Week Nine Fantasy Football Losers

We have officially hit the halfway point of the 2025 NFL Season, and fans are starting to see the true colors of certain players and franchises. The 1-7 Jets sold Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline. The 2-7 Dolphins dropped another game in an abysmal showing against a shaky Ravens defense. Lastly, the 5-2-1 Green Bay Packers struggled in front of their home crowd against Carolina, earning their second loss of the season, both against teams with inferior offenses. Although there have been surprises in the real-life standings and upsets in Week Nine, there were plenty of situations that were fully expected. Here is a group of players who were expected to have great performances based on the average draft position or their generally favorable matchups, and could not live up to the expectations of the fantasy managers.

RB Jonathan Taylor – (7.7 Fantasy Points)

The hottest team in the AFC essentially got shut down on Sunday by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many will say the Colts’ success comes from Daniel Jones and how efficient he has been playing since being named the starter. While that may be the case, the majority of the credit has to go to RB Jonathan Taylor. Taylor received a normal amount of touches in Pittsburgh, but was unable to make any lemonade out of lemons, recording 57 total yards, the worst statistical output since Week 12 of the 2024 season. It did not help that Jones was responsible for five individual turnovers, but the Colts were unable to move the ball. Taylor may have cost fantasy managers their weekly matchup, but do not fret. Keep Taylor in the lineup, and you should easily find yourself in the playoffs, potentially winning a championship.

RB Jahmyr Gibbs – (5.8 Fantasy Points)

Neither Detroit RB was able to put up decent rushing numbers on Sunday versus the Vikings. Both Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 20 carries for 65 yards, five receptions for 13 yards, and a touchdown, resulting in 15.8 fantasy points. That would have been below the projection for Gibbs alone. Gibbs, by himself, only recorded 25 yards on the ground, unable to produce against the Vikings' defense. Gibbs is another player who should always be starting in fantasy lineups, but to have two performances of less than 10 fantasy points for a top-five pick in three games cannot go without some type of acknowledgment. Granted it is the Detroit Lions and they have a ton of weapons on offense, but if Gibbs and Montgomery were more involved and had slightly better production, maybe the Lions would have won the game.

WR Rome Odunze – (0 Fantasy Points)

In my article on the Week Nine winners, I had three Bears represent Chicago in one of the best games in all of 2025. However, Rome Odunze was suited up but recorded no statistics. Caleb Williams completed 20 of 34 with 280 passing yards. Odunze tallied three targets but failed to haul in any of them. Odunze was always a fringe starter, but for a team to score 47 points in real life and one of the top receivers to lay a goose egg has to feel disappointing for fantasy managers. Keep your head up and don’t lose faith in Odunze, who is due for a bounce back in a home matchup against the Giants.

QB Patrick Mahomes – (10.5 Fantasy Points)

As a Ravens fan, I love to see a Chief on this list. Patrick Mahomes completed just 44% of his passes for 250 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. The Bills were all over Mahomes in the 10th edition of Allen versus Mahomes, and the Bills came out on top. On Sunday, Mahomes recorded his worst completion percentage and has never completed less than 50% of his passes, with the next worst being 50% in a 2024 Week 15 win over Cleveland. The QB1 of 2025 has been relatively successful despite the Chiefs being on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in, but owners cannot ignore a performance like this against a defense that tends to struggle. Mahomes is still a starter and is known for being a boom player, but when he plays badly, it is bottom-tier production.

QB Jordan Love – (9.02) and TE Tucker Kraft – (4 Fantasy Points)

Putting Tucker Kraft on this list feels insensitive since he tore his ACL halfway through the game, but the Packers were going nowhere with the star tight end on the field. The blame in Green Bay’s last-second loss to Carolina at home can be attributed to the poor performance by Jordan Love on his 27th birthday. Love completed 26 of his 37 passes for 273 yards and an interception. Love got away with a few passes that were dropped by the defense, but one would think that with Green Bay’s offense, they would be able to put up more than seven points in a half. To be frank, Carolina played better, and the Packers fell victim to their second trap game of the season, hurting their position in the NFC North. Sadly, all owners can drop Tucker Kraft, and I would potentially find a replacement QB for Love, who has two top 10 performances in 2025, until he can gain back the trust of fantasy owners.