Today, we break down this week’s football slate, see what the NFL weather report and forecast for Week 9 will be, and determine if any of your fantasy football players could be impacted. As always, good luck, stay safe, and let’s win the week!
NFL Weather Report for Week 9: November Weather Brings a Bit of Wind
All times are Eastern, and the NFL Week 9 weather report will be updated if any changes happen from the time of writing to kickoff. The NFL weather forecast for Week 9 is based on reporting from the National Weather Service. All betting lines are from the NFL’s official website.
Miami Dolphins (-4.5) at Chicago Bears, O/U 45.5 | Sunday 1 p.m.
As the Halloween sugar rush continues to wear off, November’s arrival typically indicates more uncertainty regarding the weather. It won’t be long until we’re talking about snow, but we get a welcome reprieve from that in Week 9. There are only two games this week with some increased wind speeds starting with the conditions in Chicago.
Overall, it should be a pleasant day in the Windy City as it lives up to its name, with 58-degree temperatures and mostly sunny skies. But that is accompanied by 12 to 15 mph sustained winds and gusts between 20 to 25 mph.
I wouldn’t let this be a deciding factor for any of your fantasy football Week 9 start-sits. The wind will really only impact the kickers, and I don’t think anyone was rushing to start Cairo Santos this week.
Justin Fields definitely has a big test on his hands, but he has produced three straight top-eight QB finishes and is the overall QB2 since Week 5. Plus, he has had 40 rushing yards or more in every game since Week 3, which is equivalent to a touchdown’s worth of production. Start him as a QB1.
On the other end of things, start virtually every Miami Dolphin you typically would. Tua Tagovailoa is closing in on top-five status, and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle comfortably sit in the top 10. While head coach Mike McDaniel tries to bring in every former 49er, don’t let the addition of Jeff Wilson Jr. keep Raheem Mostert out of your lineup. Even if Miami doesn’t blow them out of the water, there’s a ton of fantasy upside available.
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Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots (-4.5), O/U 40.5 | Sunday 1 p.m.
The only other game on my radar, pun intended, is Indianapolis traveling to Foxborough. And once again, looking at the wind conditions. Eleven to 14 mph winds aren’t a big deal, but it’s just the 20 to 25 mph gusts that will accompany them.
Depending on if one of those gusts hits while the ball is in the air, it could impact a couple of plays. With that said, similar to Chicago, I’m not letting that make any decisions for me.
That’s because there’s not a ton of exposure that I want in this matchup. Jonathan Taylor is out for Week 9, and it’s expected that Deon Jackson will take over the No. 1 RB. Back in Week 6, when he had this same opportunity, he played on 67% of the snaps with 22 touches for 121 total yards as the overall RB1 for that week. New England is 20th in DVOA against running backs, so this equals a good matchup. I wouldn’t mind him as an RB2.
MORE: Garrett’s Week 9 Start/Sit
Another player I feel is a must-start would be Rhamondre Stevenson. Even with Damien Harris active last week, Stevenson played on 63% of the snaps and saw 23 touches that he turned into 143 yards as the RB10. He’s averaged 120.3 yards per game with four rushing touchdowns in his last four games at home. Start him as an RB1 in Week 9.
As far as wide receivers go, I actually prefer Jakobi Meyers a little bit above Michael Pittman Jr this week. Myers continues to be underrated as the WR11 in fantasy, with a 25.6% target share and 31.9% of the air yards.
Pittman, on the other hand, saw a ridiculous 39.1% targets and 30% of the air yards last week but loses some of his explosiveness because of Sam Ellinger under center. Meyers is a WR2, whereas Pittman feels closer to a WR3.
NFL Weather Report and Forecast for Week 8 Games: Worry-Free Weather
After a week full of surprises, the Week 9 slate of games should be smooth sailing as it relates to the weather forecast.
Carolina Panthers at Cincinnati Bengals (-7), O/U 42.5 | Sunday 1 p.m.
Who knew all Carolina needed to do to be a better rushing team was to trade away Christian McCaffrey? Yeah, there is some sarcasm in there, but that doesn’t take away from what D’Onta Foreman has done. He’s been incredible the last two weeks while finishing as the RB17 and RB5 in fantasy, respectively.
Foreman rushed for 118 yards with a career-high three touchdowns in Week 8, which gave him his fifth career game with 100+ rushing yards. Over the last four weeks, the Bengals are 31st in explosive rate, 28th in EPA, and 30th in rushing yards per game. With Chuba Hubbard ruled out, Foreman is an RB1 for Week 9.
DJ Moore and Tee Higgins are great and should be must-starts, but I want to give a little credit to WR Terrence Marshall, who is beginning to show signs of life. He has taken over the role vacated by Robbie Anderson and has seen 21.1% of the target share and nearly 25% of the air yards over the last two weeks.
Marshall was the WR29 last week with a career-high 87 receiving yards and a respectable 2.1 5 YPRR. With six teams out on a bye, Marshall could be a sneaky start as a WR3/4.
As for the Week 9 weather forecast in Cincinnati, expect sunny skies and 70-degree temperatures with 6 mph winds.
Las Vegas Raiders (-2.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars, O/U 47.5 | Sunday 1 p.m.
Here’s something I didn’t think I would say coming into the year — I would rather have Josh Jacobs or Travis Etienne for the rest of the season than Jonathan Taylor. Each has been sensational. Jacobs ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing with 676 yards and has 150+ scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in three of his last four.
Meanwhile, Etienne is coming off of career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns last week and aims to make it five in a row with 100+ scrimmage yards and his third in a row with 100+ rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. He ranks fourth in the AFC with 571 rushing yards this year which is the fourth most by a player in their first eight career games in franchise history.
Christian Kirk also had a nice bounce back, with two of his last three games inside the top 36. He has four top 20 fantasy finishes so far this year and is the WR24 in points per game, thanks to a 22.9% target share. Start him as a WR2 in Week 9.
Jacksonville’s Week 9 weather forecast should feature 81-degree temperatures, partly cloudy skies, and 11 mph winds with a 30% chance of rain.
Buffalo Bills (-10.5) at New York Jets, O/U 45.5 | Sunday 1 p.m.
Even if Buffalo doesn’t blow out the Jets, that doesn’t mean I want much to do with them for a fantasy lineup. Michael Carter is an okay Flex play, and I would say the same thing for Garrett Wilson, but if you have better options this week, I might look in their direction because of how brutal this matchup is.
MORE: Week 9 PPR Rankings
When it comes to Buffalo, it’s status quo once again. Devin Singletary likely falls closer to a touchdown-dependent RB3, but the red zone chances will always be available in this offense.
I would stash Nyheim Hines, but I probably wouldn’t play him this week until we see what his role will be in this offense and the split between him and Singletary. His addition also makes James Cook unrosterable in the vast majority of leagues.
Expect 75-degree temperatures, 8 mph winds, and mostly cloudy skies in East Rutherford for Week 9.
Minnesota Vikings (-3) at Washington Commanders, O/U 43.5 | Sunday 1 p.m.
Washington’s backfield this year has been one heck of a roller coaster. After anointing Brian Robinson Jr. the next chosen one and writing off Antonio Gibson, we’ve never seen a complete role reversal.
Since Robinson returned in Week 5, Gibson has averaged 11.6 touches and 69 total yards per game. He’s also seeing a 17.6% target share and has finished as the RB24, RB16, and RB11 in his last three games. It’s not an easy matchup against the Vikings, who have allowed the seventh-fewest fantasy points per game, but I prefer Gibson as an RB3 compared to Robinson as an RB4.
Who would’ve thought all Terry McLaurin needed was the return of Taylor Heineke? Yet that appears to be the case, as McLaurin has seen a 25.8% target share over the last two games while averaging eight targets and 93 yards per game. McLaurin is now posted WR11 and WR17 weeks during the previous two games, and I will once again play him as a WR2 in Week 9.
MORE: NFL Bye Weeks Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet
As for Minnesota, everything remains the same, but I want to highlight the newly acquired T.J. Hockenson. If you’ve been starting him, I understand if you don’t have any other options because of players who are on a bye.
However, Washington has been tough against the position as they rank third in DVOE and have surrendered just one receiving touchdown to the position. We don’t know what his snap count will be, but I would view Hockenson as a touchdown-dependent TE2. However, I am bullish on his rest-of-season outlook.
As for the weather forecast report in Week 9 in Washington, we should expect highs around 77 with 7 mph winds and mostly cloudy skies with a 20% chance of rain.
Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3), O/U 42.5 | Sunday 4:25 p.m.
This was supposed to be the marquee game of the week when the schedule was created. Now, it’s a game with two quarterbacks who look like they have massively regressed, offenses with no identity, and somehow has the second-lowest game total of the week at 42.5.
Both Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford are QB2s at this point. Stafford is the QB30 in points per game at 11.9, and Brady is tied for 19th at 15.3. Both of these defenses are difficult to move the ball through via the air, and I’d stay away from both quarterbacks in fantasy.
Cooper Kupp looks good to go for Sunday after full participation on Friday, and even if we get word that he is on a snap count, it doesn’t matter. You’re starting him no matter what.
MORE: Week 9 QB Rankings
Both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are in the low-end WR1/high-end WR2 category as, barring injury, they are too talented ever to bench. The same goes for Leonard Fournette, who is the RB9 in points per game.
Fournette is also eighth in red zone touches while averaging 16.6 touches and 75.6 total yards per game. He’s not exactly looking like Lombardi Lenny at the moment, but he remains a volume-based RB1.
The same cannot be said for Darrell Henderson, who was out-snapped by Ronnie Rivers last week (40% to 25%) and rushed the ball just four times for 16 yards while adding two catches for additional 14 yards against the 49ers.
Although the Buccaneers are no longer the run-stuffing defense to avoid, the backfield split between himself, Rivers, and Malcolm Brown leaves Henderson as someone I would hopefully try to avoid starting in Week 9 for fantasy.
The Week 9 weather report should be pleasant in Tampa, with temps around 89, 7 mph winds, and mostly sunny skies.
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs (-12.5), O/U 45.5 | Sunday 8:20 p.m.
Although prime-time games have been hit-and-miss this year, we should have a good one on Sunday night as the Titans battle the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium. It’s also the game where I broke down some of my favorite Underdog Pick’em plays.
While I mentioned players who should have good games, like Patrick Mahomes, Derrick Henry, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Travis Kelce, we can’t forget about the recently acquired Kadarius Toney.
Now I do want to say I don’t expect him to see a full workload or that you should instantly fire him into your lineups, but Toney is expected to make his debut for the Chiefs after practicing with the team this week following their bye.
The upside for Tonye is genuinely sky-high, as the Chiefs were able to cash in on the Giants’ frustrations with their former first-round pick. Smith-Schuster has been rolling, with back-to-back 100-yard games, but there’s a chance in a couple of weeks that Toney now has the favor of Mahomes. I wouldn’t write it off just yet.
If, by any chance, he is still sitting around on your waiver wire, make sure to add him before the Sunday night games, even if to stash Toney and see what happens. This could become something truly lethal for fantasy.
Expect 52-degree temperatures, 6 mph winds, and clear skies in Kansas City for Week 9.
Indoor Games in Week 9
Because these NFL games are indoors, the weather conditions can be controlled. As such, the only forecast and reports are that it will be optimal playing conditions for these teams. The passing and kicking games will not be affected.
- Green Bay Packers (-4.5) at Detroit Lions
O/U 49.5 | Sunday 1 p.m. - Los Angeles Chargers (-3) at Atlanta Falcons
O/U 49.5 | Sunday 1 p.m. - Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals (-1.5)
O/U 48.5 | Sunday 4:05 p.m. - Baltimore Ravens (-1.5) at New Orleans Saints
O/U 47.5 | Monday 8:15 p.m.