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Fantasy football start em, sit em SNF lineups advice for Buccaneers vs. Bears on NFL Sunday Night Football in Week 9 (2026). NFL matchups analysis and SNF starts/sits.
One of the NFL's hottest teams, the Chicago Bears, are set to host a Tampa Bay squad that's won two straight on Sunday at Soldier Field.
Both of these teams have notable fantasy football players in action on primetime, making this an impact game for many fantasy managers.
We will bring you Sunday Night Football analysis all season, focusing on who to start, who is on the fence, and who should find the bench. Let's dive into this SNF matchup for Week 9 of the season. Good luck in 2026 fantasy football, RotoBallers!
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Tampa Bay Bucs at Chicago Bears
Sunday, November 8, 8:20 PM ET
Notable Fantasy Injuries:
- Emeka Egbuka - Questionable (Expected to Play)
- Kyle Monangai - Questionable
Matchups We Love
The Buccaneers have not needed Baker Mayfield to throw the ball over the last two weeks. Mayfield threw for 64 yards in a Week 7 win over the Panthers and for zero yards in a Week 8 win over the Falcons. Well, the veteran signal-caller will need to throw the ball this week to keep up with the elite Bears offense. Since Chicago has allowed a QB to score over 18 fantasy points in four straight games, Mayfield is a high-end QB2.
Matchups We Hate
Caleb Williams will come in as a lower-end QB1 against the Buccaneers this week. Williams has thrown for over 300 yards in two of his three games since returning from injury and has the weapons in the passing game to have a solid passing day. However, Tampa Bay has allowed just one QB to finish top-12 at the position this season.
RB Bucky Irving
Irving has run wild in recent weeks. He ran for 165 yards and one touchdown in Week 5, totaled 106 rush yards and two touchdowns in Week 7, and had 170 rush yards and one touchdown last week. Fantasy managers, though, should temper expectations for Irving this week. The Bears have given up the fifth-fewest rush yards this year, making Irving more of an RB2 play.
Bucky Irving doesn't care about the weather when it comes to football https://t.co/qVSyjsvlYe
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 1, 2026
D'Andre Swift has been a touchdown machine for the Bears this season. He leads all players in rushing touchdowns (10) and has finished as a top-12 fantasy RB in four consecutive games. While this is a more difficult matchup against a Buccaneers defense that has given up the second-fewest fantasy points and fifth-fewest rushing touchdowns this season, it's hard to sit Swift in most leagues.
Other Notable Matchups
Bears WRs
Luther Burden III has led this Bears WR room for the past couple of weeks. He has scored above 17 PPR fantasy points in three consecutive games and just caught seven passes for 56 yards and one touchdown last week against the Seahawks. Burden will be a high-end WR2. As for Rome Odunze, he will be more of a WR4 this week. Odunze has had under a 15% target share in his last three games.
WR Emeka Egbuka
Emeka Egbuka will return to the field in Week 9 after missing the past two games. Egbuka will come in as a middle-of-the-pack WR2 option in this matchup against the Bears. Chicago has allowed five different WRs to total over 70 receiving yards since Week 4, and Egbuka will continue to operate as the top WR in this offense. Mayfield and Egbuka haven't played together since Week 3.
Analysis: Emeka Egbuka Expected to Play in Week 9
https://t.co/OBaLg2sPsD— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) November 8, 2026
Colston Loveland is finally producing consistently for fantasy managers after a slow start. Loveland has finished as a top-12 fantasy TE in three straight games and totaled at least 65 receiving yards in all three of those contests. The young playmaker will now face a Buccaneers secondary that ranks 22nd in fantasy points allowed per game to the position. He's a solid TE1 play on Sunday night.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
Pos. | Team | Game Matchup |
| Bucky Irving | Start | 115.5 | RB | TB | CHI |
| Chase McLaughlin | Start | 110.1 | K | TB | CHI |
| Emeka Egbuka | Start | 107.2 | WR | TB | CHI |
| Kenny Gainwell | Sit | 101.8 | RB | TB | CHI |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Sit | 101.6 | DEF | TB | CHI |
| Cade Otton | Sit | 101.4 | TE | TB | CHI |
| Chris Godwin Jr. | Sit | 101.3 | WR | TB | CHI |
| Ted Hurst III | Sit | 100.6 | WR | TB | CHI |
| Baker Mayfield | Sit | 100.4 | QB | TB | CHI |
| Tez Johnson | Sit | 98.7 | WR | TB | CHI |
| Jalon Daniels | Sit | 97.3 | QB | TB | CHI |
| Sean Tucker | Sit | 96.5 | RB | TB | CHI |
| Bauer Sharp | Sit | 94.4 | TE | TB | CHI |
| Payne Durham | Sit | 91.8 | TE | TB | CHI |
| Kameron Johnson | Sit | 91.2 | WR | TB | CHI |
| David Sills V | Sit | 89.9 | WR | TB | CHI |
| Ko Kieft | Sit | 89.9 | TE | TB | CHI |
Washington Commanders Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
Pos. | Team | Game Matchup |
| D'Andre Swift | Start | 115.6 | RB | CHI | TB |
| Luther Burden III | Start | 109.5 | WR | CHI | TB |
| Chicago Bears | Start | 107.6 | DEF | CHI | TB |
| Colston Loveland | Start | 107.2 | TE | CHI | TB |
| Caleb Williams | Start | 106.5 | QB | CHI | TB |
| Rome Odunze | Start | 106.5 | WR | CHI | TB |
| Cairo Santos | Risky Start | 103.3 | K | CHI | TB |
| Kyle Monangai | Risky Start | 102 | RB | CHI | TB |
| Kalif Raymond | Sit | 101.9 | WR | CHI | TB |
| Roschon Johnson | Sit | 98.9 | RB | CHI | TB |
| Case Keenum | Sit | 98.1 | QB | CHI | TB |
| Tyson Bagent | Sit | 94.8 | QB | CHI | TB |
| Sam Roush | Sit | 93.5 | TE | CHI | TB |
| Zavion Thomas | Sit | 93.4 | WR | CHI | TB |
| Zavier Scott | Sit | 91.4 | RB | CHI | TB |
| Jahdae Walker | Sit | 90.4 | WR | CHI | TB |
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Rome Odunze, Bucky Irving, Emeka Egbuka, and more. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 9.
Week 9 Player Decisions. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed, we've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 9 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 9 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 9 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 9 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
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