NFL Week 9 had a little bit of everything. The action started overseas in Madrid with Bengals-Falcons before shifting stateside for Rams-Commanders and a packed slate of games. There was no shortage of storylines. Shedeur Sanders took his first start of the 2026 season for the Browns but came away with a loss to the Saints. Bo Nix, meanwhile, had another comeback in him, leading Denver to its fifth fourth-quarter rally of the year.

From surprising results to late-game heroics, Week 9 gave fans plenty to talk about. Here’s a look at everything that went down.

Eagles 11, Giants 19

The Giants had only recently acquired J.J. McCarthy in a trade, but his injury troubles appeared to follow him to New York. McCarthy later left the game with a hip injury before returning to action.

His afternoon was overall a difficult one, as he was sacked five times over his 12 completions. Later, he did emerge from the locker room fired up. Meanwhile, even QB2 Jameis Winston briefly took over while McCarthy was sidelined.

With seconds remaining before halftime, Braden Mann blasted an 86-yard punt from the Eagles’ end zone, providing a standout moment in an otherwise frustrating afternoon for Philadelphia.

Winston made his brief appearance count, finding Isaiah Likely for a 5-yard touchdown while McCarthy was sidelined. The score put New York ahead 13-8 and proved to be the Giants’ only touchdown of the afternoon.

Dominic Zvada then added two fourth-quarter field goals, helping New York finish off a 19-11 victory. Winston had supplied the lead, but Zvada’s kicks gave the Giants the additional points they needed to keep Philadelphia chasing through the closing stages.

NYC’s 19-11 win over Philly wasn’t without postgame fireworks. WR Malik Nabers had a go at FOX analyst Greg Olsen, who had been pretty harsh on Nabers throughout the game for his body language and sideline behaviour following an overthrown target and a TD by teammate Isaiah Likely.

“Yall be trying [to] create a narrative on me soo bad, it’s actually crazy. If you [don’t] like the way I play the game, keep the camera off me!! SIMPLE!” he wrote on his Instagram story. “But [Olsen] calling me a bad teammate when every team I’ve been on, there’s NOBODY I’ve played with has said dat bout me is crazy!

“My face the same way if I’m having a good game, bad, winning or losing. If it’s a problem: 1. Keep the camera off of me. 2. Pray bout it! Simple.”

Later, Greg Olsen broke his silence over the accusations. “Since people are going to just make up quotes and put worlds in my mouth, here were my comments on Malik Nabers At no point did we ever say he was a bad teammate.”

Chiefs 35, Jets 12

With the Chiefs having recorded their second loss of the season just last week to divisional rival the Broncos, Patrick Mahomes surely knew how important it would be to stick it out for a win. And when the moment arrived, he stayed tough despite a hit.

With the Chiefs leading by two and less than two minutes remaining before halftime, Mahomes was brought down by this year’s second overall draft pick, David Bailey. The hit appeared to hurt Mahomes’ right throwing arm, but he stayed in the game.

Mahomes received brief medical attention on the sideline but did not miss a single offensive snap, returning to action immediately. The injury scare did little to slow Kansas City after the break. Leading just 14–12 at halftime, the Chiefs scored 21 unanswered points across the final two quarters to turn a close game into a comfortable win.

Kansas City’s defense helped make sure Mahomes’ return was not followed by another tense finish. The Jets managed minus-9 yards of offense in the third quarter and went scoreless throughout the second half, giving the Chiefs room to pull away.

All in all, it was a successful outing for Mahomes, who connected 23-for-31 and threw two touchdowns over 242 yards.

Kansas City’s running backs gave Mahomes plenty of support. Kenneth Walker III rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, adding two receiving scores to finish with three touchdowns. Travis Kelce also contributed on the ground, scoring from a yard out on the opening possession of the second half as the Chiefs began pulling away.

Rookie Emmett Johnson then supplied the final touchdown, scoring on a 6-yard run with 3:35 remaining to make it 35-12 and cap Kansas City’s dominant second half.

Colts 23, Cowboys 27

The Dallas Cowboys were hit with a flag during the game and the reason seems bizarre. The game featured 23 penalties but this one was called on someone who wasn’t even playing.

Cowboys linebacker Shemar James recovered the ball after a Colts fumble and everyone ran towards the end zone for a celebration. That’s when a player in sweats ran off the sideline to join them. Well, apparently, that was against the rules.

Referee Clay Martin announced the penalty, he explained exactly what happened, per Fox Sports. “After the play, unsportsmanlike conduct by Dallas,” Martin said. “We had a non-uniform player in blue sweats and a stocking cap come onto the field to celebrate. That’s a 15-yard penalty.”

Beyond that, Dak Prescott connected with CeeDee Lamb for a touchdown before halftime, helping Dallas take a 17-7 lead into the break.

Indianapolis fought back after the teams exchanged third-quarter field goals. Ashton Dulin turned a Daniel Jones pass into a 55-yard touchdown, cutting the Cowboys’ advantage to 20-17. Spencer Shrader then tied the game with a 59-yard field goal with 5:56 remaining before hitting from 50 yards with 1:37 left to put the Colts ahead 23-20.

That left Prescott needing a response, and he found Ryan Flournoy for a 46-yard gain to set up Javonte Williams’ 1-yard touchdown run with 1:08 remaining. Dallas reclaimed the lead at 27-23, then rookie safety Caleb Downs secured the win with his first career interception, picking off Jones with 35 seconds left.

The narrow finish came despite Dallas holding a 508-271 advantage in total offense. Prescott threw for 335 yards, with Lamb accounting for 195 of them on 10 catches.

Panthers 21, Broncos 26

Carolina had a chance to extend its 14-13 lead late in the third quarter, facing first-and-goal at Denver’s 1-yard line. Bryce Young targeted Tommy Tremble in the end zone, but the ball deflected off the tight end and into the reach of Broncos safety Devon Key. Officials initially ruled the pass incomplete.

Sean Payton challenged the ruling, arguing that Key had secured the ball before it touched the ground. Carolina appeared to get its next play underway, but officials determined that Payton had thrown his challenge flag before the snap. Replay overturned the incompletion, awarding Key an interception and giving Denver possession at its own 20.

The reversal changed more than the result of one pass. Instead of another chance to score from the goal line, Carolina watched Denver take over and begin a 14-play, 80-yard drive. Jonah Coleman finished it with a 9-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, putting the Broncos ahead 19-14 after an unsuccessful two-point attempt.

During the same game, the halftime entertainment was extended further for the fans as a Corgi invaded the field, displaying an impressive rush game. Eventually, it took about four staff members to stop the dog.

Eventually, Denver took control in the fourth quarter after entering the final 15 minutes trailing 14-13. Bo Nix sparked the turnaround, guiding a 14-play, 80-yard drive that Jonah Coleman finished with a 9-yard touchdown run. Nix then delivered the insurance blow, finding Pat Bryant for a 26-yard touchdown to stretch Denver’s lead to 26-14.

Carolina was not finished. Young found Tetairoa McMillan for a 4-yard touchdown with 3:05 remaining, cutting Denver’s lead to 26-21. The Panthers then got the ball back, giving Young another opportunity to turn the late rally into a winning drive.

Nik Bonitto ended that threat, stripping Young on a sack and recovering the fumble himself. The takeaway secured Denver’s fifth consecutive victory, ensuring that its fourth-quarter comeback survived Carolina’s final push.

Saints 23, Browns 22

Shedeur Sanders made his first start of the season with Deshaun Watson sidelined after spending part of the week in concussion protocol. The opportunity developed into a tight contest in New Orleans, where neither team scored a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 9-6, Sanders found rookie receiver KC Concepcion for a 64-yard touchdown with just over five minutes remaining. Concepcion’s first NFL touchdown put Cleveland ahead 13-9, opening a frantic closing stretch in which Sanders would have to bring the Browns back twice more.

The Saints quickly responded, with Audric Estime punching in a 2-yard touchdown to restore their lead to 16-13. Cleveland refused to go away, though, tying the game with a 51-yard field goal with less than 10 seconds remaining.

Overtime brought another twist. Tyler Shough opened with a 15-yard pass to put New Orleans ahead 23-16, but Shedeur Sanders answered with a 39-yard strike to Harold Fannin Jr. The Browns needed an extra point to tie the game but went for two and the win instead. Under pressure, Sanders rolled right and threw an incomplete pass, leaving Cleveland with a 23-22 overtime defeat.

Sanders finished 19-of-31 for 297 yards and two touchdowns. He helped Cleveland force overtime, then answered New Orleans’ touchdown with another scoring drive, only for the failed conversion to end the comeback. The Browns fell to 5-4, while the Saints improved to 3-5.

Commanders 13, Rams 20

With the scores level entering the fourth quarter, Puka Nacua caught the go-ahead touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford, capping a 150-yard receiving performance.

Meanwhile, Myles Garrett was there on the defense, ensuring his team performed with three sacks to his name. Despite the four sacks that this contributed to against QB Jayden Daniels, the latter still managed to throw a touchdown and amass 274 passing yards.

Dolphins 9, Lions 19

The Lions got the win via a suffocating defensive effort and a very clean kicking performance. They couldn’t get the ball into the end zone consistently, but Jake Bates was excellent with four field goals. The Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs scored the only TD of the day, a short-yardage goal-line score.

Miami’s offense under quarterback Malik Willis just couldn’t get through to the red zone. They managed three field goals from Zane Gonzalez. Detroit’s defence kept them at bay with a series of key stops and sacks in the final minutes.

Chargers 22, Texans 44

Houston had a statement performance at home with quarterback C.J. Stroud picking apart the LA secondary for 384 yards and five touchdowns. The Chargers did manage to get on the board for the first time in three games, scoring 22 to take the lead. Their offensive line completely broke down under the Houston pass rush, though.

The Texans had 8 sacks and were a constant pressure on Chargers QB Justin Herbert all day. It was even worse for LA as Herbert left the game in the fourth quarter with a broken middle finger on his left (non-throwing) hand.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed after the game that Herbert is in for tests to determine whether he has a fracture. The Chargers (0-8) are still winless.

Seahawks 17, Cardinals 3

Seattle relied on a very disciplined defence and situational efficiency to defeat NFC West rivals Arizona 17-3 at Lumen Field. With starting QB Sam Darnold out, backup Drew Lock was in, and he was very effective, not turning the ball over at all despite having to play with an oblique.

RBS Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet both came back and provided the kind of stability you’d expect on the ground. The story of the day was, of course, the defence, which absolutely dominated Cardinals quarterback Gardner Minshew, completely stifled Arizona’s running game, and only allowed one field goal over the course of the four quarters.

Raiders 17, 49ers 38

The 49ers absolutely thrashed the Raiders 38-17 at Levi’s Stadium. All-Pro LB Fred Warner was the catalyst for the day, picking up his fifth forced fumble of the season (which is the most in the league) to go with a five-takeaway performance from the 49ers’ defence.

Offensively, it was a pretty good day for Brock Purdy, too, as he reached his 100th career TD pass.

With receiver Mike Evans out with an injury, rookie WR Jordan Watkins stepped up and took the spotlight, getting all four of his targets for 86 yards and a TD. The 49er ground game was also excellent, with 190 rushing yards to put the game beyond any doubt.

Patriots 27, Packers 45

Green Bay’s offense was absolutely on fire in Foxborough, with QB Jordan Love picking apart New England’s secondary in a 45-27 demolition. They scored at will, but the win was certainly one of the more dominant ones of the season in the context of the injuries to the backfield.

Star RB Josh Jacobs was out of the game after just four carries when he suffered an open dislocation and fracture of the ring finger on his right hand.

Jacobs confirmed afterwards that he had to manually reposition the bone on the field. Green Bay won comfortably through a combination of their passing attack and defensive stops, but head coach Matt LaFleur was clearly concerned about Jacobs’ ball security going into the crucial divisional game against Minnesota.

Buccaneers 24, Bears 27

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had a real rollercoaster Sunday Night Football game, throwing a career-high four picks, yet still managed to show late-game poise to get the Bears over the line for a 27-24 win. He finished with 279 yards and two touchdowns and was absolutely in control of the final two minutes of play, setting up Cairo Santos for the walk-off 38-yard field goal.

The game was certainly a bit of a mess early in the fourth quarter with a horrific helmet-to-helmet hit on Bears rookie receiver Luther Burden III from Buccaneers rookie LB Rueben Bain Jr.

That hit knocked Burden out with a concussion and resulted in a fumble, but the officials didn’t throw a flag, and that caused a massive amount of anger from the Chicago sideline.

Falcons 17, Bengals 34

In the historic regular-season NFL game at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase were the stars. Burrow had three TDs, and Chase had 155 yards as he shredded Atlanta’s secondary all game long. Cincinnati was in complete control from the get-go.

There was a very unusual moment at the two-minute warning when the floodlights in the stadium went out completely mid-snap. There was a short delay to get the lights back on and replay the down, and the Bengals just ran out the clock. Regardless, it was a fourth straight win for the Bengals.

Week 9 delivered everything from comeback attempts and clutch defensive plays to individual milestones. With the season moving toward its decisive stretch, every win matters. With overall injuries and mounting issues across teams, the following game days are crucial as the playoffs near.