We’re one game away from the midpoint of the 2025 season. And we’re covering all things Week 9 in the MMQB takeaways …
Buffalo Bills
The Bills look different than they did even a month ago. And not that they weren’t this way before, because they were—but it really seemed apparent in Josh Allen’s reaction to James Cook after Cook caught a ball in the right flat, turned upfield to convert a third-and-3 from midfield, then slammed on the brakes and slid inbounds to cap an 11-yard gain.
The decision forced the Chiefs to burn their last timeout, and cut their margin for error down to nearly nothing with 2:31 left. Had Cook tried to churn out a few more yards to pad his stats, already outstanding for the day, things might’ve played out differently.
Allen knew it, and soon as he saw it, he raced over, pointing at Cook.
“That’s something we practiced and we repped,” the quarterback and reigning MVP said over the phone early Sunday night from Highmark Stadium. “And you know as well as anyone else, when you’ve got an opportunity to go make a play in the NFL and bump those stats up a little bit more, people will jump at that opportunity. But the selflessness of him, especially being his caliber of player, to do that for the team, is unbelievable.”
The vibes are good in Buffalo again—as they should be after a 28–21 win over the three-time defending conference champions. And things started swinging that way well before Sunday.
Last week, after the Bills annihilated the Panthers 40–9, Cook told me his team had the best week of practice he can remember any team he’s played on having through his four-year NFL career. It showed on the field, of course, in Charlotte. A week later, for what it’s worth, Allen concurred with Cook’s assessment, and added there’s been no turning back.
“It’s the focus, the attention to detail, the want and the need to practice hard,” Allen explained. “We’ve had some really hard practices, but it’s been extremely helpful to get those and feel that type of vibe and that type of energy. But it takes a whole group to go out and do that, and we feel like we’re doing some good things right now.”
There were a few to pluck out of Sunday’s big win.
The first one emanated from those practices—and the downfield blocking that led to Cook’s chunk runs of 16, 17 and 18 yards over the course of the afternoon.
“I think it’s the finish, the follow,” Allen said. “From our O-line, our receivers blocking downfield, following the ball, picking each other up. Really having the intent to show how much we love each other when we’re on the field and we’re not getting the ball. We work on that in practice, we continue to follow the ball. The running backs, every time they touch the ball, they score a touchdown. And that changes you, when you get those six-yards runs and they end up turning into 15 to 20, then you get a chance to break them. It starts in practice, building up that stamina and having guys go block safeties and really having that intent.”
Another detail was how Allen spread the ball around, hitting a staggering 10 receivers despite only throwing the ball 26 times, and logging just 23 completions. Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincade, as you’d expect, got theirs—combining for 13 catches and 144 yards.
But a lot of guys down the line did their part, too, in a game that was close throughout.
“That goes back to the mantra we’ve tried to adopt here: Everybody eats—do your job and you’re going to have some opportunities to make some plays,” Allen said. “It’s crazy because you wish you could get everybody as many targets as possible but when you have guys constantly doing the right thing, sometimes, hey, you’re only going to get two opportunities today.
“But I’m looking at these numbers and I think of Elijah Moore, he had one target for 28 yards, on a big second-and-8 that got us down in scoring position. Curtis Samuel, one catch for six yards that got us an opportunity to get to a third-down play that we really like early on, which we scored on the next play. It all adds up and when guys have that feeling of, any opportunity or any down it could be their chance to get the ball here, that’s when you’re gonna have some pretty good success.”
And Allen’s reaction when I mentioned he hit that many different receivers was spontaneous and genuine: “Heck yeh.”
Meanwhile, similar things were happening on defense, where Joey Bosa started to look like his younger self, and actual younger guys such as defensive backs Maxwell Hairston and Cole Bishop turned potential, as two high draft picks, into real tangible production.
The result was a Buffalo team that controlled the Chiefs throughout, even after a missed field goal late cracked the door open in the final minute for Kansas City.
Effectively, this win, in tandem with last week’s rout, puts a rough two-week turn in the rear-view—that stretch encompassing the Bills’ mistake-ridden loss to the Patriots and no-show on a bad Monday night in Atlanta.
Looking for more than that? Allen’s not really going to give it to you.
“It’s any other game,” Allen said. “That’s what we have to continue to tell ourselves each and every week, no matter who the opponent is. They’re nameless. They’re faceless. And it’s our job to go 1–0 each and every week.”
That said, Allen added his words come with “100%” respect for the Chiefs. “You know who you’re playing,” he added. “I’ve just always had this mindset, it’s more about us than it is about them.”
And would he be surprised to see the Bills meet the Chiefs again in January?
“Definitely not.”
The reality is, no one would.
And Sunday only gave us all more good reasons to feel that way—and maybe, just maybe, that the winter version will play out a little differently this time around, too.
San Francisco 49ers
What the 49ers are doing deserves mention every week until it stops happening. On Sunday, San Francisco was without Brock Purdy, Brandon Aiyuk, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Ricky Pearsall. And they absolutely dominated the Giants in New Jersey, racing to a 17–7 halftime advantage, keeping their hosts down multiple possessions through the second half and winning 34–24 to get to 6–3 on the season.
So how have they kept this going? Mac Jones, most prominent among Niners’ replacements, has an idea.
“It starts with the culture, for sure,” Jones told me. “Kyle [Shanahan], the way he sets the table for the team, he wants to develop everybody—from undrafted rookies to fifth-year quarterbacks on their third team. He wants everyone to be great. That’s what it’s all about. Kyle just does a great job, defense, too, and special teams, everybody has a system. And when you have a system you believe in and it works, these are the results.”
The results have been a lot better than anyone could’ve hoped. Without Aiyuk or Pearsall, they brought back Kendrick Bourne, pulled Skyy Moore off the scrap heap, accelerated rookie Jordan Watkins’s development and leaned on old reliable Jauan Jennings. In Bosa’s place has been rookie Mykel Williams. And when Williams tore his ACL on Sunday, Sam Okuayinonu and Clelin Ferrell registered sacks. Meanwhile, second-year man Tatum Bethune has stepped up in Warner’s absence.
That’s not to say, by the way, that the stand-ins are as good as the All-Pros they’re replacing. Or even nearly as good.
It’s more a commentary on the wherewithal of the team to make it work without them.
“It’s interesting, KB obviously has some knowledge of the offense,” Jones said. “Skyy played in a completely different offense. And Jordan was with Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin. You have guys from all over the place; they didn’t get OTAs and training camp. Jordan did a little. But they came in and they’re working hard with Hank [WRs coach Leonard Hankerson].
“Our challenge every week is knowing where to go and get lined up. And what you see is guys being plug-and-play because of the system.”
That system did enough to keep the Giants at an arm’s length all day.
The challenge will be stiffer next week, as the Niners swing for a season sweep of their archrival Rams, who haven’t lost since San Francisco beat them in Week 5. Jones, of course, knows it won’t be easy, having played in that Oct. 2 slugfest. And so work toward L.A. is already underway, which Jones is good with—because, much as anything, work is fun again.
“Oh, it’s so fun,” Jones said. “I enjoy the games but I really enjoy the practices, to be honest. Obviously, game day, you are locked in, and we’re winning. But all the real fun work comes during the week. We’re out there having fun, dancing and executing our plays, bringing the energy. I really enjoy the locker room, the plane ride, all the little things we talk about before the game.”
Fair to say, the Niners like having him, and the others who’ve helped hold the fort down, too. We’ll see where they take this team next.
But they’ve already gone further than most people thought they could.
Minnesota Vikings
Kevin O’Connell’s handling of J.J. McCarthy the past few weeks was just what the young quarterback needed. Could he have forced it with McCarthy and put him out there against the Chargers 11 days ago? Sure, O’Connell could have made him play.
Instead, he did what a lot of coaches don’t—he prioritized his quarterback’s development.
Believing that the Vikings would be best served by having a healthy, confident captain for the offense for November, December and January, O’Connell stuck with Carson Wentz in Week 8, knowing whatever he decided wouldn’t necessarily have just a one-week impact. Sunday sure looked to affirm the wisdom in treating it that way.
McCarthy’s numbers were modest—he threw for 143 yards, two touchdowns and a pick on 14-of-25 passing—in the Vikings’ 27–24 upset of the Lions at Ford Field. But when Minnesota really needed its quarterback, he was at his very best. And he was at his very best in ways that brought to life his confidence both in himself and his teammates, and the coaches’ confidence in him.
It really showed up on the Vikings’ final possession. Detroit pulled to within 27–24 on Jameson Williams’s tightrope run to the end zone, and kicked the ball back to Minnesota needing one stop to get a chance to tie or win the game at the wire. The Vikings set up, after a Myles Price return, at their own 23 with 1:51 left and the Lions holding three timeouts.
The first snap busted, with Jordan Mason going the wrong way and McCarthy holding the ball. A lot of young quarterbacks freeze in that spot. McCarthy didn’t, quickly recognizing the situation, tucking the ball away, and burrowing forward for four yards to get Minnesota into second-and-6. A play later, the Vikings were in third-and-5, with 1:41 left. And that’s where O’Connell could’ve gone by the book, run it, forced the Lions to burn their last timeout, punted and let Brian Flores’s defense, which had played well, go win the game.
Instead, O’Connell put the ball in McCarthy’s hands. McCarthy saw a matchup he liked, and, in turn, put his faith in fourth-year receiver Jalen Nailor. The throw landed on Nailor’s back shoulder as he turned for it, moving the chains, ending the game and paying off the coaches’ faith in the quarterback, and the quarterback’s faith in his receiver.
This doesn’t mean more bumps won’t come. They will, of course. But now the Vikings have a quarterback who’s healthy, who has building confidence and who has a really good situation around him, with Minnesota just a game and a half out of first in the competitive NFC North.
It’s giving the Vikings their best shot going forward—in large part because it’s giving McCarthy his best shot to become the quarterback O’Connell & Co. think he can be.
Chicago Bears
Ben Johnson’s approach with the Bears’ offense is starting to work. Yes, the Bengals’ defense played its role in that, in what was as wild a game as you’ll see—a 47–42 Chicago win that kept bringing twists and turns until the very end. And, sure, the Bears’ schedule hasn’t exactly presented a murderer’s row of top-end defenses.
Still, the numbers are the numbers:
- 576 yards of total offense
- 7.6 yards per play
- 30 first downs
- 114.8 QB rating and 280 yards passing for Caleb Williams
- 283 rushing yards, keyed by 176 from rookie Kyle Monangai
The total yardage number was 18 shy of a record for a franchise over a century old, it was the first time the Bears had ever gone for 280 both on the ground and through the air in a single game, and Chicago was three first downs short of a single-game team record in that category.
And the best thing, from the Bears’ perspective, is Johnson is just eight games in, and this didn’t appear out of nowhere. This is the fifth time in six games the Bears topped 380 yards of offense, and the third time in four games they rushed for 145 or better.
All of which validates the methods Johnson employed to get this going in the first place.
Remember hearing how bad things looked around Williams in late July and early August? It’s a stretch to say that was by design. But it also wasn’t an accident. Johnson’s approach was to have his players drinking from a firehose early, to see what they could handle, and inform him on building a scheme that fit the talent on hand.
“At first during camp, we’re putting in the whole playbook, so it was a little overwhelming, like, They could call anything,” rookie tight end Colston Loveland told me. ”Now, when it comes to [the] game plan, obviously, depending on what the defense does, nickel vs. base, coverages and all that, we will obviously have a tight game plan. And we’ll study through the week what we have going in.
“Coach Johnson has done a great job of knowing what we do best and sticking to it.”
It took a while, Loveland explained, for Johnson to see the potential his team had for running wide-zone concepts. But in time, it came along, and now the run game is a force.
Williams has come along, too, and it showed in the most critical spot on Sunday.
The Bears had blown a 41–27 lead in the fourth quarter, trailed the Bengals 42–41 and got the ball back on their own 28 with 50 seconds left and one timeout. Two incompletions put the Bears in third down, and Williams converted with a 14-yard scramble. Then, Chicago flipped the game back. On first-and-10 from the 42, Williams quickly diagnosed what the defense was throwing at him. The call on the play was one the Bears had run earlier. But they hadn’t seen the Bengals combat it with split-safety coverage at it yet.
Flying through the seam, into the void between the safeties, was Loveland, who Williams found and hit with a fastball around the 35. Loveland spun through tackle attempts from Geno Stone and Jordan Battle, and then raced to a 58-yard touchdown.
“Split safety, middle of the field was naked, Caleb put it on my body there,” Loveland told me after the game. “I happened to break a couple tackles and was just like, Man, I might as well take it all the way.”
He did, giving the Bears the lead for good with 17 seconds left and, the hope is, this is just the start for Chicago as Johnson’s offense gets cemented down.
“That’s always the goal. November, that’s when teams have to play good ball,” Loveland said. “Hopefully, we’re just hitting our stride now, but like I’ve been saying we got to continue to keep working and practicing hard, and keep doing what we can.”
It’s fair to say they’re already playing a lot better ball than a lot of folks expected.
Cam Little’s record kick
Cam Little had a huge day on Sunday, and I want to acknowledge the winning part of this first, before we get into his distance kicking. Little’s 48-yarder in the final minute of regulation in Las Vegas sent the Raiders-Jaguars thriller into overtime, and his overtime extra point, on a Sunday when PATs were not automatic, wound up being the final margin.
The Jags really needed that one, too, after riding consecutive losses into their bye, so it’s not like the result of the game was a sidebar to anything.
O.K., then, there’s the matter of the NFL-record 68-yarder he drilled before halftime.
It would be a story regardless, but it is more now than ever before because of how commonplace field goals in the 50s have become, and how attempts from the 60s are no longer outlandish in the least.
Along those lines, the Jags’ second-year kicker felt good enough in warmups to mark his “drop line” (the furthest line-of-scrimmage point he felt comfortable hitting a field goal from) at the 44, which set his max at 62 yards (eight yards for the snap, another 10 accounting for the end zone), and provided the routine guidepost for coach Liam Coen and special teams coordinator Heath Farwell.
Interestingly, those two didn’t really consult Little much after Trevor Lawrence killed the clock at the 50, six yards short of the drop line with five seconds left in the first half. They simply sent Little, whose previous career-long was 59 yards, and who did manage to hit a 70-yarder in the preseason, out there to try to get Jacksonville its first points.
“The preseason attempt from 70 gave me confidence,” Little told me. “You just don’t want to turn an opportunity to get three points into an opportunity for the other team to get six [on a blocked or returned kick]. We’ve tried it so many times since I’ve been here, Trevor and the offense have been so good at getting the ball in two-minute situations down into the range. It puts me in the mindset to prepare to kick a field goal. “
And kick the field goal he did, sending a low liner through the uprights from the other side of the stadium.
This, again, was just the latest in a string of these longer kicks this fall. There are, of course, no shortage of theories for why it’s happening. Tom Dempsey’s distance record of 63 yards stood from 1970 to 2013. Since, there have been six successful kicks of 64 yards or longer. Three of those six (Little, Chase McLaughlin, and Bradon Aubrey) came this year, and Aubrey also had one last season.
Little’s reasoning is pretty straightforward.
“I can think back to when I was getting recruited in high school, if you could kick a 50-plus yarder from the ground you were getting scholarships from schools,” Little said. “I saw a kid from Alabama hit a 60-yarder the other day. The level down there is getting so much better, which is making the level in college higher and now wearing on the NFL. Jake Bates for the Lions hitting a 64-yarder [in the XFL] before he got there. Brandon Aubrey making the most 60-yarders ever. The talent level is rising, it’s kind of like the evolution of putting, it’s gotten so much better. You can say the K-ball does help but it doesn’t affect the talent level.
“I’d rather shine a light on the talent. You look at [Justin] Tucker, he hit a 66-yarder [in 2021]. I think the opportunities are becoming more prevalent. Organizations are trusting their guys to go do it because they see the talent level.”
I do think Little’s right, by the way.
Guys are only going to get better at their craft the more specialized they get to this particular skill. And at some point, the NFL’s probably going to have to take a look at whether to make field goals more challenging.
Until then, I’d expect more, not less, of these to come.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The most interesting result of the day came in Pittsburgh, where the streaking Colts finally fell off track a bit. This was easily Indianapolis’s worst Sunday of the year and, of the two the losses to pick from, its most resounding defeat.
So does that tell us much about the Steelers? I think it does. The Colts’ previous loss was fluky. That game had a long touchdown run by Jonathan Taylor called back, plus Adonai Mitchell’s self-inflicted goal-line fumble. Otherwise, it’s fair to say Indy probably should’ve beaten the Rams in Los Angeles.
This one wasn’t like that. The Steelers took a double-digit lead into halftime and didn’t let the Colts get closer than that until the game’s final seconds.
And it was the defense that dominated, picking off Daniel Jones three times and forcing six turnovers.
“We know what we’re trying to do. We know we’re capable of winning a chip [championship],” Joey Porter Jr. told me postgame. “One-play focused, one-game focused, we’re really just trying to go back to that Steel Curtain defense, that gritty defense. We are going to take one step at a time, and we put it on tape today.”
They most certainly did. In the second quarter, T.J. Watt registered a strip-sack on Jones to cut off an Indy drive that was inside the Steelers’ 40, then Payton Wilson picked off a ball intended for Josh Downs underneath—a pick that would lead to a Pat Freiermuth touchdown two plays later. After that, a third-quarter interception, this one tipped at the line by Wilson and collected by rookie Jack Sawyer, set up another Steeler score.
Finally, it was Porter’s turn. The Steelers had been disguising coverages to deal with all the Colts’ motion, and, in the fourth quarter, the third-year man from Penn State jumped in front of Alec Pierce to steal the ball away and effectively end Indy’s hopes of getting to 8–1.
“We made it tough for them, and we let our D-line eat,” Porter said. “The boys got back there and made it hard for Daniel to execute. He had to get the ball out quick. … We know they are a good team and move a lot to confuse the defense. We had that already in mind and it wasn’t really hard when they started doing that—we were ready for it.”
In being ready, the Steelers showed that, gradually, they’re becoming more complete, with pieces starting to come together across the board. The run game, though stagnant Sunday, has been better of late. And in getting to 5–3, with a two-game lead in the AFC North, the Steelers haven’t needed a single day of 250 net yards passing from the offense.
Which, really, reflects why Aaron Rodgers signed there in the first place.
He’s part of a team in Pittsburgh. A good one, at that.
Miami Dolphins
The idea for the Dolphins now is to take a global look at the status of their football operation. Former GM Chris Grier, for what it’s worth, has been an incredibly well-liked and well-respected boss in Miami. He worked for the team for a quarter century, and was in his 10th season as general manager and seventh in command of the football operation when owner Stephen Ross let him go Friday. As such, the decision to fire Grier wasn’t made haphazardly.
The next question, then, would be why let Grier go and not coach Mike McDaniel?
My take: Ross has heard a lot of folks, and I’d be one of them, say McDaniel is likely gone after this year and will probably wind up doing really well when he gets his second shot as a head coach, whenever and wherever that might be. That’s why, I bet, he’d think it makes sense to get a full autopsy on where his team is (and maybe even hire a new football czar and get that czar’s take on McDaniel) before moving on from the coach.
By letting go of Grier—who made the playoffs twice in his seven years in charge, and three times in his decade as GM—you give yourself a chance to start the autopsy now, without having to hide anything. Regardless of whether you like the way the Dolphins handled his dismissal last week, it’s hard to argue that the review isn’t necessary. Ross, now in his 18th season as owner, hasn’t won a playoff game. His once-proud franchise last won one in Grier’s first year there as a scout, and Dave Wannstedt’s first year as coach (2000).
That’s the longest such drought in the NFL, which illustrates how far they are from the days of Dan Marino in South Florida. The last sentence of Ross’s written statement announcing the move acknowledges the associated need for change: “That work begins now, finishing the season strong, evaluating all areas of our football operation, and moving forward with a clear vision for the future.”
My translation: Nothing is guaranteed for McDaniel at the end of the season, or even over the next few weeks, including a stand-alone game in Madrid followed by a bye. But he has a chance to prove himself, as Ross, team president Tom Garfinkel and Ross’s advisors try to chart a course. I would guess that leads the Dolphins to a new head of football ops, and that person would make a call on McDaniel—unless McDaniel’s grip on the locker room slips (that’d be the one way McDaniel could still lose his job in-season).
In the meantime, he has a football team to coach. And a chance to win a stay of execution while his bosses try to create a better setup for whoever’s sitting in McDaniels’s seat in 2026.
Disney–YouTube TV fight
There’s no “good guy” in the Disney–YouTube TV fight. This battle got real over the weekend, when millions lost access to Oklahoma-Tennessee, Texas-Vanderbilt and scores of other college football games on Disney-owned networks. It’ll get even edgier Monday night, if things remain unsettled, with millions more missing Cowboys-Cardinals Monday Night Football.
Let’s be clear about what’s happening: Something subscribers paid for is being taken away from them for the sake of one side or the other winning the fight. What that fight amounts to is those involved making as much money as possible off the right to broadcast football.
Essentially, when someone tells you that the other side is being wronged here, it’s for the sake of some board member’s kid being able to keep the private jet gassed up.
This isn’t, and shouldn’t be, your fight. It’s their fight, and shame on them for using America’s obsession with the great sport of football as leverage in it. The leagues, the NFL included, aren’t blameless here, either. As they’ve held their partners at gunpoint, knowing that sports are the only thing people watch live anymore, they’ve made it harder and harder for networks to profit off what they’re paying for it. So then the networks get into disagreements with the providers, who also need the games to make money and make the numbers work.
Then the providers pass the cost along to you, which is why watching the games, however you do it, is getting more and more expensive.
#FootballIsFamily, right?
Anyway, a lot of this is just business in the 21st century. People with Ivy League MBAs are determined to find where your breaking point is on paying for all this stuff, and then they’ll walk right up to that line and charge you whatever’s one inch short of that number. That’s business, and we can argue whether it’s good for these sports long term or not, but it is what it is.
What makes this case egregious, to me, isn’t that. Again, it’s that now they’re literally taking away what you paid for to settle their own fight.
And make no mistake: This isn’t one or the other pulling the ball away from Charlie Brown.
It’s both coming to the end of a contract and deciding that using that circumstance—one where viewers would have the games effectively blacked out—for their own interest was more important than doing the right thing for their customers.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers might be the NFL’s weirdest team. Here are Bryce Young’s passer ratings in the Panthers’ five wins: 78.6, 90.7, 114.8, 88.4 and 48.3. In eight starts, he’s thrown for more 200 yards once. Meanwhile, Carolina’s had two days of 200 yards rushing, went for 163 yards on the ground Sunday in its upset of the Packers and is gradually improving defensively.
This may not seem like the winning blueprint for a team with a third-year quarterback who was drafted with the No. 1 pick. But it’s actually exactly what Dave Canales has had in mind.
Over the summer, the one thing GM Dan Morgan, EVP Brandt Tilis and Canales felt they’d accomplished, entering their second season in charge, was setting the personality of the team. What Canales was looking for mirrored the lessons he’d taken from 14 years under Pete Carroll in Seattle—he wanted competitiveness, edge and toughness.
And at the halfway point of Year 2, Canales is getting that based on how the players themselves see the strength of the team.
“Physical,” said Rico Dowdle, the Panthers’ new workhorse, imported from Dallas. “That’s one of the things we want to come out and we want to show: We’re physical. That we’re going to be physically better than the other team. That’s one thing we hang our hat on each and every week. Just coming out and being physical. I think that shows on film.”
On paper, at least, it should hold up as the weather changes. The Panthers get the Saints next, then the Falcons, 49ers and Rams, so we should know more by their Week 14 bye.
For now, they’re at least watchable. Which is an improvement.
Quick-hitters
The quick-hitters are coming for you now. And coming fast …
• One interesting name on the trade block that I didn’t mention in my Friday notes is former No. 7 pick pick Tyree Wilson. He’s clearly not what Vegas hoped for in 2023, but there’s still some promise for the 25-year-old as a supersized edge who can bump inside and rush on passing downs.
• While we’re there, I’m still keeping an eye on Jaelan Phillips and the Eagles. Late last week, word was Philly wanted Miami to pay down some of Phillips’s remaining salary for this year, and Miami wanted a third-round pick for him. We’ll see whether they can bridge those gaps before tomorrow.
• Bo Nix pulled the Broncos from the fire again in an 18–15 win over the Texans, and there’s something to be said for that, even if he’s imperfect.
• The Chargers beat the Titans on Sunday, but they lost Joe Alt again—and that’s going to be a really difficult one to work around, as we already saw earlier in the year. Alt’s value to Jim Harbaugh’s program can’t be overstated. He and Rashawn Slater, both now out, help form the identity of that team.
• A little nuance: When the Patriots could’ve just handed the ball off on a third down, and run more clock, they chose to let Drake Maye throw to move the chains. And move the chains he did, with a little rollout pass to Hunter Henry to convert. With the Chiefs having lost Sunday, Maye may be my midseason MVP.
• The Rams embarrassed the Saints on Sunday, and it sure looks like Sean McVay’s offensive vision for that team is coming to life, with Matthew Stafford playing coldly efficient ball, and Puka Nacua and Davante Adams playing off one another perfectly. Can’t wait for their rematch with the Niners.
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba may be the Offensive Player of the Year, and Sam Darnold is playing quarterback at a really high level. Darnold, if you’re keeping score at home, connected on his first 17 attempts and finished with more touchdowns passes (4) than incompletions (3).
• With Jayden Daniels down, if I were the Commanders, I’d be listening to trade offers for veteran players. As it stands right now, they have just two picks in the first four rounds in April.
• The Chiefs, for the first time, missed Josh Simmons on Sunday.
• Seeing Tucker Kraft hurt stinks all the way around. He’s such a fun, young player who looked like he was becoming one of the NFL’s best tight ends. And he’ll be a tough guy for the Packers to replace, something that showed already on Sunday.
More NFL From Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Week 9 NFL Takeaways: How the Bills Look Different Than They Did a Month Ago.