Oct 26, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers place kicker Chris Boswell (9) kicks a field goal against the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

You may not think that kickers are the most exciting position to talk about when building your fantasy team for the week. But in reality, it's a kicker who can make or break your week. You may not think about it much before the game, but kickers put up points — lots of points. Think about it: field goals, extra points, a high-scoring game —your kicker could be involved a lot. There are also some games on the NFL Week 9 schedule that you might want to avoid, and this is an especially tough week with so many teams on a bye. Let's dig into this week's Start Em', Sit Em' for this week's fantasy teams.

Start - Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers

Chris Boswell is an oldie but a goodie. Spending his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers has given Boswell the confidence to score and keep scoring. This year, especially, he has been on fire, hitting double-digit fantasy points in half of this season's games. Just last week, he put up 20 points versus the Green Bay Packers. That many points from a kicker can make or break your week.

This week, Boswell and the Steelers take on the Indianapolis Colts. With what we've seen from these teams defensively, we can count on another high-scoring NFL match-up. This game opened at 47.5, which was bet up to 50.5, so most people think this game is going to have points. In addition to that, you can count on the Steelers to at least rack up some extra points as they currently score touchdowns on 83.33% of red zone drives. Start Chris Boswell to rack up the points this week against the Colts.

Start - Brandon Aubrey, Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys have struggled offensively as of late, but this week they face another struggling team, the Arizona Cardinals. Both of these teams have given up a lot of points lately while struggling to score. One thing that has been consistent for the Cowboys, however, has been their kicker, Brandon Aubrey. This season, he has a perfect record on field goals and extra points. A perfect 16/16 on field goals and 27/27 on extra points. With how high-scoring games have been involving the Cowboys, you can expect Aubrey to be on the field plenty.

The Cardinals have given up double-digit fantasy points to multiple kickers this year. They also sit 27th in fantasy points allowed to kickers, giving up an average of 9.43 points per game. With the outlook we have on the Cardinals and the points they should give up, plus the consistency of Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey, he is a start for NFL Week 9.

Start - Jake Bates, Detroit Lions

Holy cow, has this Detroit Lions team been red hot! The Lions have been putting up some serious points lately, which is what we’re looking for when trying to find your make-or-break kicker for Week 9. If you need a kicker, look towards Jake Bates, kicker for the Detroit Lions. He’s made 8 out of 11 field goal attempts this season, but has made a perfect 27 out of 27 extra points. While his field goal attempts may be a little low. The Lions rank 27th in field goal attempts per game, but they face the Minnesota Vikings this week, and I think we'll see some field goals.

The Minnesota Vikings rank 9th in red zone defense. They allow opponents to score on 52.38% of red zone plays. While this Lions team has been able to put up points, Lions versus Vikings are always tight games, and we will see the Lions trying to get points whenever we can. That means we will see field goals. This gives me a lot of confidence in Jake Bates to score some solid fantasy points this week. Start Bates to keep the Lions red hot.

Sit - Joey Slye, Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are arguably the NFL’s worst team. When I’m building my fantasy team each week, I usually just go right by this entire team. Do that when it comes to their kicker, Joey Slye, this week. The Titans currently sit 32nd (that’s last place) in offensive scoring. They average just 13 points per game. That means Joey Slye isn’t getting a lot of action. So far this season, he’s made just 15 field goals and an unbelievably low seven extra points.

The Titans are facing the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday. The Chargers have played some low-scoring games. They are currently allowing 21 points, and the fact that the Titans are only averaging 13 points per game means Slye won’t get much action. The line for this game opened with the Chargers as 8.5-point favorites, which was bet up to 9.5. That means we can expect the Titans to be playing from behind. So if you know the game script, it means the Titans will be looking to score touchdowns and won’t settle for field goals. Sit Slye for Week 9.

Sit - Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders

Another team seriously struggling this season is the Las Vegas Raiders. With just a 2-5 record, they have seriously struggled on both sides of the ball this season. They average just 14.7 points per game, putting Carlson in a similar situation to Joey Slye—another team you can expect to be playing from behind.

Daniel Carlson has made just eleven field goals and eight extra points. Please don’t plan on Carlson being your savior; he won’t see much action.

Sit - Blake Grupe, New Orleans Saints

Sitting at 1-7, the New Orleans Saints are horrendous. They average just 16 points per game and are taking on the NFL’s third-best defense in the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams are allowing just 16 PPG and 12 PPG over the last 3 games. This is another situation where you can expect to see a team playing from behind.

The Rams are currently 2-touchdown favorites, so you can plan on the Saints playing from behind. That means when they have the choice between a field goal and a touchdown, they will most likely go for the touchdown.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 9: Kicker's Edition

Reporting by Jacob Rebb, Touchdown Wire / Touchdown Wire

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