Week 9 of the NFL season featured a Super Bowl favorite finally surging above .500, some magic from Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders and a bounce-back performance from an MVP candidate.
Here’s everything you need to know starting Sunday.
Welcome back, Myles Garrett. Goodbye, Puka Nacua?
Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year that the Los Angeles Rams traded for in the offseason, returned from a knee injury that had kept him sidelined for seven games and immediately made his presence felt in a 20-13 win over Washington (2-5-1). All three of his tackles ended in sacks, and his first sack also forced a fumble to help the Rams (5-4) climb above .500 for the first time.
What was Garrett’s impact? In the previous eight games, the Rams had totaled 12 sacks.
It was the first game Garrett played alongside Aaron Donald, the superstar defensive tackle who came out of retirement to create a world-class defensive line.
The Rams may not be able to celebrate for long. On their final play of the game, star receiver Puka Nacua suffered a knee injury that will require more imaging Monday to determine its severity. Nacua was targeted 19 times and finished with 14 receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown. He did not discuss his injury with reporters after the match and was visibly in good spirits.
Another game of Commanders ended with a stunning end game. With the ball at the Rams’ 31-yard line, Washington threw a short pass, then attempted an unsuccessful lateral until time expired. Why not try a deep pass in the end zone? Coach Dan Quinn said Washington called two plays — one with a deep ball and the other with a short, lateral finishing option if the Rams blitzed hard. “I didn’t like our execution at the end,” he said.
Bears survive five turnovers
The worst record in the NFC North belongs to 6-3 Green Bay. In such a tough division, the margin for error for a team to make the playoffs is razor-thin, which is why the Chicago Bears (7-2) have to be one of the toughest teams in the league after Week 9.
After trailing Tampa Bay 14-0, Chicago turned the ball over five times — four interceptions by Caleb Williams and a fumble inside its own 20-yard line by receiver Luther Burden III with 3:48 left and Tampa Bay (3-6) trailing by eight. The Buccaneers would score a touchdown and a 2-point conversion for a tie game.
Yet for all of Williams’ inconsistent play, his 38-yard completion in the final minute all but sealed the victory by putting Chicago within range of a 38-yard field goal that Cairo Santos drilled for a 27-24 victory.
Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield added two interceptions. The six interceptions were the most combined by two quarterbacks in a game this season. Chicago is the first team to win a game by turning the ball over five times since 2006.
Chiefs end two-game losing streak
For years, while Patrick Mahomes played, so did Kansas City. But it might be more accurate this season to say that running back Kenneth Walker III is the barometer of the Chiefs offense.
Kansas City (6-2) ended its two-game losing streak in a 35-12 loss to the New York Jets (2-7) in which Walker rebounded with 102 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground and 41 yards with two touchdowns through the air. He had been held to just 3.0 yards per carry in his previous two games, both of which were the Chiefs’ losses. Walker averaged nearly double that number (5.6 yards) on Sunday.
Mahomes looked like he was leaving the game in the second quarter after his arm bent awkwardly when he was sandwiched by multiple defenders. Instead, he finished with 242 yards and two touchdowns.
Shedeur Sanders runs out of magic in overtime
Sanders led two comebacks in the first start of his sophomore season, but he couldn’t lead the Browns to victory against the New Orleans Saints.
Cleveland lost 23-22, but Sanders had some encouraging moments. He completed 19 of 31 passes for 297 yards, the second-highest passing total of his career. With the Browns leading 16-13 in the fourth quarter, Sanders calmly drove a game-tying game for a field goal despite getting the ball back with less than a minute remaining.
After a long Saints drive to start overtime, Sanders responded by leading an eight-play, 67-yard touchdown drive. But the Browns went for 2-and-1 after the score, and the attempt failed, bringing Cleveland to 5-4.
The Giants continue to find a way and stay atop the NFC East
After the Giants lost quarterback Jaxson Dart in Week 2, New York’s season appeared to be in serious trouble. But head coach John Harbaugh kept the team afloat in his first year at the helm, and the Giants improved to 5-2-1 with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
New York is 4-1-1 since Dart’s injury. On Sunday, starter JJ McCarthy had to leave the game briefly due to injury, but returned to close out the Giants’ first win in Philadelphia since 2013. New York is the only team in the NFC East with a winning record, even after the Dallas Cowboys beat the Indianapolis Colts.
The Raiders’ regression continues; Chargers remain winless
Under coach Klint Kubiak and quarterback Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas was one of the first surprises of the season with a 3-0 start. Looking back, those three wins came against mediocre competition like the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, and New Orleans Saints. After Sunday’s 38-17 loss at San Francisco, the Raiders (4-5) have lost five of their last six games. Sunday was the sixth straight game in which they allowed 30 or more points, the longest streak in team history. As the losses pile up, will Las Vegas finally turn to No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza?
And yet, despite all of this Raiders regression, they’re still not the team in the AFC West feeling the worst after nine weeks. After a 44-22 loss to the Houston Texans at home, the Chargers remain the last winless team in the NFL.
They join the 2011 Indianapolis Colts as the only teams since 2000 to start a season 0-8 the year after reaching the playoffs. The only consolation for Los Angeles fans is that at least one streak ended. Justin Herbert’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass ended a streak of 37 consecutive drives without a touchdown. Herbert has now gone 10 straight starts without multiple touchdowns.
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