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Matt's quarterback (QB) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 9 of 2025. His QB lineups advice for Week 9 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
Apologies in advance if you sat Drake Maye or Tua Tagovailoa last week. Despite tough matchups, both quarterbacks dropped 27.3 and 24.2 fantasy points, respectively, against two of the top defenses in Cleveland and Atlanta, and propelled themselves to top-10 finishes in Week 8.
Meanwhile, Tyler Huntley, Dillon Gabriel, and Cam Ward outperformed Dak Prescott and Baker Mayfield. There will be some ups and downs each week, and our job is to help fellow fantasy managers limit their risk exposure at a spot in the lineup that could make or break their week.
Here are your Week 9 starts and sits for the quarterback position.
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Week 9 - Fantasy Football Booms
Daniel Jones - QB, Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers
Only three things in life seem inevitable these days: life, taxes, and the Colts not punting. Through eight contests, the Indianapolis Colts have punted the ball 16 times. That's thanks to Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor, who have been tearing up the fantasy scene. Taylor is averaging 27.1 fantasy points per game this year and has 23 or more fantasy points in six of his last seven contests, thanks, in part, to his 14 touchdowns this season.
Daniel Jones has 7 games with a 100+ passer rating in 2025 (T-most in the NFL) ✅#ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/hJZVrYZZAa
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) October 26, 2025
As for Jones, despite all Taylor's success, he has quietly perched himself as the QB7 in fantasy, averaging 20.8 fantasy points per game and has five contests this season in which he has eclipsed 22 fantasy points, including doing so in three consecutive contests ahead of this Week 9 showdown with Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As for that Steelers defense, the last time we saw them in action, Jordan Love dropped 28.3 fantasy points on them thanks to a 360-yard passing performance in which he completed 39 of 37 passes and three touchdowns. Among those 29 completions, there was a run in which Love completed 20 straight passes to his receivers. A big reason for Love's success was tight end Tucker Kraft, who led the way with seven receptions for 143 yards. Look for Jones and Tyler Warren to replicate that connection this week.
Jacoby Brissett- QB, Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys
It doesn't matter that Arizona's No. 2 QB will be under center this week when the Arizona Cardinals head to Dallas to face the Cowboys. Brissett has thrown for 599 yards and four touchdowns while completing 64.3% of his passing attempts.
From a fantasy perspective, in the two contests Brissett has started, he has posted impressive 21.7 and 19.8 fantasy points. In Brissett's two starts, he has averaged 299.5 passing yards per game and led the Cardinals to 27 points in each contest.
Brissett has a prime matchup, facing a Dallas Cowboys secondary that has allowed league-highs in passing yards (2,185), passing touchdowns (20), passer rating (112.0), and fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks (25.7). If that wasn't appealing enough, Dallas placed Trevon Diggs on IR this weekend.
Mac Jones - QB, San Francisco 49ers at New York Giants
Even though Mac Jones is expected to start again this week instead of Mac Jones, the matchup is too good for fantasy managers to pass up. Mac Jones has done an admirable job for fantasy managers needing a replacement for Brock Purdy, averaging 16.1 fantasy points per game and topping 19 fantasy points in half his starts. Even with Purdy again sidelined, Jones can exploit a favorable matchup this week.
He will get another start against a Giants defense that has allowed the fifth-most passing yards (1,987) and the third-most fantasy points (21.7). Without A.J. Brown, Jalen Hurts completed 15 of 20 passes, and four of those completions resulted in Eagles touchdowns a week ago.
While the 49ers' offense struggled to get going last week, it was good to see George Kittle get on the board with five receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown after being held catchless in his return from injury the previous week. With Kittle's return, it is worth noting that Jauan Jennings' target shares have dipped slightly from 30.4% to 22.6% over the last two weeks, while Kendrick Bourne has seen his drop from 24% in Week 5 to 9% and 13% over his previous two outings.
Week 9 - Fantasy Football Busts
Bo Nix - QB, Denver Broncos at Houston Texans
Bo Nix enters Week 9 as the QB7 in fantasy, averaging 20.8 fantasy points per game. He has posted 40 and 24.8 fantasy points in his previous two contests, with the latter performance coming against the Dallas Cowboys last week. While the fantasy numbers look impressive, Nix completed 19 of 29 attempts for 247 yards and has just two games this season in which he has thrown for more than 250 yards in a game.
Yardage doesn't mean a lot when tossing four touchdowns in a game unless you face a team that has only allowed six passing touchdowns in seven contests this season, as the Texans have done. In fact, no team allows fewer total yards per game than Houston's 266.9, which has helped contribute to the fourth-fewest passing yards per game (178.4) and the fifth-fewest rushing yards per game (88.4).
Houston's defense has been a defensive stronghold all season, allowing a league-low 14.7 points per game. When you add everything up for quarterbacks in fantasy, it equates to 11.7 fantasy points per game, the lowest in fantasy by a wide margin. The second-stingiest units have been the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos, allowing 14.5 fantasy points per game thus far.
C.J. Stroud - QB, Houston Texans vs Denver Broncos
Let's stick with this Broncos/Texans matchup and focus on one player: C.J. Stroud. Stroud was dialed in last week against the 49ers, throwing for 318 yards while completing 30 of 39 passes. On the week, Stroud finished with 22.7 fantasy points and elevated his seasonal average to 17.4 fantasy points per game.
However, I am still old enough to remember Week 7's outing against the Seattle Seahawks. That's right, just a couple of weeks back, when Stroud completed just 46.9% of his 49 passing attempts as the Seahawks hit the Texans quarterback early and often. Houston kept Stroud clean last week, but Stroud had been sacked 15 times in the previous six contests. Meanwhile, no team in the NFL is better at disrupting quarterbacks than the Denver Broncos, whose 36 sacks this season are 10 more than the next closest team (Los Angeles Rams).
#Seahawks overload left side blitzing both Ty Okada and Drake Thomas and the Texans can't block everyone, leaving Okada untouched to corral Stroud for the sack. Well schemed and well executed! pic.twitter.com/gIntmlEPLZ
— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) October 22, 2025
Due to the Broncos' ability to bring pressure, led by Nik Bonitto's eight sacks, Denver has limited opposing signal callers to 14.5 fantasy points per game this season, the third-fewest. While the pressure has yet to lead to turnovers, this season, one has to figure it's only a matter of time before the Broncos' secondary begins to reap the benefits and add to their four interceptions.
One thing to pay attention to throughout the week is Nico Collins's practice participation. The Pro Bowl receiver and Christian Kirk missed last week's contest due to injury. If Collins does suit up, he'll likely draw Patrick Surtain II in coverage, which should open things up for Jayden Higgins (79% route participation), Xavier Hutchinson (81% route participation), and Jaylin Noel (5 receptions for 63 yards).
Michael Penix Jr. - QB, Atlanta Falcons at New England
Michael Penix Jr. may want to sit this one out. Still, after watching the disaster unfold last week against the lowly Miami Dolphins, Atlanta will need Penix back as the Atlanta fan base "did not like that" Kirk Cousins' performance a week ago. Now, Cousins wasn't playing with a full complement of weapons, with Drake London being sidelined, but he managed to outscore Mayfield in fantasy.
Last week, in London's absence, Kyle Pitts Sr. led the Falcons with a 30% target share, while Darnell Mooney was saddled with a 13% target share. KhaDarel Hodge led the way among receivers with a 27% target share. As much as fans want to pin the offense's woes on Cousins, this offense centers around Bijan Robinson and his ability to run the ball. Entering Week 8, Miami had allowed a league-high 898 rushing yards this season, and Robinson had just 25 yards on the ground on nine attempts.
This week, Atlanta faces a New England Patriots defensive unit that has yielded just 432 yards on the ground this season, the second fewest. If Atlanta can't get its run game going, Penix could suffer a fate similar to that of Cousins. Since Week 5, New England has allowed 14.6 fantasy points per game to the quarterback position, the sixth-fewest. New England's defense currently sits fifth in the NFL with 11 turnovers, thanks to the seven interceptions they have collected, while its pass rush has done its job as well, accumulating 19 sacks over eight contests.
Fantasy managers aren't benching Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. Still, it is worth noting that when the two megastars face one another this week, they will also face two of the most formidable fantasy defenses against the quarterback position over the last three weeks. Kansas City has allowed 9.5 fantasy points per game to the position over that sample, while Buffalo leads the NFL, allowing just 9.4 fantasy points per game since Week 6.
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