Week 9 has given us plenty to dissect from a huge list of studs and duds, with surprise names in both categories. Perhaps most shocking is seeing four different Houston Texans in the top-12 for total fantasy production, as C.J. Stroud (QB – Texans) lead Houston onto a 39-37 overtime win against Tampa Bay, producing monster outings for Tank Dell (WR – Texans) , Dalton Schultz (TE – Texans), and Noah Brown (WR – Texans).
Other stud performances will be revealed in this article, along with the duds, which were filled with high draft capital assets like Cooper Kupp (WR – Rams), Bijan Robinson (RB – Falcons), and Travis Kelce (TE – Chiefs). There was quite a bit of scoring in Week 9 across the board, leading to a huge disparity in fantasy performances depending on how fantasy managers opted to construct their lineups. The return of Byes, plus constant injuries, has forced most of us into making some lineup decisions that blew up in our face. However, those bold enough to put in unproven players in a plus-matchup, or simply out of necessity due to lack of depth, may have won their Week 9 matchups with production from unsung fantasy football heroes.
A few quick takeaways on the state of the league as we enter Week 10. Kansas City relied on its defense to contain Miami in Germany during a 21-14 win, as the Dolphins continue to falter against quality competition. The Pittsburgh Steelers find ways to win despite an inconsistent offense, sitting at 5-3 in a loaded AFC North division. Meanwhile, Minnesota had late-game heroics from Josh Dobbs (QB – Vikings), their newly signed quarterback at the trade deadline, who rallied to beat Atlanta on the road to bump the Vikings into a 5-4 record. Cleveland blanked Clayton Tune and the Cardinals 27-0, the Rams fell apart without Matthew Stafford (QB – Rams) against a bad Green Bay team, and the New Orleans Saints continue to use Taysom Hill (QB/TE – Saints) as a jack-of-all trades to win games. We were treated to an instant classic between Dallas and Philadelphia, with Jalen Hurts (QB – Eagles) doing just enough to outplay Dak Prescott (QB – Cowboys) in a 28-23 win. The Baltimore Ravens smothered Seattle 37-3 for their second statement win in three weeks, while the Las Vegas Raiders got a boost from firing its coaching staff in a 30-6 rout of the Giants. We saw Joe Burrow (QB – Bengals) outplay Josh Allen (QB – Bills) yet again on Sunday night, throwing for 348 yards and a pair of touchdowns on a night where Allen made more mistakes and played in a one-dimensional offense.
NFL fantasy analyst Matt MacKay is back to give us his latest Week 9 studs and duds using half-PPR scoring to determine whether the production seen on this slate is worrisome or just an outlier performance.
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Fantasy Football Takeaways
C.J. Stroud (QB – Texans)
Stroud’s OROY odds skyrocketed after his outing against Tampa Bay in Week 9. The Texans’ No. 2 overall draft pick accounted for 470 passing yards and five touchdowns, without committing a single turnover, in a 39-37 overtime win over the Buccaneers. 41.8 fantasy points led the league at every position. It was good to see Stroud bounce back from three consecutive sub 20 point outings with this explosive burst. A road matchup against the Bengals could see Stroud regress to the mean, but he’s clearly proven himself as more than a streaming quarterback with a decent floor and massive ceiling.
Rachaad White (RB – Buccaneers)
Rachaad White has come to life for fantasy managers in his past three games, recording his best game of the season against Houston in Week 9, finishing with 25.9 fantasy points. White turned 20 carries into 73 yards and two touchdowns, while catching four passes for an additional 46 receiving yards. White has virtually no competition for touches in the Bucs’ backfield, so treat him as a mid-range RB2 heading into what appears to be an increasingly favorable matchup against the Titans’ 14th-ranked defense against fantasy running backs in Week 10.
Josh Jacobs (RB – Raiders)
All it took to unlock Josh Jacobs was firing Josh McDaniels. The Raiders’ RB1 handled 26 carries for 98 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a favorable matchup against the Giants, reaching 21.8 fantasy points without earning a single target. Jacobs gets the Jets in Week 10, who are a top-eight fantasy running back matchup, so keep Jacobs locked into fantasy lineups as a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside.
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.
