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Fantasy football start em, sit em SNF lineups advice for Seahawks vs. Commanders on Sunday Night Football in Week 9 (2025). NFL matchups analysis and SNF starts/sits.
We close the Week 9 NFL Sunday slate with an NFC matchup between two playoff hopefuls that have been trending in different directions in recent weeks.
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels is expected to return from an injury for a Commanders squad that's lost three straight. On the other side of this matchup, Seattle has won five of their last six behind an elite defense and offseason acquisition Sam Darnold.
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 2025 fantasy football, RotoBallers!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders
Sunday November 2, 8:20 PM ET
Notable Fantasy Injuries:
- Terry McLaurin - Out (Quad)
- Cooper Kupp - Questionable (Hamstring)
Matchups We Love
QB Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold has sneaky QB1 upside this week against the Commanders. Washington has allowed a top-10 fantasy QB finish in three straight games and currently ranks 28th in both fantasy points allowed and pass yards allowed to the QB position through eight weeks. That's enough to start Darnold as a QB1 in 14-plus team leagues.
TE AJ Barner
AJ Barner didn't do much the last time we saw him in Week 7, catching just one pass for seven yards. However, he could be a potential start in 16-plus team leagues this week. He has scored in double figures in PPR formats in four of the past six games, and the Commanders have allowed a TE to finish top-4 at the position in back-to-back weeks.
AJ Barner might already be a top 10 TE in the NFL
True in-line dominator who doesn’t drop the ball and wins at the catch point pic.twitter.com/oGcx0xqgkE
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) October 5, 2025
TE Zach Ertz
Zach Ertz has been a bit disappointing in fantasy this year. But in five games with Jayden Daniels this year, Ertz has scored 11.6 PPR fantasy points, 18.4 PPR fantasy points, 0 PPR fantasy points, 16.3 PPR fantasy points, and 12.7 PPR fantasy points. Given that Seattle has allowed five different TEs to score in double figures in PPR formats against them since Week 3, Ertz can be started as a low-end TE1 in some leagues.
Matchups We Hate
Fantasy managers can't trust Jacory Croskey-Merritt in most formats this week. He has scored 5.8 PPR fantasy points (Week 6), 4.2 PPR fantasy points (Week 7), and 2.5 PPR fantasy points (Week 8) in three straight games. That's enough to sit him in most formats. On top of that, the Seahawks have allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game this season.
Other Notable Matchups
All signs point to Jayden Daniels returning from his hamstring injury in Week 9. If he does, fantasy managers should start him as a QB1 this week. Daniels has scored above 17 fantasy points in all five of his starts, and his rushing upside always gives him a higher ceiling. With the Seahawks allowing a top-12 fantasy QB finish in two of the past three games, start the Commanders QB with confidence.
5 is back
Jayden Daniels will start Sunday vs. the Seahawks pic.twitter.com/gOIbTKuwtS
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 31, 2025
Seahawks RBs
It's hard to trust either Seattle RB in fantasy moving forward. Kenneth Walker III has scored under 10 PPR fantasy points in three straight games, and Zach Charbonnet has become a touchdown-dependent flex option. Although Charbonnet has yet to total over 50 rush yards in a game, he will be a higher RB2 play than Walker this week due to his touchdown upside.
With Terry McLaurin (quad) out for this week, Deebo Samuel Sr. will operate as Washington's WR1. In four games with Daniels this season, he is averaging 17.3 PPR fantasy points per game. That makes him a solid WR2 play this week against the Seahawks.
Seahawks WRs
The only WR that fantasy managers should be starting in Seattle is Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He is averaging 22.1 PPR fantasy points per game this year and currently ranks first among all WRs in receiving yards per game (117). Therefore, he is a must-start WR1. As for Cooper Kupp, it's best to sit him in all formats even if he plays in Week 9. The veteran was limited in practice on Thursday due to a hamstring/heel injury.
NFL Player of the Month & the best WR in football:
Jaxon Smith-Njigba 😤 pic.twitter.com/0mIiLcYv7T
— Seattle ON Tap (@SeattleONTap) October 30, 2025
Seattle Seahawks Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
Game Matchup |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR | Start | 122.8 | @ WAS |
| Sam Darnold, QB | Start | 112.6 | @ WAS |
| Seattle Seahawks, DEF | Start | 110 | @ WAS |
| Jason Myers, K | Start | 106.1 | @ WAS |
| Zach Charbonnet, RB | Risky Start | 104.2 | @ WAS |
| Kenneth Walker III, RB | Risky Start | 103.8 | @ WAS |
| AJ Barner, TE | Risky Start | 103 | @ WAS |
| Tory Horton, WR | Sit | 101.2 | @ WAS |
| Elijah Arroyo, TE | Sit | 100.9 | @ WAS |
| George Holani, RB | Sit | 95.7 | @ WAS |
| Drew Lock, QB | Sit | 92.3 | @ WAS |
| Jalen Milroe, QB | Sit | 91.7 | @ WAS |
Washington Commanders Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
Game Matchup |
| Jayden Daniels, QB | Start | 110.6 | vs. SEA |
| Deebo Samuel Sr., WR | Start | 107.5 | vs. SEA |
| Zach Ertz, TE | Risky Start | 104.4 | vs. SEA |
| Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB | Risky Start | 103.9 | vs. SEA |
| Matt Gay, K | Risky Start | 102.1 | vs. SEA |
| Jeremy McNichols, RB | Sit | 100.3 | vs. SEA |
| Chris Moore, WR | Sit | 98.7 | vs. SEA |
| Luke McCaffrey, WR | Sit | 98.6 | vs. SEA |
| Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB | Sit | 96.5 | vs. SEA |
| Jaylin Lane, WR | Sit | 95.3 | vs. SEA |
| Marcus Mariota, QB | Sit | 95.2 | vs. SEA |
| John Bates, TE | Sit | 94.3 | vs. SEA |
| Ben Sinnott, TE | Sit | 93.8 | vs. SEA |
| Washington Commanders, DEF | Sit | 84.3 | vs. SEA |
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 Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Deebo Samuel Sr., Cooper Kupp, Zach Ertz, AJ Barner, Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet. 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 2025 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 (2025)? 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:
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