Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Quarterbacks for Fantasy Football Week 9

It's week 9, people! Time to set up those fantasy lineups! Start 'Em, Sit 'Em is the ultimate look at a week's best and worst matchups in fantasy football leagues. Each week I examine the quarterbacks who may or may not exceed expectations based on their weekly opponent…like Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes in Week 8!

For your final lineup decisions, check out my fantasy football player rankings. I update them daily! Also, be sure to subscribe to the Fantasy Dirt Podcast with Lindsay Rhodes and I where we break down all things fantasy football five days a week!

All positions: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | K & DSTs

Bye: 49ers, Steelers

1. Jalen Hurts vs. Jaguars
2. Josh Allen vs. Dolphins
3. Lamar Jackson vs. Broncos
4. Jayden Daniels at Giants
5. Joe Burrow vs. Raiders
6. Patrick Mahomes at Buccaneers (Mon.)
7. Sam Darnold vs. Colts
8. Caleb Williams with the Cardinals
9. Dak Prescott at Falcons
10. Bo Nix at Ravens

Complete Week 9 Quarterback Rankings (Coming Soon!)

beginning of the week

Patrick Mahomes vs. Buccaneers (Mon. 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN): Mahomes looked like the old fantasy superstar we knew and loved last week, with two touchdown passes and 18.2 points. It was the first time he scored more than 18 points since Week 12 of last season! I would also keep him active this week as he faces a Buccaneers defense that has allowed five different quarterbacks to score 19 or more points, including four with more than 28 points.

Start them

Sam Darnold vs. Colts (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): Darnold has scored more than 18 points in four of his last six games, and a matchup against the Colts makes him a good option this week. Their defense has allowed four quarterbacks to beat them by more than 17 points, including two field generals with more than 20 points since Week 4. Darnold should be a high-scoring game in Minnesota that could finish with attractive overall results.

Caleb Williams at Cardinals (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS): Williams was terrible last week despite a great match on paper, scoring just 9.3 points in a loss to the Commanders. Still, he had scored more than 17 points in three of his last four games, and a contest in Arizona is favorable. Their defense has allowed three quarterbacks to beat them by more than 24 points, including two who have reached that mark since Week 4. That makes Williams a good option.

Bo Nix at the Ravens (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Nix, who was listed as the starter last week, scored a season-high 29.8 points in a win over the Panthers. Next up is another, at least on paper, favorable matchup in Baltimore. Their pass defense was terrible, allowing five different field generals to score over 20 fantasy points. These include three who scored at least 27 points and two who scored 30 or more points. Therefore, I would keep Nix in your starting lineup again.

Kirk Cousins ​​vs. Cowboys (1 p.m. ET, Fox): Cousins ​​has been extremely inconsistent this season, but posted a 28.6-point performance in a win over the Buccaneers. He also had a great matchup in Week 9, going up against a poor Cowboys defense in Atlanta. Dallas has had four different quarterbacks beat them and scored over 21 points, including 26 points from Brock Purdy last week. At DK Sportsbook the total was also an impressive 48.5 at the beginning.

QBs with good matchups

Seat of the week

Tua Tagovailoa at Bills (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Tagovailoa returned to action last week, so he's clearly back on the fantasy radar. However, it is better to leave him on the bench for the difficult game in Buffalo. In eight career starts against the Bills, Tagovailoa has failed to score more than 16 points seven times and has remained in single figures in each of the last two meetings. Unless you play in a Superflex league, Tua should be on the bench.

Set them

Kyler Murray vs. Bears (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS): Murray has been on fire in the last four weeks, scoring more than 20 points three times, including in each of his last two games. That makes him difficult to bet on, but you might want to temper your expectations against Chicago. Only Jayden Daniels has scored more than 17 points against them this season, and he needed a last-minute Hail Mary for a touchdown to reach that mark. Murray could be a disappointment.

Jared Goff at the Packers (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox): Goff had a strange stat last week: He threw three touchdown passes but only managed 85 passing yards. He may struggle to find success this week as he faces a Packers defense that has held Kyler Murray, Anthony Richardson and CJ Stroud to under 12 fantasy points in games at Lambeau Field. Additionally, Goff has averaged a modest 13.1 points in his three career games in Green Bay.

Trevor Lawrence at the Eagles (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS): Lawrence has put up better numbers in recent weeks, but he's still averaging less than 15 fantasy points per game. He also lost Christian Kirk, Brian Thomas Jr. is questionable and his third-best wideout, Gabe Davis, was also injured. That will make it difficult for him to make a big impact against the Eagles, so Lawrence should be limited to super-flex leagues.

Justin Herbert at Browns (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Herbert is coming off his best fantasy game of the season, scoring 24.1 points in a win over the Saints. However, he had scored fewer than 15 points in each of his last six games and was poor away from home. In fact, Herbert is averaging just 12.1 fantasy points away from SoFi Stadium. Vegas also sees this as a lower scoring game as DraftKings Sportsbook has the opening total at 40.5.

QBs with bad matchups