Kyler Murray · Sam Darnold · 2026 week 9

Kyler Murray or Sam Darnold?

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

Start Sam Darnold — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.2 points. The matchup leans Sam Darnold (LV allow the 5th-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 9	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Kyler Murray	vs BUF	17.2	11th	17.7	197	Questionable
Sam Darnold START	@ LV	17.4	5th · soft	15.5	189	Out

QBs vs BUF recently: Matthew Stafford 27.3 pts (W5) · Kirk Cousins 19.5 pts (W6) · Joe Fagnano 0.9 pts (W8).

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 0.2 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
Kyler Murray faces BUF, 11th most generous to QBs.
Kyler Murray is flagged WATCH.
Sam Darnold faces LV, 5th most generous to QBs.
Sam Darnold is flagged OUT.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Kyler Murray carries the higher trade value — 197 against 189 (a 4% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Kyler Murray gets the most. Momentum: Kyler Murray -39 and Sam Darnold -351 over the last 30 days.

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

More QB decisions

Kyler Murray or Kirk Cousins?Kyler Murray or Bryce Young?Kyler Murray or Aaron Rodgers?Sam Darnold or Bryce Young?Sam Darnold or Aaron Rodgers?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.