Zach Wilkens breaks down the first half of the Week 9 matchups for the 2015 NFL football season. Each week of the NFL season, we will be breaking down each of the NFL matchups and providing you with some fantasy football advice and lineup recommendations based on matchups that we love, matchups that we hate, and some high-risk/high-reward players, as well.

Below, you will find part one of our Week 9 NFL matchups & fantasy football start/sit analysis, which should help you prepare your lineups to win this week. It’s essential to analyze the weekly NFL matchups to find lineup sleepers and gems, while also avoiding those players who may turn out to be busts.

Be sure to also check out part two of this week's matchups analysis for the later games.

 

Packers @ Panthers - Sunday 11/8 @ 1 PM EST

Matchups We Love:

Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers - After an awful start to the season that saw many owners give up on J-Stew (don’t blame yourself if you did, it looked like the right call!) he has really turned it on. Stewart has three rushing touchdowns over the last three games while also averaging 95 rush yards per game. He has at least 20 carries in each of those three games and I think the Panthers will keep on running him.

Greg Olsen, TE, Panthers - The Packers give up the eighth-most points to opposing tight ends. Although Olsen has been pretty up and down this season, he has at least 65 yards in five of the last six games. At the tight end position you’ll definitely take that. He has also has four touchdowns during that span. He’s never been a big touchdown guy but he should be able to get around 80 yards this week.

Matchups We Hate:

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers - Don’t worry Rodgers owners, this isn’t going to the bloodbath we saw last week. While the Panthers are a very tough matchup, they’ve got nothing on the Broncos. Rodgers is still very startable this week, he’s just not likely to have a huge day.

James Jones, WR, Packers - I’m thinking with Randall Cobb in the slot that it will be James Jones who faces Panthers CB Josh Norman most of the day. His week might be pretty similar to last week’s two-yard performance unfortunately.

Notable Players:

Cam Newton, WR, Panthers - This isn’t a great matchup and Newton hasn’t been throwing very well this season. He has a career-low completion percentage (54.2%) and a career-high interception percentage. Thankfully his legs have kept him very fantasy-relevant. He has four rushing touchdowns on the season and his season low in fantasy points via rushing is 3.5. Its pretty hard to have a bad fantasy day with those numbers, so he remains in my top ten this week.

Ted Ginn, WR, Panthers - Ted Ginn is the closest thing the Panthers have to a fantasy WR. At 49 yards a game he still isn’t someone I want to start. If you are desperate with a case of the bye week blues he does have three touchdowns on the season and four games with at least 50 yards.

Eddie Lacy, RB, Packers - The Panthers are not a bad matchup for RBs this year, they just aren’t a good one either. Lacy came off the bye with 47 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos. Given the matchup and how much the passing game struggled, I actually felt this was far from an awful performance. I have Lacy in my top ten this week.

Randall Cobb, WR, Packers - If I am correct in thinking James Jones will get most of Josh Norman's attention, then that means that Cobb should see a nice number of targets. Cobb has been a pretty big disappointment this season, averaging just 33 yards a game with no scores over the last four. I think he bounces back soon though, and should be a solid WR2 this week.

 

Redskins @ Patriots - Sunday 11/8 @ 1 PM EST

Matchups We Love:

Tom Brady, QB, Patriots - I don’t think much needs to be said here. Brady is playing at an insanely high level this season. Start him.

LeGarrette Blount, RB, Patriots - The Redskins got off to a hot start defensively but they have been among the very worst run defenses over their last three games. That should make this a Blount-heavy game for the Patriots. Even if I’m wrong and Blount doesn’t get involved early, the Pats should grab a healthy lead and use him a lot anyway.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, Patriots - Continues to be the easiest start at any position.

Julian Edelman, WR, Patriots - Has at least one touchdown in three of the last four games and sits at WR5 (standard) on the season. A must-start.

Matchups We Hate:

Jordan Reed, TE, Patriots - The Pats have played surprisingly well against tight ends this year, allowing the sixth-fewest points to TEs. Reed should get enough targets to be a low-end TE1 but I don’t feel good about starting him.

Notable Players:

Kirk Cousins, QB, Redskins - Coming off a huge game before the bye, what can we expect here? He will certainly have a lot of pass attempts trying to keep up with the Patriots. I don’t expect top ten numbers but I think he can come close.

Desean Jackson, WR, Redskins - D-Jax is expected back this week and it’s a pretty nice matchup. In the five full games Cousins started last year, Jackson averaged 83 yards a game to go with three touchdowns. I think he can be a pretty good WR2 this week.

Matt Jones, RB, Redskins - Jones definitely appears to be the starter but after his huge game in Week 2 he hasn’t exceeded 40 rushing yards or 4.0 YPC. I’d avoid unless you are really desperate.

Chris Thompson, RB, Redskins - In the four games since Chris Thompson became the main passing back for this offense, he has averaged nearly six catches a game. He has a good chance to match his average against the Patriots. In PPR, he’s not a bad flex.

Dion Lewis, RB, Patriots - I don’t love him this week but I still think Lewis is an excellent find by the Patriots and is very much worth a start this week. I am slightly worried because I do see this as a game that better fits Blount, but Lewis has looked so good that I still have him in my top 20.

Brandon LaFell & Danny Amendola, WRs, Patriots - The #2 and #3 WRs for this team, it looks like Lafell is the favored player. Amendola was playing well up until LaFell’s return, but it looks like he isn’t much use for fantasy purposes at the moment, as he saw just one target last week to LaFell's five. LaFell can be a fantasy WR3 but he needs to show us more before I am eager to use him.

 

Titans @ Saints - Sunday 11/8 @ 1PM EST

Matchups We Love:

Drew Brees, QB, Saints - Brees had a record-tying day last week. I doubt he does that again but it should be another good week vs the Titans. The Titans are actually third in fewest passing yards allowed which is certainly a surprise. They have played worse over their last three games though, allowing 250 passing yards per game. I’m not worried about Brees.

Marcus Mariota, QB, Titans - The Saints allow the most points to opposing QBs. With 20 passing touchdowns allowed to just four interceptions, they should be a good matchup for any quarterback. Mariota has missed the last two games and struggled in the two before that, but this matchup is too good to pass up if you need a streaming QB.

Delanie Walker, WR, Titans - The Saints allow the fifth-most points to tight ends and Walker has been targeted at least six times in every full game that he has played. He should have no problems putting up a top-ten day.

Matchups We Hate:

I wouldn’t say there are any bad matchups in this game.

Notable Players:

Mark Ingram, RB, Saints - The Titans have only allowed one RB touchdown in their last four games, and that includes keeping Devonta Freeman from scoring. Still, Ingram has been fantastic this year with either 100 yards from scrimmage or a touchdown in seven of eight games so far. With Khiry Robinson out for the season, Ingram should see more usage around the goal line as well.

Brandin Cooks, WR, Saints - Cooks had a big game last week but so did every other Saints player, so it’s hard to take too much from that game. Still, Cooks has at least five catches and 80 yards in three of the last four games. It seems like everyone was happy to jump off the bandwagon but I think he should be a solid WR2 the rest of the way.

Willie Snead, WR, Saints - After a couple quiet games, Snead was one of several players to share in the scoring last week. He is now questionable with a knee injury. I definitely prefer Cooks over Snead and given that the Titans pass defense isn’t horrible Snead is a flex play rather than a WR2.

Benjamin Watson, TE, Saints - The old man is putting up a heck of a season with two huge performances in the last three weeks. I still have some doubt though. Prior to the last three games he hadn’t exceeded 42 yards in a game. However, he is definitely a threat to score in this offense so he is a solid play.

Antonio Andrews, RB, Titans - I guess he is the lead back for now. He’s nothing special at all but in a sea of injuries his touches make him viable. Last week he got 82 yards on 19 touches, and that kind of production should be the expectation most weeks. I don’t think he can be counted on for many touchdowns so you’ll have to be in a bad spot to actually start him.

 

Dolphins @ Bills - Sunday 11/8 @ 1 PM EST

Matchups We Love:

LeSean McCoy, RB, Bills - In two games since returning from injury, McCoy has been a workhorse back with 19 and 20 touches and at least 90 yards in each game. Expect the solid workload to continue this week against the Dolphins. The Dolphins have allowed at least 23 fantasy points to RBs in four of the last five games.

Matchups We Hate:

Despite the Bills reputation, they haven’t done a good job at stopping any particular position this season. There are no matchups I hate here.

Notable Players:

Tyrod Taylor, QB, Bills - Taylor will return from an MCL injury to face a team he handled with ease earlier in the season. He threw for three touchdowns and no picks in their first matchup. Maybe he won’t have such a great day here but he should play well and approach QB1 numbers.

Sammy Watkins, WR, Bills - Watkins is questionable for this game but if he plays he should have value as the most talented receiver the Bills have. He would be a low-end WR2. My hope is that the Bills wait until he is fully healthy because he can be an explosive player, but he has been too injury-prone in his young career to realize that potential. If he sits Robert Woods would be the top option, but he would be a flex at best.

Charles Clay, TE, BIlls - Clay has seen his production dip without Tyrod Taylor at the helm. He should be able to have a solid bounce-back day now that Taylor is back. The Dolphins have been truly up-and-down against tight ends this year. They have allowed 70+ yards to tight ends in four games and allowed zero in their other three. Luckily Clay already has one of those good games so you should feel pretty good starting him.

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Dolphins - The Bills have allowed at least two passing touchdowns in six of their seven games this year, including Tannehill’s first game against them. That gives Tannehill a pretty high floor to start from this week. I have him as my QB15 this week.

Jarvis Landry, WR, Dolphins - Like most weeks I think he is far better in PPR than standard. Landry has just two receiving touchdowns on the season and both came in the same game. He has had at least six catches in four different games. I think it’s a little troubling that he had eight catches in each of the first three games but hasn’t exceeded eight targets in the last three games since Dan Campbell. That will be something to continue to monitor, but for now Landry is a PPR WR2.

Rishard Matthews, WR, Dolphins - Matthews has actually been the far more productive receiver in the three Dan Campbell games with at least 13 PPR points in each of those games and at least 62 yards in all three. He really only has had one bad game on the season, and there’s no reason to think the production will stop. He is a solid WR2 in all formats.

 

Rams @ Vikings - Sunday 11/8 @ 1 PM EST

Matchups We Love:

None. These are two really good defenses that are capable of limiting any player.

Matchups We Hate:

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Vikings - Teddy has been rather unspectacular this season and this is a very bad matchup. The Rams have a great pass rush which has led to them allowing the second-fewest points to opposing QBs. I can’t imagine starting Teddy here.

Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings - You're still starting him but this is a tough matchup. The Rams haven’t allowed an RB rushing touchdown in their last four games and RBs have just a 3.6 YPC on the season vs the Rams. It’ll be a tough day for Peterson owners but I still have him around RB10.

Todd Gurley, RB, Rams - Again, you’re still starting him, but the Vikings are a really good run defense. They’ve allowed just one RB rushing touchdown over the last six games. Honestly I would not be surprised if Gurley still hits the 100-yard mark--he's just that good. A touchdown might be a stretch though.

Kyle Rudolph, TE, Vikings - The Rams have allowed just one TE touchdown on the season and that was all the way back in Week 1. As a low-yardage guy that relies on touchdowns for fantasy relevance, I’d avoid him this week.

Notable Players:

Stefon Diggs, WR, Vikings - Diggs has passed every test so far, including a brutal matchup against the Broncos in his first ever game where he recorded 87 yards. This is another tough matchup but with what he has shown so far I think he is very startable.

Tavon Austin, WR, Rams - Austin has quietly moved into fantasy relevance. He consistently adds rushing yards and he is coming along as a pass-catcher as well. He is averaging 82 yards from scrimmage over the last four games. That makes him a really solid flex play.

 

Jaguars @ Jets - Sunday 11/8 @ 1 PM EST

Matchups We Love:

Chris Ivory, RB, Jets - The Jags have given up nine RB touchdowns on the season. They’ve actually played pretty well against the run in most of their games and then really awful in a couple games. I think Ivory has the power and talent to make this a bad game for the Jaguars run D. Considering Ryan Fitzpatrick is nursing a hand injury, the Jets should run a lot here.

Allen Hurns, WR, Jags - The Jags have a great receiver in Allen Robinson who will be covered by Darrelle Revis, leaving the secondary receiver as the go-to target. We saw it with Michael Crabtree last week, and that trend should mean extra targets for Hurns. The Jets secondary outside of Revis is not that great, and Hurns should have a strong WR2 day.

Matchups We Hate:

Allen Robinson, WR, Jags - As I mentioned, Robinson will likely go up against Darrelle Revis this week. He’s been a top-ten receiver on multiple occasions but he will definitely struggle here. I think he should still see enough targets to be a low-end WR2.

Notable Players:

Blake Bortles, QB, Jags - It will be a very tough matchup but I think Blake can handle it. Derek Carr left a nice blueprint last week in hitting his #2 and #3 targets while being careful with Amari Cooper vs Revis. Bortles should be able to do the same for a fine QB2 day.

Julius Thomas, TE, Jags - Julius had a really big game in Week 6 and then did almost nothing in Week 7 before the bye. I think he has a lot of potential for the rest of the season but I still want to see some more before I commit to him. He should be targeted quite a bit this week as Bortles tries to avoid Revis, and that puts him right around TE10 for me.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Jets - On paper the Jags should be a great matchup but the ligament damage to Fitzpatrick's non-throwing thumb has me worried. I’d probably avoid this week unless your alternatives are down to someone like Matt Cassel or Blaine Gabbert.

Brandon Marshall & Eric Decker, WRs, Jets - Marshall is questionable but it looks like he will play. As mentioned above I am a bit worried about Fitzpatrick's hand injury, but if they start him then I trust that Marshall and Decker should both be decent plays. Both WRs have been pretty good all season with Marshall being the target hog. I have Marshall as a high-end WR2 and Decker on the low end of WR2s.

 

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