Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season is officially backup quarterback week. Days after Baltimore Ravens third baseman Joe Fagnano was thrust into action on “Thursday Night Football,” a number of backups will take the field Sunday, hoping for better results.
The most notable name on this list is Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who will draw against the New Orleans Saints after Deshaun Watson’s concussion in Week 8. This will mark Sanders’ first start of the season.
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He is far from the only substitute to be put in the spotlight on Sunday. Joe Milton III will get his first start with the Philadelphia Eagles. He will face JJ McCarthy, who will look to continue to impress with the New York Giants.
Elsewhere, Drew Lock will start for the Seattle Seahawks in place of Sam Darnold. He will face Gardner Minshew, who replaced Jacoby Brissett as the Arizona Cardinals’ starter. And Monday night, Carson Wentz will start for the Minnesota Vikings with Kyler Murray out.
Additionally, there are a number of serious injuries to track during the week. Giants running back Cam Skattebo is questionable due to a hamstring issue. Buccaneers wideout Emeka Egbuka is likely to miss Sunday night’s game against the Chicago Bears with a foot issue.
Also note that we have two teams bye this week: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans.
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Broncos vs. Panthers, 1 p.m. on CBS
Cowboys vs. Colts, 1 p.m. on Fox
Jets vs. Chiefs, 1 p.m. on CBS
Lions vs. Dolphins, 1 p.m. on Fox
Browns vs. Saints, 1 p.m. on CBS
Giants vs. Eagles, 1 p.m. on Fox
Rams vs. Commanders, 1 p.m. on Fox
Texans vs. Chargers, 4:05 p.m. on CBS
Follow Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more from Sunday’s Week 9 slate of games.

Teddy Ricketson
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was attempting to throw a deep pass, but his arm went through and was hit by David Bailey directly in the elbow. Mahomes came in holding his arm, then when he left the field, he didn’t move it.
He was examined on the sidelines. With only a minute left before halftime, we may not get an update until the break.

Teddy Ricketson
After the turnover on downs, New Orleans couldn’t do anything with its next possession. The Saints ran six plays and had 44 total yards on a 36-yard reception by Chris Olave.
Still, New Orleans punted and Sanders kneed the ball to go at halftime.
The game is tied 3-3 and the Saints will have the ball after halftime.

Teddy Ricketson
After making two field goals on their first two drives, the Giants made three straight 3-and-outs.
New York’s most recent drive consisted of two penalties, a four-yard loss on a Darnell Mooney carry, a JJ McCarthy sack and a completion to Isaiah Likely for a gain of 10, which set up fourth-and-12.
Philly leads 8-6 with 4:47 left before halftime.

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The Rams and Commanders defenses show up, both forcing a fumble on consecutive plays.
Puka Nacua fumbled after a no-gain reception.
Then, on the next play, Myles Garrett forced a fumble on Jayden Daniels while he was being sacked and the Rams recovered it. It was Garrett’s first sack with the Rams.

Teddy Ricketson
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Colts punted.
Indianapolis scored a touchdown on its second offensive possession of the game. Other than that, though, the Colts had four outs and three outs, including three in a row.
Dallas leads 10-7 with 5:12 left in the first half.

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Joe Milton showed why he got the nod today. He teamed up with rookie receiver Makai Lemon for a gain of 17 and another of 15.
However, the drive stopped after that, with Eli Mitchell gaining no yards on first down, Milton having a failure, and then the quarterback being sacked on third down.

Teddy Ricketson
The Browns approached the goal line and were faced with a decision. Do they take the field goal and probably 3 points or go for the TD.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders looked embarrassed handing the ball off, but Quinshon Judkins was able to carry it.
Judkins couldn’t kick in the end zone and the Browns had a turnover on downs.

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It looked like Dallas finally got its offense going again with Tyler Goodson picking up 12 yards on first down.
Goodson took over on the next play and had seven. He was stuffed for a 1-yard loss, then Dak Prescott had a fumble leading to another Dallas punt in the first half.
Four straight drives in the game ended in a punt.

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Kenneth Walker III scores his second touchdown of the day against the Jets.
After a short receiving touchdown earlier in the game. Walker found the end zone again, this time on a 25-yard reception that he ran through and through the defense for the score.
Kansas City leads 14-9 with 5:37 left in the first half.

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The offenses are at a standstill in the Cowboys-Colts game.
The last two Indianapolis drives have been a 3-and-out and they sandwich Dallas’ most recent drive which was also a 3-and-out.
Dallas leads 10-7 with 9:20 left in the first half.

Teddy Ricketson
After the Giants took over after recovering Joe Milton’s fumble, the offense stalled.
After a holding penalty, McCarthy hit Malachi Fields for a 10-yard gain. Then he was sacked before finding Devin Singletary for just a 1-yard gain on third down, leading to a New York punt.
The Eagles lead 8-6 with 11 minutes remaining in the half.

Teddy Ricketson
The Browns looked like they would have to settle for a punt after being unable to get anything going after recovering Jordyn Tyson’s fumble.
Saints returner Barion Brown, who had that huge 52-yard reception earlier, tried to have fun with his return and was trying to find a lane to get back up the field. He ended up fumbling and Cleveland recovered it, taking over in the red zone.

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Neither team wants to keep the ball.
After recovering a muffed Giants punt, Joe Milton took a huge sack from the No. 5 pick, rookie Arvell Reese, and fumbled. New York recovered the ball, placed on the 50 yard line.

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It looked like the Eagles were going to have a three-peat. Philly punted after only picking up eight yards on three plays.
However, Giants WR Charlie Jones muffed the punt and the Eagles recovered for another set of downs and much better field position.

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After Ferguson’s TD catch, Josh Downs made a seven-yard catch. Indianapolis then had an incompletion, a five-yard penalty and another incompletion before having to return the ball to Dallas.
Daniel Jones completed 2 of 5 passes for eight yards with 11:23 left in the second quarter.

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Saints rookie Jordyn Tyson was making his NFL debut after being drafted 8th overall in this year’s draft.
He made his first career reception in the second quarter and attempted to dive to gain additional ground. As he dove, the ball became dislodged and it was ruled a fumble on the field.
The part has been reviewed and confirmed.
New Orleans entered the red zone after a massive play by Barion Brown who had a 52-yard reception.

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The Browns ran nine plays and had 35 yards on their final drive. Once they passed the 30-yard line, however, the drive stalled after three straight carries for just eight yards.
Cleveland made the 41-yard field goal, however, and now the game is tied 3-3 with 10:30 left in the first half.

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It looked like Jake Ferguson was battling the sun at AT&T Stadium, but that didn’t stop him from running in a 10-yard score.
Dallas now leads 10-7 at the start of the second quarter.
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Philadelphia has arrived!
After taking their first drive of the game, the Eagles are officially on the board. They were set up with solid field position to start the drive at their own 42 yard line.
Quarterback Joe Milton III connected with TE Dallas Goedert for 12 yards before completing a 19-yard run, and three plays later the Giants made a brutal mistake, committing a 30-yard pass interference penalty to put the Eagles on the 3-yard line.
Saquon Barkley scored his third career touchdown against his former team.
The excitement didn’t stop there, however, as the Giants were penalized for too many men on the field on the extra point attempt, setting the Eagles up for a 2-point conversion – an attempt by quarterback Joe Milton right up the middle, which was successful.
The Eagles take an 8-6 lead.

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The Chiefs are on the board after Patrick Mahomes found Kenneth Walker III for a TD.
Walker had been a bit quiet in recent weeks after a strong start to the season. The running back now has nine total touchdowns this season.
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