Start J.J. McCarthy or Kirk Cousins? Week 9

Our Week 9 call

Start J.J. McCarthy over Kirk Cousins in Week 9.

Market-based projections have J.J. McCarthy at 15.8 points and Kirk Cousins at 15.6, a gap of 0.2. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. J.J. McCarthy's number is scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 15.8 fantasy points for J.J. McCarthy, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for J.J. McCarthy is 211 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (13, 13 and 10 market sources).

Player markets imply 15.6 fantasy points for Kirk Cousins, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Kirk Cousins is 250 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 2 rushing yards and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (13, 15, 8 and 10 market sources).

That puts J.J. McCarthy 0.2 points ahead of Kirk Cousins on the market projections.

Week 9 matchups

J.J. McCarthy and NYG visit PHI on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

PHI allowed 19.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 8 games, the 10th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 244 yards and 1-2 touchdowns a game against PHI, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

Kirk Cousins and LV visit SF on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

SF allowed 15.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 11th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 224 yards and 1.4 touchdowns a game against SF, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, J.J. McCarthy has the softer matchup.

Injury status

J.J. McCarthy is not on the injury report.

Kirk Cousins is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 7, J.J. McCarthy played 42 percent of NYG snaps, dropped back 49 times and threw an average of 11.8 air yards per attempt.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 5 against WAS: 5 of 89 snaps, 0 of 0 passes for 0 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 2 yards.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 6 against NO: 31 of 77 snaps, 11 of 17 passes for 243 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 2 carries for 26 yards.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 7 against HOU: 61 of 66 snaps, 20 of 27 passes for 252 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 1 yards.

Through Week 8, Kirk Cousins played 98 percent of LV snaps, dropped back 296 times and threw an average of 8.1 air yards per attempt.

Kirk Cousins, Week 5 against NE: 50 of 60 snaps, 19 of 28 passes for 243 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.

Kirk Cousins, Week 6 against BUF: 66 of 66 snaps, 23 of 41 passes for 313 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Kirk Cousins, Week 7 against LAR: 68 of 68 snaps, 26 of 44 passes for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 6 yards.

Kirk Cousins, Week 8 against NYJ: 63 of 63 snaps, 19 of 26 passes for 247 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 5 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, J.J. McCarthy played 10 games for MIN and scored 137.4 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB30.

He completed 140 of 243 passes for 1632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and ran 37 times for 181 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 94 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Kirk Cousins played 10 games for ATL and scored 108.5 PPR points, 10.9 a game, finishing QB35.

He completed 166 of 269 passes for 1721 yards, 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and ran 14 times for 7 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 46 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 9 calls

• Start Baker Mayfield over J.J. McCarthy.
• Start Bo Nix over J.J. McCarthy.
• Start J.J. McCarthy over Bryce Young.
• Start Baker Mayfield over Kirk Cousins.
• Start Bo Nix over Kirk Cousins.
• Start Brock Purdy over Kirk Cousins.