Week 9 of the fantasy football season is upon us. This week on Amazon Prime, we get a game between two teams on polar opposites of the league hierarchy, as the Philadelphia Eagles head south to take on the Houston Texans. With no time to waste, here are the top start/sit plays for Week 9 of Thursday Night Football.
Week 9 TNF Fantasy Football Start ’ems
Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
I’ll be honest with you. This might be the most straightforward start/sit I have ever done. I’m not even going to tip my pitches; I’ll just tell you right now what to do. Start your main players for the Eagles, and sit pretty much everyone for the Texans.
Even if you don’t have Jalen Hurts on your fantasy roster, you can still get in on the action by taking the higher or lower on his passing and rushing projections with Underdog Fantasy Pick’ems. Sign up now and get a 100% deposit bonus match up to $100 just in time for Thursday Night Football and Week 9.
Unquestionably, Jalen Hurts falls into the starter category. Passing for 285 yards with a career-high four touchdowns last week, Hurts won his 10th consecutive start and, in the process, set the longest winning streak by an Eagles QB in team history.
He’s finished as a top-five QB in five of seven games this year and has been fantastic on the road, averaging 331 total yards per game. Houston’s defense sitting third against QBs is an absolute lie, as they haven’t played a difficult QB schedule. Start Hurts as the overall QB2 in our QB fantasy football rankings for Week 9.
Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
With Philly coming in as nearly eight-dollar favorites (-14/-770), I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a heavy dose of Miles Sanders against the bottom-of-the-barrel run defense in the NFL. While I wouldn’t expect the 200 yards that we just saw out of Derrick Henry last week, Sanders should have a good game.
MORE: RB Red-Zone Attempts Entering Week 9
He’s received 15 or more opportunities in every game except one and has 605 yards and five touchdowns in seven games. He’s number one in EPA amongst all RBs with 75+ carries and is one of the leading running backs in red-zone snap rates. He has four rushing touchdowns in his past four games, and I like him to find paydirt again. Sanders is a must-start low-end RB1 against Houston.
A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
A.J. Brown has been everything and then some for the Eagles after they acquired him this offseason. He’s coming off one of the best games of his career, where he caught six passes for 156 yards with a career-high three touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He now has six games with 150+ receiving yards since 2019, placing him tied for second-most in the NFL.
Brown is looking to make it three straight games with a touchdown, and based on his history against Houston, that has a good chance of happening. Brown has averaged 93.8 yards per game in six career contests against Houston on top of six total receiving touchdowns. The WR7 on the year, Brown is a top-six wide receiver in our WR fantasy rankings for Week 9.
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
While Brown erupted last week, DeVonta Smith took a little bit of a backseat. After a 169-yard explosion in Week 3, Smith has just 171 yards receiving in his last four games.
However, he has five or more receptions in five of his last six games and aims to make it three in a row on the road with 8+ catches and 85 or more receiving yards. Assuming Philly can get all of their damage done before they start pulling starters, I’m starting Smith as a low-end WR2 for fantasy in Week 9 on Thursday Night Football.
Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Although he hasn’t found the end zone since Week 3 against Washington, Dallas Goedert bounced back with the Eagles coming out of their bye, catching all six of his targets for 64 yards in Sunday’s win over the Steelers.
He’s yet to top 100 yards in a game this year but has five or more receptions and 60+ yards in three of his last four games. Houston is 11th in points allowed to the position, but once again, they have played no one of note. Even when they faced off against the Raiders, it was without Darren Waller. Much like the rest of the pass catchers, you have to start Goedert, and he’s a high-end TE1 in our TE fantasy rankings this week.
Dameon Pierce, WR, Houston Texans
Well, would you look at that? There is someone you can actually start for the Texans. Although Dameon Pierce certainly has his work cut out for him this week, the rookie out of Florida has tallied five straight double-digit fantasy games.
MORE: Fantasy IR Injury Updates Week 9
He wasn’t very efficient last week, rushing for 35 yards on 15 carries, but he did find paydirt and caught three of five targets for 16 yards. He’s got a touchdown in four of his last five games and looks to make it three in a row at home. He’ll also attempt to hit 50+ scrimmage yards for the seventh contest in a row.
Jordan Davis’ absence will soften up the run-stuffing ability of the Eagles, who sit 29th in rush success rate and 31st in rush EPA/play. You’re hoping Pierce can break off a few longer runs to increase the upside, but I would still start him as a mid-to-low RB2.
Week 9 TNF Fantasy Football Sit ’ems
Davis Mills, QB, Houston Texans
By no means should anyone be considering Davis Mills in fantasy. Even in a Superflex league, I would rather play a position player than him. Although he’s averaged 257 yards in his nine career home games, Mills threw for just 152 yards with a touchdown and a pick last week and is facing maybe the best pass defense in the NFL.
Oh, by the way, he’s likely going to be facing the combo of James Bradberry and Darius Slay without Brandin Cooks or Nico Collins. Is that a gamble you really want to take? Mills is not going to make it out of single-digit fantasy points this week and shouldn’t even be rostered in 1QB leagues.
Brandin Cooks, WR, Houston Texans
Brandin Cooks had four catches for a team-high 73 yards last week and has four receptions in six of seven games this season, but that doesn’t mean you should be targeting him in fantasy.
Cooks might not even play, as he is clearly frustrated after the trade deadline came and went, with him remaining a Texan. I can’t say that I blame him, either. He’s currently listed as questionable and has missed practice due to personal reasons.
Even if he plays, I would not be willing to start him against an Eagles defense that has shut down everyone, including Justin Jefferson. Cooks is a sit for me in Week 9.
Phillip Dorsett, Chris Moore, and Tyron Johnson, WRs, Houston Texans
Pick a name listed above, and do the same thing with them all. You can’t start any of them in fantasy this week. With Nico Collins ruled out and Cooks disgruntled, there’s a very good chance that this list comprises the starting three wide receivers for Houston this week.
MORE: Week 9 Fantasy Football Rest-of-Season Rankings
We’re now in the back half of the fantasy season, and wins are becoming more critical than ever. Thursday night has been enough of a crapshoot at times, and there’s no way I am trusting my fantasy roster with a bunch of guys who have not been productive and are 14-point home dogs on a short week. Trust me; you are not this desperate.
Brevin Jordan, Jordan Akins, and O.J. Howard, TEs, Houston Texans
This feels like déjà vu because the same thing applies here as what I just said about the receivers above. I would not be surprised if we see more 12 personnel from Houston with the team using their TEs as pass catchers, but it doesn’t matter.
Houston is not deploying a singular top option at the position. Instead, they’re using all three. Brevin Jordan received the highest target total of the Texans TEs on Sunday, and that was only for targets.
There’s a chance one of them has a decent day if something breaks right during garbage time, but your guess is as good as mine on who it will be. We haven’t been able to reliably start a Texans TE for fantasy for quite some time, and that’s not changing on Thursday night.