Ja'Marr Chase has been in the top tier of NFL wide receivers since he entered the league with the Bengals in 2021 and proved on Sunday why he belongs in the superstar echelon. Week 9 brought the absolute best version of the three-time All-Pro. He showed off his pass-catching prowess to an international audience with the best first half of his career in the 2026 Madrid Game.
Back on American soil were a number of other star-caliber performances but also a handful of lowlights. The Washington Commanders were among those teams who left something to be desired when they fell to 2-5-1 on the year.
For every standout showing, there is typically an inverse effort that is equally as poor. Here are the biggest winners and losers from Sunday's Week 9 action across the NFL.
Winner: Ja'Marr Chase's historic first half
The final box score shows that Chase had himself a massive day in Madrid. The Bengals receiver caught 10 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown in the 34-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons and was integral in his franchise securing its first win on international soil. Far more impressive than his totals, however, was the percentage of that production that came in the first half alone.
Chase hauled in eight of his receptions in the game's first half hour. The touchdown and 142 of his yards also came in the opening half. The yardage was the most in any first half of Chase's tremendous career and the most in a first half by a Bengals wide receiver since 1988.
In the process, Chase joined Randy Moss as the only two wide receivers in NFL history with at least seven touchdowns in each of their first six seasons.
Most career games with 10+ receptions, 100+ receiving yards, 1+ receiving TD
Davante Adams: 16
Ja'Marr Chase: 13
Keenan Allen: 12
Antonio Brown: 12
Winner: Rams' defensive front
It took until Week 9, but the Los Angeles Rams were finally able to unleash a ridiculously talented defensive line duo of Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald. Garrett made his first appearance since Week 1 as he returned from injured reserve and completed his comeback from an in-season knee surgery. It was his first game with Donald, who joined the lineup in Week 2.
Garrett said in advance of the 20-13 win over the Commanders that opposing offensive lines would have to pick their poison when dealing with the one-two punch of future Hall of Famers and that they would have fun exploiting any one-on-one matchups that came their way. He did just that when he racked up three sacks and a forced fumble in his first game back. It was his eighth career three-sack performance.
Loser: Commanders' end-of-game decisions
The same team that botched a last-second situation earlier in the year and thus settled for a tie instead of a potential win delivered another head-scratcher a few weeks later. The Commanders needed a touchdown to force overtime or take the lead against the Rams and had mere seconds to obtain it when they made two questionable calls.
With eight seconds to play in a 20-13 game, quarterback Jayden Daniels took a deep shot and left the ball short of the goal line. That would have been a reasonable throw if the Commanders had any timeouts at their disposal, but they were out of them at that point of the fourth quarter. A completion in that spot would have ended the game. Then, on the final play of the afternoon, Washington dialed up a hook-and-ladder play instead of a Hail Mary, which came up well shy of the end zone. Rather than having Daniels chuck the ball 31 yards, they looked for something underneath that was not there.
Coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator David Blough have drawn significant scrutiny, and those end-of-game decisions will not pull them out from under the microscope.
Winner: Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders' terrific individual effort came with the caveat that it did not result in a win. The Cleveland Browns quarterback showed the makings of a viable starter in the 23-22 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints, though. That is a development that gives the Browns some flexibility moving forward if Deshaun Watson falters upon his return from the concussion protocol. And it could even lead to an internal quarterback controversy if any of the Browns decision-makers view Sanders' 297-yard, two-touchdown performance as a successful audition for the job.
Even in defeat, Sanders came through in the clutch for the Browns. He connected with rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion for a 64-yard go-ahead touchdown pass with 5:21 to play, moved the ball into field goal range to send the game to overtime and threw a touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr. at the end of overtime. That 39-yarder to the tight end would have been a game-winner if the Browns pulled off the 2-point conversion.
Winners: Offenses that survived quarterback injury scares
A pair of division title contenders watched their lives flash before their eyes. Two quarterback injuries ended up being much less severe than they appeared in the moment, and that gave the Chiefs and New York Giants a sigh of relief, because they looked bad. Patrick Mahomes did not miss a single snap despite sustaining an arm injury, while J.J. McCarthy returned to his game after less than a quarter's worth of evaluation on the sideline and in the locker room with a hip issue.
Mahomes took a heavy hit to his throwing arm from Jets standout rookie David Bailey and coughed up the ball for a strip sack. His arm was limp as he ran to the sideline in immense discomfort, grabbing at his elbow area. But he was back out with the offense on its next drive and led the unit to a 21-0 second half shutout in a 23-point win.
McCarthy missed nearly the entire third quarter of the Giants' 19-11 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, and it was Jameis Winston who led a go-ahead touchdown drive in his absence. But he bounced back from a hard hit to his hip and kept the lead intact during the final period. In just his second start with the team since his arrival via trade, he guided the Giants to their first win in Philadelphia in 13 years and kept them in first place in the NFC East.
Loser: Harrison Butker
The silver lining for the Kansas City Chiefs is that their kicking woes did not haunt them in their three-score win over the New York Jets. But with the way things have gone on special teams this season -- and even dating back to last year -- one has to wonder how long Harrison Butker will keep his job. His persistent struggles are bound to cost the Chiefs in close games during the second half of the season and into the playoffs unless he turns a corner or the team removes him in favor of a more consistent field goal kicker.
Butker missed a field goal attempt at the end of the first half, but an offsides penalty negated the failed kick. He then missed the second try from five yards closer.
Only eight games into the season, Butker has already missed more attempts this year (seven) than in any single season during his career. He has now also missed 17 field goal tries since the start of the 2025 campaign. His miscues led the Chiefs to add Justin Tucker to their practice squad last month. It may be a matter of time before the team elevates Tucker to the active roster and ends the Butker era.
Winner: Close-game Broncos
It takes some luck to win one-score games in the NFL, but good teams create their own luck. The Denver Broncos are a good team. Their 26-21 win over the Carolina Panthers extended their winning streak in one-possession regular-season games to 16, which is the longest such streak in NFL history. The last time they fell short in one of those tight situations was all the way back in Week 3 of the 2025 season.
This one nearly got away from them, actually. The Broncos built a 26-14 lead with 5:41 to play but surrendered a touchdown and watched as the Panthers advanced to the 36-yard line in the final two minutes. A strip sack ended Carolina's rally and made edge rusher Nik Bonitto the latest standout to play the hero role in this stretch of clutch wins.
All but one of Denver's seven wins this year have come by seven points or fewer. Doubters will argue that this is an unsustainable way to win, but Sean Payton's team just keeps pulling it off.
Broncos' 2026 one-score wins
Week 2: W 20-13 vs. Jaguars
Week 3: W 30-26 vs. Rams
Week 5: W 23-17 at Chargers
Week 6: W 17-14 (OT) at Seahawks
Week 8: W 28-24 vs. Chiefs
Week 9: W 26-21 at Panthers
Winners: Punters
No team ever wants its punter on the field, but three squads made the most of fourth-down situations on Sunday. The Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions turned their punters into offensive threats with a fake punt apiece, and in doing so, their matchup became the first game in NFL history wherein both teams' punters completed a pass.
Jack Fox of the Lions was the first of the two to successfully pick up a first down through the air. From his own 29-yard line, he threw a strike to Tay Martin for 11 yards and a new set of downs. Fox is now 5-of-6 passing for his career with 72 yards, and each of his completions resulted in a first down. The Dolphins pulled off a trick of their own in the fourth quarter when Bradley Pinon floated a ball to a wide-open Kaytron Allen, who rattled off a 46-yard gain on fourth-and-3 from Miami's own 36.
