Kirk Cousins · Sam Darnold · 2026 week 9

Kirk Cousins or Sam Darnold?

Wondering who you should start this week — Kirk Cousins or Sam Darnold? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start Kirk Cousins — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.1 points. The matchup leans Kirk Cousins (SF allow the 23rd-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 9	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Kirk Cousins START	@ SF	17.2	23rd	22.7	506	healthy
Sam Darnold	@ LV	17.1	5th · soft	15.5	119	Out

QBs vs SF recently: Sam Darnold 10.3 pts (W5) · Jayden Daniels 21 pts (W6) · Michael Penix Jr. 20.4 pts (W7).

QBs vs LV recently: Josh Allen 18.3 pts (W6) · Matthew Stafford 18.5 pts (W7) · Geno Smith 19 pts (W8).

🎓 The coach's read

Projections are 0.1 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
Kirk Cousins faces SF, 23rd most generous to QBs.
Sam Darnold faces LV, 5th most generous to QBs.
Sam Darnold is flagged OUT.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Kirk Cousins carries the higher trade value — 506 against 119 (a 76% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Kirk Cousins gets the most. Momentum: Kirk Cousins +109 and Sam Darnold -153 over the last 30 days.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More QB decisions

Kirk Cousins or Matthew Stafford?Kirk Cousins or Bo Nix?Kirk Cousins or Tyler Shough?Sam Darnold or Geno Smith?Sam Darnold or Jacoby Brissett?Sam Darnold or Gardner Minshew II?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.