Doc’s Fantasy Football Prescription Notes Week 9

Baltimore def Miami 28-6

Lamar Jackson returned to the starting lineup and threw 4 TD passes to lead Baltimore to a critical victory to keep their AFC North Division hopes alive. Two of his TD passes went to Mark Andrews. Derrick Henry was far better in Week 9, rushing for 119 yards on 19 carries. Even more impressive was Baltimore’s defense, which seems to have done a 180 after starting the season so poorly.

Miami could not sustain any offensive drives and was blown out at home. Jaylen Waddle had 82 yards receiving to lead all offensive players. After the game, Miami GM Chris Greer was fired. It won’t be long before Head Coach Mike McDaniel joins him on the unemployment line.

San Francisco def New York Giants 34-24

Christian McCaffrey had 173 yards from scrimmage and a TD to lead San Francisco to the road victory. Mac Jones threw for 235 yards and 2 TDs, including one to Jauan Jennings. More importantly, the 49ers defense had its best game in weeks, sacking Jaxson Dart twice and pressuring him all game long. Jaxson Dart was the entire Giants offense, throwing for 2 TDs and rushing for another. Sadly, new RB1 Tyrone Tracy could find very little running room as he only ran for 18 yards, which was extremely disappointing.

New England def Atlanta 24-23

Pop Douglas stepped up with 4 catches for 100 yards and a TD, helping the Patriots edge the Falcons. TreyVeyon Henderson got his first start of the season and had 87 total yards from scrimmage, but Terrell Jennings got the call for the short-yardage rushing TD. One note to watch is that Kayshon Boutte left the game with a hamstring injury. There is a good chance he misses time. Drake London was uncoverable as he torched the New England secondary for 9 catches for 118 yards and 3 TDs. The bigger problem for Atlanta is that they are not getting anything going with their running game, as Bijan Robinson only had 46 yards on 12 carries. Atlanta wants to be a run-first offense but that is not close to happening right now.

Los Angeles Chargers def Tennessee 27-20

Los Angeles started slowly but ended up pulling out the road win behind Justin Herbert, who had 250 passing yards and 2 TDs to go along with 57 rushing yards and a TD. Kimani Vidal was a ghost as he only had 30 yards on 12 carries. Oronde Gadsden led all Chargers receivers with 68 receiving yards as Herbert spread the ball around to seven different receivers. OT Joe Alt left the game with an ankle injury, which some believe will require surgery.

Chicago def Cincinnati 47-42

Chicago won with some late-game theatrics as Caleb Williams found Colston Loveland for a 58-yard touchdown to win the game. Williams had 280 passing yards and 3 TDs in the win. Kyle Monangai started in place of the injured D’Andre Swift and was fantastic, rushing for 176 yards on 26 carries. Even though it was the pathetic Cincinnati defense, it feels like Monangai has earned his fair share of future carries for the rest of the season. Once again, Rome Odunze was a huge disappointment as he did not have a catch. This was the second week in a row that Cincinnati’s defense blew a late fourth-quarter lead to cost them the game. Either Zac Taylor and/or Al Golden needs to be fired ASAP. Joe Flacco did everything he could to pull a victory out, throwing for 470 yards and 4 TDs. Tee Higgins kept up his amazing play at home, catching 7 passes for 121 yards and 2 TDs. Even if the Bengals do not make the playoffs, Flacco’s emergence has kept the rest of the team fantasy-relevant while waiting for Joe Burrow to return.

Pittsburgh def Indianapolis 27-20

In a shocking upset, Pittsburgh’s defense sacked Daniel Jones 5 times and intercepted him 3 times as the Steelers dominated on both sides of the ball. It just goes to show that when things look “too easy” in the NFL, they never are. Jonathan Taylor was held to 45 rushing yards as the Colts were playing from behind for much of the game. Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman, Jr. both had 115 receiving yards in the loss. Offensively, Pittsburgh really did not play very well, as Jaylen Warren was the only star with 2 TDs, saving his fantasy day. Calvin Austin III led all Pittsburgh receivers with 56 yards as DK Metcalf struggled with only 2 catches for 6 yards.

Denver def Houston 18-15

Bo Nix led a late fourth-quarter rally (again) to help Denver win an important game on the road. Nix finished with 173 passing yards and 2 TDs, including 1 to Courtland Sutton. R.J. Harvey looked good as a receiver, catching 5 passes for 51 yards and a TD. It feels like Harvey is getting more confident, as is Sean Payton, with giving him more snaps. Houston lost CJ Stroud to an injury in the first half, which absolutely changed the game. Davis Mills came on and threw for 137 yards. Nico Collins looked good after returning from injury, catching 7 passes for 75 yards. Once again, the Texans running game let them down as Nick Chubb and Woody Marks combined for 21 carries for 61 yards, which is just not good enough to compete.

Minnesota def Detroit 27-24

J.J. McCarthy returned from a knee injury and led the Vikings to a surprising victory on the road. McCarthy threw for 2 TDs and ran another in, and never got rattled by the Lions pass rush. Aaron Jones left the game with an injury so it remains to be seen whether he will miss any future time. Minnesota’s defense also returned to its attacking ways, sacking Jared Goff 5 times. Detroit is always known for its fierce rushing attack, but Gibbs and Montgomery ran for 20 carries for 65 yards and rarely found space. Jared Goff was under siege for much of the game but managed to throw for 284 yards and 2 TDs, including one to Jameson Williams, who had been struggling for most of the season. Look for Detroit to re-establish its running game in Week 10 against Washington (who recently lost Jayden Daniels).

Carolina def Green Bay 16-13

Carolina Head Coach Dave Canales decided late this week to turn the RB1 job over to Rico Dowdle, and it completely paid off as Dowdle ran for 130 yards and a TD. Dowdle is the perfect fit for the Carolina zone read system, and he could be a league winner if he continues to play at this level. Carolina’s pass defense played much better as it got excellent pressure on Jordan Love throughout the game. Not only did Green Bay look frustrated on offense, but they might have lost Tucker Kraft for the season. Kraft left the game with a knee injury that is feared to be a torn ACL.  Luke Musgrave is a talented tight end, but he’s not Kraft, who has been the best tight end in fantasy thus far this season. Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson dominated the box score for the Packers receivers as they combined for 9 catches for 149 yards.

Los Angeles Rams def New Orleans 34-10

Matthew Stafford had 281 passing yards and four touchdowns to lead the Rams to a convincing victory. Davante Adams had five catches for 60 yards and 2 touchdowns, but of major concern is Puka Nacua, who left the game with a chest injury. It remains to be seen whether or not he will be able to play in Week 10. The good news was that the Rams rushing attack looked fierce as both Kyren Williams and Blake Corum ran for over 4.5 yards per carry. The Tyler Shough era was a disaster for New Orleans as he only threw for 176 yards and one touchdown. Alvin Kamara had six carries for 14 yards and looks irrelevant for fantasy purposes. Rashid Shaheed had five catches for 68 yards to lead New Orleans, but there’s a very good chance that he may get traded this week at the deadline.

Buffalo def Kansas City 28-21

Josh Allen threw for 273 yards and a touchdown and also had two rushing touchdowns to lead Buffalo to this very important home victory. Dalton Kincaid was fantastic with six receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown as Kansas City had no answer for him. Even more impressive was James Cook, who ran for 114 yards against the vaunted Chiefs run defense. The Chiefs lack a running attack, which is hurting their entire offense. Kareem Hunt ran for 49 yards, but the rest of the team had nine carries for 30 yards. The lone bright spot on offense was Rashee Rice with four receptions for 80 yards. The Chiefs need to work on their run game over the BYE week if they want to catch up to Denver and Los Angeles.

Jacksonville def Las Vegas 30-29

This game was a snooze fest until the 4th quarter, when the teams combined to score 31 points. Trevor Lawrence had 220 yards passing, but more importantly, he had 24 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns. Jacksonville lost two of their receivers during the game as Brian Thomas left the game with an ankle injury and Dyami Brown left the game with a concussion. The star receiver for Jacksonville was Parker Washington with eight receptions for 90 yards. Also looking good was Travis Etienne Jr, who had 22 carries for 84 yards. Las Vegas came back at the end of the game and gave themselves a chance to win. You can’t blame Pete Carroll for going for two, considering the Raiders really have nothing to play for. Geno Smith threw for 284 yards and four touchdowns and looked solid throughout. Brock Bowers came back from his knee injury and was sensational with 12 catches for 127 yards and three touchdowns, showing that he is clearly the best tight end in football. Ashton Jeanty showed good receiving chops out of the backfield, catching five passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.

Seattle def Washington

Seattle dominated this game from the onset, scoring 31 points in the first half behind Sam Darnold who finished the game with 330 passing yards and 4 TDs. Jaxon Smith-Njigba continued his stellar play with 8 catches for 129 yards but it was Tory Horton who surprised with 4 catches for 48 yards and 2 TDs replacing Cooper Kupp, who missed the game with an injury. Besides Horton, who the Seahawks really liked since training camp, rookie TE Elijah Arroyo continues to impress as well and needs to be watched as he could be a difference maker with more opportunity. Washington’s season is likely over after Jayden Daniels fractured his left arm. Daniels is the heart and soul of the Commanders franchise and will hopefully be back fully healthy in 2026. Marcus Mariota will replace Daniels and is usable in fantasy mainly due to his mobility.

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