Week 9 of the fantasy football season featured plenty of notable performances. What should we make of them? Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft are here with analysis on the biggest performers — and duds — of the week.

Christian McCaffrey isn’t slowing down

McCaffrey’s exceptional 2019 campaign continued with three touchdowns and 37.6 PPR fantasy points on Sunday, his third-best single-game score this season. Keep this in mind: He did so despite sitting out the Panthers’ final three drives and nine offensive snaps, and did so against a Titans defense that had surrendered a combined 145 yards on 51 rushing attempts with no scores the previous two weeks, not to mention it was graded roughly league-average against running backs for the year (adjusting for Tennessee’s schedule).

That brought McCaffrey’s season totals to 246.4 PPR and 204.4 non-PPR fantasy points through the Panthers’ first eight games, the former the third-most by any player at any position since at least 1950 (Priest Holmes, 268.7 in 2002, and Marshall Faulk, 268.6 in 2000), the latter the eighth-most by any running back (and 13th at any position) during that same time span. — Cockcroft

Gardner Minshew II struggles could have lasting impact

I really liked the matchup for Minshew in London on Sunday versus the Texans’ pass defense. He was a QB1 for me in the ranks — and the rookie was started in 48.3% of ESPN leagues. But with limited early down production from the Jacksonville offense today, poor pass protection and inconsistent passing in critical-game situations, Minshew was a fantasy bust in Week 9.

The Jags’ quarterback — who had been very impressive on the film — completed 27 of 49 passing for 309 yards, but he failed to throw a touchdown, and he turned the rock over four times (two interceptions, two fumbles). Minshew simply missed on too many throws — sailing the ball on both interceptions — and with the Texans dropping to zone coverage in obvious passing situations, he couldn’t find many open windows to deliver the ball down the field.

I still see upside with Minshew as a thrower, plus the ability he brings to the Jacksonville offense on second-reaction plays. However, with the Jags on a bye next week and veteran quarterback Nick Foles coming back into the mix, that could be a wrap on Minshew’s run as a starter in Jacksonville. Stay tuned. — Bowen

Devin Singletary turns up the volume

Are we starting to see the shift toward running back Devin Singletary in Buffalo? The rookie out-touched Frank Gore 23 to 11 in the win over the Redskins, posting a season-high 140 total yards plus a score on a goal line carry. Yeah, Gore is still in the mix for the Buffalo backfield. He’s going to see the ball. But we can all agree Singletary brings some real juice to this Bills offense. It’s the lateral quicks, and the short-area speed that shows up in both the run and pass game. Given the jump in total volume for Singletary, plus upcoming matchups versus the Browns and Dolphins, the rookie will start climbing the ranks as a lower-tier RB2 in a run-heavy Buffalo offense. — Bowen

Quick-hitters

Zach Ertz: That’s the Zach Ertz we saw last year in Philly. The high volume, the isolation matchups, the throws that cater to his route-running. After catching just 4 of 10 targets for 58 yards in his past two games, Ertz topped the 100-yard receiving mark for the first time this season, hauling in 9 of 11 targets for 103 yards and a touchdown against the Bears’ defense. With the Eagles heading into the bye, and then returning in Week 11 versus the Patriots, Ertz will remain a mid- to low-tier TE1 in my ranks due to the up-and-down production he has posted this season. — Bowen

Jaylen Samuels: Granted the start in place of the injured James Conner (shoulder), Samuels set a personal best with 13 receptions on Sunday, resulting in a 19.3 PPR fantasy point total that was the second-highest of his career. While Trey Edmunds’ 12 rushing attempts — Samuels had only seven — gave the hint of a rushing/receiving committee arrangement, six of Edmunds’ carries came in the second half of the game with the Steelers leading. Samuels, who set season highs with his 49.4% rostered and 23.6% started rates in ESPN leagues, is a must-roster with Conner’s Week 10 status still in doubt. — Cockcroft

Allen Robinson II: We’ve talked before about the Bears’ passing game struggles this season — Mitchell Trubisky has scored fewer than 10 fantasy points in four of his seven games played to completion — and Robinson’s fantasy production finally suffered severely for it on Sunday, as he caught just 1 of 5 targets for 6 yards and a paltry 1.6 PPR points.

That was the third-fewest he has scored in any of his 64 career NFL games, with one of the two worse scores coming in his NFL debut in Week 1 of 2014, during which he played on only 18 of 70 offensive snaps. Robinson’s start rate in ESPN leagues was 67.3%, his season high, but considering Trubisky’s struggles and coach Matt Nagy’s play calling, that number is going to need to drop substantially in Week 10 — even against a Lions team on which cornerback Darius Slay has struggled with injuries recently. — Cockcroft

David Montgomery: Given the issues Tristan hit on with the Bears’ passing offense, Montgomery has put together back-to-back weeks of productive scoring. Although the rookie didn’t bust open the box score in Philly, he did finish with 76 total yards and two touchdowns on 17 touches — with both scores coming on goal line runs. That gives Montgomery a total of 48 touches in his past two games. That’s solid RB2 volume for a player who also has the traits to produce as a receiver. — Bowen

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