All 12 winners in yesterday's games now have better records than the team they beat. As always, let's walk through the most notable fantasy impact for each team:
Chiefs -- It might not seem like much, by Skyy Moore now has 3+ targets in seven of nine contests. He's angling to become Patrick Mahomes' #2 WR behind Rashee Rice. Ignore the lack of touchdowns. The 2022 second-round draft pick has more pop than we've seen.
Dolphins -- A few weeks ago I talked up Cedrick Wilson as a surprising "WR to watch." The 2022 bust was showing signs of life in a top-heavy offense. He's now scored in two straight and has 7+ fantasy points in four straight. Not bad for deep-leaguers.
Falcons -- A lot of people are talking about Tyler Allgeier out-touching Bijan Robinson. Keep in mind, Allgeier's averaging 3.2 yards per carry. Atlanta's seeking a balanced rushing attack. Robinson's stock couldn't get much lower. A great time to buy low.
Vikings -- Joshua Dobbs did it again, replacing an injured Jaren Hall to help lead Minnesota to an impressive victory without Justin Jefferson and, down the stretch, without K.J. Osborn and Cam Akers. Truly incredible. He'll almost certainly start next week -- though probably without Akers, who the team fears has suffered his second Achilles tear in two years. Obviously would be devastating for the 24-year-old RB. Fantasy-wise, I doubt the Vikes would roll exclusively with the inefficient Alexander Mattison, who's now a sell-high guy. I believe Ty Chandler or an impending signee will be paired with Mattison in Week 10.
Browns -- Jerome Ford out-touched Kareem Hunt 25-14. The bigger text will be next week in Baltimore. Volume matters, and Ford clearly is the RB to start over Hunt when both are healthy. But . . . this backfield remains somewhat fluid.
Cardinals -- The broken-down Cards must be agonizing about starting Kyler Murray when he's ready. Clayton Tune was thrown to the wolves, and it won't always be this rough. But it'll be interesting to see if Kyler plays out the season, or if at some point he's sidelined to prepare for 2024. With Dobbs gone, it could be disastrous for any manager banking on Arizona starters in the fantasy playoffs.
Packers -- Aaron Jones returned to his bellcow role. Whew. Didn't light it up, but volume is king, and he clearly got all he could handle. Those of you rostering both him and A.J. Dillon can finally bench Dillon with relative confidence if you have another 8+ point option.
Rams -- Warned against starting Rams players yesterday because I didn't trust Brett Rypien -- a 27-year-old with (I suppose) a heart of gold, but not the chops to elevate his fearsome WR duo. On a team like the Colts, RBs and WRs can remain playable (or better than "playable") when the starting QB goes down. That's not the case in L.A., and all eyes should be on Matthew Stafford's health.
Patriots -- For only the second time this season, Rhamondre Stevenson hit 4.0+ yards per carry. The hole he ran through on his 64-yard TD run was bigger than three side-by-side linebackers. But fair is fair, and we'll ignore that he mustered only 23 yards on his other eight carries against a sub-par run D. The big question is how the 2-7 Pats utilize Stevenson the rest of the season. If I had him, I'd sell high.
Commanders -- Curtis Samuel's injury has been a boon for Antonio Gibson, who's revived his fading fantasy value the last two weeks. He's also run quite well. I'm curious whether Washington will feed him more, even when the team returns to full strength.
Saints -- Writing this with all the pain of a manager who faced Taysom Hill yesterday. What an incredible fantasy asset: throwing a TD pass, catching a TD pass, and rushing 11 times for 52 yards. If you ask me a sit/start question about Hill for Week 10, I'll probably say something like "I can't justify betting against him."
Bears -- Who's Chicago's lead back? D'Onta Foreman. Finally some clarity. Or . . . Did Foreman get most of the carries because they're playing again on Thursday night? Be wary of a mostly rested Roschon Johnson and/or Darrynton Evans.
Ravens -- Keaton Mitchell dominated in a blowout win, and Justice Hill absorbed most of the garbage-time touches. I haven't taken Mitchell seriously. But his usage and performance can't be swept under the rug. And the fact that Hill kept getting carries up 37-3 late in the fourth quarter . . . that's interesting.
Seahawks -- Jaxon Smith-Njigba outplayed D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. First time he's done it when both veterans were active, and it probably won't be the last time.
Texans -- When a rookie QB throws for 470 yards and five touchdowns, that should be the big story. But I'm stubbornly sidestepping C.J. Stroud's outstanding game and instead zooming in on Devin Singletary. Houston's 4-4 and in the think of the playoff hunt. Yet they don't have a reliable running back. Don't be shocked if they sign someone in the coming days.
Buccaneers -- Cade Otton had 17 targets in his first five contests. He's seen 21 in his last three, including nine yesterday. In an offensive where no more than four skill players (so not including Baker Mayfield) are on fantasy radars each week, Otton is pushing for weekly startability, even if he doesn't find the end zone.
Panthers -- Each week I write about Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders, and it's worth writing about them again. Hubbard out-touched his counterpart 16-9. But . . . Sanders looked more spry. It's always tough betting an RB in a sub-par offense. It's even harder when the pecking order remains at least partially fluid.
Colts -- Keep an eye on Josh Downs' injury, as it could put more weight on Michael Pittman while also cutting into Gardner Minshew's ceiling.
Raiders -- Serious question: Is Davante Adams no longer startable? Spotty QB play isn't helping, and neither are the double-teams as defenses try to force the Raiders to beat them elsewhere. Still, it is what it is. Adams has averaged only 7.1 fantasy points in his last five games.
Giants -- Daniel Jones got hurt again, and the Giants' season is effectively over. Terrible news for managers rostering Saquon Barkley, who needs to finish this season healthy to get paid in 2024 and (hopefully) beyond. Start lining up DSTs for the coming weeks. No doubt, you or one of your opponents is salivating at the thought of starting Dallas next weekend. And get Washington's DST queued up for the following week.
Eagles -- A huge win to get a firmer hold on the NFC East title. But Dallas Goedert got hurt. Philly doesn't have a clear-cut backup, with Jack Stoll and (perhaps) former fantasy upstart Albert Okwuegbunam sharing the load if Goedert misses time after the Week 10 bye. Any Goedert absence would mean slight ceiling and floor upticks for A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
Cowboys -- So much that could be discussed, and I'm choosing to highlight Jalen Tolbert, who out-targeted Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks combined. Tolbert will be an intriguing waiver add this week -- a 2022 third-round pick who just might become the #2 WR Dak Prescott has been searching for since Amari Cooper left.
Bengals -- The story here is that Joe Burrow is back to being Joe Burrow after injury woes limited him in the opening month. Taking care of business against San Francisco and now Buffalo in back-to-back games speaks volumes.
Bills -- A bad game for James Cook shouldn't matter. He's the most talented RB on the team. But the recent addition of Leonard Fournette makes things a bit more dicey for a franchise that's hoping for a deep playoff run. While a negative game script hampered Cook last night, we'll see if Fournette gets some run in what should be positive game scripts the next two weeks at home versus the Broncos and Jets.