Start Joe Burrow or Josh Allen? Week 9

Our Week 9 call

Start Josh Allen over Joe Burrow in Week 9.

Market-based projections have Josh Allen at 22.4 points and Joe Burrow at 21.3, a gap of 1.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Drafters take Josh Allen at ADP 31 and Joe Burrow at 55.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 22.4 fantasy points for Josh Allen, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Josh Allen is 237 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 0-1 interceptions, 31 rushing yards and 0.8 rushing touchdowns (6, 6, 5, 6 and 8 market sources).

Player markets imply 21.3 fantasy points for Joe Burrow, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Joe Burrow is 271 passing yards, 2-3 passing touchdowns, 6 rushing yards and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (13, 14, 4 and 13 market sources).

That puts Josh Allen 1.1 points ahead of Joe Burrow on the market projections.

Week 9 matchups

Josh Allen and BUF visit MIN on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

MIN allowed 8.9 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 180 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against MIN, with 1.1 interceptions a game.

Joe Burrow and CIN visit ATL on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

ATL allowed 16.0 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 8 games, the 12th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 238 yards and 1.4 touchdowns a game against ATL, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Joe Burrow has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Josh Allen is not on the injury report.

Joe Burrow is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 8, Josh Allen played 99 percent of BUF snaps, dropped back 237 times and threw an average of 9.0 air yards per attempt.

Josh Allen, Week 4 against NE: 59 of 59 snaps, 23 of 33 passes for 253 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 5 carries for 4 yards.

Josh Allen, Week 5 against LAR: 64 of 64 snaps, 12 of 19 passes for 210 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 10 carries for 121 yards.

Josh Allen, Week 6 against LV: 68 of 68 snaps, 23 of 33 passes for 255 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 4 yards.

Josh Allen, Week 8 against BAL: 78 of 82 snaps, 21 of 34 passes for 289 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 7 carries for 30 yards.

Through Week 8, Joe Burrow played 99 percent of CIN snaps, dropped back 289 times and threw an average of 7.6 air yards per attempt.

Joe Burrow, Week 4 against JAX: 76 of 76 snaps, 39 of 54 passes for 428 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 3 carries for 6 yards.

Joe Burrow, Week 5 against MIA: 65 of 65 snaps, 23 of 32 passes for 190 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 12 yards.

Joe Burrow, Week 7 against BAL: 50 of 53 snaps, 22 of 30 passes for 292 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 12 yards.

Joe Burrow, Week 8 against TEN: 74 of 74 snaps, 38 of 48 passes for 462 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, 3 carries for 10 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Josh Allen played 17 games for BUF and scored 374.6 PPR points, 22.0 a game, finishing QB1.

He completed 319 of 460 passes for 3668 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and ran 112 times for 579 yards and 14 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 98 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Joe Burrow played 8 games for CIN and scored 139.5 PPR points, 17.4 a game, finishing QB29.

He completed 173 of 259 passes for 1809 yards, 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and ran 14 times for 41 yards and 0 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 86 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 9 calls

• Start Josh Allen over Brock Purdy.
• Start Josh Allen over Caleb Williams.
• Start Josh Allen over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Joe Burrow over Brock Purdy.
• Start Joe Burrow over Caleb Williams.
• Start Joe Burrow over C.J. Stroud.