NFL Scores Week 9: Top Fantasy Stars, Results and Latest Team Stats
Week 9 is underway, and we've already seen some pretty impressive performances from some of the league's brightest stars.
While Thursday night's game was not nearly as thrilling as the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals matchup in Week 8, the Indianapolis Colts still put on a show. They rushed for a team total 260 yards against the New York Jets.
Sunday's early afternoon slate brought a few surprises to the proverbial table. The Denver Broncos embarrassed the previously red-hot Dallas Cowboys, the Cleveland Browns matched their previous three-game point total and the Jacksonville Jaguars stunned the Buffalo Bills.
The Jaguars came into the week ranked 26th in total defense and 28th in points allowed. They held the Bills to 301 total yards and six points Sunday.
The Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers all won in the late-afternoon window. In the night game, the Tennessee Titans—sans Derrick Henry (foot)—steamrolled the Los Angeles Rams.
Below you'll find full results, some standout statistics and the top fantasy performances of the week (points-per-reception scoring).
Week 9 Results, Top Fantasy Performers
Indianapolis Colts 45, New York Jets 30 (Thursday)
Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts: 172 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 28 receiving yards, 2 TDs (34.2 fantasy points)
Nyheim Hines, RB, Indianapolis Colts: 74 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 34 receiving yards, 1 TD (21.8 fantasy points)
New York Giants 23, Las Vegas Raiders 16
Hunter Renfrow, WR, Las Vegas Raiders: 7 receptions, 49 yards, 1 TD (18.0 fantasy points)
Kenyan Drake, RB, Las Vegas Raiders: 30 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 70 receiving yards (16.0 fantasy points)
New England Patriots 24, Carolina Panthers 6
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots: 62 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 44 receiving yards (12.6 fantasy points)
Damien Harris, RB, New England Patriots: 30 rushing yards, 1 reception, 3 receiving yards, 1 TD (11.9 fantasy points)
Atlanta Falcons 27, New Orleans Saints 25
Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons: 343 passing yards, 2 TDs, 8 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD (28.36 fantasy points)
Cordarrelle Patterson, RB, Atlanta Falcons: 10 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 126 receiving yards (19.3 fantasy points)
Denver Broncos 30, Dallas Cowboys 16
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Denver Broncos: 249 passing yards, 1 TD, -1 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD (21.86 fantasy points)
Melvin Gordon III, RB, Denver Broncos: 80 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 15 receiving yards, 1 TD (17.5 fantasy points)
Cleveland Browns 41, Cincinnati Bengals 16
Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: 64 rushing yards, 5 receptions, 46 receiving yards, 2 TDs (30.3 fantasy points)
Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns: 137 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 26 receiving yards, 2 TDs (30.3 fantasy points)
Jacksonville Jaguars 9, Buffalo Bills 6
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills: 264 passing yards, 2 INTs, 50 rushing yards, 1 fumble (11.56 fantasy points)
Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills: 6 receptions, 85 yards (14.5 fantasy points)
Miami Dolphins 17, Houston Texans 9
Myles Gaskin, RB, Miami Dolphins: 34 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 23 receiving yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble (15.8 fantasy points)
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins: 8 receptions, 83 yards (16.2 fantasy points)
Baltimore Ravens 34, Minnesota Vikings 31 (OT)
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens: 266 passing yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 120 rushing yards (32.64 fantasy points)
Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens: 9 receptions, 116 yards (20.6 fantasy points)
Los Angeles Chargers 27, Philadelphia Eagles 24
Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers: 356 passing yards, 2 TDs, 14 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD (31.64 fantasy points)
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: 5 receptions, 116 yards, 1 TD (22.6 fantasy points)
Arizona Cardinals 31, San Francisco 49ers 17
James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals: 96 rushing yards, 5 receptions, 77 receiving yards, 3 TDs (40.3 fantasy points)
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers: 326 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 3 rushing yards (20.34 fantasy points)
Kansas City Chiefs 13, Green Bay Packers 7
Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs: 5 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD (17.8 fantasy points)
AJ Dillon, RB, Green Bay Packers: 46 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 44 receiving yards (13.0 fantasy points)
Tennessee Titans 28, Los Angeles Rams 16
Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans: 143 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 3 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD (15.02 fantasy points)
Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams: 11 receptions, 95 yards (20.5 fantasy points)
Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
The entire Colts rushing attack was rolling against the Jets on Thursday, and everyone involved deserves a share of the credit. However, second-year back Jonathan Taylor was the star of the show.
Taylor rumbled for 172 yards on the ground, 78 of which came on one touchdown run.
In his past six games, Taylor has topped 100 rushing yards four times and is quickly proving to be the centerpiece of Indianapolis' offense.
"The Colts have had several really, really good backs, but getting that franchise Hall of Fame back is not that easy," former Colts coach Tony Dungy said, per ESPN's Mike Wells." I think Jonathan is showing signs of being that, and you hope he'll be the long-term answer."
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Taylor's 1,818 rushing yards in 23 games are second in franchise history, behind only Edgerrin James' 2,335 yards.
Taylor is a must-start in all fantasy formats, and backup/receiving back Nyheim Hines—who had 108 scrimmage yards and a touchdown Thursday—is a fine flex streamer. Coming into Sunday, the Colts ranked second as a team in yards per carry (5.1).
Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
In their last three games, the Cleveland Browns scored 41 total points. On Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns scored 41—seven of which were the result of Denzel Ward's 99-yard interception return in the first quarter.
Ward's interception return was the second-longest in franchise history.
It was a total team effort for a Cleveland team now without wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. However, running back Nick Chubb was the star of the show offensively.
Chubb, who missed two games with a calf injury, returned last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers but was held to 61 rushing yards. He chewed up the Cincinnati defense to the tune of 137 rushing yards, 26 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He has now rushed for 721 yards in seven games. He's on pace to top 1,500 rushing yards despite sitting out two contests.
It's worth noting that Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He hit second-year wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones twice for 86 yards and a score. With Beckham gone, Peoples-Jones is worth a look on the waiver wire. He's currently rostered in just 11 percent of Yahoo leagues and 4 percent of ESPN leagues.
Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan may never have the championships needed to reach the Hall of Fame, but he continues to prove that he is an all-time great signal-caller.
Ryan put the Falcons offense on his shoulders Sunday, compiling 351 combined passing and rushing yards—343 of that coming through the air. Atlanta finished with 366 total yards of offense. Ryan tossed two touchdown passes and rushed for another score against a New Orleans Saints defense that came in ranked fourth in points allowed.
It was a big bounce-back performance for the Falcons, who had just 13 points and 213 total yards last week against the Carolina Panthers.
Atlanta, it's worth noting, is playing without star receiver Calvin Ridley, who has stepped away from football to focus on his mental well-being. Running back/receiver Cordarrelle Patterson has stepped up to be Ryan's go-to option.
Patterson only notched 10 yards on nine carries, but he caught six passes for a whopping 126 receiving yards. If Patterson is on your fantasy roster, it's time to make him a weekly must-start flex play.
Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
Bengals second-year quarterback Joe Burrow struggled Sunday, throwing no touchdown passes for the first time this season. His Chargers counterpart Justin Herbert did not.
On the road against the Philadelphia Eagles, Herbert was fairly close to perfect. He finished 32-of-38 for 356 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried five times for 14 yards and another score.
Herbert's performance snapped a streak of mostly miserable performances. In Week 6, Herbert threw for only 195 yards with a touchdown and an interception. In Week 8, he threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns but tossed another two interceptions.
Both games—against the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots—were losses.
That this performance came against a solid Eagles pass defense is big. The Eagles came in ranked eighth in passing yards allowed per game and 12th in yards per attempt allowed. It doesn't mean that mistake-filled games won't return for Herbert. Fantasy managers, though, should feel comfortable starting him next week against the Vikings.
Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans
It was no Henry, no problem for the Titans on Sunday night. Tennessee rolled over the Rams, thanks in no small part to a defense that turned two Matthew Stafford interceptions into touchdowns.
Coming into the game, Stafford had not thrown multiple interceptions in a game with Los Angeles. The Rams came in ranked fifth in total offense and scoring. On Sunday, they didn't reach the end zone until 24 second remained in regulation.
The defense cannot take all the credit, though, as the Titans got enough from quarterback Ryan Tannehill to outpace L.A. Tannehill finished with just 143 passing yards and an interception, but he also added rushing and passing touchdowns.
It marked the third time in four games that Tannehill ran for a score. This is an added piece of fantasy upside that managers can't ignore when deciding whether or not to stream Tannehill—and with Henry out, Tannehill may be even more of a red-zone rushing threat.
Managers might also want to keep an eye on running back Adrian Peterson, who led the Titans with 10 carries mere days after being added to the active roster. Peterson only averaged 2.1 yards per carry but did find the end zone.
Peterson is rostered in 64 percent of Yahoo leagues and 51 percent of ESPN leagues.
*Fantasy scoring, roster information and points allowed from FantasyPros.