Week 9 is in the books, bringing us to the midway point of the NFL’s regular season. With the fantasy football playoffs fast approaching, these are the 10 storylines from Sunday’s game you need to know.
1) Brock Bowers is so very back
If you didn’t draft Brock Bowers this year, congratulations. You stared down utter annihilation and annihilation blinked first. Bowers being hurt for the better part of the first two months of the year might be enough to keep his fantasy backers out of the playoffs more often than not. Bowers has been healthy for two games this year: a 5/103 line in Week 1 and a 12/127/3 line in Week 9. His 43.3 PPR points on Sunday are the most for any player in a game this year. Despite mixing in three injury-plagued starts between those games, Bowers still ranks second in yards per route run (2.33) and seventh in YAC per catch (6.1) among all tight ends. He holds PFF’s No. 1 receiving grade among tight ends and ranks second in both target and air yards share. Bowers is on track to be a top-five fantasy pick next year.
2) What to make of J.J. McCarthy’s start
The most divisive quarterback start of the year is seemingly McCarthy’s return to the lineup in Week 9. He completed 14-of-25 passes for 143 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. McCarthy was sacked six times and punched in a rushing touchdown. He made several impressive throws, particularly on back-shoulder targets outside of the sticks.
He missed several throws, too. But it's hard not to get excited about the upside when you see a guy do stuff like this, in career start No. 3, against one of the league's top teams.
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) November 3, 2025
J.J. McCarthy's best plays vs. Lions: pic.twitter.com/Kvl8M6Rj0N
The game also looked entirely too fast for him at times. This notably showed up in his pressure-to-sack rate, which clocked in at 35.7 percent. His 38.9 percent pressure-to-sack rate on the year leads the league by a wide margin. McCarthy has the third-highest turnover-worthy play rate on the year when pressured and he was charted with one more in Week 9. PFF also charted him with the third-lowest rate of accurate throws (45 percent) on the week. The ceiling is clearly there for McCarthy. He can make big throws and run. But the floor remains catastrophically low.
3) Anything happening with RJ Harvey?
On the surface level, Harvey appears to be making progress as a fantasy asset. He found the end zone through the air in Week 9 and finished with 16.6 PPR points (RB11). His three-touchdown performance in Week 8 resulted in 24.1 fantasy points (RB6). Digging deeper, he saw 28 percent of the team’s carries in Week 8—in line with his season-long average—and that rate fell to nine percent last week. The role appears to be unchanged. Reaching the Earth’s molten iron core of his role, there might be a slight change in Harvey’s usage. He set a season-high in route rate in Week 9 at 44 percent and earned a 15 percent target share, one point off another high-water mark. Sean Payton dialed up three screens for Harvey, all three of which were caught. No running back saw more designed targets in Week 9. Joker things are once again percolating for Harvey, even if his touch total is stagnating in the single digits.
4) Christian McCaffrey overtakes Jonathan Taylor
Taylor’s worst game of the year (7.7 PPR points) coincided with CMC’s second-best (34.3). McCaffrey logged 28 carries, the highest total of his career, tying a mark he set all the way back in 2018. He tied his career-high in targets earlier this year with 15 looks against the Cardinals in Week 2. Per PFF’s expected fantasy points model, McCaffrey is averaging 25.6 expected points per game and is producing almost exactly that number of actual fantasy points. CMC is five expected points per game clear of Ja’Marr Chase as the No. 2 FLEX player and over seven points clear of Taylor, the No. 2 running back. For my money, McCaffrey is the best bet to close out the year as the No. 1 overall fantasy player.
5) Rico Dowdle GOAT status
Dowdle has started three games this year. He is currently 15th in the NFL in carries per game (14.6) but stands at third in yards per game (81.7). Dave Canales gave up his dreams of a committee backfield in Week 9 by handing the ball to Dowdle 25 times. Chuba Hubbard only saw five attempts. Dowdle is up to second in the NFL in rush yards over expected per carry (1.34), fourth in yards after contact per carry (3.8), and second in success rate (50.4 percent). A player with a top-five efficiency profile now has the full buy-in of his coaching staff as a workhorse running back. How can I not call Dowdle an RB1—possibly a top-half RB1—for the rest of the season?
6) Rome Odunze goose egg
Odunze hit rock bottom in Week 9 with zero fantasy points on three targets. He logged a measly five percent target share at a 16 aDOT. The stat line is emblematic of a subtle shift in his role over the past month. He began the season with an aDOT of 13.1 while averaging .23 targets per route. Ben Johnson dialed up 11 screens for him in September. He saw 29 percent of the team’s screen targets during that stretch. Odunze was a chain mover who also got designed work. It was the perfect mix of looks for fantasy production. His well of schemed targets has since run dry. He has seven screen targets over his past four games, good for just 18 percent of the team’s screen looks. His aDOT, in turn, is up to 15.8 and his TPRR is down to .16. This is a structural change in the offense that has dropped Odunze from a weekly WR1 to a boom/bust WR2.
7) Marcus Mariota expectations
Jayden Daniels suffered a gruesome dislocated elbow in Week 9. The injury will sideline him for at least a few weeks. It looked like a season-ending injury, though he still has testing to undergo before we know his long-term status. With the Commanders’ season circling the drain, the team won’t be rushing him back at the end of a lost year. I’m expecting two months of Marcus Mariota to close out 2025. In three starts, Mariota has averaged 192 yards and 1.3 passing touchdowns. He also has one score on the ground. As sickening as it sounds, PFF has Mariota charted with an accurate throw rate 1.5 percent higher than Daniels. His CPOE of 2.5 percent also dwarfs Daniels’ mark of -1.2. What Mariota has made up for in accuracy, he has more than lost in overall efficiency. Daniels ranks 24th in EPA per play compared to 34th for his backup. Mariota will get the ball in the hands of Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz as often as needed over the next two months, but don’t expect much else from him or the Commanders’ offense.
8) Travis Etienne’s decline
As has been the case throughout his career, Etienne appears to be quickly wearing down after a stellar first month of the year.
Etienne has one carry of 15+ yards over the past month. He had five such carries in the first month of the year. This isn’t a new phenomenon either. Throughout his career, Etienne has a lower YPC, YAC per attempt, and explosive run rate after September. Etienne still dominated touches in Week 9, out-carrying Bhayshul Tuten 22-9. His declining efficiency, however, could be a reason for Liam Coen to give the rookie more work.
9) Should the Cardinals stick with Jacoby Brissett?
Yes.
Next question.
In all seriousness, this isn’t a close contest. Brissett is averaging 287 yards and two touchdowns per game. Kyler Murray is at 192 yards and 1.2 touchdowns. It goes beyond just the counting stats. Brissett currently ranks 15th in EPA per play compared to 20th for Murray. He also holds a higher PFF passing and overall grade. For the fantasy in bio-minded folks, Trey McBride has four receiving touchdowns in three Brissett starts. He has five receiving scores in 38 career games with Murray under center. Marvin Harrison Jr. recorded his first career seven-catch game in Brissett’s third start on Monday.
10) Kyle Monangai breakout out
Look, I know Monangai’s 176-yard outing came against a truly pathetic Bengals defense. Just let me dream a little. Monagai’s 118 yards after contact were more than D’Andre Swift has ever posted in a single game. The rookie is now running circles around Swift in all of the efficiency metrics.
| Breakaway Percent |
Monangai was already pushing Swift for work before the latter missed Week 9 with a groin injury. He had 20 carries over his previous two games to 30 for Swift. Monangai’s breakout could be enough to flip that carries split once Swift returns.
