![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/Josh-Allen-Week-6-Top-10-Quarterback-Rankings-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHopefully, you survived the Week 8 “bye-mageddon” with minimal indigestion. For most fantasy football managers in single quarterback leagues, the task of replacing players like Matthew Stafford, Sam Darnold, Trevor Lawrence, and even Lamar Jackson wasn’t as stressful as it was at other positions like wide receiver. Most managers simply turned to their backup option, which in many cases was somebody like Jordan Love, Jackson Dart, or even Joe Flacco, and their team didn’t miss a beat. For those of you who play in Superflex or two-quarterback leagues, things were pretty sticky last week. There were many options available on waivers, with players like Michael Penix, Lamar Jackson, Bryce Young, and Jayden Daniels not being able to suit up. As it turned out, their absences created a veritable minefield littered with mediocrity and disappointment that had many owners wishing they had just played a kicker in the position instead. So, if you had to start somebody like Kirk Cousins, Spencer Rattler, or Andy Dalton last week, you have my condolences. None of those names has made their way to our top 10 quarterback rankings for Week 9, but let’s see who did.<\/p>\n
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Allen has been a fixture atop this list all season, and last week was the perfect reason why. The Bills<\/a> just throttled the Panthers<\/a> by a final score of 40-9 and were in control throughout the entire game. Most of the damage was done by James Cook, who ran for well over 200 yards and a score. In many cases, the Quarterback of the winning team would have to score his fantasy points via touchdown passes, and his yardage totals would be suppressed. While that did happen to Allen, he was able to put up an elite fantasy day thanks to two rushing touchdowns. The rushing contributions have been a bit spotty this year, as this was only the third game in which Allen has scored using his legs, but he has managed to make those games count, with 2 scores in 2 of those contests. This week will be a hotly contested matchup against the Chiefs<\/a>, and the Bills are going to need peak Josh Allen if they are going to win this game. When Allen is using both his arm and his legs to keep the Bills offense moving, we get games like he had in week 1 against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. He’s going to need to play for all 4 quarters in this game, and he should be one of the top scorers in all fantasy for the week.<\/p>\n If the Bills are going to need Allen, then it only makes sense that the Chiefs will need Mahomes to keep pace in what we are hoping will be another exciting shootout like we had in last year’s AFC Championship game. In that game, Mahomes threw for a modest 245 yards with 1 score but added 43 rushing yards and 2 scores on the ground. Considering that Mahomes has run more this year than in years past, that’s an encouraging sign for this matchup with Buffalo. When a quarterback can give you a baseline of 16+ fantasy points without even throwing a pass, you have the makings of an elite day. While I doubt that he replicates those point totals on the ground this weekend, it’s nice to know it’s possible, as we hope for him to extend his streak of throwing for 3+ touchdowns in a game to four weeks. Mahomes has also scored over 24 fantasy points for 5 straight weeks and has been north of 20 points in seven of the Chiefs’ eight games thus far this season. Welcome to the Twilight Zone. It’s the only explanation that can explain how Danny Dimes has made his way all the way up to a top 3 option in fantasy. Not only has he been elite, but he also isn’t running the ball much at all. Jones flirted with fantasy relevance as a Giant<\/a> back in 2022, finishing in the top 12 overall thanks to 708 yards and 7 scores on the ground. His passing stats from that season were 3205 yards, a grand total of 15 touchdowns through the air in 16 starts, for an average just north of 200 yards per game. This year, he has thrown for an average of almost 260 yards per game and already has 13 passing touchdowns in half as many games as 2022. The run game is there when he needs it, as he’s kicked in 4 rushing scores and an additional 86 yards, but he has been more of a traditional pocket passer for the most part. He has scored over 22 fantasy points in three straight weeks, and this week he gets a Steelers<\/a> secondary that is ranked at the bottom of the league against the pass. If the Steelers can manage to prevent Jonathan Taylor from scoring 3 rushing touchdowns again, there might be plenty of room for Jones to have an elite day similar to Jordan Love last week.<\/p>\n For more fantasy football lineup advice, check out our Week 9 Waiver Wire Recommendations<\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I fell for it last week, and he ended up not playing, but this time, I swear this dude is going to play. John Harbaugh played games with Jackson’s practice status last week to the point where the league had to get involved. In the end, it makes sense that he was held out with a short week coming, but it still didn’t lessen the sting of having to play another fantasy week without the most exciting player in the league. When Jackson does finally take the field on Thursday night, he will get to do so against a Miami<\/a> defense that played way over their head last week against the Falcons<\/a>. The hope here is that Miami is able to score enough points to keep Jackson banging away at them for at least 3 quarters; otherwise, we are going to be watching a lot of Derrick Henry in the second half against the Dolphins’ #28-ranked run defense. Jackson is a must-start when he’s healthy, but we have to temper our expectations for this matchup, where the Ravens<\/a> could win handily and Harbaugh may not be willing to push Lamar’s healing hamstring with many quarterback runs.<\/p>\n Here we go again with another elite quarterback and a guessing game as to whether or not he will play. Early reports are that he has made progress with his rehab and is practicing in preparation for this weekend’s matchup against Seattle<\/a>, so there is reason for optimism. If he plays, it may be without Terry McLaurin, who had to exit the Monday night game with a reaggravation of the quad injury that forced him to miss the previous four games. With or without McLaurin, Daniel should be able to put up numbers in a game script that should have the Commanders<\/a> playing from behind against a Seahawks defense that is ranked #1 in the league against the run. It will be a tough day for Bill Crosskey Merritt, so Washington will need to rely on Daniels and the passing game to keep pace. When Daniels missed time earlier this season with a knee strain, it didn’t affect his running game upon his return, and I would expect similar results when he returns from this hamstring injury. Running will remain a part of his game as he continues to develop as a passer, which keeps him as an elite fantasy option every week.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Maye has been a revelation this season, developing as a passer and using his legs to score fantasy points week in and week out. He has given his owners over 20 points in six of his eight games this season and has been over 23 in three straight games. He has also proven to be matchup-proof by putting up elite numbers against a tough defense like Cleveland<\/a> despite being sacked by Myles Garrett five times. Atlanta ranks as the top pass defense in the league right now, but they were just exposed a bit by Tua and the Dolphins this past weekend. This game should be a tight one, and Maye will need to put up a solid day for the Patriots<\/a> to win. I expect Michael Penix and Drake London to return and for the Falcons to be very competitive this weekend. Maye will need to use his legs as well as all of his receivers to keep the ball moving this weekend and should be close to a top 5 option for fantasy.<\/p>\n I thought Williams was going to have a great day last week in Baltimore in what many expected to be a shootout with Lamar Jackson. Well, Lamar didn’t play, and the Bears didn’t seem to either. Williams did have a solid yardage total through the air with 285 yards, but failed to find the end zone and didn’t contribute much with his legs in what ended up being a rather pedestrian 12.8 fantasy points. I’m going back to the well this week with the Bears<\/a> offense, who will face a Bengals<\/a> team that stinks against both the run and the pass. Justin Feilds just picked them apart through the air last week, while Breece Hall ran and threw the ball all over the field against them. We do have to worry slightly that Joe Flacco may not play, but the Bears should come out firing this week either way to get back into the win column. I expect the Bears to score 30+ points, and Williams will have a hand in most of it.<\/p>\n Love and the Packers<\/a> lit up the Steelers’ secondary in week 8 with 360 yards and 3 scores through the air. He welcomed back Christian Watson last week and may be getting Jayden Reed to join an already crowded receiver room this coming Sunday for their game against the Panthers. Love has a ton of weapons, and it looks like Josh Jacobs may be slowing down a bit with Emanuel Wilson taking a healthy portion of the rushing attempts last week, so the Packers may soon become a fantasy wasteland aside from their QB. Love may end up being a poor man’s Patrick Mahomes from here on out if coach LaFleur realizes that they can just crush teams every week by lighting up the scoreboard with their passing game. There is a bit of a chance that they crush Carolina, and it becomes a run-heavy attack in the second half, but play Love this week for his first-half potential alone. If Reed plays, they will look to get him involved early, much the same way they did with Watson last week.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This year, Herbert has become the top-tier option at quarterback that we hoped he would be back when he broke into the league in 2020, where he averaged almost 4,700 yards and over 30 touchdowns per year in his first three seasons. Maybe it’s partly due to being reunited with Keenan Allen, but the largest factor has been the fact that he’s become a running quarterback. His career high prior to 2025 was the 306 yards he rushed for last year, and this year he has already run for 248. If he can continue to average 35 yards per game on the ground, he will set a new career high by next week and will end up with almost double his previous career best total. The Titans<\/a> don’t exactly present the type of matchup that screams “we need everything Justin can give us”, but he should be able to pile up numbers early on in the game. Look for a total similar to what he gave us in Week 6 against Miami, which doesn’t bode well for his rushing upside but will still land him in the top 10 for the week.<\/p>\n Dart lost his best buddy last week when Cam Skattebo suffered a gruesome ankle injury. While that won’t help the Giants offense, it should put more of an onus on the passing game to stay competitive. Dart scored a rushing touchdown for the 3rd straight game and for the 4th time overall in 5 starts, so he’s worked his way into the conversation as an every-week starter. This week he gets a San Francisco<\/a> defense that just allowed C.J. Stroud to throw for over 300 yards and two scores without his best two offensive weapons. Let’s see if Jaxson and his ragtag bunch of pass catchers can replicate that feat. His legs give him a solid baseline to flirt with 20 fantasy points every week. Start him if you have him.<\/p>\n2) Patrick Mahomes vs. Bills<\/h3>\n
![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25275381-scaled-e1752607279248-1024x577.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n3) Daniel Jones vs. Steelers<\/h3>\n
![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27309792_168419650_lowres-1024x657.jpg\")
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\n4) Lamar Jackson vs. Dolphins<\/h3>\n
![\"fantasy](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/08\/fantasy-football-quarterback-rankings-1024x662.jpg\")
5) Jayden Daniels vs. Seahawks<\/h3>\n
![\"fantasy](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/Jayden-Daniels-Fantasy-Football-1024x682.jpg\")
6) Drake Maye vs. Falcons<\/h3>\n
![\"Drake](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27369595-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n7) Caleb Williams vs. Bengals<\/h3>\n
![\"fantasy](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/10\/USATSI_24482654_168400545_lowres-1024x683.jpg\")
8) Jordan Love vs. Panthers<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/10\/USATSI_24543567-1024x683.jpg\")
9) Justin Herbert vs. Titans<\/h3>\n
![\"Justin](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27262375_168419650_lowres-1024x682.jpg\")
10) Jaxson Dart vs. 49ers<\/h3>\n
![\"Jaxson](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/Jaxson-Dart-Fantasy-Football-Waiver-Wire-1024x683.jpg\")
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