Week 9 of the NFL season saw a first: Three QBs with the same last name — Allen — each led their teams to victory. Josh Allen (Bills), Brandon Allen (Broncos) and Kyle Allen (Panthers comprised the trifecta. There were plenty of other players who came up big.
Arizona Cardinals: Kenyan Drake
The Cardinals were down to a running back they acquired early in the week of a Thursday night game. From Miami, no less. Kenyan Drake showed he has plenty of game against the tough SF defense, rushing for 110 yards, catching passes for 52 more and scoring a TD on the ground.
Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson
Simply a maestro at quarterback. Lamar Jackson did it all and led the Baltimore Ravens over the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. Stats don’t tell everything when you have a QB who can lead and perform the way the Heisman winner from Louisville does.
Buffalo Bills: Devin Singletary
Rookie Devin Singletary looks like he may be the go-to back in Buffalo as the season continues. The third-round pick from FAU had 20 carries for 95 yards as the Bills downed Washington.
Carolina Panthers: Christian McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey was magnificent as Carolina downed Tennessee. The great RB accounted for 166 yards total offense and three touchdowns.
Chicago Bears: Pat O’Donnell
Pat O’Donnell put three of his eight punts inside the 20 and averaged 46.5 yards against Philly.
Cleveland Browns: Austin Seibert
Austin Seibert took advantage of the Mile High air in Denver, kicking four field goals in as many attempts in Cleveland’s loss to the Broncos.
Dallas Cowboys: Jason Witten
After an abysmal year of Monday nights in 2018, Jason Witten showed he made the right call to return to the Cowboys. The tight end made a number of big catches when the game was tight and showed he has returned to his usual dependable self at 37. A nod, too, to Ezekiel Elliott, who cruised to 139 yards for another big performance.
Denver Broncos: Noah Fant
Rookie TE Noah Fant helped Brandon Allen by catching three passes for 115 yards, including a 75-yarder for a TD, as Denver downed Cleveland.
Detroit Lions: Golladay/Jones Jr.
The Lions’ tandem of Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. both went off in the loss at Oakland. They combined for 12 catches, 258 yards and a pair of TDs.
Green Bay Packers: Blake Martinez
Precious little went right for Green Bay on its trip to LA for a game against the Chargers. Blake Martinez did have a big game on defense, in on 12 tackles.
Houston Texans: Carlos Hyde
Carlos Hyde liked playing overseas, helping Houston to victory with 19 carries for 160 yards against one of his former teams, the Jaguars.
Indianapolis Colts: Brian Hoyer
Brian Hoyer came off the bench when Jacoby Brissett injured his knee. The journeyman backup was 17-of-26 for 168 yards with 3 TDs and a pick in a tough loss to the Steelers.
Jacksonville Jaguars: None
When the mascot is the only thing that comes to mind you know it wasn’t a good week for Jacksonville in London.
Kansas City Chiefs: Harrison Butker
Harrison Butker completed a four field-goal day with a 44-yarder as time expired to life the Chiefs over the Vikings as KC avoided a four-game home losing streak.
Los Angeles Chargers: Melvin Gordon
Melvin Gordon finally showed the spark of previous years as the Chargers dominated Green Bay. The former Wisconsin star had 20 carries for 80 yards and a pair of TDs. He added three catches for 29 yards in four targets.
Miami Dolphins: Ryan Fitzpatrick
Miami won’t go winless. Ryan Fitzpatrick had a sweet game against one of his former teams, completing 67% of his passes for 288 yards and three TDs as Miami downed the Jets.
Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins threw for three TDs and 220 yards without a pick as Minnesota was beaten by KC on a last-second field goal. Of note, his favorite WR, Adam Thielen, went out again with a hamstring issue after being targeted once.
New England Patriots: Mohamed Sanu
Not a great Sunday night in Baltimore for New England. However, Mohamed Sanu showed his talents and how valuable an acquisition he will be in the long run with 10 catches for 81 yards in the loss to Baltimore.
New York Giants: The black cat
The Giants are struggling. The only player worth awarding against the Cowboys was Aldrick Rojas, and the kicker missed an extra point that always seemed to have Big Blue dangling behind until Dallas broke the game open. So, we will simply go with the star of the evening, the black cat and his amazing broken-field run. He, at least, found the end zone.
New York Jets: None
The Jets lost to the Dolphins. Adam Gase cursed in his post-game press conference. The franchise, actually, seems cursed.
Oakland Raiders: Josh Jacobs
Oakland’s Josh Jacobs continued to run through NFL defenses. The first-round pick from Alabama had 120 yards on 28 carries and two TDs in the win over the Lions.
Philadelphia Eagles: Jordan Howard
Ah, sweet revenge. The Bears sent Jordan Howard to Philadelphia in the offseason and he helped the Eagles send Chicago to defeat Sunday with 82 yards and a TD on 19 carries.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Chris Boswell
Chris Boswell delivered four field goals as the Pittsburgh Steelers gritted out a tough victory over Indianapolis, which saw Adam Vinatieri miss a potential game-winning field goal. Laces out would have helped the Colts’ kicker, immensely.
San Francisco 49ers: Emmanuel Sanders
A recent acquisition, Emmanuel Sanders had an immediate connection with Jimmy Garoppolo. The former Denver Bronco WR grabbed seven passes for 112 yards and a TD in a win over Arizona.
Seattle Seahawks: Lockett/Metcalf
Russell Wilson has a brilliant game. Much of it was thanks to both Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf, who combined for 19 catches, 275 yards and three TDs in an overtime victory over Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mike Evans
Mike Evans was a beast and unstoppable in the loss to Seattle by Tampa Bay. The former Texas A&M star had 12 grabs for 180 yards and a score.
Tennesse Titans: Derrick Henry
Derrick Henry worked well on the ground — averaging nearly five yards a carry and scoring once — and as a receiver, catching three passes for 36 yards and a score in Tennessee’s loss to Carolina.
Washington Redskins: Adrian Peterson
Adrian Peterson continues to defy Father Time. The stellar RB averaged 6.0 yards per carry as he went for 108 yards in Washington’s loss to Buffalo.
