College football has adopted the idea of "Separation Saturday." When a week features multiple highly ranked teams, we enter knowing the playoff picture will look dramatically different after the week.
Week 9 shapes up as the NFL’s equivalent.
Kansas City at Buffalo needs no further introduction as a significant matchup.
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh and Denver at Houston hold significant weight.
The six AFC contenders in these games are all ranked in the Top 9 of the current projected playoff field. The winners will have a leg up in tiebreaker situations when the playoff picture crystallizes. The losers will be hit with a barrage of questions.
We can write the headlines before these games. “Buffalo shows it can not get past Kansas City and is no longer the team to beat in the AFC East.” “Kansas City shows early-season struggles continue.” “Indianapolis is not for real after losing to a playoff team.” “Pittsburgh fumbles the opportunity to build a huge AFC North lead as Lamar Jackson returns in Week 9.” “Denver fails to build the lead in the AFC West and now sits tied with the Chiefs.”
Week 9 represents a significant shift in the schedule. Fantasy trade deadlines are here. League playoff pictures have established themselves. The trade deadline is Tuesday, and there has been a flood of rumors.
Separation will occur.
Thirteen games stand on the schedule, time to touch them all.
Number Watch
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle - 120 Receiving Yards
Smith-Njigba has hit 120 receiving yards in three straight games, tying a huge group at the 11th-longest streak. The list narrows quickly, as only AJ Brown (6 games) and Calvin Johnson (5) have gone past four games.
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis - 63 Rushing Touchdowns - Edgerrin James 64 Colts Franchise Record
Taylor’s next rushing touchdown will bring him into a tie with James for the most in franchise history. Marvin Harrison Jr. holds the record for most touchdowns from scrimmage for the team, at 128. With 70, Taylor is in fifth place, five behind James.
Taylor needs 137 rushing yards to hit 6,000 in his career.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City - 1 Touchdown
Kelce’s next touchdown will break a tie for the most scrimmage touchdowns in Chiefs team history. He is the franchise’s leader in every reception category. He needs 96 yards to catch Art Monk for 24th on the career receiving yardage leaderboard. Kelce is 12th on the career receptions list and could climb as high as Terrell Owens at 8th with 37 receptions over the remainder of the season, needing to average just over four receptions per game.
Davante Adams, LA Rams - 12 Receptions, 76 Receiving Yards, 2 Receiving Touchdowns
Adams needs 12 catches to hit 1,000 in his career, becoming the 17th player in NFL history to cross that threshold. He is currently 29th in the career receiving yards list at 12,275, but can quickly climb as Jimmy Smith (12,287), Antonio Brown (12,291), and Brandon Marshall (12,351) are all within 76 yards. Adams (109) needs two more receiving touchdowns to tie Tony Gonzales for 8th on the career list (111). Antonio Gates is next, with 116. His next touchdown will break a tie with Barry Sanders for sole possession of 20th on the career scrimmage touchdown leaderboard.
Stefon Diggs, New England - 1 Reception, 39 Receiving Yards
Diggs' next reception will hit 900, becoming the 29th player to hit the mark. He is four behind Wes Welker on the career list. Diggs is 39 yards from becoming the 44th player to hit the 11,000-yard threshold.
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco - 20 Receptions
McCaffrey is in a countdown to become the fifth back with 600 career receptions. Alvin Kamara hit the mark in Week 8. With 580 career receptions, he can quickly jump from eighth to fifth, with Ronnie Harmon (582), Tiki Barber (586), and Marcus Allen (587) ahead.
With 123 rushing yards, McCaffrey will cross the 6,000-yard threshold.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans - 91 Receiving Yards
McCaffrey joined the exclusive 5,000-5,000 club in Week 8. Kamara needs 91 yards to become the fifth player in that group. He needs two receiving yards to catch Roger Craig for 8th on the career running back receiving yardage leaderboard.
Josh Allen, Buffalo - 5 Rushing Touchdowns
Allen needs five rushing touchdowns to tie Cam Newton for the most by a quarterback in NFL history. Six more passing yards will give him 28,000 in his career.
Matthew Stafford, LA Rams - 6 Passing Touchdowns
Stafford needs six more passing touchdowns for 400 in his career. At 394, he is in ninth place, with Ben Roethlisberger (418), Dan Marion (420), and Philip Rivers (421) sitting in the next three places.
Revenge!
We are back! No, Immaculate Grid has not sponsored us yet, but hope remains. Who is playing for a little extra this week?
- TE T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota vs. Detroit
- WR Mack Hollins, New England vs. Atlanta
- TE Austin Hooper, New England vs. Atlanta
- WR Brandin Cooks, New Orleans vs. LA Rams
- QB Tyler Huntley, Baltimore vs. Miami, Won 28-6, No stats
- TE Darren Waller, Miami vs. Baltimore (on IR), Lost 28-6
Last Week
- QB Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay, Lost 35-25, 24/36, 219-2-0
- RB Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia vs. NY Giants, Won 38-20, 14-150-1 / 4-24-1
- RB Javonte Williams, Dallas vs. Denver, Lost 44-24, 13-41-2 / 1-8-0
- QB Joe Flacco, Cincinnati vs. NY Jets, Lost 39-38, 21/34, 223-2-0 / 2-14-1
- TE Tyler Conklin, LA Chargers vs. Minnesota, Won 37-10, no stats
- WR Curtis Samuel, Buffalo vs. Carolina, Won 40-9, 23 kick return yards
- WR Devin Duvernay, Chicago vs. Baltimore, Lost 30-16, 1-2-0, 96 kick return yards
- TE Austin Hooper, New England vs. Cleveland, Lost 32-13, 2-38-0
- LB Roquan Smith, Baltimore vs. Chicago, Won 30-16
DFS Plays
On the Footballguys DFS Show, Devin Knotts, Phil Alexander, and I broke down the main slate for Week 9.
Favorite Stacks:
- Devin: Cincinnati vs. Chicago, Total - 51.5
- QB Joe Flacco ($ 5,600), WR Ja'Marr Chase ($ 8,400)
- Bring Back: RB Kyle Monangai ($ 4,600)
- Phil: Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis, Total - 50.5
- QB Aaron Rodgers ($ 5,800), WR DK Metcalf ($ 5,500), RB Jaylen Warren ($ 5,500)
- Bring Back: RB Jonathan Taylor ($ 9,800)
- Jeff: Kansas City at Buffalo, Total - 52.5
- QB Patrick Mahomes II ($ 7,100), WR Rashee Rice ($ 7,600), TE Travis Kelce ($ 4,600)
- Bring Back: WR Khalil Shakir ($ 5,300)
Discount Plays:
- Devin: Cincinnati vs. Chicago, Total - 51.5
- WR Olamide Zaccheaus ($ 3,300)
- Phil: Jacksonville vs. Las Vegas, Total - 43.5
- WR Parker Washington ($ 3,700)
- Jeff: Houston vs. Denver, Total - 40.5
- TE Harrison Bryant ($ 2,500) - if Dalton Schultz is out.
For more Week 9 DFS, check out Footballguys Week 9 landing page and the full episode of the DFS Show!