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Eight weeks into the season, the pressure on fantasy managers is mounting.
Sure, it's great if a fantasy team is rolling along at 6-2 or 7-1. But for every fortunate soul for whom things have gone well in 2025, there are three who are 4-4 or worse. It doesn't really matter how those teams got there. Whether it was injuries, disappointing players, or a combo platter of the two, all that matters is that for those managers, the margin for error is either quickly evaporating or has vanished altogether.
They are Jack Bauer, and the timer on the bomb that will blow their season to smithereens is quickly winding down.
Not sure if that video is really relevant. Just enjoy Jack being Jack.
Those fantasy managers can't afford to be wrong on lineup calls. To put duds in the starting lineup or leave a bunch of points on the bench. Every bad call from here out can be the one that shoves a team over the edge and into Endsville. That makes every call all the more important—especially the close ones.
This column's aim is to help with those.
Every week here at Footballguys, Close Calls will make a case for a pair of closely-ranked fantasy options—and then make the call on which player will be more productive.
For the sake of this exercise, we'll only consider quarterbacks and tight ends outside the top 10, running backs outside the top 20, and wide receivers outside the top 30 in the Footballguys Weekly Rankings.
Week 9 Close Calls
Jared Goff, Detroit (QB14) vs. Bo Nix, Denver (QB17)
The Case for Goff: Goff is actually in a bit of a funk. The Lions are winning games, but Goff's last game pre-bye was his worst fantasy effort of the season. It also marked the fourth time in seven contests this season that Goff has failed to amass 15 fantasy points. He ranks outside the top-12 among quarterbacks in fantasy points and outside the top-15 in fantasy points per game.
Still, we're talking about an excellent NFL starter playing behind a stout offensive line who has weapons galore at his disposal. There's a reason why the Lions are eighth in the NFL in total offense and third in scoring.
The Case for Nix: The case for Nix can be summed up in two words—the last two weeks. Over that span, Nix has accounted for eight total touchdowns—six through the air and two on the ground. No quarterback in the NFL has more fantasy points over that admittedly short span.
A third straight gonzo week won't be easy to come by, however. The Texans are quietly playing lights-out defensively. Houston sits first in the NFL in total defense at 266.9 yards per game. Houston is fourth against the pass. And no team has allowed fewer fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this year.
The Verdict: Goff. Nix has been on an absolute rip of late, but the Texans' defense is no joke, and Denver is on the road. Detroit is fresh coming off the bye, playing at home, and facing a Minnesota Vikings defense that was destroyed by the Chargers in Los Angeles back in Week 7.
Close Call: J.K. Dobbins, Denver (RB25) vs. Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington (RB26)
The Case for Dobbins: Don't look now, but Dobbins is quietly third in the NFL in rushing with 634 yards—more than Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons, Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens, and Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers. He's on pace to flirt with 1,350 rushing yards in 2025.
However, there's a dark cloud or two among all that sunshine. Rookie RJ Harvey could see a bump in usage after his three-touchdown performance last week against the Dallas Cowboys. The Broncos also face a fifth-ranked Houston run defense that is surrendering just 88.4 yards per game on the ground.
The Case for Croskey-Merritt: As Derek Brown pointed out at Fantasy Pros, "Bill" has a Week 9 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks that isn't any better than Dobbins'. "Since Week 4," he said, "Seattle has limited the opposition to the fewest rushing yards per game and yards after contact per attempt, the seventh-lowest explosive run rate, and the fourth-lowest success rate."
The return of Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels should help open up some lanes for Croskey-Merritt in the zone-read game. If the Commanders can avoid a negative game script at home, Croskey-Merritt is a good bet for 15-20 touches, and when the carries have been there, "Bill" has shown why Washington made the seventh-round rookie their lead back.
The Verdict: Dobbins. To be clear, this writer doesn't love either of these plays—both backs have rotten matchups, and Croskey-Merritt has been in a funk the past few weeks. That funk is the deal-breaker. Dobbins averaged 7.4 yards per carry last week, and his odds of a positive game script are much better.
