Week 9 Takeaways – Razzball Fantasy Football

Jefferson is being a good Dad, an endeavor I support wholeheartedly. I’m happy to lend a hand.

Week 9 is mostly in the books, except for tonight’s game, which is a battle of two teams coming in with 6-1 records: Bills at Vikings. The Vikings return home after suffering their first loss in Detroit, and the Bills are the second straight high-powered offense Minnesota will face. They did a good job of slowing down the Lions; now they’ll have to do the same to a team that has not scored fewer than 24 points this season. I get the feeling the Vikes will need their fourth 20+ point game to get it done.

There is LOTS to sort through, so let’s look at the fantasy performers. But first:

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Quarterbacks

• Player: C.J. Stroud
• Game: at Los Angeles Chargers
• Stats: 384 passing yards, 20 rushing yards, 5 total TDs, 1 interception

Stroud is quietly putting together his best fantasy season in his fourth year. I don’t want to make too much of the Week 9 game, which added to the misery that is the 2026 Chargers, but after starting 0-4, the Texans have won three of their last four, including a big Week 6 win in Jacksonville. This was his second 5-passing-TD game; the other coincidentally was in Week 9 of 2023. Stroud lost two fumbles in the Week 1 loss to the Bills but has only had two turnovers since. Only Jared Goff has fewer TOs among starting QBs. Games in Cleveland and Pittsburgh are ahead, but there are winnable games before the Week 15 rematch with the Jags in Houston.

Notables:

Jordan Love had arguably his finest game since he assumed the starting duties for the Packers in 2023. He’s had big games before, but this one seemed to require less effort, as he repeatedly hit big plays to Christian Watson and Matthew Golden: Love hit Watson on plays of 43, 28, and 33 yards, and Golden on plays of 49, 43, and 24 yards. Love even threw in a 13-yard TD run for Green Bay’s first points. Love is going to need to be on his game again in Week 10 as the rematch with the Vikings arrives at Lambeau Field. The protections will need to be better as well.

Joe Burrow has taken up residence in this column; he has finished as QB 1, 2, or 3 (pending) in four of the last five weeks. This was a relatively modest game for him (season low in attempts), but this was his fourth straight game with at least four TDs, and he has a shot at eclipsing his season mark of 45 TDs in 2024. He has moments that he puts the ball in harm’s way (see Week 8 vs. the Titans), but took care of business in Week 9 with no turnovers. The Bengals’ only two losses have come in games they’ve had multiple turnovers. They’ll get a chance to avenge one of those losses when they host the Steelers Sunday night.

Brock Purdy also had a modest performance Sunday with 25 passing attempts but still managed 232 passing yards, 40 rushing yards and 3 TDs. He completed 10 of 11 passes to the piecemeal WR corps (Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins, Brandin Cooks, and KhaDarel Hodge) for 150 yards. I know the opponent was the Raiders, and the road ahead is more perilous (games in Dallas, then home against Minnesota and Seattle), but Purdy will be fine. Getting Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel back would be helpful, and local speculation is that they make multiple moves at the trade deadline to give this roster one more crack at the Lombardi.

Bryce Young had his best fantasy game in weeks, probably after most of his shareholders had packed it in. He’s still learning his trade at 25 years old, and his ceiling has been good, but after combining to go 37 for 68 with 372 passing yards and 2 TDs in Weeks 7 and 8, he’s a hard sell against the best pass defenses. I would hang onto him for Weeks 10 and 11 (at New Orleans, at home vs. Baltimore), but I can’t start him in Week 12 (at Tampa Bay) or 13 (at Minnesota), and I’m also out in Weeks 16 and 17 (at Pittsburgh and vs. Seattle).

Shedeur Sanders is a ride, and not a boring one. He helped keep the game competitive despite the defense giving up 160 rushing yards to a team that was averaging 83. His 64-yard TD to KC Concepcion traveled 46 yards in the air and gave the Browns the game’s first TD with 5:21 left in regulation. Then, after Concepcion dropped a pass that should have netted 20 yards in the final minute of regulation, Sanders came back while getting popped with a 30-yarder to Jerry Jeudy to set up the tying field goal as time expired in regulation. Sanders’ second TD, in overtime, was more Harold Fannin’s doing (find the replay), and set up what could have been the game-winning two-point try, but Sanders showed the flaw in his game: holding onto the ball. It leads to sacks (5 on Sunday) and penalties (the holding call that would have negated the two-point try had it been successful). To be fair, none of the Browns’ receivers were able to get open on the play, but that’s one example. Watson could be back in Week 10, but even if not, Sanders is a risky dart throw against the Texans in Cleveland.

Jared Goff is my Bust of the Week. I don’t want to bag too hard, but Goff has had 346 yards, 1 TD, and both of his interceptions in the last two weeks. It’s nice that the Lions won both games, but in fantasy, QB 20 and QB 27 don’t win. Better weeks may be ahead, but Goff is looking shaky. If I don’t have a Week 15 fantasy bye when the Lions head to Minnesota, I’m planning ahead to start another QB. Bo Nix at Las Vegas or Geno Smith at Arizona are alternatives I’d consider.

Running Backs

• Player: Kenneth Walker III
• Game: vs. Jets
• Stats: 18 carries, 102 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 41 receiving yards, 3 TDs

After two lackluster weeks (139 scrimmage yards on 43 touches combined and 0 TDs), it’s good to see Walker give us a profit again. The 3 TDs were a season high, and he had his first career game with multiple receiving TDs. The game got out of hand in the fourth quarter, so Emmett Johnson and Jaydn Ott handled the last eight rushing attempts. Weeks 10-12 (at Atlanta, vs. Arizona, and at Buffalo) are favorable, but Weeks 13-16 are the toughest rushing matchups of the season: be prepared.

Notables:

Bucky Irving is only behind Jahmyr Gibbs and Christian McCaffrey in PPG for RBs over the last four weeks, and that includes an RB 34 finish in Week 6. He had his second two-TD game in three weeks and threw in 4 receptions for 28 yards on Sunday in Chicago. Week 10 is the Buccaneers’ bye and Week 11 is a tough matchup in Detroit (Lions’ rush defense is above average) and Week 17 against the Rams could be sticky, but the schedule looks wheels up.

Bijan Robinson had his first TD and first RB1 finish since Week 4. The schedule has not been kind, but neither has his coaching staff: he’s had 11- and 19-touch games in that span. The schedule has been brutal, and it won’t get much better. It’s been a disappointing season for the second RB off of most boards in fantasy drafts.

Christian McCaffrey fun fact: Sunday’s 18 carries against the Raiders represented a season high. CMC had nine games with at least 20 carries in 2025. He’s still scoring TDs in bunches (10 in 8 games), but he had his first receiving TD of the season yesterday, and the toughest rushing matchups of the season are coming up after the Dallas game in Week 10. I’m never benching him, but I hope that if there are fewer points, I can make them up elsewhere.

Javonte Williams is a significant fantasy profit in 2026. There aren’t many weeks he’ll finish in the top 5, but he’s been in the top 10 more than not and is ninth in rushing attempts and tenth in PPG among running backs. He has ten TDs in nine games. I believe expectations were mid-to-low RB2, but he’s scraping RB1 territory. The schedule is tougher after Week 11, but he’s put up double-digit weeks against tougher run Ds. He’s a rock-solid RB2.

Ashton Jeanty is my Bust of the Week. This season is rapidly turning into a dud for the 2025 sixth-overall pick. It doesn’t help that the Raiders have repeatedly found themselves in blowout scenarios, but there seems to be a disconnect between Jeanty and HC Klint Kubiak. Jeanty hasn’t had 10 rushing attempts since Week 6, and has as many receptions as rushing attempts (16) in the last three weeks. He hasn’t had more than 27 rushing yards since Week 4. The way he’s trending he won’t be playable even as a flex, which is a shame, because after the Seahawks in Week 10, the schedule is green lights through the fantasy playoffs.

Wide Receivers

• Player: Puka Nacua
• Game: at Commanders
• Stats: 14 receptions, 150 yards on 19 targets

Puka Nacua posts some ridiculous numbers. After his 14 receptions against the Commanders, he has two of the three highest reception games in 2026. Since coming back from injury in Week 4, he’s only finished outside the top 5 in two weeks, and he was number 10 in one of those weeks. The schedule gets bumpy starting in Week 13, but that doesn’t matter much.

Notables:

CeeDee Lamb owns the third-highest reception game with 17 in Week 4. He only had 10 on Sunday, but his 195 yards tie Davante Adams for the most in a game this season. He has a shot at bettering his season of 2023, when he was so good he went in the top 3 of PPR drafts in the 2024 season. His toughest games down the stretch are against NFL West teams in Week 10 (vs. 49ers), Week 13 (at Seahawks), and Week 15 (at Rams).

Matthew Golden was mentioned in my Jordan Love take. He had his fourth straight game with 10+ targets and caught all 10 on Sunday for 164 yards. He’s been breaking out most of the season, but especially in Weeks 5-9 with 35 receptions, 519 yards, and 3 TDs on 55 targets. Those are big-boy numbers. He’s a fixture in lineups.

Ja’Marr Chase is, expectedly, the main beneficiary of the Burrownaissance. He’s had TDs in his last 4 games, and 21 receptions for 296 yards on 28 targets in his last 2. He hasn’t been quite what we expected at draft time, but he’s getting there. The schedule is stickier the rest of the way, but it doesn’t matter.

Christian Watson will occasionally disappoint (three games outside the top-24 WRs), but the ceiling is worth the risk. Watson just posted a season-high 171 receiving yards, and it was his third game with at least 143 receiving yards in 2026. He’s been WR 6 or higher in four weeks. He has 7 TDs on the season. The remaining schedule is mostly favorable, but that shouldn’t matter.

Kayshon Boutte is a player I like, but only as a dart throw. The 5 targets he had Sunday represent a season high, as do the 4 receptions and 125 receiving yards. In his other seven games, he has 15 receptions, 194 yards, and zero TDs. Deploy only if you believe an anchor works as a flotation device.

Jameson Williams is my Bust of the Week. Every now and then, the Lions have a game where they throw 25 times for 170 yards. Everyone but Amon-Ra St. Brown starves. Jamo tied for third on the team with 2 targets. Some days, Dan Campbell seems to gum kneecaps.

Tight Ends

• Player: Brock Bowers
• Game: at 49ers
• Stats: 7 receptions, 111 yards, 1 TD on 8 targets

My “Chalk of the Week.” Kirk Cousins recently said that Bowers reminded him of Justin Jefferson when it came to dominating the field. An analyst I admire said if PPR fantasy drafts were held now, Bowers would be a top 5 pick overall. I find neither of these claims specious. Bowers has more PPR PPG than all but 5 non-QBs. The Raiders lost 38-17 yesterday, and only had 240 yards of total offense.

Notables:

Darren Waller had a mirage game yesterday: 10 targets, 8 receptions, 90 yards, and 1 TD. Waller’s numbers for the other 7 games he’s played in the 2026 season: 25 targets, 15 receptions, 209 yards, and 2 TDs. One of these things is not like the others.

Travis Kelce pops in for a visit, but he’s a much less frequent guest of the column these days. The 72 yards yesterday were his second-highest of the season, and he had his first rushing TD since 2021.

Isaiah Likely had his first TD since J.J. McCarthy took over as the starter, but he caught it from Jameis Winston. McCarthy contributed 5 targets to Likely’s day for a 26.3% target share, so signs of life, but McCarthy has only thrown 47 passes in two games as the starter.

AJ Barner is a deep dive. The fact that he’s here despite having 5 touches for 10 yards is due to the 2 TDs he had, one receiving and one rushing. He has one game with over 5 targets and over 4 receptions. Nothing to see here, unless you want an Anytime TD dart.

Tucker Kraft is my Bust of the Week. With Watson and Golden playing this well, the target share evaporated. 1.90 PPR points is embarrassing in fantasy. 45-27 on the scoreboard is the opposite.

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