12 things we learned: Week Nine

Somewhat unbelievably, we’re already halfway through the 2026 NFL regular season, and it has been a bizzare first half to say the least. Very few teams have played consistently good football all the way through, some divisions are a lot stronger than others, but most importantly, the Super Bowl title is still well and truly up-for-grabs for whoever can hit form at the right time of year.

There was a lot to take out of Week 9’s action, and Preme Football have broken down the major storylines and talking points from each of the past weekend’s games into 12 simple paragraphs, so here are the main takeaways from the ninth week of the regular season.

1) There’s tight competition for the league’s best quarterback and receiving trio

It’s no surprise to most that Joe Burrow, having returned to full health over the offseason, is having an MVP-calibre year, while being the focal point of the Cincinnati Bengals and getting the best out of his Pro-Bowl receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. In the Bengals’ 34-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid, Burrow added another 271 passing yards (155 to Chase), and 3 passing touchdowns (2 to Higgins), as his team moved to 6-2. What has taken the league by storm in 2026 so far is the play of the NFL’s passing yards leader, Jordan Love, as well as the numbers of his 2 lead receivers, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. Watson (879) and Golden (783), are both top-4 in the entire league in receving yards, which is unheard of in the modern era. Love had his best performance of the season in a 45-27 domination of the New England Patriots on Sunday, and it would be a tight go if the season ended today as to whether he or Burrow would get the nod for the league’s most prestigious individual award. What’s made both of their achievements all the more remarkable is that both the Bengals and Green Bay Packers rank bottom-3 in the association for rushing yards per game, showing the burden that the 2 quarterbacks have successfully taken on in carrying their offenses.

2) The AFC’s 1 seed is Jacksonville’s to lose

Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars are absolutely humming right now, coming off an obliteration of the depleted Baltimore Ravens. Liam Coen has put the league on notice by ensuring that when his team wins, they win by big margins, and they seem to think they have what it takes to beat all other 31 teams on their day. Currently 6-2, what is most intriguing about Jacksonville’s second half of the season leading into the playoffs is their schedule. They face teams above .500 in just 3 of their remaining 9 games, with their opponents having a combined 31-42-2 record. Some might argue that this could work against the Jaguars in that they won’t be battle tested come late-January, but with their home field advantage having proven so strong over the last one-and-a-half seasons, they might benefit enough from it to roll through the AFC.

3) The NFC’s 5 or 6 seed is incredibly desireable

The NFL’s 14-team playoff structure has had its fair share of critics in recent years, and there’s every chance they will get their opportunity to be as vocal as ever in 2026. Somehow, the 3-5 Carolina Panthers currently sit atop the NFC South, good for the conference’s number 4 seed, while the 6-3 Green Bay Packers sit in last place in the NFC North and 7th in the conference standings. The New York Giants have also emerged as the front-runner to win the NFC East and likely the 3 seed, but after their unconvincing win against the Philadelphia Eagles last week, it would be hard to justify picking them over the likely suitors for the wildcard positions. All 4 NFC North teams currently sit inside the playoff picture and would be heavy favourites against either the Panthers or Giants should they meet in the Wildcard round, and although a big month of intra-divisional matchups within the North might create some separation, the debate could well come to life once again as to whether the league’s playoff structure needs a revamp.

4) Kirk Cousins will need to work miracles for the Vikings

There have been a few horrible quarterback performances so far this season, but given the spectacle of Monday night’s Vikings vs Buffalo Bills game, it’s going to be hard to go past Carson Wentz’s as the worst. While he and the Minnesota offense perhaps simply confirmed what most already claimed to know about the team, their incompetency was nothing short of embarrassing, so much so that it triggered the front office to bring back Cousins at the trade deadline. The veteran was in the middle of a solid season with the Las Vegas Raiders, and looks likely to be an improvement on what the Vikings have gotten out of Kyler Murray, but their ground game has also been sub-par, and Justin Jefferson hasn’t looked the same wide receiver even when the ball has been thrown his way. After a 6-0 start, it’s very quickly reached desperation time in Minnesota, as they look to avoid being the first team in 17 years to miss the playoffs after being undefeated through 6 games.

5) Las Vegas is ready for Fernando Mendoza

Following on from the Minnesota Vikings’ acquisition of Kirk Cousins, the door has been opened for Mendoza to take the reigns as the Raiders’ starting quarterback. Having only appeared briefly in the team’s blowout loss to the New England Patriots earlier in the year, 2026’s 1st overall pick gets his chance to take over a team that still has genuine playoff aspirations, sitting at 4-5 despite losing 5 of their last 6. He’ll be welcomed to the league with a baptism of fire, as his first 3 starts come against 3 of the league’s toughest defenses, starting this week against the Seattle Seahawks. The expectations on what Mendoza could produce in the remainder of his rookie campaign seem to be varied, but Raiders fans must be ecstatic to get a glimpse into their future as he, Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty all take the field together for the first time.

6) CJ Stroud continues to fly under the radar

To some, Week 8’s visit to Los Angeles to take on the winless Chargers was seen as a potential danger game for a Houston Texans team wirh little margin for error in their playoff pursuit. Stroud clearly wasn’t listening to any of that. Houston’s quarterback continued his strong season with an equal-career-high 5 passing touchdowns to go with 384 yards in a complete rout of the hopeless Chargers defense. While he is a rung below the lead contenders for MVP, particually due to the team’s 3-5 record, he’s certainly improved upon his 2024 and 2025 form, and taken this offense to another level. Many still believe that despite playing catch-up, and likely being out of contention for the AFC South title, the Texans’ underlying numbers, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, will take over and see them do enough to sneak into a playoff spot, and a relatively soft schedule to end the regular season will also help.

7) The Rams will need to dig deep to keep winning games

While Los Angeles have somewhat returned to form with 3 consecutive wins, the team’s overall output from the beginning of the season certainly hasn’t been what most expected. Matthew Stafford certainly hasn’t replicated his MVP-winning season from the year gone by, and injuries to crucial players at inopportune times haven’t helped. After Sunday’s win in Washington, it was announced that Puka Nacua had suffered a knee injury that is likely to see him land on injured reserve, joining star receiving partner Davante Adams, who has missed the past month already. Due to the imbalanced nature of the NFC’s divisions, the Rams’ only chance at making the playoffs might be through winning the NFC West, within which they are currently 2.5 games behind the San Francisco 49ers, and a huge burden lies on the shoulders of Stafford and the defense to keep the team afloat in the absence of some offensive firepower.

8) Kenneth Walker III is the best recruit of the season

Perhaps more hype should have been generated when the reigning Super Bowl MVP in Walker III signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency to team up with Patrick Mahomes, so that his current level of production didn’t come as such a surprise. Walker III scored his first hattrick of touchdowns of the season last weekend, bringing his tally to a league-leading 11, to go with 872 total rushing yards (only 8 behind Bijan Robinson in first-place, who has not yet had his bye). The ex-Seahawk has provided the perfect compliment to Mahomes, who has had a solid season and made crucial plays when he has needed to, but importantly has had a weight lifted off his shoulders with the addition of a reliiable running back. The Chiefs added Josh Downs at the trade deadline to deepen their receving corps, and although they haven’t necessarily stood out as a lead contender this year, no team would want to see them in a playoff game.

9) Good luck to fans of the Colts and Dolphins this week

Every season tends to have a single game that stands out as the most tough to watch, and 2026’s has every chance to take place this Sunday when Miami head to Indianapolis. The Dolphins have already announced that Kyle McCord will be stepping in under center for the injured Malik Willis, while the Colts, although they did keep hold of Jonathan Taylor, were sellers at the trade deadline and are left with very little talent.
Indianapolis fans do not need reminding that their team does not possess its first-round pick for 2027, although it may well be inside the top 3, giving them somewhat more of a reason to want to win this game, unlike Miami, who already have an eye on Jeremiah Smith. The 3 hours spent by viewers watching this game could feel like 3 weeks, and it would be recommended for CBS to include a trigger warning that all viewers may be deterred from ever wanting to watch football again.

10) Seattle’s defense is still as strong as ever

The 2026 Seahawks seem to be enduring a very similar title defense to the 2025 Philadelphia Eagles, to whom their Super Bowl-winning profile was also highly comparable. Seattle’s defensive unit, who ranks 1st in passing yards against, 4th in rushing yards against and 4th in points against, has not taken a step backwards from the dominance that headlined last season, but its been the offense that has regressed, as was the case in Philadelphia. Their young superstars in Nick Emmanwori, Devon Witherspoon and Byron Murphy II have continued their natural progression of improvement, while Mike Macdonald’s defensive scheme has gotten the best out of Ernest Jones IV, Julian Love, Drake Thomas, and others. This team is certainly built for playoff football, but whether Sam Darnold/Drew Lock and the offense can get them there is a separate question.

11) Winning games in different ways is a great sign for the Bears

Ben Johnson has made it very clear since the moment he was appointed head coach in Chicago what sort of team he wants to build – an offensive juggernaut that outscores its opposition every single week. While there’s been a few quarters, halves and even whole games, where the Bears have looked like just that, such a style of football hasn’t necessarily aligned with the profile of recent Super Bowl winners, and it simply isn’t that easy. Caleb Williams threw 4 interceptions on Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Luther Burden III lost a fumble. Teams who turn the ball over 5+ times have a 12.4% win rate in NFL history, but Williams and the Bears didn’t panic despite things not going to plan, and still managed to lead a game-winning drive and score 27 points on the night, capped off by Cairo Santos’ field goal as time expired. A week prior, it was a rock solid defensive performance that headlined a win in Seattle. While the team’s one wood is evident, they have more clubs in the bag and will be prepared for whatever is thrown their way should they secure a playoff berth.

12) Shedeur Sanders is unlucky not to remain Cleveland’s starter

Although the Browns fell narrowly to the New Orleans Saints, Sanders was outstanding when it mattered, posting a total 297 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. He led a lead-taking drive late in the 4th quarter, before the game went to overtime and was ultimately only decided by a failed 2-point conversion after Sanders had found Harold Fannin Jr. for a Herculean touchdown catch-and-run. Alas for him, he was only starting in place of Deshaun Watson, who missed with concussion, and it was announced early this week that Watson would return to the starting role, having cleared protocol. One thing Watson has had on his side so far in 2026 is his own play in the clutch, which has resulted in victories. Cleveland do still sit above .500 at 5-4, and await Watson’s former team, the Houston Texans, this week, in a game with major implications for the trajectory of both teams’ seasons. They have every right to still believe they can challenge for a playoff spot this season, but question marks do still linger over the long-term status of the Browns’ quarterback position.

What was your biggest takeaway from the ninth week of regular season play?