Lamar Jackson confronts his toughest matchup of the year so far in the Broncos, Matthew Stafford hopes to start a hot streak after last Thursday’s eruption, and Bo Nix tries to prove he belongs in the weekly streamer conversation.
Other positions: Running Back | Receiver | Tight End/Kickers/Defense
Updated 11/3 at 9:00 AM ET. Added Jordan Love and Drake Maye. Decided I had Baker Mayfield too high.
Week 9 Quarterbacks
| 1 | Jalen Hurts | PHI | vs JAC |
| 2 | Josh Allen | BUF | vs MIA |
| 3 | Jayden Daniels | WAS | at NYG |
| 4 | Lamar Jackson | BAL | vs DEN |
| 5 | Joe Burrow | CIN | vs LV |
| 6 | Kirk Cousins | ATL | vs DAL |
| 7 | Matthew Stafford | LAR | at SEA |
| 8 | Kyler Murray | ARI | vs CHI |
| 9 | Sam Darnold | MIN | vs IND |
| 10 | Patrick Mahomes | KC | vs TB |
| 11 | Dak Prescott | DAL | at ATL |
| 12 | Jordan Love | GB | vs DET |
| 13 | Tua Tagovailoa | MIA | at BUF |
| 14 | Caleb Williams | CHI | at ARI |
| 15 | Jared Goff | DET | at GB |
| 16 | Baker Mayfield | TB | at KC |
| 17 | Bo Nix | DEN | at BAL |
| 18 | Jameis Winston | CLE | vs LAC |
| 19 | Geno Smith | SEA | vs LAR |
| 20 | Justin Herbert | LAC | at CLE |
| 21 | Aaron Rodgers | NYJ | vs HOU |
| 22 | Derek Carr | NO | at CAR |
| 23 | Joe Flacco | IND | at MIN |
| 24 | C.J. Stroud | HOU | at NYJ |
| 25 | Trevor Lawrence | JAC | at PHI |
| 26 | Mason Rudolph | TEN | vs NE |
| 27 | Drake Maye | NE | at TEN |
| 28 | Daniel Jones | NYG | vs WAS |
| 29 | Gardner Minshew | LV | at CIN |
| 30 | Bryce Young | CAR | vs NO |
| 31 | Malik Willis | GB | vs DET |
QB Notes: Surrendering the second most QB fantasy points, the Jags are also top 10 in QB rushing yards allowed. Jalen Hurts is the choice for No. 1 overall this week. … Josh Allen has posted his two highest passing yardage totals of the year since Amari Cooper arrived. Although the wideout himself isn’t yet stuffing the stat sheet, his addition seems to have signaled a change in the Bills’ philosophy. … “Questionable” against the Bears, Jayden Daniels posted a career new high for passing (326) and his third best total for rushing (52). That was against a tough Bears defense. The Giants aren’t a pushover, but they are showing signs of breaking beneath Daniel Jones’ ineptitude the past few weeks. … Having his best season as a passer, Lamar Jackson now has a new No. 1/2 wideout. It’s an acknowledgment that the Ravens are going to have to keep winning high-scoring games. Even Sunday’s Broncos tilt has a surprisingly decent game total of 46.5. … Mired in a mini slump thanks to a string of solid opposing defenses, Joe Burrow has a get-right home spot in a Raiders D that is not exactly breaking but bends often enough.
The ground is typically Atlanta’s first choice, and that’s an area where Week 9 opponent Dallas is very forgiving. Big D is almost as bad through the air, however, and a 51.5 home total does not seem like the right place to fade Kirk Cousins’ QB1 case. … Matthew Stafford got his top-two receivers back and finished as the QB6 overall vs. an elite Vikings defense. He’s worth a QB1 bet against the collapsing Seahawks. …Kyler Murray is finally spiking some weeks, but he’s a little too shaky of a high-end QB1 bet against a Bears defense surrendering the second fewest QB fantasy points, as well as the lowest QB rating against. They just held a far better dual-threat in Jayden Daniels in check until, well, you know… Held to three scores over his past three starts, Sam Darnold has zero 300-yard performances and has attempted more than 30 passes one time all season. The Colts are a plus matchup, but that’s even more true on the ground. The Vikings may just run at will at home. The hope is that Joe Flacco’s insertion under center for Indy leads to a “surprising” shootout.
Still merely the QB17 by average fantasy points, Patrick Mahomes did finish as the, uhh, QB15 in DeAndre Hopkins’ Chiefs debut. Not scintillating stuff. It was still hopefully the precursor to better fantasy days to come as Nuk gets up to speed in KC. Sunday vs. a Bucs defense hemorrhaging the most QB fantasy points will serve as a leading indicator. … Dak Prescott finds himself in the same boat as Mahomes, except with more garbage volume. That should not be hard to come by as a narrow road underdog for a 51.5-totaled showdown with the Falcons. … Baker Mayfield’s first game without his top two receivers? QB5 overall. The Chiefs are a tougher assignment than the Falcons, but this is how Tampa moves the ball. Especially as a road underdog, Mayfield maintains “hero ball” QB2 appeal. … Tua Tagovailoa’s first game back resulted in a QB25 finish. Now the Bills are a much tougher matchup than Arizona. He hangs around the QB1 borderline because of the weapons at his disposal and an undoubted need to sling the ball all over the yard as a six-point road underdog in a game with the week’s second highest total.
It’s been over a month since the last time Caleb Williams cleared 30 attempts. The Cardinals are an inviting road matchup, but the Bears aren’t about to abandon their defense first, run game second approach in the desert. That doesn’t erase Williams’ ceiling. It does make it more difficult to achieve. … I went longer on the subject Monday, but the short of it? Jameis Winston is playing a different sport than Deshaun Watson. He is also playing a different defense, as the Ravens are about as easy as it gets for enemy passers. Allowing under 200 yards per game with as many touchdowns surrendered (six) as interceptions, the Chargers’ pass D is a different story. Pass-first Winston is still a decent QB2 streamer at home. Volume is volume. … Jared Goff maintains stark home/road splits, while there’s a lot going on for his Week 9 Packers road trip. For one, we remain uncertain of the Packers’ starter. Goff isn’t going to kill lineups, but there are better places to look this weekend for floor/upside combinations. … People are going to be looking to jam Bo Nix into lineups against the Ravens’ cellar-dwelling pass defense. The question for me is: Which Broncos pass catchers are burning this D?
The Chargers have come off their Week 5 bye posting three straight positive pass rates over expected. It’s been a genuine change in philosophy, one undoubtedly due to the fact that they simply lack the personnel to execute Jim Harbaugh’s preferred run-based approach. With Ladd McConkey breaking out and role players stepping up, Justin Herbert is inching back into the top 20 even for tough matchups like Sunday’s date with the Browns. … Geno Smith has failed too many tests to keep being taken seriously as a high-end QB2, though he is getting DK Metcalf back against a Rams D permitting over eight yards per attempt. … If Malik Willis gets the call over Jordan Love (groin), he has to be taken streamer seriously. His two starts produced a combined 12 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown. Think poor man’s Bo Nix with better weapons. … Aaron Rodgers hasn’t spiked a week all season, and he’s probably not about to start on a short week against the Texans’ strong pass defense. … Derek Carr and Joe Flacco are both returning under center. Carr has a dream matchup in the Panthers. Flacco has a “wait ‘til next week” date in the Vikings. … C.J. Stroud doesn’t have the receiver depth — or the blocking — to make his way into short-week lineups vs. the Jets.
Don’t forget, for the latest on everything NFL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, or follow @Rotoworld_FB or @RotoPat on Twitter.
