NFL Week 9 superlatives

Best NFL History - Tom Brady Beats Aaron Rodgers

Brady defeated Peyton Manning plenty of times. He's also knocked off Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger on multiple occasions. But he had never beaten Aaron Rodgers, who got the better of Brady and the Patriots in their last matchup at Lambeau Field in 2014.

That changed Sunday when the Patriots handed the Packers their third loss in the last four games, winning, 31-17. Brady went 22 of 35 through the air with 294 yards and a touchdown.

Rodgers had a valiant effort, but his team was outmanned most of the night. Rodgers had the Packers in position to take the lead, but on the first play of the fourth quarter at the Patriots 34-yard line, running back Aaron Jones fumbled. That proved to be just as costly as last week's Packers' fumble, as the Patriots took the lead for good on the ensuing possession.

Patriots wide receiver and converted running back Cordarrelle Patterson was a major storyline as well. With Sony Michel inactive, Patterson posted 61 rushing yards and a score on 11 carries.

New England (7-2) has won six in a row.

Midseason MVP - Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs 

Old school NFL fans (myself included) would love to see Todd Gurley become the first running back since 2012 to win the league’s most important regular-season award. But in this passing league, it’s going to be a hard thing for Gurley to do.

And with the Rams knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten, Mahomes moved slightly ahead of Gurley in the MVP race.

On Sunday, Mahomes had another terrific day, throwing for 375 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Most incredibly, he averaged a season-high 11.72 yards per attempt in the, 37-21, victory against the Browns. 

Averaging more than 8.0 yards per pass in a season is an amazing mark, but Mahomes has posted an average of at least 8.0 yards per pass in every game but one. Through eight games, Mahomes has 2,901 passing yards, an NFL-record 29 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

 Worst Penalty - J.R. Sweezy, Seattle Seahawks

Driving to try and tie the game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Seahawks caught a break with time expired when officials called defensive pass interference. The penalty placed the ball at the 1-yard line.

But before the Seahawks could run a play on an untimed down, guard J.R. Sweezy flinched for a false start. Rather than having the ability to run or pass for the potential game-tying score, the Seahawks were forced into a passing situation from the 6-yard line.

Russell Wilson almost impressively squeezed a pass through the defense to the back of the end zone, but Jahleel Addae appeared to tip the ball enough to make the catch impossible for David Moore. The ball fell incomplete, and the Chargers held on to win, 25-17.

 Best Celebration - Seattle Seahawks 

Everyone is going to be talking about Thomas' reenactment of Joe Horn's cell phone celebration for the Saints, but with minutes remaining against one of the most explosive offenses in the league is not the time to pull out a prop for a celebration. Officials rightfully flagged Thomas for his stunt.

So for the second straight week, the Seahawks took home this superlative. My only question is how much practice time is dedicated to perfecting this choreography

Biggest Coaching Blunder - Vance Joseph, Denver Broncos 

Denver had the ball at the Texans 32-yard line with 43 seconds remaining on the running clock and one timeout. Yet, they ran just one more play for minus-1 yard before attempting a 51-yard field goal.

If not for a missed field goal, this mismanagement of the clock would have been a moot point. However, missing the kick is exactly what Brandon McManus did, so the biggest coaching mistake of Sunday belongs to Joseph.

Not attempting at least one or two out-routes to try and make McManus’ attempt under 50 yards is inexcusable. With the Broncos dropping to 3-6, it may even cost him his job.

By the way, with the 19-17 victory, the Texans won their sixth in a row to improve to 6-3.

Biggest Snoozer - New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins 

Division games usually have enough storylines to avoid this superlative, but this one didn’t.

In an era where 400 offensive yards is the new norm, the Jets and Dolphins combined to record 443 yards. They averaged just 3.75 yards per play.

The only touchdown of the game came on a Jerome Baker 25-yard interception return for the Dolphins. Behind that play, Miami beat New York, 13-6.

Miami sits at 5-4 heading into a matchup with the Green Bay Packers next week. The Dolphins have somehow gone 2-2 with Brock Osweiler starting at quarterback, but Ryan Tannehill can’t come back soon enough.

Best Play - Curtis Samuel Reverse Touchdown 

When Fitzmagic is on the other sideline, you have to pull out all the stops. Carolina did just that early in the second quarter.

Following a fake handoff, Cam Newton gave receiver D.J. Moore the ball on what appeared to be an end around. However, the play quickly became a reverse, as Moore flipped the ball to Curtis Samuel. 

This one will be a finalist for play of the year.

Samuel’s touchdown extended the Panthers lead, as Carolina cruised to a 42-28, victory.

Ugliest Play - Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions 

Stafford’s improvisation got the better of him on this play. On a broken play, the Lions quarterback did his best to make something out of nothing, but instead, he turned nothing into a disaster.

Any hope the Lions had of a comeback disappeared after the Vikings scooped up the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown.

Minnesota has won four of the last five after beating Detroit, 24-9, on Sunday.

Biggest Streak Snapped - Adam Thielan, Minnesota Vikings 

The Vikings defense is looking more like itself, but Thielen’s incredible run to begin 2018 has come to a close. The 28-year-old posted eight straight games with more than 100 receiving yards to begin this season, but that came to an end versus the Lions.

Thielen finished Sunday with four catches, 22 yards and a touchdown.

Saddest Quarterback Play - Nathan Peterman, Buffalo Bills 

We are running out of ways to describe how bad Peterman is. He doesn’t belong in the NFL even as a third-string quarterback let alone as a starter.

Against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Peterman chucked up 49 passes and managed to record just 189 passing yards. He also had three interceptions.

Incredibly, with those numbers, there are signs of improvement. Peterman came into Sunday throwing interceptions on 11.1 percent of his pass attempts. Against the Bears, his interception percentage sat at a much more respectable (well, relatively) 6.1 percent.

It was also the first time Peterman didn’t get benched before the fourth quarter. But the Bears won, 41-9.

Best Rookie Performance - Roquan Smith, Chicago Bears

As bad as Peterman was, the Bears young defense was on full display. Eddie Jackson and Leonard Floyd both scored touchdowns on fumble and interception returns, respectively. The Bears didn’t give up a touchdown until the 5:41 mark of the fourth quarter.

But rookie linebacker Roquan Smith was most impressive Bears defender. Smith led the team with 13 tackles, including 11 solos, and forced that fumble returned for a score.

If the Bills want to be competitive again quickly, they need to hit on draft picks as the Bears have the last few years.

Biggest Who’s That? - Maurice Harris, Washington Redskins 

Coming into Sunday, Harris had 11 receptions and 102 receiving yards this season. Against the Atlanta Falcons, Harris recorded 10 catches for 124 yards.

No other Redskins receiver had more than 31 receiving yards.

Harris obviously has talent (remember, he had an incredible touchdown catch last year). Look for Harris to be a bigger part of the Redskins offense moving forward, but Washington must find more production from the rest of its receivers.

Atlanta went into Washington and routed the Redskins, 38-14.

Top Fantasy Waiver Wire Addition - Ito Smith, Atlanta Falcons 

If owners are looking for streaming options in Week 10, look no further than Harris at wide receiver, who will face a very forgiving Buccaneers defense next Sunday.

But in the long term, Smith is our pick to add. Despite the Devonta Freeman injury, the Falcons have continued to split the carries, and Smith has been the biggest beneficiary of that. On Sunday, he received 10 carries, rushing for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Smith has definitely been inconsistent, but he has averaged more than 5.0 yards per carry in three different games this season.

Biggest Feelgood Story - James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers 

With Conner playing so well, the media’s latest hot take on the Steelers running back situation is Pittsburgh is better without Le’Veon Bell. Even me — the biggest advocate that the Steelers didn’t need Bell to win the AFC North — won’t agree with that. Bell is a generational talent that will make any offense better.

But Conner is really good too, and the Steelers don’t miss Bell all that much. Conner ran for 107 yards against the Ravens, which was his fourth straight game with 100 yards on the ground.

Bell supporters will quickly point out No. 26 is also a great receiver. Well, Conner had seven catches for 56 yards and a touchdown in the 23-16 victory against the Ravens on Sunday. Through eight games, he has 1,000 yards from scrimmage.

Conner doesn’t want to be known as a cancer survivor but a football player. He’s accomplishing that feat.

Biggest Injury Scare - Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers 

It wasn’t all good for the Steelers on Sunday, as Pittsburgh fans had the season flash before their eyes when Ravens defender Za’Darius Smith landed on Big Ben’s right shoulder. Roethlisberger remained on the field for a couple minutes, and Twitter exploded with the possibility that Big Ben broke his collarbone just as Aaron Rodgers did last season.

But in typical Roethlisberger fashion, he exaggerated the injury. Apparently, he just had the wind knocked out of him, and Big Ben missed just one play.

Roethlisberger was 28-of-47 with 270 yards and two touchdowns plus a rushing score in the victory.

Best Catch - Fan in Baltimore 

Roethlisberger has completed a pass to 12 different receivers this season, including himself. Add this fan to the list.

Thing that Made Me Happiest in Week 9 - Julio Jones Touchdown 

It finally happened!

At times, it felt as though it never would, but Jones -- one of the best receivers in the game -- crossed the goal line in Week 9. It was his first touchdown of the season and first since he scored twice in Week 11 last year.

For the All-Pro receiver, it’s got to feel good not having to answer questions about failing to score touchdowns this week. It also felt good for my dynasty team.

Incredibly, Jones still only has five touchdowns in his last 29 games. New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has 25 career touchdowns in 24 contests.