There was so much that happened this weekend, with 22 of the NFL's 32 teams playing on Sunday. From shocking upsets to season-changing victories, let's go down the list and determine what the biggest takeaways were from the Sunday slate of Week Nine action.
5. J.J. McCarthy showed you why he is the Vikings' choice to be the franchise QB.
Nobody has been a bigger critic of J.J. McCarthy than I. I think the kid is a glorified handoff merchant who had to cheat at the collegiate level to win a championship and make a name for himself. He still isn't setting the world on fire statistically, but yesterday's 27-24 win over the Detroit Lions not only might have saved the Vikings' season, but it justified Minnesota's decision to go with him as the starting quarterback in the off-season.
When faced with several huge moments yesterday, McCarthy consistently answered the call and rose to the occasion. He threw two excellent touchdowns on the Vikes' first two possessions of the game while also completing huge third-down passes to keep those drives alive. Things died down a little bit during the second and third quarters, but Minnesota scored on two of its last three series. McCarthy ran in a nine-yard touchdown to put the Vikings ahead 24-14, and he got the offense down into the red zone to kick a field goal and go up 27-17 late in the game. Then, on the biggest play of the afternoon, he completed a fantastic back-shoulder pass to wideout Jalen Nailor to secure the win.
I'm still not a fan of the kid and don't believe he is the long-term answer at the quarterback position for Minnesota. However, he showed a lot of potential by beating a divisional rival in a hostile environment that the Vikings have recently struggled in. Performances like that are why he was given the keys to the kingdom in Minnesota.
4. The Indianapolis Colts are beatable.
There have been many times this season that the Indianapolis Colts have looked like an absolute juggernaut. Coming into Sunday, they had the best record in the AFC and seemed unstoppable on the offensive side of the ball. But that all changed yesterday when the Pittsburgh Steelers made the Colts look foolish.
As good as he has been this season, Daniel Jones looked like the player he was the last few years in New York, not the MVP candidate he has been for Indy. Jones was responsible for five of the Colts' six turnovers yesterday. He lost two fumbles on sacks and threw three interceptions. The worst part is that the giveaways were basically all his fault. The INTS were the result of poorly thrown passes, and the strip-sack fumbles probably could've been avoided if Jones had gotten the football out of his hands a little faster. It was a less-than-stellar day for Indiana Jones, as he is now called.
Though he was a huge reason for Indy's struggles, Daniel Jones was not the only person who deserved blame for the loss. As a team, the Colts allowed five sacks yesterday. At the same time, they averaged five yards per play, which is 1.4 yards less than what they normally average. Because they were trailing most of the day, Indy was unable to establish the run with just 19 rushing attempts when they usually average almost 26 carries per game as a team.
At the end of the day, though, the Steelers punched Indy in the mouth, and they struggled to respond. After the second quarter, Pittsburgh outscored the Colts 27-13. And now, opponents have tape that they can use to figure out how to attack Indianapolis moving forward.
3. The Commanders are done for the season.
Before last night's game, hope was already waning in Washington. The Commanders were 3-5 and have already taken a major step back this season. However, there was some hope that they could turn things around at home with second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels returning to the lineup. But instead of making it back into the win column and snapping a three-game losing streak, Washington was embarrassed by the Seattle Seahawks.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold shredded the Commanders' defense, completing 21 of 24 passes for 330 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. He actually had more touchdowns last night than incompletions. Things were so bad that Washington actually trailed 38-7 at one point in the fourth quarter. Though the Commanders scored a touchdown late in the game, it wound up being incredibly costly because quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a dislocated elbow on that possession. Not only will that injury sideline him indefinitely, but ESPN's Adam Schefter said that the elbow dislocation could end his season! It felt like everything that could have gone wrong last night did for Washington.
Now, they're 3-6 and will probably have to go the rest of the season without their starting quarterback. On top of that, their defense is a joke, allowing the fourth-most passing yards per game (253.6 yards per game). This injury to Jayden Daniels is the nail in the coffin for what has been an incredibly disappointing 2025-26 campaign. The good news is the Commanders still have their 2026 first-round draft pick, so they can tank the rest of the way, rack up a bunch of losses, and use premium draft capital to improve the offensive line and the secondary. That feels like the only way forward at this point for Washington because reaching the playoffs is a pipe dream at this moment in time.
2. The Packers are not winning the Super Bowl.
The Green Bay Packers were stunned by the Carolina Panthers, who went into Lambeau Field and won their second road game of the season 16-13. With that loss, the Packers fell to 5-2-1 on the season. Though they still hold possession of first place in the NFC North, it is clear that this team does not have what it takes to win a Super Bowl.
When the season first started, the Packers were on top of the world with back-to-back home wins against tough opponents. Ever since then, though, every contest has been a difficult, grind-it-out game. It feels like the pass rush is not nearly as effective as it once was, which would explain why Green Bay only has 14 sacks in its last six matchups. At the same time, the rushing attack is incredibly ineffective. In 2024, this team averaged 146.8 ground yards per game, which was fifth in the NFL. This season, they rank 16th in that category (112.9 rushing yards per game).
A lot of the blame has to be geared towards head coach Matt LaFleur and special teams coach Rich Bisaccia. The special teams unit has been a key reason why the Packers are not undefeated. They had a field goal blocked in the loss to the Browns, an extra point was blocked in the tie to the Cowboys, and yesterday, the Packers missed a field goal that would've given them their first lead of the day early in the third quarter. With two kickers capable of making big-time field goals, this failure falls on the shoulders of Bisaccia, who leads one of the worst special teams units in the NFL. At the same time, Matt LaFleur has not had his guys ready to come out hot and keep the pedal to the metal at all this season. It feels like every game they're in, regardless of outcome, is a dogfight when in reality, they should be easily putting away teams like the Browns, Panthers, Cardinals, etc. MLF needs to stop being cute and coach the team he has. The Packers have shown you that they are a bad run-blocking team, and they're good at throwing the ball. Yet, the Packers always seem to abandon the pass in their games recently in favor of a poor rushing attack.
Super Bowl-winning teams do not lose games like this. They certainly don't lose these games twice in the same season! The Packers now have two black-mark losses on their record that show they're not anywhere close to actually winning a Lombardi Trophy this year.
1. The Patriots are the new favorites to earn the top seed in the AFC.
With the Indianapolis Colts' loss ot the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos' win over the Houston Texans, there is now a three-team race for the number-one seed in the American Football Conference. The Colts have a leg up over the Broncos since they beat Denver head-to-head, but if you look at where these teams are now and who they play the rest of the year, the New England Patriots should be considered the favorites to finish the regular season with the best record in the AFC.
Though the Broncos have won six games in a row, they already have a loss against an AFC West team, the Los Angeles Chargers. They still have to face the Green Bay Packers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Chargers again, and the Kansas City Chiefs twice. Though they'll be competitive in those matchups, it's highly unlikely that they will win all of those games. If they even lose two or three of those contests, there's a chance they won't earn the top seed in the AFC.
The Indianapolis Colts previously looked like the team to beat in the AFC, but things took a turn yesterday in that sloppy loss to the Steelers. Now, they're 7-2 with games against the Seattle Seahawks, the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers, the Houston Texans twice, and the Jacksonville Jaguars twice. With a guantlet schedule like that, the Colts will be lucky to finish the season with 12 wins. That won't be enough to earn the AFC's number-one seed.
Then there are the Patriots, who are 7-2 and still have games against the Miami Dolphins, the New York Giants, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Baltimore Ravens, and the New York Jets twice. Assuming they beat the 'Phins and the Jets, that gets them to ten wins. Even if they lose one of those three games against the Bengals, Ravens, and Giants, that still puts them at 12 wins. From there, they would need to beat the Buffalo Bills at home or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road for a 13-4 record, which would probably be good enough to give them the best record in the AFC. Considering how soft their remaining schedule is, the Patriots have a clear path to the top seed in their conference.
