Team of the Week
QB: C.J. Stroud, HOU
Stroud absolutely lit it up in Week 9—completing 30-of-42 passes for 470 yards and five touchdowns to defeat the Bucs in a 39-37 shootout. The numbers had declined some in recent weeks, but Stroud and the Texans clearly knew how to attack Todd Bowles’ defense, and the 41.8 fantasy points will end up as one of the season’s highest scores.
RB: Rachaad White, HOU
On the other side of the Buccaneers-Texans matchup, White was treated as the workhorse for Tampa Bay with 24 touches for 119 yards and two touchdowns on his way to a career day. The second-year back is firmly a rest-of-season RB2 option, especially after both of his scores in Week 9 came at the goal line.
RB: Josh Jacobs, LV
Jacobs also had a two-touchdown performance yesterday, as Las Vegas fed him 26 carries for 98 yards in a decisive win over the Giants. At 4-5, the Raiders are right in the mix for a wild card spot—despite firing Josh McDaniels—and should continue to feed Jacobs for as long as that remains the case.
WR: Tank Dell, HOU
A Texans trio makes up the pass-catching options for the Team of the Week, and Dell led the way by catching six passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns—with the capper being the 15-yard game-winning score. After a few quiet weeks, Dell is back to being a high-upside FLEX play.
WR: Noah Brown, HOU
Brown only needed six targets to go off in the high-scoring win yesterday, as he caught them all for 153 yards and a touchdown (a 75-yarder early in the second half). It’ll be interesting to see how the snaps are divided when Robert Woods (foot) is back, but Brown has taken advantage of the increased playing time.
TE: Dalton Schultz, HOU
Finally, Schultz absorbed ten-of-11 targets for 130 yards and a touchdown as the other big-time part of Houston’s passing attack in Week 9—leading all tight ends with 22.0 fantasy points. It was a strong day for the position with six players going for 18.5+ fantasy points, and it came without Travis Kelce (2.9) making an impact.
FLEX: CeeDee Lamb, DAL
Losing a fumble on the final play in a great effort to reach the end zone wasn’t the finish fantasy owners would have liked, but Lamb was phenomenal all evening in the loss to Philadelphia—catching 11 passes for 191 yards. Overall, the Eagles had no answers for Lamb, and he’s suddenly a top-five fantasy wideout on the year despite a modest start and already having his bye.
D/ST: Colts
Indianapolis hadn’t been very good defensively in recent weeks, so they went a bit overlooked as a potential streaming option against Carolina. For those who rolled with them, though, the Colts put up 27.0 fantasy points powered by two pick-sixes by Kenny Moore II.
K: Younghoe Koo, ATL
Koo has been one of the best kickers in football over the past few years, and he nailed all four of his field goals in Week 9—including two from 50+ yards. With fantasy-point totals of 13.0, 12.0, and 19.0 in his last three outings, Kook will be an elite option next week in Arizona.
Surprise of the Week: Keaton Mitchell
The dominance of C.J. Stroud prevents Mitchell from having a shot at Rookie of the Week, but he deserves mentioning after rushing nine times for 138 yards and a touchdown in his first extensive NFL action. The speedy rookie is worth picking up in all leagues.
Disappointment of the Week: George Pickens
There were plenty of low scores from starting-caliber options this week, but Pickens catching two passes for negative-one yard makes him the choice here. Making the situation more frustrating is that Pickens failed to get a second foot down (with plenty of room to work) on a would-be touchdown, and his frustration has seemed to grow just as Diontae Johnson has returned to the lineup and produced.
Rookie of the Week: C.J. Stroud
Stroud essentially sweeps the award selections for Week 9, and his 470 passing yards set a new rookie record, while the five passing touchdowns tied the record. Cincinnati might be a tough test next time out, but Stroud is up to a college-like 14:1 touchdown-interception ratio while showing a willingness to push the ball downfield.
Week 9 MVP: C.J. Stroud
The “book” being out on Stroud with three modest performances in a row clearly isn’t the case, and Houston bounced back in a big way from Week 8 when the passing attack was held to 140 yards and 13 points in a loss to Carolina. After a trip to Cincinnati in Week 10, the Texans get two home matchups (v ARI, v JAX) to close out November.