing he would capture the majority of touches out of the backfield for Los Angeles. Injuries to offensive lineman Bobby Hart and Joe Alt during the game closed his running lanes significantly and (even more concerning), Jarrett Patterson took over the backfield during the final two quarters, when the Chargers were attempting to hold onto the lead.
Vidal’s quiet afternoon (just 30 rushing yards on 12 carries) is unfortunate, but there were multiple times when quarterback Justin Herbert missed him in the passing game, including an opportunity in the end zone that would have helped his day dramatically.
Alt is expected to miss substantial time after he aggravated a high-ankle sprain when being rolled up by a defender. Hart suffered a serious MCL sprain and could also be out sefor veral weeks. Their absence will make sledding difficult for Vidal in the short term.
Wide Receiver
Stud: Drake London (WR – ATL)
Take this as a quick reminder that a fully healthy Drake London is one of the best wideouts in the NFL. After missing Week 8 with a hip injury, London returned with a vengeance against New England, catching nine of his 14 targets for 118 yards and three touchdowns. This marks the third time in his last four starts where he has surpassed 110 receiving yards and a score. Not too shabby.
The clear-cut favorite target for quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the passing game, London will look to keep the momentum going against Indianapolis during a trip overseas to Berlin in Week 10. The Colts allow the seventh-most passing yards per game (nearly 245 per outing), and instead rely upon pressure up front to rattle quarterbacks. Predicting outcomes in international games is difficult, but London is a locked-in WR1 moving forward, on a team desperately trying to compete in the wide-open NFC South.
Stud: Tee Higgins (WR – CIN)
I’m officially “Wacko For Flacco,” like the rest of the fantasy community. In one of the most entertaining games in recent memory, Tee Higgins caught seven passes (on nine targets) for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including a highlight Randy Moss-esque box out.
Flacco’s favorite downfield target all afternoon, Higgins worked deep with Ja’Marr Chase and Chase Brown moving the chains, during a back-and-forth 47-42 loss against Chicago that came down to the final drive. The Bengals will look to assess their 3-6 record during their bye week in Week 10.
It is difficult to envision a scenario where Cincinnati makes the playoffs as a Wild Card, but improved play from their defense would be a step in the right direction. Teams that score 80 points over two weeks shouldn’t be 0-2.
Dud: DK Metcalf (WR – PIT)
DK Metcalf continues to be a Jekyll and Hyde player for fantasy purposes, over-reliant on scoring touchdowns to boost his weekly totals. In his quietest outing of the season, he caught just two passes for six yards total on four targets, amidst a 27-20 victory over the Colts. Pittsburgh travels to Los Angeles in Week 10 for a clash against the Chargers, who have one of the NFL’s best secondaries.
Stopping Metcalf and forcing Aaron Rodgers to look for his tight ends instead is sure to be a point of emphasis, so his managers should temper their expectations for a bounce-back effort right away. Metcalf’s schedule opens up significantly afterward, with contests against Cincinnati and Chicago. He remains the focal point of the Steelers’ passing game, but given their propensity for clock-control and running the ball, his target totals will remain low.
Dud: Rome Odunze (WR – CHI)
If you had mentioned to me ahead of the game that Chicago would score 47 points against Cincinnati with Caleb Williams finishing as the QB1 on the week, I would have assumed that Rome Odunze had a monster effort, as the alpha option in the offense. His goose-egg performance is difficult to explain, as he was on the field for 76 snaps, the most of any skill position player on either side of the ball (shoutout to Daniel Dopp from ESPN for the statistic).
Williams looked Odunze’s way just three times all afternoon, and this lack of volume is a concerning trend. In three of the past four weeks, Odunze has been held to 32 receiving yards or fewer, and he hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 4. With Chicago beginning to incorporate rookie tight end Colston Loveland more to support their outstanding running attack, Odunze’s presence hasn’t been as necessary.
Fingers crossed, he can capitalize against the turnstile New York Giants secondary in Week 10, who can’t cover or tackle.
Tight End
Stud: Brock Bowers (TE – LV)
Brock Bowers ran around quoting Ramathorn from Super Troopers all afternoon in Week 9 — he was all that was man. Holy smokes. Returning to the field for the first time since Week 4, Bowers caught 12 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns on 13 targets, and was the clear favorite target for Geno Smith in the passing game.
One of the few bright spots for Las Vegas amidst a 30-29 overtime loss ot the Jaguars, Bowers proved he is fully healthy and hasn’t missed a step. Las Vegas will travel to Denver to square off against the white-hot Broncos, where he will have his hands full getting open. Denver is sure to prioritize Bowers, as Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker don’t have the capability to take over a game like he does.
Dud: George Kittle (TE – SF)
George Kittle was hoping to repeat his strong performance against Houston in Week 8, when San Francisco traveled to New York to take on the Giants at MetLife Stadium. However, this quickly turned into the Christian McCaffrey show instead.
With New York unable to cover McCaffrey as a receiver (or tackle him when he was handed the ball in the backfield), it made little sense to place more pressure on quarterback Mac Jones than necessary.
The 49ers jumped out to an early lead and opted to play clock control instead of running up the score. The hope for Kittle is that Brock Purdy will return in Week 10 against the Los Angeles Rams, and his presence under center will elevate all receiving options for the red and gold.
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