The Indianapolis Colts will face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Alec Pierce.
Is Alec Pierce Playing in Week 9?
Pierce is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Colts’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Alec Pierce in Week 9?
Remember when Pierce had 38.1 fantasy points through two weeks and fantasy nation wondered if they had stumbled upon a game-changer in the late rounds of their drafts?
Fun times.
He has 35.3 points in the six games since, and 13.5 came on a single catch. Any week in which Anthony Richardson is healthy is a week that Pierce could return value — but it’s also a week that the lowest-ranked signal caller in our QB+ metric can render him completely useless. That’s not going to be the case in the short term with Richardson benched, though an increase in mean QB play isn’t to be viewed as a negative.
If you’re dealing with a depleted roster and fighting an uphill battle, go ahead and buy this lottery ticket, even with Flacco under center, against the defense with the 10th-highest opponent completion percentage on deep passes. If you have a competitive roster, it’s because you’ve avoided players like Pierce, and I’d keep with the status quo in that situation.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Alec Pierce’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Pierce is projected to score 8.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 2.3 receptions for 45.6 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Minnesota Vikings Defense
The Minnesota Vikings are coming off their worst defensive performance of the year, ranking 28th in Week 8. Prior to this week, they had been ranked inside the top 15 in all of their first six games and had been inside the top four on three occasions. The question now will be whether their 15th-ranked finish in Week 7 and their No. 28 rank in Week 8 are a product of facing good offenses or the start of a downturn in their fortunes.
The most concerning element for the Vikings’ defense will be the fact they are allowing touchdowns on 61.9% of red-zone trips, which ranks 24th in the league this year. Even if they’re a top-10 unit in nearly every other metric, if teams can convert in the red zone on 60%+ of their trips then it will be hard for Minnesota to win games convincingly.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Alec Pierce’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings Insights
Indianapolis Colts
Team: The Colts are 4-4 this season, with five games decided by a field goal or less (2-3 in those games).
QB: Pressure is one thing; seeing ghosts is another – Richardson went 6-of-20 for 78 yards and an interception against the Texans when not pressured.
Offense: The Colts gained 21.2 yards per drive in the Week 7 win against the Dolphins, their lowest rate of the season. In the loss to the Texans on Sunday, that number was 21.0.
Defense: In Weeks 1-5, the Colts forced a punt on 23.6% of drives, a rate that has spiked to 48.6% since.
Fantasy: Anthony Richardson hit Josh Downs for a 69-yard touchdown pass of the season – his third of 50-plus yards.
Betting: Indianapolis has covered eight of their past 10 road primetime games (this is their first game since Week 13, 2022).
Minnesota Vikings
Team: The Vikings have played just three true road games this season – after this week, they go on the road for three straight (Jaguars, Titans, and Bears).
QB: Sam Darnold posted his highest in-pocket passer rating of the season on Thursday night (134.0, he’s been over 106.0 in six of seven games.
Offense: In Weeks 1-4, Minnesota averaged 6.5 yards per play on first down, a rate that is down to 4.8 since.
Defense: The Vikings posted their highest pressure rate of the season in Week 7 against the Lions (58.6%) but couldn’t make Matthew Stafford uncomfortable in Week 8 (11.8%, 18 percentage points below their previous season low).
Fantasy: Against the Rams on Thursday night, Sam Darnold started hot and then struggled – 67.5% of his fantasy points as a passer were scored on Minnesota’s first two drives.
Betting: Since 2020, 74.4% of Vikings games played after Halloween have gone over the total (29-10-1, league average: 48.4%).
Betting: The Vikings are 1-5-1 ATS in their past seven games played on extended rest.
