Week 9 Takeaways for the 2026 NFL Season
The trade deadline is coming Tuesday, and one thing that teams need but won’t get is a QB. Injuries and ineffectiveness have led to numerous new starters around the league. Some are short-term replacements, whereas others are permanent shifts. Those guys will be the theme of this week’s article. We’ll discuss all the new faces under center (actually more in the shotgun), how they fared, and who might be next. One diversion: Rams DE Myles Garrett returned and dominated the Commanders with 3 sacks and a forced fumble. That is all. Spin along with the quarterback carousel in my week 9 takeaways for the 2026 NFL season!
TNF: Ravens Not Competitive with Jaguars as Fagnano Overwhelmed
The NFL probably wishes it could’ve flexed this game. They had no idea that Baltimore would be without both Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley. In the pouring rain, they had to turn to rookie UDFA QB Joe Fagnano to start. Technically, RB Derrick Henry took the first snap, but he isn’t the QB of record because he was in the Wildcat formation. Based on how the game went though, maybe the Ravens wish he did in fact play QB the whole night. Let me give OC Declan Doyle a bit of credit: he got really creative with his play calling to try and make life easier for Fagnano. He just didn’t have a lot to work with, and it showed.
Against the Jaguars’ #1 defense, Baltimore used a heavy dose of Henry (17/57). That worked for a little while, but Jacksonville eventually clamped down on him to make Fagnano (10/18, 60 yards, 2 INTs) beat them. He couldn’t. Despite throwing just one pass more than 10 yards downfield, Fagnano threw two second-half INTs and produced a stagnant attack. The rest of the team didn’t help. Baltimore, the league’s worst team with respect to presnap penalties, put Fagnano behind the sticks often. TE Mark Andrews failed 2 tush pushes (one came on 4th down after a Travis Hunter fumble gave them good field position. Even special teams contributed with a KR fumble.
I’m moving on to Jacksonville now, because they deserve plenty of praise. QB Trevor Lawrence (16/26, 242 yards, TD) is quietly posting an MVP campaign. He wasn’t flashy in the downpour, but he made no mistakes. While the running game did next to nothing, Lawrence spread the ball to 9 targets, with his favorite for the day being WR Jakobi Meyers (4/65). The sign of a good team is playing a bad team and stomping them as expected. My only complaint about the Jaguars’ offense is that they settled for too many FGs (4 of them), but they throttled down their normally aggressive 4th-down approach due to the flow of the game.
Defensively, even without injured DT DaVon Hamilton, they managed to stop Baltimore’s running game aside from one late 65-yard TD scamper by RB Justice Hill. DC Anthony Campanile confused Fagnano nonstop, making life easy for the pass defense. He’ll be a sneaky HC candidate this offseason, and he’s getting some major new chess pieces. Baltimore’s desperation showed early, as they went on 4th-and-1 at their own 29…in the 2nd quarter! Their only hope is that new QB Jacoby Brissett can save them. I fear their problems extend beyond the QB though. Jacksonville can start thinking about the #1 seed in the AFC. They’re a complete team playing in a poor division
Lock Bests Minshew in Battle of Backups as Cardinals’ Plan Backfires
Last week, Arizona benched QB Jacoby Brissett and inserted Gardner Minshew. His great comeback led to his naming as the starter. I knew that facing the elite Seahawks defense would be a problem, and sure enough, the Cardinals never reached the end zone. The offense looked much like it did before funnily enough. Most passes were short, the running game got nothing going, and Minshew spent most of the game under duress. He took 3 sacks and averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt. Seattle never felt challenged beyond 10 yards, so they brought more people into the box. Arizona never made them pay for that choice.
Minshew didn’t play badly so to speak, but he had little to work with. TE Trey McBride (7/54) was good as usual, and WR Michael Wilson (6/60) played well. However, the latter left with a neck injury and is now done for the year. Worse still, Minshew hurt his elbow, and he too is out for the season with a torn UCL. Rookie Carson Beck will be the starter moving forward. That’s probably for the best, as the Cardinals need to see what they have in the 3rd-rounder. They can now give him an extended audition without forcing him onto the field before he “earned it”. It’s time to make plans for the 2027 draft because this season is over.
On the other sideline, Sam Darnold missed more time, this time with quad and rib injuries. Drew Lock, who already beat Arizona once this year, did so again. His performance was in no way flashy. Lock (19/28, 175 yards, TD) managed the game and reaped the rewards of a running game that actually did something. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (7/51) didn’t even have to do all that much for Seattle to cruise to a 17-3 victory. This is the formula for the Seahawks. At their core, they’re a defense-led team. If they can run the ball effectively, control the clock, and make a few timely passes, their stop unit can do the rest. Which brings me to a question.
Should Lock be starting over Darnold if both are healthy (Lock has oblique and elbow injuries but is expected to start week 10)? I believe that Darnold should still be QB1. The fact that this is even a debate tells you how poorly Darnold has taken care of the football, but you have to consider the upside. Lock has settled in as a premium backup, but we’ve seen him as a starter for an extended period. Darnold was a key reason Seattle won a ring just last year. He has earned the right to work through his issues and return to that level of play. If he can’t do that after another batch of games, we’ll return to this debate.
Sanders Heats Up Late but Browns Fall to Saints in OT After Missed 2-PT Try
Cleveland’s Shedeur Sanders is hanging around Deshaun Watson way too much. With Watson out against the Saints due to a concussion (he cleared the protocol but did so too late to be active), Sanders did his best Watson impression. He took 5 sacks by holding onto the ball too long and failed to find any sort of rhythm during the first three quarters. The running game provided no help (2.8 YPC), but Sanders didn’t do himself many favors either. Honestly, he looked a lot like 2025 Shedeur Sanders but (thankfully) without the turnovers). The Browns put up just 2 FGs going into the 4th frame, but they also held New Orleans to the same output.
NO had better counting stats, but they made more mistakes. Getting rookie first-round WR Jordyn Tyson (4/30) back should’ve been a big help, but he fumbled his first NFL catch in the red zone. New Orleans wouldn’t reach Cleveland’s 20 again for 2 full quarters. Don’t ask me what woke these two offenses up as regulation neared its end, but they switched from grinding the game away to participating in a shootout. It all started with the Saints leading 9-6. Sanders uncorked a bomb to rookie WR KC Concepcion (4/85/1) for his first NFL TD. A touchdown felt like a dagger with the Saints’ offensive performance, but they responded (with a punt in between).
QB Tyler Shough (21/35, 265 yards, TD; 10/51 rushing) rediscovered his clutch gene that he displayed during the first few weeks of the season. He and WR Chris Olave (7/98) worked the Saints down the field, and RB Audric Estime (15/72/1), who was a Brown a month ago, notched the go-ahead score. Thereafter, Sanders was at his absolute best. He led a perfect 1-minute drill for a game-tying FG despite a drop by Concepcion on the possession. When Shough carved up the Browns defense again in OT to take a 23-16 lead, Sanders again led a TD drive with 1 minute left in OT. However, they went for the win by going for 2, and the pass fell incomplete.
You know I hate those two-point hijinks, but coach Todd Monken actually made sense after the game. He explained that situation was “tie or lose”, and he couldn’t accept those options, so he made the gamble “win or lose” instead. Watson will be starting next week, and I think that’s the correct call. He was 5-3 and had the same 4th-quarter heroics, so there’s no need to make a change. If Watson falls apart, then you have that discussion. I’m not a believer in players losing their jobs because of injuries. Cleveland is already ahead of schedule, so they may as well go with the guy who got them there in the first place.
Milton, Wentz Fail to Provide Any Sort of Spark in Ugly Losses
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni announced this past week that recent practice squad signing Joe Milton would start instead of ineffective backup Tanner McKee. I fully agreed with that move. McKee had done absolutely nothing, and with 6 straight losses, why not try something else? Milton at least has a cannon arm and functional mobility. That mobility wasn’t nearly enough against a ferocious Giants pass rush amid his offensive line’s struggles. NYG sacked Milton 7 times, with rookie Arvell Reese earning 3. Milton (18/34, 169 yards) honestly did as well as I could’ve hoped considering his long-standing accuracy issues.
Philly’s defense battled, holding the Giants to 4 FGs. On the subject of backup QBs, Jameis Winston (6/8, 71 yards, TD) came in for an injured JJ McCarthy (12/19, 127 yards; 4/22 rushing) and scored the team’s lone TD of the game before the starter returned. Somehow, the Philadelphia offense had the ball one last time while down 19-11. Milton played his best here, but the team let him down. WR Makai Lemon had a bad drop, while RB Elijah Mitchell burnt clock by not going out of bounds. Fittingly, the game ended with Milton being sacked before he could fire a Hail Mary. Stick a fork in these 2-7 Eagles. They’re done for sure.
At least Milton gave his team a fighting chance. Minnesota’s Carson Wentz, in for an injured Kyler Murray (hamstring), wrecked his team’s hopes against Buffalo. He sailed passes early, and I wondered if nerves played a role. Alas, he continued firing inaccurate bullets all game long. His second pass actually went backward on a WR screen, leading to a fumble. Wentz (8/25, 81 yards, 2 INTs) threw 2 picks and had a 3rd dropped by a defender. The Viking defense played GREAT against a potent offense. They gave up 100 yards to RB James Cook (31/107/1), but it took him 31 carries to do it. QB Josh Allen (21/31, 234 yards, TD, INT) struggled for a while too.
To the home fans’ dismay, no matter what the defense did, the offense ruined it. Minnesota mustered just 2 FGs, and the defense eventually buckled. You can’t blame them; the Bills had possession for 42:32 of the game. A 23-6 final score betrayed how well DC Brian Flores‘ unit performed. This was ALL on the offense. Wentz isn’t the answer, but I don’t think Murray is either. I fear that despite having the #1 scoring defense and a 6-2 record, Minnesota needs to take a swing at trading for a QB. I’m not sure what team will deal, but something has to be done. They can’t waste this good of a defense and WR Justin Jefferson (3/58) any longer.
Should Colts, Jets, Raiders, or Chargers Make QB Changes?
Four teams had subpar QB performances this week that will make the chorus of people calling for their benching get louder. Let’s start with the Colts. Daniel Jones has not looked good this year, but most QBs don’t coming off torn Achilles. He’s different in the sense that he has shown us this trend before: play well, get paid, and play poorly again. Against Dallas, a bottom-5 defense, Jones (20/34, 180 yards, TD, INT) did not look good. The Colts only had a chance because of Cowboys mistakes. An otherwise dominant WR CeeDee Lamb (10/195/1) fumbled in scoring range, and K Brandon Aubrey missed an FG due to a bad snap. Yet Indy still lost.
I’m leaning toward “yes” with regard to the title question. If Jones isn’t healthy, sit him. Otherwise, he’s not performing well enough to start, and former 4th overall pick Anthony Richardson is waiting for another chance. Richardson was always very raw, so he needed development time. Maybe he’s a bit better now. I’m not particularly optimistic, but the team needs to see what they have before devoting more resources into a position that hasn’t been solved since Andrew Luck retired. To me, it’s clear that Jones isn’t the QB of the future. Richardson might not be that guy either, but he at least has a small chance. That’s worth exploring.
The Jets played the Chiefs and demonstrated the same struggles as usual. They spent the first half kicking FGs while collapsing on defense in the second half. NYJ lost 35-12 after trailing just 14-12 at the half, and QB Geno Smith (18/32, 165 yards) had a mediocre game. In his defense, he played without WR Garrett Wilson (concussion) or any protection (5 sacks). He’s being asked to lift an offense that has plenty of young talent but little cohesiveness, and he’s actually playing rather well overall. In fact, he’s playing better than any Jets QB has in years, which makes what I’m about to say a little unfortunate: NY should make a change.
I’d hate that outcome for Smith, as his play doesn’t warrant a benching. However, he’s on a 1-year deal and is clearly not the team’s future under center. Fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik is the backup, and the Jets need to know if they found a diamond in the rough or not. That’s because NYJ has a boatload of draft capital in the 2027 draft that should position then to land just about any QB prospect they desire. Klubnik looked like a pure backup prospect to me, but I’m sure people have said the same thing about plenty of other mid- and late-round picks. Until he gets a chance, we have no way of knowing what he is.
Raiders QB Kirk Cousins (22/32, 216 yards, TD, 3 INTs, rush TD) had his worst game of the season against the 49ers. His most emblematic play was one in which he dropped the ball during his dropback, picked it up, and threw a duck toward the sideline for a pick six. While he did some good things too, particularly when targeting TE Brock Bowers (7/111/1), Las Vegas played a noncompetitive game overall and lost 38-17. If Cousins isn’t playing great, this team isn’t talented enough to overcome any errors. Cousins is in this section because every time he struggles, people will ask the same question: is it Fernando Mendoza time?
I’m answering that with an emphatic “no!” Cousins is frankly the main reason the Raiders have 4 wins at all. This 4-5 team has the talent of a 2-7 squad, but Cousins’ mostly excellent performance has them overachieving. You’d only bench him for Mendoza if you want the rookie to get game action, not because of his play. Like minority owner Tom Brady, I’d like to see Mendoza sit the full season. Maybe a week 18 start like Patrick Mahomes did as a rookie would be a good idea, but nothing more. Mendoza is learning much more watching Cousins than he would be while under duress from pass rushers. Don’t sabotage him, Vegas.
Finally, now that the Chargers are 0-8, we have to evaluate QB Justin Herbert honestly. In a home game against the Texans, Herbert (13/23, 193 yards, TD, INT) once again looked lost. The bulk of his production came on one short pass to WR Quentin Johnston, which the receiver took 58 yards for a TD. That broke a historic 37-drive streak of zero offensive touchdowns scored, but the rest of the outing was still pathetic. Even the defense lost its effort seeing how poorly the offense played. The Bolts gave up 44 points, which hurt even more because they saw Houston’s own top-10 drafted QB excel: CJ Stroud had 384 yards and 5 TDs.
Herbert gave way to DJ Uiagalelei (2/7, 24 yards, TD) after suffering a finger injury (not broken). I won’t say that this was a face-saving way of benching him, but that might’ve been a smart tactic. Herbert has simply been the league’s worst QB this year, his first under OC Mike McDaniel. This marriage is NOT working, and normally I’d say to make a QB change. In this case though, there are no other viable options. It’s Herbert or bust. I must therefore pivot and suggest a changing of the entire offense, with or without McDaniel. We saw too much good from Herbert for 6 years to say he’s just trash now. This situation must be salvaged.