Week 9 brought special occasions and statements around the NFL. Both of those sentiments certainly rang true in Foxborough on Sunday. Tom Brady made his return to Gillette Stadium, calling a New England Patriots game for the first time since he became a broadcaster. Rob Gronkowski was also inducted into the Patriots’ Hall of Fame. It was the Green Bay Packers, though, who made a statement in Sunday’s top-billed matchup. The Packers dominated the Patriots, 45-27, in a game that didn’t seem as close as the final score indicated, spoiling a joyful day in New England. Does a win like that now make the Packers the best team in the NFC? Let’s overreact to Week 9. Green Bay earned a signature victory on the road, soundly defeating the Super Bowl runner-up. Jordan Love put together his best performance of the season, making it known that he deserves to be part of the MVP conversation moving forward. Love finished 23 of 29 for 372 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Love also ran for a score. His favorite targets also had big days as a result. Matthew Golden had 10 catches for 164 yards and a score, while Christian Watson logged seven catches for 171 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the Packers sacked Drake Maye five times, forcing three interceptions and four turnovers total. The Packers have won five of their last six games and, at 6-3, are right in the mix to win the NFC North. Conclusion: Overreaction Two of Green Bay’s five wins have come against teams with winning records, and the Packers are 1-2 against divisional foes. The Packers also face the Vikings, Bills and Rams in three of their next four games, so the road gets tougher over the next month. The ascending defense will get the best player on their unit back soon, though, with edge rusher Micah Parsons recently returning to practice. So, that should improve things on that side of the ball. However, Green Bay still has the worst run offense in the league. The Packers could use a running back to add juice to the running game. Josh Jacobs suffered a finger injury that makes his availability a question mark for next week. The Chicago Bears had been one of the league’s most high-flying offenses, and Caleb Williams vaulted into the MVP conversation following a sparkling performance in a road win over the Seattle Seahawks. However, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles and his ball-hawking defense created a plan that slowed down Chicago’s offense. After falling into an early 14-0 deficit, the Bucs forced Williams into a career-high four interceptions with an aggressive, controlled pass rush that forced the USC product to get rid of the ball earlier than he wanted, but didn’t let him escape the pocket to create explosives on second-reaction plays. The Buccaneers blitzed 63.4% of the time, and Williams largely struggled. He finished 14 of 24 for 198 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions against the blitz, according to Next Gen Stats. Tampa Bay also forced a fumble by Luther Burden III deep in Chicago territory that allowed the Buccaneers to tie the game late. It was Tampa Bay’s third straight game with at least three takeaways, and the Bucs lead the league with 21 takeaways. And to go with their strong defensive showing, the Buccaneers were able to effectively run the football as Bucky Irving finished with 97 rushing yards. That allowed Tampa Bay to win the time-of-possession battle on Sunday, limiting the amount of damage Williams and Chicago’s offense could do. Conclusion: Not An Overreaction Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, quarterback Baker Mayfield threw two interceptions, including one returned 67 yards for a touchdown by Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson. And the Bucs managed to score just 10 points off the five forced turnovers, allowing the Bears to escape with a 27-24 victory. So, if it weren’t for their offensive miscues, the Buccaneers would’ve walked away with a win on Sunday night. And yes, the Bears did create some explosive plays against the blitz. However, Sunday was one of the few times in Williams’ tenure with Bears head coach Ben Johnson that he’s shown a penchant for turning the ball over in bunches. Furthermore, Sunday’s game was the worst offensive showing for the Bears with Williams at quarterback since Week 2. If you recall, that’s when Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores blitzed the Bears on 81% of their dropbacks. After sitting out seven games to recover from a knee injury that required surgery, the Los Angeles Rams finally got an up-close view of their blockbuster addition this offseason on U.S. soil. And the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year and single-season sack leader exceeded expectations. Garrett posted his ninth career regular-season game with three sacks, tying Julius Peppers, DeMarcus Ware and Leslie O’Neil for the fifth-most three-sack performances since sacks became a statistic in 1982. Garrett filled up the stat sheet, recording three quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and one forced fumble in helping the Rams earn a 20-13 road victory over the Washington Commanders. Los Angeles moved above .500 at 5-4 for the first time this season. With his first three sacks as a Ram, Garrett (128.5) passed Dwight Freeney (125.5), Derrick Thomas (126.5) and Rickey Jackson (128.0) for 18th on the NFL’s all-time sacks list. Conclusion: Overreaction. … For now Garrett accomplished the gaudy numbers while playing just 60% (35) of the defensive snaps. We also got to see Garrett line up next to defensive tackle Aaron Darnold for the first time, and the Hall of Fame-worthy players seem to play well off each other. However, I think we need to see how Garrett’s knee responds to his first game since the knee injury and if he can continue to play at an elite level for the second half of the season. Along with that, L.A.’s best offensive player, Puka Nacua, suffered a knee injury that would require further evaluation. And with the Rams already missing players like Davante Adams, Jaylen Watson, Poona Ford and Terrance Ferguson, Nacua not being available for a significant period of time could be too much for the Rams to overcome. If the Rams’ defense is asked to do more in the event that Nacua misses time, that would certainly be a test to Garrett’s recovering knee. Will he be able to handle it? Joe Burrow is at it again. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback carved up the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL’s first international game this season in Spain, completing 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards, three touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Burrow also ran for a touchdown in helping to lead the Bengals to a 34-17 victory. Ja’Marr Chase led the Bengals in receiving with 10 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown. Burrow and Chase’s touchdown connection was their 19th of at least 40 yards, tying Joe Montana and Jerry Rice for the third-most by a QB-WR duo since 1980, per FOX Sports Research. It also marked their 58th touchdown connection (including postseason), moving them past Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss for the second-most by a QB-WR duo before both players turned 30. Cincinnati has now won four straight games for the first time since 2024. Conclusion: Not An Overreaction The Buffalo Bills led the NFL in scoring entering Week 9, averaging 33 points per game. Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson said he wanted to break the single-season scoring record held by the 2013 Denver Broncos (who scored 38 points per game that season) before the start of the year. And Dak Prescott called the Dallas Cowboys’ offense the Greatest Offense There Is (GOTI). But the Bengals are the most dangerous offense in the league right now. During the team’s four-game winning streak, the Bengals have scored at least 30 points in every game. It’s the second time they’ve accomplished that feat in franchise history, and the first time since 1997. Cincinnati leads the league in third-down conversion percentage (53%), which allows it to go on long drives for scores. And the Bengals have one of the most accurate kickers in the league, with a strong leg in Evan McPherson. Along with Burrow playing at an MVP level, the Bengals have the best receiving duo in the league in Tee Higgins and Chase. Cincinnati’s ground game also finally got going, totaling 123 yards on the ground in Sunday’s win. And the Bengals have an easy schedule down the stretch, facing three teams in their last nine games with winning records. Shedeur Sanders made his first start of the season on Sunday, filling in for an injured Deshaun Watson in their 23-22 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Sanders struggled early, particularly when New Orleans blitzed, but turned it around late. He led the Browns to a game-tying field goal to send the game into overtime, and he also led them to a touchdown in the extra period of play. However, Sanders failed to connect on a two-point conversion that would’ve won the Browns the game as they fell to 5-4 on the year. Conclusion: Overreaction Sanders finished 19 of 31 for 297 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions, posting a 114.6 passer rating. On the surface, those are good numbers for a starting quarterback in the NFL. But Sanders was sacked five times. And franchise quarterbacks make their money on third down and in the red zone. Sanders was solid on third down, completing 5-of-7 passes for 100 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. The Browns posted a respectable 44.4% third-down conversion rate. Sanders provided virtually nothing in the red zone, though. He only threw one pass, which fell incomplete, in the red area. That tells me Browns head coach Todd Monken doesn’t trust the Colorado product to make the correct decisions in that compact area of the field while he’s still learning the offense. The Browns finished 0-for-2 as a team in the red zone, including a failed fourth-down conversion where Sanders got his feet tangled up with an offensive lineman on a running play. Sanders went 3-4 last season as a starter and continues to show promise when given an opportunity, but with the Browns still in playoff position and Watson a more polished executioner of the offense, I would think the veteran is the starter for the Browns next week. With Sam Darnold unavailable due to quad and rib injuries, Drew Lock made his second start for Seattle this season. And Lock had another strong performance, completing 19 of 28 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, while not turning the ball over in a 17-3 victory over the visiting Arizona Cardinals. For the season, Lock is 54 of 76 (71%) for 597 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 116.0 passer rating. The Seahawks are 3-0 in games he’s played the majority of the snaps. Darnold, meanwhile, is 127 of 211 (60.2%) for 1,478 yards, with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions for a 79.8 passer rating. The Seahawks are 1-4 in games Darnold has played the majority of the offensive snaps. Conclusion: Overreaction Both players are dealing with injuries, so the Seahawks will likely play the healthier player next week against the Las Vegas Raiders. Lock’s been dealing with a nagging elbow injury and suffered an oblique injury in the victory over the Cardinals, leaving his availability in question next week. Although it’s a smaller sample size, Lock’s got the better numbers this season and seems to have a better feel for moving the offense with new offensive coordinator Brian Fluery. However, Darnold led Seattle to a Super Bowl victory, including playing well at the end of the season and in the playoffs. He deserves more time to find his way and get better command of the offense.