Happy halfway(ish) point of the 2019 NFL Season! There’s been some expected results (the Jets and Giants are terrible, the Saints and Patriots are good) and some unexpected results (The 49ers are undefeated and the Falcons are dreadful).

The same can be said for Fantasy Football. Let’s get to some Week 9 Hot Plays and Hesitations.

Week 9 Fantasy Football Hot Plays And Hesitations

Quarterbacks

Hot Plays

Matthew Stafford, Lions (@ Raiders)

Quietly the QB9 entering Week 9, Stafford has been hot lately. Over his last two games, he’s passed for 706 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Since Week 4, he’s passed for 265 yards or more in all four games and has thrown at least three passing touchdowns in three of them.

In Week 9, Stafford takes on a porous Oakland pass defense that has allowed 285.3 passing yards per game (third-most), 19 passing touchdowns (tied for second-most) and has just three interceptions on the season (tied for second-fewest). Pick him up and play him with confidence this week.

Josh Allen, Bills (Vs. Redskins)

Allen has disappointed to a degree this year considering his lofty preseason expectations. He has, however, been one of the more reliable options at the position. Aside from a Week 4 drubbing by the New England Patriots, Allen has scored at least 16 fantasy points in every game. He also averages about 7.5 carries per game, which only adds to his value. Washington is allowing opposing Quarterbacks to complete 72.7% of their passes (second-highest). They have also allowed 14 passing touchdowns (tied for fifth-most).

The Bills will be looking to bounce back at home against a bad Redskins team. I think Allen has a big game in this one, so strongly consider starting him.

Dak Prescott, Cowboys (@ Giants)

Dak has cooled off a little bit since his scorching hot start to the season. In his last four games, he’s only passed for multiple touchdowns once. In that game, he also threw three interceptions. Prescott has been helped by rushing scores in each of his last two games. Otherwise, the overall numbers haven’t been too inspiring lately.

However, in Week 9, Dak gets to face a Giants squad that he torched for 405 yards and four touchdowns in Week 1. Though the game is in New Jersey and the Giants just traded for Leonard Williams, this game should create a high floor and a high ceiling for Prescott. The Giants have allowed 264.4 passing yards per game (eighth-most), 13 passing touchdowns (tied for sixth-most) and a 70.2% completion rate to opposing Quarterbacks (fourth-worst). Start Dak this week.

Hesitations

Kyler Murray, Cardinals (Vs. 49ers)

Kyler Murray has had a solid inaugural season so far. Before a rough two week stretch against the Giants and Saints in Weeks 7-8, Murray averaged 21.1 Fantasy Points per game. He enters Week 9 as the QB8 on the season.

Unfortunately, his reward is hosting the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense on a short week. The 49ers are 8-0 and are allowing an average of 128.7 passing yards per game (tops in the NFL). They’ve given up just five passing touchdowns (tied for second-fewest) and have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete just 54.5% of their passes (second-lowest). Murray has shown an ability to run effectively (51 carries for 279 yards and two touchdowns), which further adds to his value. However, the 49ers have allowed two rushing scores all year (second-fewest).

It’s a short week and a terrible matchup. Don’t start the young rookie.

Lamar Jackson, Ravens (Vs. Patriots)

It may sound ridiculous to suggest benching the QB1 in Fantasy through half of the season. And, it is ridiculous if you have no other options and are in a deep league, where your backup options include Ryan Fitzpatrick and Dwayne Haskins Jr.

However, if you have viable alternatives, strongly consider them. I am a Jackson fan and am not trying to rain on his parade. But what stellar defenses has he torched this year? He had 330 total yards of offense and five touchdowns against Miami in Week 1. He had 392 total yards of offense and two touchdowns against Arizona in Week 2. 313 total yards and one touchdown against Kansas City. 313 yards with three touchdowns (and two interceptions) against Cleveland. 231 yards and one touchdown (with three interceptions) against Pittsburgh. 388 yards and a touchdown against Cincinnati. Finally, 259 yards with one touchdown against Seattle.

The Patriots have allowed 148.8 passing yards per game (second-fewest) and only two passing touchdowns. Two! They’re allowing a league-best 52.4% completion percentage among opposing Quarterbacks. New England’s 19 interceptions and 31 sacks both lead the league.

Jackson also does much of his damage on the ground, but the Patriots have allowed only 85.2 rushing yards per game (fourth-fewest) and two rushing touchdowns (tied for second-fewest).

To be sure, the Patriots haven’t played many (if any) elite offenses. But that defense is legit. You’re not necessarily benching him. But, if you have another reliable option, strongly consider it.

Carson Wentz, Eagles (Vs. Bears)

The vaunted Chicago defense has not been nearly as good as last year. However, that doesn’t mean I like Wentz in this matchup. The Bears are still allowing an average of 230.6 passing yards per game (top-10) despite a schedule that has featured the Packers, Vikings, and Saints. Chicago has only allowed seven passing touchdowns (tied for fourth-fewest).

I’m not necessarily saying to bench Wentz. Again, if there are better options out there, consider starting them. There are a number of outstanding matchups for Quarterbacks this week, so admittedly, this one is a bit borderline.

Running Backs

Hot Plays

The Jets are a dysfunctional mess right now and it’s entirely possible that they lose this game to an even worse Dolphins team. However, you have to figure that Bell will be more involved than in Week 8. In a loss against the Jaguars, the former Steeler was given nine carries. Sam Darnold is slightly banged up, so the Jets may try to lean heavily on Bell in this one.

It also doesn’t hurt that Miami has given up 160.4 rushing yards per game (second-worst), eight rushing scores (tied for fourth-most) and 4.8 yards per carry (tied for fourth-most). Bell is an outstanding receiving back, and the Dolphins ain’t too good against the pass either. Bell should vault his way back into fantasy relevancy in this one.

Derrick Henry, Titans (@ Panthers)

Yes, this one may seem obvious but consider the fact that Henry has reached the 100-yard plateau once in eight games this year. He’s averaging 3.8 yards per carry (37th in the NFL), offers essentially nothing in the passing game and has scored 14+ points in PPR formats just three times this year.

While Carolina’s pass defense and pass rush has been much improved this year, their run defense leaves something to be desired. The Panthers have allowed 5.0 yards per carry (second-most in the NFL), 135.1 rushing yards per game (sixth-worst) and 12 rushing scores (most in the league). They’re struggling mightily and I expect Henry to feast on them this week.

Austin Ekeler, Chargers (Vs. Packers)

Despite the return of Melvin Gordon, Ekeler still ranks as the RB4 heading into Week 9. He’s lost most of his workload on the ground (only 16 carries over his last four games), but has maintained elite production due to his emergence as an important receiving option for the Chargers. In that same span, he’s totaled 27 catches for 237 yards and two touchdowns. On the year, he leads all Running Backs with catches (51) and receiving yards (507).

In Week 9, he takes on a Green Bay squad that, while outstanding, hasn’t been great against opposing backs. The Packers are allowing over 27 fantasy points per game to opposing Running Backs. They have allowed 123.8 rushing yards per game (ninth-most), 4.8 yards per carry (tied for fourth-most) and eight rushing scores (tied for fourth-most). Don’t start Ekeler as your RB1, but you should be good to slot him in as an RB2/3 or even better, as your Flex.

Hesitations

Chris Carson, Seahawks (Vs. Bucs)

***Disclaimer: I am not saying to bench Carson this week! The volume is too consistently great for that. What I am saying, is to be reasonable in your expectations and look for other options if you have them. Why?

Tampa stinks, but their run defense has actually been quietly outstanding. They’ve allowed 68.6 rushing yards per game (best in the NFL, nobody else is within 15 yards of that), 3.0 yards per carry (again, best in the NFL) and six rushing scores (tied for sixth-fewest). They’ve done this while having to face Christian McCaffrey (twice), Alvin Kamara, Todd Gurley, and Derrick Henry.

Carson is averaging just shy of 20 carries per game, though he only has three rushing scores on the year. If you can, downgrade him to a Flex in this one.

Patrick Mahomes should miss Week 9’s tilt against Minnesota, giving the start to Matt Moore. Regardless of who is behind center, neither member of Kansas City’s backfield should be trusted in this one. Neither has particularly excelled this season. McCoy is averaging just 8.6 rush attempts and 45.3 rushing yards per game, with two scores. Williams is averaging 8.0 attempts per game, 2.1 yards per carry and has scored twice.

The Vikings, meanwhile, have featured one of the NFL’s best run defenses this season. They’ve allowed 89.4 rushing yards per game (seventh fewest) and only one rushing score (fewest in the NFL). We don’t know how the volume split will go, we don’t know how Moore/a hobbled Mahomes will play, but we do know that the Vikings have an outstanding rush defense. Stay clear of these two.

Ty Johnson, Lions (@ Raiders)

Johnson was the darling of last week’s waiver wire, but fantasy owners were left feeling disappointed. In his first “start”, Johnson totaled seven carries for 25 yards. Tra Carson handled much of the workload in what was very much a committee approach.

Though the Raiders have a porous pass defense, the rush defense has been pretty solid in the first half of 2019. Oakland has surrendered 92.9 rushing yards per game (ninth-fewest), 3.7 yards per carry (tied for fourth-fewest) and five rushing touchdowns (tied for fifth-fewest).

If last week was any indication, it seems that the Lions may be content to try to win on the arm of Matthew Stafford. Either way, the 70.2% of ESPN owners who are rostering Johnson should be extremely leery of starting him. Don’t.