Week 9 QB Rankings: Trust Kyler Murray In His Return To Action

It's Week 9.

We're almost to the halfway point of the NFL regular season, and fantasy campaigns are closer to the end than the beginning.

When games kick off this Sunday, we'll be in the month of November.

November.

Unreal.

I know I say this every year, but it increasingly feels true: Time doesn't fly—it dies.

This game of ours, this fantastical amusement of absurdity, is an affair of attrition.

Sometimes, survival is sufficient.

Let's get into the Week 9 QB edition of Freedman's Favorites, where I highlight guys I'm upgrading because of …

Favorable betting factors and situational spots
Advantageous defensive matchups (perhaps aided by injury)
Increased usage expectations (again, maybe aided by injury)

For process notes regarding this series, my Week 9 fantasy rankings, and my weekly projections, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my favorite Week 9 fantasy football plays.

Access our full rankings and projections with a FREE FantasyLife+ subscription when you download and install Comet, an awesome AI-powered web browser via Perplexity. Get Comet AND FantasyLife+ for free. Win. Win. Win.

Week 9 Quarterback Rankings

RANK	QB	Team	Opponent
1	Lamar Jackson	BAL	MIA
2	Josh Allen	BUF	KC
3	Patrick Mahomes	KC	BUF
4	Justin Herbert	LAC	TEN
5	Kyler Murray	ARI	DAL
6	Drake Maye	NE	ATL
7	Jaxson Dart	NYG	SF
8	Daniel Jones	IND	PIT
9	Caleb Williams	CHI	CIN
10	Dak Prescott	DAL	ARI
11	Jayden Daniels	WAS	SEA
12	Jordan Love	GB	CAR

Kyler Murray Gets the Flowchart Matchup in Week 9

I assume that QB Kyler Murray (foot) will be active for the Cardinals this week.

He has missed the past two games, but he at least got in a full week of limited practices before sitting with a questionable tag in Week 7, which (in my mind) makes him likely to suit up out of the Week 8 bye.

And what a matchup he has for his return to action.

To make my life simpler, I've created this flowchart.

Question: Is this QB playing the Cowboys this week?
Answer 1: Yes → Action: Aggressively move him up the ranks.
Answer 2: No → Action: Carry on with my life.

This week, Murray gets the flowchart matchup against the Cowboys, who are No. 1 in most fantasy points allowed to QBs (25.4).

As I say every time I write this article: This year, the Cowboys have made bad QBs look good, good QBs look great, and great QBs look elite (per our Fantasy Life Scoring Matrix).

Jalen Hurts (Week 1): 24.3 points | 152 yards passing | 14-62-2 rushing
Russell Wilson (Week 2): 31.3 points | 450 yards, 3 TDs passing | 3-23-0 rushing
Caleb Williams (Week 3): 29.1 points | 298 yards, 4 TDs passing | 5-12-0 rushing
Jordan Love (Week 4): 26.3 points | 337 yards, 3 TDs passing | 3-28-0 rushing
Justin Fields (Week 5): 25.9 points | 282 yards, 2 TDs passing | 7-26-0 rushing
Bryce Young (Week 6): 19.5 points | 199 yards, 3 TDs passing | 3-5-0 rushing
Jayden Daniels & Marcus Mariota (Week 7): 22.6 points | 219 yards, 1 TD passing | 10-69-1 rushing
Bo Nix (Week 8): 24.8 points | 247 yards, 4 TDs passing

I acknowledge that Murray has underwhelmed this year. It has been the worst statistical passing performance of his career (5.9 AY/A).

But at least he has supplemented his throwing with a floor-establishing 29-173-1 rushing in five games.

And against the Cowboys, I'm not concerned with dudes completing passes: This defense is beyond beat up in the secondary.

At CB, the Cowboys are without their No. 1 perimeter player and a couple of backups.

CB Trevon Diggs (concussion, IR)
CB Shavon Revel (knee, NFI)
CB Josh Butler (knee, PUP)

At S, they might be without their three top players and a backup.

Malik Hooker (toe, IR)
Donovan Wilson (elbow, shoulder)
Juanyeh Thomas (migraine)
Alijah Clark (ribs)

This is a full-on cluster situation.

And I'm not dissuaded at all by the fact that the Cardinals are three-point road dogs. Throughout his career, Murray has consistently crushed as a road dog (per Action Network).

Against the Spread: 27-7-2 | +5.82 Margin | 43.4% ROI
Moneyline: 15-16 | +0.42 Margin | 49.9% ROI

And outside of division, those numbers have gotten only better.

Against the Spread: 16-4 | +7.48 Margin | 54.4% ROI
Moneyline: 11-9 | +2.00 Margin | 61.3% ROI

If Murray happens to be unavailable for the game, then I'll view backup Jacoby Brissett as a viable streaming option, even in Guillotine Leagues™.

Joe Flacco is Once Again a Streamer in Week 9

I've done some disgusting stuff in my life. Some truly despicable deeds.

Stuff I'd get fired for if I ever disclosed to a coworker.

But the most abominable act I've ever committed is highlighting 40-year-old Joe Flacco in back-to-back weeks in this piece.

Loathsome.

But since joining the Bengals via trade a few weeks ago, he has been … dare I say … good???

In three games with the team, he has 784 yards and seven TDs passing (to no INTs) with a 64.3% completion rate and 7.3 AY/A. And he has even contributed as a runner with 7-17-1 rushing.

Is this sustainable?

Maybe. It helps that he has stud WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, whom he has heavily relied on (74 targets).

Also, it helps that the Bengals since Week 6 have thrown the ball a lot and played quickly (per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report).

Dropback Rate Over Expected: 5% (No. 3)
Plays per Minute: 2.2 (No. 3)

At some point, Flacco will regress … but I don't see why that should happen against the Bears, who are No. 29 in defensive dropback SR (51.9%, per RBs Don't Matter).

Additionally, the Bears are without two starting CBs—Jaylon Johnson (groin, IR) and Kyler Gordon (groin, IR)—and they also might lack No. 3 CB Tyrique Stevenson (shoulder), who exited Week 7 early and missed Week 8.

Last week, the Bears allowed backup QB Tyler Huntley to rack up a 77.3% completion rate and 9.4 AY/A in a 30-16 win. Now the Bears are playing their second straight road game and third in four weeks.

Flacco might not be an above-average NFL QB … but he's probably better than Huntley. He's the Week 9 go-to streamer.

And as 2.5-point home dogs, the Bengals are a four-star bet in our Fantasy Life Game Models.

The Dropback

Justin Herbert (Chargers) at Titans: Herbert leads the NFL with 267.5 yards passing per game, and he has three extra days coming off Thursday Night Football. The Titans are No. 29 in defensive dropback EPA (0.225), and their secondary has been ravaged: No. 1 CB L'Jarius Sneed (quad, IR) is out, his backup—CB Darrell Baker (head)—exited Week 8 early, and the team just traded away slot CB Roger McCreary.

Caleb Williams (Bears) at Bengals: Williams has disappointed since the Week 5 bye (6.9 AY/A, just 11-20-1 rushing in three games), but he's in a get-right spot against the Bengals, who are No. 32 in defensive pass DVOA (39.8%, per FTN). And their defense could be even worse this week with EDGEs Trey Hendrickson (hip) and Cam Sample (knee) dealing with injuries.

Brock Purdy (49ers) at Giants: With two full weeks of limited practice, Purdy seems likely (to me) to return to action against the Giants, who could be without three starters in the secondary in CBs Cor'Dale Flott (concussion) and Paulson Adebo (knee) and FS Jevon Holland (knee). If Purdy is out once again, backup Mac Jones will be a fine streaming option.

Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins) vs. Ravens: Tagovailoa had his best game of the season last week (205 yards, four TDs passing), and the Ravens are No. 3 in most fantasy points allowed to QBs (21.3). For his career, Tagovailoa at home is 23-13 ATS (21.7% ROI).

Notes For My Week 9 QB Rankings

Byes: This week, the Browns, Jets, Eagles, and Buccaneers are on bye.

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings and projections. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings and projections schedule.

Tue AM: Publish rankings and projections
Thu AM: Refresh rankings and projections
Thu PM: Make necessary TNF rankings changes
Sat PM: Update rankings and projections
Sun AM: Revise rankings
Sun PM: Finalize rankings based on news prior to 1 pm ET kickoff

Accuracy: I'm a six-time top-20 ranker in accuracy and a long-time profitable player prop better.

Scoring: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated.

Cohesion: My positional breakdowns are published separately, but I think of them as comprising one whole, so check out the rest of my favorite Week 5 fantasy football plays (via my Fantasy Life author page).

Abbreviations: Here are some abbreviations I might have used in the piece.

Fantasy Points per Game (FPPG)
Against the Spread (ATS)
Over/Under (O/U)
Team Total (TT)
Moneyline (ML)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A)
Expected Points Added (EPA)
Success Rate (SR)
Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE)
Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA)
AirYAC (Air Yards + Yards After Catch)
Weighted Opportunity Rating (WOPR)
Average Depth of Target (aDOT)
Short Down and Distance (SDD)
Long Down and Distance (LDD)