Fantasy Football Recap Week 9: 24 Things You Need To Know

Are the Seahawks, Bears, and Bengals done scoring yet? It feels like each of those teams could have put up a hundred points for fantasy football managers with the way the opposing defenses were playing them. Thoughts and prayers to anyone who had to suffer through a matchup with players from those teams on the other side.

In addition to the scoring bonanza from a few teams, Week 9 brought us a fresh batch of injuries, some disappointing performances, and another group of backups that put up stellar fantasy football scores.

Before we get to the Week 9 Monday Night Football game with the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys, let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the injured from a wild Week 9 in the NFL.

Stud Players

Which players put up the best performances in Week 9?

Sam Darnold completed every single pass he threw in the first half, while also throwing four touchdowns, including two to Tory Horton. He wasn’t asked to do much at all in the second half against an overwhelmed Washington Commanders team and finished 21-for-24 with 330 yards and four touchdowns. Darnold is now fourth in the NFL in completion percentage and eighth in touchdown passes.

Caleb Williams not only threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns, but he also rushed for 52 yards and caught a touchdown pass from D.J. Moore. He was the highest scoring fantasy player on the entire day as the Chicago Bears won a wildly entertaining shootout, 47-42.

Christian McCaffrey was inefficient running the ball early in the season, but those struggles are now long gone. He gained 108 yards on 28 rush attempts and added 67 yards through the air, plus two total touchdowns. Despite more than 30 touches every week, he continues to defy the odds and remain healthy.

Rico Dowdle got his starting job back this week, and it looks like he won’t be giving it back anytime soon. Dowdle rushed for 130 yards and scored twice on the ground as the Carolina Panthers pulled off the stunning road upset of the Green Bay Packers.

Drake London scored a hat trick of touchdowns against the New England Patriots, while catching 118 yards on 14 targets. London led all players in targets on Sunday with 14. Every other Atlanta Falcons player combined had the other 20 targets from Michael Penix Jr.

Tee Higgins was simply dominant against an overmatched Chicago Bears secondary. He caught seven of nine targets for 121 yards and two touchdowns. At the same time, he tied a record for scoring a receiving touchdown in nine straight home games.

Brock Bowers finally rewarded fantasy managers who had been waiting for his elite production since his Week 1 injury. He made up for lost time with 12 receptions for 127 yards and three touchdowns. Somehow, that still wasn’t enough to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Bowers is back to being the TE1 option every week.

Dud Players

Which players disappointed fantasy managers the most in Week 9?

Patrick Mahomes could not solve the Buffalo Bills’ defense that pressured him all game. He finished the highly anticipated contest with 250 passing yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. This was the first time this season that Mahomes had under a 50% completion rate in any game. His 11.5 fantasy points were also far and away a season low.

Jahmyr Gibbs could not find any running room against the Minnesota Vikings and finished the game with just 25 rushing yards and three receiving yards on 12 touches. Like Mahomes, this was Gibbs’ worst game of the season by a wide margin.

Jonathan Taylor went from three 30-point fantasy games in his last four to just 6.7 points on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He rushed 14 times for 45 yards and added 12 receiving yards. Most notably, Daniel Jones got a rushing touchdown, and Taylor was held out of the end zone for the first time since Week 4.

DK Metcalf disappeared against the Indianapolis Colts on the other side of the Jonathan Taylor game. Metcalf was targeted four times and finished with two receptions for six yards. These types of games are going to happen with Aaron Rodgers and his low aDOT this year. Calvin Austin ended up being Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target in this game.

Brian Thomas Jr. had a prime spot against a weak Las Vegas Raiders defense and no Travis Hunter in the lineup, but he was largely a letdown for fantasy football managers. Despite the Jaguars scoring 30 points, Thomas had just three receptions for 55 yards. Parker Washington was the preferred target, finishing with eight receptions for 90 yards.

George Kittle once again could not top more than five targets or 45 receiving yards in a game. He finished the victory over the New York Giants with four catches for 32 yards and was asked to mostly be a blocker for the 30+ touches the 49ers gave Christian McCaffrey in this game.

Thud Players

Which players can we shove off our fantasy rosters after Week 9?

Bryce Young’s four-game stretch to end 2024 seems like a lifetime ago now. Even though the Carolina Panthers are somehow 5-4, Bryce Young has not been the reason. He had just 3.98 fantasy points on the day after throwing for just 102 yards with an interception and no touchdowns. His attempts, completions, and passing yards were all season lows, and Young threw his sixth interception (sixth highest among all quarterbacks).

Chuba Hubbard rushed the ball only five times for 17 yards as the Panthers fully featured Rico Dowdle in this game. If that signals what the Panthers plan to do going forward, Hubbard’s only value on fantasy football rosters will be as a handcuff to Dowdle if he goes down with an injury.

Keon Coleman scored 21.2 fantasy points in Week 1 for the Buffalo Bills, and since that time, he has 31.6 fantasy points in seven combined games. He scored just 2.7 fantasy points against the Kansas City Chiefs on two catches for 17 yards. He can safely be dropped.

Chigoziem Okonkwo is in a horrific offense and is now not even getting any usage. He caught his only two targets for 10 yards on Sunday, his second game in three weeks with two or fewer targets. He hasn’t scored this season and has over 48 receiving yards twice in nine games.

Bad Blood Players

Which players’ injuries are worth monitoring after Week 9?

Jayden Daniels was still in the game when the Commanders were down 38-7 in the fourth quarter against Seattle. He ran a sweep and was tackled, which forced him to pin his left arm to the ground, resulting in a gruesome injury to his non-throwing elbow. His teammates surrounded him as he was helped off the field, and there is a chance Daniels’s sophomore season could have just come to an end.

C.J. Stroud sustained a concussion in the first half of the game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. He did not return and now must progress through the protocol in order to have a chance to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a must-win game in Week 10.

Tucker Kraft is feared to have a torn ACL, according to Ian Rapoport. The team will run more tests on Monday to verify the diagnosis, but head coach Matt LaFleur said it “does not look good” in his post-game press conference. Kraft leads the team with 469 yards and six touchdowns, so it’s a big blow to the offense.

Brian Thomas Jr. was already dealing with a lingering shoulder injury, but he ended up hurting his ankle against Las Vegas and did not return after a 34-yard reception. He will need to quickly show he can recover from this if he wants any chance of playing against Houston on Sunday.

Aaron Jones suffered an AC joint sprain against the Vikings on Sunday, but the team called it a “minor” injury after the game. Jones himself said he thinks he will be able to play in Week 10, but the team will run tests early this week to determine if he must miss any time.

Puka Nacua suffered a chest injury on a hard tackle in the second half of the Los Angeles Rams' blowout victory over the New Orleans Saints. It appears Nacua could have come back in the game, but the scoreboard meant he did not have to, and the Rams didn’t have to risk further injury. He still caught seven passes for 95 yards on the day.