Fantasy Fallout: Week 9

By :: Mike Johnson (Mjohnson86) and Tony Kneepkens (Tonytk44)

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Daily Dose newsletter, our “Fantasy Fallout” day. In this article, you will get a quick rundown of the relevant things we learned from the week’s games from Thursday through Sunday. 

We won’t talk about every single player and we usually won’t spend time on studs who go nuts (no one needs to be told to start Bijan Robinson right now!), but rather, the idea is to update you on usage trends, injuries, and other relevant things to help your decisions with your teams for the coming week and beyond.

RAVENS @ DOLPHINS

• Lamar Jackson returned to the Ravens’ lineup and tossed four TD passes in an easy victory that didn’t require much passing volume (23 attempts) or much from him on the ground (3-16 before two kneeldowns). 

• Lamar threw nine passes to TEs (39% of his attempts) for 7-105-3. Mark Andrews (2-22-2) found the end zone twice, and Charlie Kolar (2-23-1) scored as well, but it was Isaiah Likely (3-60) with the most targets and yards of the three. Both Andrews and Likely will be fantasy-relevant with Lamar back.

• Ollie Gordon II left the game with an ankle injury and is considered “day-to-day”. He was the only RB active behind starter De’Von Achane (106 total yards) in the loss. Jaylen Wright seems like the next man up and would likely have a role if Gordon misses time, but he would be more interesting as a potential injury-away bench stash than anything.

• Tua Tagovaila chucked 40 passes for 261 scoreless yards and an interception. Jaylen Waddle (6-82) would have topped 100 yards if a long catch down the sideline hadn’t been negated by an iffy tripping penalty in the backfield. Waddle and Achane are the only Dolphins that belong in fantasy lineups for now.

BEARS @ BENGALS

• Thanksgiving isn’t for a few weeks, but we all need to be thankful for the Bengals defense and get as many players as possible in our lineups against them. Cincinnati lost 47-42 and has now given up 37 points per game over the last seven games. Unfortunately for us, Cincinnati has a Week 10 bye, so we will have to wait. After the bye, they face the Steelers, Patriots, and Ravens.

• Bears RB Kyle Monangai had a huge day in place of D’Andre Swift and showed he can handle a full-time role and function in the passing game. The Bears have another great matchup against the Giants in Week 10, and whatever RB is starting for Chicago is a must-start.

• Bears TE Colston Loveland had a breakout game, including the game-winning 58-yard touchdown in the closing seconds. The first-round pick has arrived and may have a full-time role, as Cole Kmet suffered another injury (concussion).

• Bears WR DJ Moore had his best game of the season and WR Rome Odunze somehow had zero fantasy points in a game where he played all 80 of the team’s snaps and the team had 576 yards of total offense. Football is weird sometimes.

VIKINGS @ LIONS

• Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy put fans at ease with a terrific performance on the road against one of the top teams in the NFC. McCarthy made plays and commanded the offense in a way that reminded everyone why they let Sam Darnold walk this offseason.

• Vikings RB Aaron Jones looked terrific in the second half and seemed to have taken control of the backfield, but he then left with a third-quarter shoulder injury. Jordan Mason played every snap the rest of the way and would be in line for a featured role against Baltimore next week if Jones can’t play.

• The Vikings defense bottled up the Lions’ usually dominant running game, but they will almost certainly bounce back. Don’t panic on Gibbs.

PANTHERS @ PACKERS

• Panthers head coach Dave Canales was true to his word and gave Rico Dowdle a featured role. He was promptly rewarded with a dominant performance by Dowdle, finishing with 141 total yards and two touchdowns. Dowdle is a locked-in starter every week, including next week in a juicy matchup with the Saints.

• Packers star tight end Tucker Kraft suffered a knee injury that is feared to be a torn ACL (UPDATE: now confirmed), which would end his season. Luke Musgrave would be his immediate replacement, but the bigger effect is likely to be more work for the running backs and wide receivers, with the overall effectiveness of the offense likely taking a hit.

• WR Matthew Golden continued his disappointing rookie season by suffering a third-quarter shoulder injury that kept him out of the rest of the game. Green Bay’s WR room is a bit of a mess currently, with questions around the statuses of Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Golden.

CHARGERS @ TITANS

• Chargers left tackle Joe Alt suffered a leg injury in the first half and had to be carted off. Losing him will likely hurt the offense’s efficiency, especially against stronger defenses.

• Justin Herbert had a very good game in the stat sheet, but the way Los Angeles spread things around left most of his skill players with modest-to-disappointing totals.

• The Titans were only competitive in this game because of two D/ST touchdowns, while their offense only managed 206 total yards. Not really a team you want to be relying on for production.

FALCONS @ PATRIOTS

• Drake London reminded everyone that we shouldn’t overrate WR/CB matchups and we should always start our studs, as he went OFF for 118 receiving yards and three touchdowns, only to have the day go to waste due to a missed extra point.

• Drake Maye did what he does, targeting nine different players with none seeing more than six targets. Maye is an every-week starter, but his receiving options are volatile due to how they are used.

• The Patriots split the backfield work fairly evenly between TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings in the absence of Rhamondre Stevenson. Henderson played well enough to give us some optimism going forward that he can have some big games if Rhamondre is out a while. Jennings should be a player we look to add off waivers.

49ERS @ GIANTS

• The 49ers moved to 6-3 behind a solid performance by QB Mac Jones. After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan made a comment that Brock Purdy’s toe injury “probably won’t be at full strength no matter when he comes back”. The 49ers have an NFC West showdown with the Rams next week.

• In the first game without RB Cam Skattebo, the Giants backfield was led by Devin Singletary in snaps and opportunities. This was a disappointing development for the Tyrone Tracy Jr. supporters.

• Giants QB Jaxson Dart continues to be a fantasy football cheat code and has scored 18+ fantasy points in all six of his starts.

• The Giants passing game has settled in with WRs Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton, as well as TE Theo Johnson, emerging as the primary targets. New York faces the Bears  in Week 10 and there will almost certainly be a strong performance or two coming from that group.

COLTS @ STEELERS

• Daniel Jones had his first “pumpkin” performance of the 2025 season this week as the Steelers defense played arguably their best game of the season. Jones turned the ball over five times after only three turnovers in the first eight weeks.

• Colts WR Alec Pierce had a huge day as both he and Michael Pittman went over 100 receiving yards in the first negative game script Indianapolis has had this season. 

• Pittsburgh’s offense didn’t have to do much, as the Colts kept handing them short fields on turnovers. The Steelers lead their division and play next Sunday night against the Chargers. Keep starting DK Metcalf and Jaylen Warren every week, but everyone else is tough to trust.

BRONCOS @ TEXANS

• There wasn’t much excitement to this one, as expected, with both offenses struggling to move the ball against elite defenses. The big news in this one was the injury to Texans QB C.J. Stroud, who took a big hit in the first half and was quickly ruled out with a concussion. The Texans play the Jaguars in Week 10, and it seems likely that Davis Mills will be under center for that game.

• Denver WR Troy Franklin led the team in targets for the second consecutive game and needs to be in consideration as a starter on our fantasy teams on a weekly basis.

JAGUARS @ RAIDERS

• Trevor Lawrence threw for 230 scoreless yards and an interception but salvaged his fantasy day with a 9-24-2 rushing line. Brian Thomas Jr. (3-55) left the game with an ankle injury and Dyami Brown (3-25) left with a concussion. The Jaguars, already missing WR Travis Hunter and TE Brenton Strange, featured Parker Washington (8-90) in their overtime victory.

• Travis Etienne Jr. handled 27 touches and 69% of the Jags’ RB opportunities, racking up 115 total yards in their OT win. He was afforded several short-yardage opportunities to punch in a TD but couldn’t find paydirt against the Raiders. Rookie Bhayshul Tuten remained the primary backup RB, handling 10 touches for 26 total yards and a TD.

• Geno Smith (287-4-1) tossed three TDs to Brock Bowers (12-127-3) and another to Ashton Jeanty (89 scrimmage yards, TD) in their narrow defeat, likely doing enough to quiet calls for his benching in favor of backup QB Kenny Pickett for a while.

• Jakobi Meyers (4-23) led Raiders’ WRs with six targets and Tre Tucker (3-38) was the only other WR to catch a pass. Meyers is a name to watch, having been the subject of several trade rumors and not being shy about wanting a change of scenery ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.

SAINTS @ RAMS

• Rams’ superstar Puka Nacua left the game with a chest injury and did not return. He caught seven of eight targets for 95-1 and added a rush for three yards before leaving.

• Matthew Stafford (284-4) tossed a pair of TDs to Davante Adams (5-60-2), one to Puka, and a fourth to Tyler Higbee (3-13-1). Stafford has a nice fantasy schedule coming up (at SF, home vs SEA, home vs TB) and is a potential streaming option, especially if Nacua plays in any or all of those games.

• The Saints turned to rookie QB Tyler Shough (176-1-1) who wisely threw more than half of his passes to his talented WR duo of Chris Olave (3-57) and Rashid Shaheed (5-68). Shough’s TD was to TE Juwan Johnson and his interception came on fourth-down play to effectively end the game. Shough looks like a QB to target with D/ST units, but he didn’t look much different than Spencer Rattler and should be able to keep Olave and Shaheed fantasy-relevant.

• Taysom Hill led the Saints with a 4-30 rushing line. Veteran fantasy legend Alvin Kamara had just 17 scrimmage yards and lost a fumble. Rookie RB Devin Neal handled four touches for a dozen scrimmage yards. It’s not profound to call this the ugliest RB room in the league from a fantasy perspective, Kamara and Neal are bench stashes for now.

CHIEFS @ BILLS

• Josh Allen accounted for three total TDs and threw just three incompletions in the Bills’ home victory. TE Dalton Kincaid (6-101-1) and WR Khalil Shakir (7-43) were the only Bills to receive more than two targets.

• James Cook handled 27 of the Bills’ 29 RB carries for 114 yards, but it was Ty Johnson (2-8-1) who snuck into the end zone this week.

• Patrick Mahomes (250-0-1) completed less than half of his passes and didn’t account for a TD in one of the worst fantasy performances of his career. Rashee Rice (86 scrimmage yards, rushing TD) performed well despite Mahomes’ struggles and remains the focal point of the KC offense.

• Kareem Hunt (55 scrimmage yards, rushing TD) handled 11 of the Chiefs 16 RB carries and two of their three RB targets and looks like a fantasy starter / Flex option for now.

SEAHAWKS @ COMMANDERS

• Sam Darnold (330-4-1) completed all 16 of his pass attempts for a ridiculous 282-4 passing line in the first half. He threw a few incompletions, including an interception, in the second half, and sat out much of the fourth quarter after pulling away early.

• Rookie WR Tory Horton (4-48-2) had a huge game playing an expanded role with Cooper Kupp sitting out the game with a hamstring injury. Kupp could be back soon, but Horton is a great bench stash for the second half of the season either way.

• Kenneth Walker III (13 touches, 61 total yards) and Zach Charbonnet (nine touches, 46 total yards) maintained their obnoxious backfield split for fantasy purposes. Both remain Flex options with huge contingent upside in an increasingly exciting Seattle offense.

• Jayden Daniels suffered a serious arm/shoulder injury late in Washington’s blowout loss. Daniels’ non-throwing arm was immobilized in a cast before he left the playing field, and after being diagnosed with a left elbow dislocation Monday, he appears likely to miss the rest of the season. Marcus Mariota is the next man up for Washington, but JD’s loss hurts the fantasy outlook for the entire offense, and especially their passing game, moving forward.

• Jacory Croskey-Merritt (13 touches, 41 total yards) and Chris Rodriguez Jr. (12-65-1 rushing) split the backfield work this week with Jeremy McNichols only seeing a single carry.