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 QB Joe Flacco.
Is Joe Flacco Playing in Week 9?
Flacco 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 Joe Flacco in Week 9?
Flacco has multiple passing scores in eight straight regular-season games, including all three instances in which he’s been called upon this season. The veteran’s floor is clearly higher than that of the man he is replacing, but I don’t love this spot, even with Minnesota struggling a bit of late.
The well-rested Vikings rank better than the league average in nearly every metric against short passes, putting them in a position to further limit Flacco’s ceiling (6.6-yard aDOT). With Minnesota operating at the fifth-slowest pace, we ran into a volume issue, and that resulted in Flacco simply replacing Anthony Richardson in my ranks.
Among the widely available options down the QB board, I have Flacco over Jameis Winston, but you’d have to be in a very difficult spot to have to go that direction.
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.
Joe Flacco’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Flacco is projected to score 14.6 fantasy points in Week 9. This includes 207.7 passing yards, 1.6 passing touchdowns, and 0.6 interceptions. It also includes 1.2 rushing attempts for 2.6 yards and 0 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.
Joe Flacco’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 12:45 AM ET on Friday, December 27. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 QB PPR Rankings
1) Josh Allen | BUF (vs. NYJ)
2) Lamar Jackson | BAL (at HOU)
3) Jalen Hurts | PHI (vs. DAL)
4) Joe Burrow | CIN (vs. DEN)
5) Jayden Daniels | WAS (vs. ATL)
6) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. CAR)
7) Sam Darnold | MIN (vs. GB)
8) Kyler Murray | ARI (at LAR)
9) Bo Nix | DEN (at CIN)
10) Jordan Love | GB (at MIN)
11) Jared Goff | DET (at SF)
12) Anthony Richardson | IND (at NYG)
13) Brock Purdy | SF (vs. DET)
14) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (at CLE)
15) Matthew Stafford | LAR (vs. ARI)
16) C.J. Stroud | HOU (vs. BAL)
17) Patrick Mahomes | KC (at PIT)
18) Justin Herbert | LAC (at NE)
19) Caleb Williams | CHI (vs. SEA)
20) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (at BUF)
21) Geno Smith | SEA (at CHI)
22) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. KC)
23) Cooper Rush | DAL (at PHI)
24) Bryce Young | CAR (at TB)
25) Drake Maye | NE (vs. LAC)
26) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (at WAS)
27) Aidan O'Connell | LV (at NO)
28) Mac Jones | JAX (vs. TEN)
29) Mason Rudolph | TEN (at JAX)
30) Tommy DeVito | NYG (vs. IND)
31) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (vs. MIA)
32) Spencer Rattler | NO (vs. LV)
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.