NFL Week 9 Sunday aftermath, Digi Mart USA News: We’re at the season’s halfway point, and Sunday saw a number of teams and quarterbacks make loud statements as the league heads into the stretch run of the 2026 season. The NFC North went 3-0 on Sunday, with the Vikings set to face the Bills on Monday night.
The AFC North is shaping up as a two-team race, and the Seahawks got back over .500 with Sam Darnold sidelined.
The Rams were the first storyline. Myles Garrett returned from a seven-game stint on injured reserve to bolster a pass rush that had struggled without the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
He recorded a second-quarter strip-sack that set up points, then two pivotal fourth-quarter sacks of Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in a 20-13 Los Angeles win.
“Man, it was a weight off my shoulders,” Garrett said of the three sacks that helped key the win in his return from September knee surgery. “Just getting back to who I am.
I’m nowhere near where I want to be as far as like my performance and the things I know I can do, how I can move. But this is a confidence booster, for sure.”
Garrett played 35 of 58 defensive snaps (60.3%) and generated six pressures and three sacks on 27 pass rushes, a 22.2% pressure rate, according to Next Gen Stats. Sunday was the first time this season that Garrett and Aaron Donald were active together.
With both on the field for 23 plays, the Rams’ defense allowed 5.0 yards per play and recorded four sacks. On all other plays, it allowed 8.1 yards per play, one touchdown and zero sacks.
The Rams improved to 5-4 but still have work to do to reach playoff position. Editor’s update: Sean McVay told reporters Monday that receiver Puka Nacua has MCL and PCL sprains and a turf toe injury and will probably be placed on injured reserve.
In Green Bay, Jordan Love threw for 372 yards, three touchdowns and a regular-season career-high 153.2 passer rating in the Packers’ 45-27 win over the Patriots in Foxborough. He joined Aaron Rodgers as the only Packers quarterbacks with multiple passing touchdowns in at least eight of a season’s first nine games, a feat Rodgers accomplished in 2011 and 2020, winning MVP both years.
Christian Watson (7 catches, 171 yards, 1 touchdown) and Matthew Golden (10 catches, 164 yards, 1 touchdown) also starred.
Love completed 10 of 12 downfield attempts for 294 yards and two touchdowns, the third-most downfield passing yards by a quarterback this season, per Next Gen Stats. “It really doesn’t matter who it is (on defense),” Love said.
“We trust the game plan and trust guys are gonna get open and make plays. It’s the NFL.
We see great DBs every week. Our mindset is we gotta keep attacking.”
Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, meanwhile, threw for and rushed for at least four touchdowns in his fourth straight game, the second-longest streak since 1970 behind only Peyton Manning’s five-game run in 2004. Over the past four games, Burrow has thrown 16 touchdown passes while completing 77% of his attempts.
In the Bengals’ 34-17 win over the Falcons, Ja’Marr Chase caught a 47-yard touchdown and Tee Higgins added two scores. Head coach Zac Taylor said Burrow “is playing at an unbelievably high level right now.”
In Denver, Sean Payton’s Broncos won their fifth straight game, 26-21 over the Panthers, four of them by less than a touchdown. Bo Nix threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Pat Bryant in the fourth quarter, and Nik Bonitto’s strip-sack of Bryce Young sealed the win.
The victory set an NFL record with a 16th consecutive regular-season win in a one-score game.
The New York Giants moved to the top of the NFC East at 5-2-1 with a 19-point-free road showing against the Eagles’ depleted lineup, with Jameis Winston converting key downs after J.J. McCarthy left with a hip injury.
Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese recorded a career-high three sacks and a team-high 12 tackles, the first rookie since at least 1994 to record three sacks and at least 10 tackles in a game.
