NFL Week 9 has come to a close, and we have plenty of storylines to cover as we wrap up the ninth weekend of NFL football. Star quarterbacks, offensive implosions, and trade-deadline mania headline the NFL Week Nine news. Here are some (potential) overreactions to the ninth slate.
Coming into Monday Night Football, many assumed that the matchup between the Vikings offense and the Bills defense was going to be a case of stoppable force versus movable object. While the Vikings have had one of the worst offensive attacks in the league, the Buffalo defense has been an Achilles’ heel in a season where Josh Allen and the offense have once again shown out. Buffalo’s defense ranks pretty much in the middle of the pack in most categories, but they’ve been suspect when up against good offensive attacks. It could have been the night for Minnesota to finally find an offensive groove, even with backup Carson Wentz under center.
It was anything but that, as Minnesota’s anemic offense made the Bills look like a top-five defense in the league. They mustered only six points, even with their defense awarding them fantastic field position multiple times. Wentz looked shell-shocked all night, throwing some truly terrible interceptions and never looking comfortable in the pocket. Wentz and Max Brosmer, who entered near the game’s end, combined to be 14/32 passing.
It is clear that even with a defense as good as Minnesota’s has been, the Vikings are nowhere near contenders with this offense. The question becomes, what needs to change? They are reportedly shopping for quarterbacks at the trade deadline, but it remains to be seen if a slightly better quarterback will fix this mess. Some are calling for head coach Kevin O’Connell’s job, as he calls the plays on offense. Whatever the case may be, Minnesota needs to make some changes quickly if they want to contend this season.
The trade deadline has not even hit yet, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are clearly all-in on the 2026 season. On Monday, they made multiple moves to shore up their defensive unit, one that is already among the best in the NFL. Clearly, the higher-ups in Jacksonville believe that this is their year to contend for the franchise’s first Super Bowl.
The biggest move came Monday afternoon, with a blockbuster deal for Eagles DT Jordan Davis. Davis, a 2022 first-round pick, is a cornerstone player on the defensive line, known for his massive size and ability to stop the run. Jacksonville sends Philadelphia a first- and a second-round pick in return for Davis.
The Jags also made trades for Falcons safety Jessia Bates III and Saints DT Davon Godchaux. Bates, a ballhawk safety, will pay immediate dividends in the Jaguars’ secondary with his great instincts. Godchaux is another run-stopping defensive lineman up the middle. Along with Davis, Godchaux will make the Jaguars a nightmare to run the football against. They gave up a second- and a sixth-round pick for Bates and Godchaux.
Jordan Love, Joe Burrow, and CJ Stroud. Those three should be easily on the MVP radar if you tuned in to the NFL this weekend. Love led the Packers to a huge win against the Patriots in Foxborough. Leaning on his top-two wideouts in Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, Love took deep throws all game against a Patriots defense that simply had no answer. Burrow made easy work of the Falcons’ defense, efficiently carving up their secondary with the help of his favorite target: Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals‘ QB sported an 82% completion percentage.
Stroud piled more negative aura onto the Chargers‘ nightmare season, as the Texans dropped 44 on LA and sent them to 0-8 on the season. Stroud threw five touchdown passes on a day when he spread the ball around to nine different receivers. All three of these franchise quarterbacks are having impressive seasons, especially considering this past weekend.
The last two drafts have seen four running backs taken in the first round. All four of those backs are struggling mightily this season, whether it be with injury, line play, or underperformance. These last couple of draft classes, and the situations they have sent backs into, have us thinking that maybe that kind of draft capital may not be worth it for a running back.
In this most recent draft class, both running backs taken in the first round came out of Notre Dame. Jeremiah Love went to the Cardinals, while Jadarian Price went to Seattle. Neither has played much this season, and even when they have played, they haven’t looked like the kind of players that warrant a first. Love recently headed to IR with an ankle injury. Before that, he was caught in a backfield shuffle in Arizona and was only averaging a meager 3.5 yards per carry. Price also hasn’t been available for all of his team’s games and is also averaging less than four yards per attempt. He has struggled even more coming off injury lately.
The two backs taken in the previous draft were Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton. These two players have seemed to have fallen victim to bad situations, Jeanty in Las Vegas and Hampton in Los Angeles. Jeanty has lost a large share of carries to rookie Mike Washington Jr., who has been somewhat more effective, though they are both suffering behind a poor offensive line. Hampton has had the same issue, though it has been magnified behind the offensive line of the Chargers, which grades out as the worst in the league.
The Bears tied the most turnovers in a game this season when they gave the ball away to the Buccaneers five times on Sunday night. They ended up winning the game. This is thanks to the multiple turnovers that Tampa Bay gave right back, as Baker Mayfield threw two picks of his own. In what is probably the sloppiest game of the season from a ball-control perspective, the Bears were just barely able to eke out a win over the struggling Buccaneers. Despite the turnovers, both Mayfield and Caleb Williams continued to sling the football around all game, as both ended up with over 200 passing yards. Williams had four interceptions, but made crucial throws when it mattered, throwing two touchdowns as well. Tampa Bay was carried, once again, by its ground game, as Bucky Irving accounted for 97 yards and both of Tampa’s touchdowns.
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