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Start Sam Darnold or Kirk Cousins? Week 9

Updated Nov 3, 3:36 AM ET.

Start Kirk Cousins over Sam Darnold

Start

Kirk Cousins

QB · LV · at SF

Market projects
15.2
recent weeks avg
SF D vs QB
15.7
10th fewest to QBs (2026)
Snap share
98%
Through Week 8
Sit

Sam Darnold

QB · SEA · vs ARI

Market projects
15.2
recent weeks avg
ARI D vs QB
22.7
3rd most to QBs (2026)
Snap share
89%
Through Week 7

Should I drop Kirk Cousins for Sam Darnold?

Not on these numbers alone. Kirk Cousins projects 117 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (14.6 a game over 8 games) and Sam Darnold 122 (15.3 a game over 8 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts Kirk Cousins over Sam Darnold.

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Our Week 9 call

Start Kirk Cousins over Sam Darnold in Week 9.

Market-based projections have Kirk Cousins at 15.2 points and Sam Darnold at 15.2, a gap of 0.0. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Kirk Cousins this week yet, so his 15.2 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6, 7 and 8 (15.6, 15.1 and 14.8); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Sam Darnold this week yet, so his 15.2 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6, 7 and 8 (14.6, 15.1 and 15.8); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 9 player market is posted for Kirk Cousins yet. His market-based projections were 15.6, 15.1 and 14.8 points in Weeks 6, 7 and 8, an average of 15.2, which stands in until his Week 9 market posts.

No Week 9 player market is posted for Sam Darnold yet. His market-based projections were 14.6, 15.1 and 15.8 points in Weeks 6, 7 and 8, an average of 15.2, which stands in until his Week 9 market posts.

That puts Kirk Cousins 0.0 points ahead of Sam Darnold on these projections.

Week 9 matchups

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 10th fewest in the league.

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

Sam Darnold and SEA host ARI on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

ARI allowed 22.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 3rd most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 244 yards and 2.4 touchdowns a game against ARI, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Sam Darnold has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Kirk Cousins is not on the injury report.

Sam Darnold is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

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: 19 of 26 passes for 247 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 5 yards.

Through Week 7, Sam Darnold played 89 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 196 times and threw an average of 7.0 air yards per attempt.

Sam Darnold, Week 4 against LAC: 60 of 60 snaps, 13 of 22 passes for 168 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 1 carry for 8 yards.

Sam Darnold, Week 5 against SF: 63 of 63 snaps, 18 of 29 passes for 195 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 1 carry for 5 yards.

Sam Darnold, Week 6 against DEN: 85 of 85 snaps, 27 of 49 passes for 278 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 2 carries for 19 yards.

Sam Darnold, Week 7 against KC: 69 of 69 snaps, 20 of 28 passes for 257 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 2 carries for 17 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

In 2025, Sam Darnold played 17 games for SEA and scored 249.4 PPR points, 14.7 a game, finishing QB13.

He completed 323 of 477 passes for 4048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and ran 35 times for 95 yards and 0 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 96 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 9 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 9, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

  • Should I drop Kirk Cousins for Sam Darnold?

    Not on these numbers alone. Kirk Cousins projects 117 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (14.6 a game over 8 games) and Sam Darnold 122 (15.3 a game over 8 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts Kirk Cousins over Sam Darnold.

  • Should I drop Sam Darnold for Kirk Cousins?

    Not on these numbers alone. Sam Darnold projects 122 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (15.3 a game over 8 games) and Kirk Cousins 117 (14.6 a game over 8 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts Kirk Cousins over Sam Darnold.

Should I drop Kirk Cousins?

Week 8 on the board

Elsewhere on the board