Start Michael Penix Jr. or Justin Herbert? Week 9

Our Week 9 call

Start Justin Herbert over Michael Penix Jr. in Week 9.

Market-based projections have Justin Herbert at 16.6 points and Michael Penix Jr. at 16.2, a gap of 0.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Michael Penix Jr.'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 16.6 fantasy points for Justin Herbert, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Justin Herbert is 1-2 passing touchdowns, 23 rushing yards and 0.2 touchdowns (3, 3 and 5 market sources).

Player markets imply 16.2 fantasy points for Michael Penix Jr., with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Michael Penix Jr. is 222 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (13, 13 and 11 market sources).

That puts Justin Herbert 0.4 points ahead of Michael Penix Jr. on the market projections.

Week 9 matchups

Justin Herbert and LAC host HOU on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

HOU allowed 18.5 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 13th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 263 yards and 1.4 touchdowns a game against HOU, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

Michael Penix Jr. and ATL host CIN on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

CIN allowed 18.4 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 14th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 261 yards and 1.1 touchdowns a game against CIN, with 0.6 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Justin Herbert has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Justin Herbert is not on the injury report.

Michael Penix Jr. is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 8, Justin Herbert played 100 percent of LAC snaps, dropped back 255 times and threw an average of 7.4 air yards per attempt.

Justin Herbert, Week 4 against SEA: 71 of 71 snaps, 19 of 31 passes for 189 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 6 carries for 40 yards.

Justin Herbert, Week 5 against DEN: 67 of 67 snaps, 14 of 23 passes for 121 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 6 carries for 54 yards.

Justin Herbert, Week 6 against KC: 68 of 68 snaps, 22 of 37 passes for 204 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 5 carries for 26 yards.

Justin Herbert, Week 8 against LAR: 61 of 61 snaps, 24 of 31 passes for 257 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 4 carries for 15 yards.

Through Week 8, Michael Penix Jr. played 99 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 59 times and threw an average of 7.2 air yards per attempt.

Michael Penix Jr., Week 7 against SF: 68 of 69 snaps, 25 of 33 passes for 213 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 2 yards.

Michael Penix Jr., Week 8 against TB: 53 of 53 snaps, 8 of 24 passes for 125 yards, 0 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, 5 carries for 11 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Justin Herbert played 16 games for LAC and scored 299.9 PPR points, 18.7 a game, finishing QB10.

He completed 340 of 512 passes for 3727 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and ran 83 times for 498 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 97 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Michael Penix Jr. played 9 games for ATL and scored 123.3 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB33.

He completed 166 of 276 passes for 1982 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and ran 21 times for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 93 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 9 calls

• Start Justin Herbert over Baker Mayfield.
• Start Justin Herbert over Bo Nix.
• Start Justin Herbert over Bryce Young.
• Start Michael Penix Jr. over Baker Mayfield.
• Start Michael Penix Jr. over Bo Nix.
• Start Michael Penix Jr. over Bryce Young.