The 32 things we learned from Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season:
0. Still, the number of wins by the Los Angeles Chargers, who lost Sunday to the Houston Texans and dropped to 0-8 for the first time since 2000 when – you might have read this before – Jim Harbaugh was one of their quarterbacks … though it was the Ryan Leaf era then. This year should be more painful for Harbaugh, given both his coaching résumé and the talent on this roster – and the Bolts are apparently unload to part with much, if any, of it even as Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline draws ever nearer.
1. The jersey number of speedy Texans WR Tank Dell, who scored his first TD in nearly two years – a 63-yard reception from C.J. Stroud – after a gruesome knee injury, which included
multiple ligament tears, near the end of the 2024 season derailed his career.
.@Tankdell4 en route ‼️
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) November 8, 2026
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/EsBNPyLOCm
2. The number of punters who completed a pass in Sunday’s game between the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, both the Lions’ Jack Fox and Dolphins’ Bradley Pinion converting first downs.
For his career, @Lions P Jack Fox is 5-of-6 passing (83.3%) for 72 yards.
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) November 8, 2026
All 5 of his completions have resulted in first downs.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/ocn50MjL93
3. The number of sacks by Los Angeles Rams OLB Myles Garrett in his first action with his new team since he failed to even record a tackle in his Week 1 debut in Australia while he was battling a knee injury. But while LA (5-4) peeked above .500 for the first time this season, Rams fans can only hope WR Puka Nacua’s new knee issue doesn’t keep him down for long.
3a. Also the number of sacks by New York Giants rookie LB Arvell Reese – something of a coming-out party given he had 1½ in his first seven games – in his team’s 19-11 defeat of the Philadelphia Eagles.
4. The number of times the Lions went for it – and converted – on fourth down in Sunday’s 19-9 defeat of the Dolphins.
5. More importantly, Detroit fulfilled its near-term mission of notching a W for injured LB Jack Campbell, who remains hospitalized after suffering a scary neck injury in Week 8. Campbell, who is reportedly determined to resume his career, remains at the forefront of his teammates' minds.
"Jack, we love you brother. We know you're watching. Miss you, man."
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 8, 2026
Aidan Hutchinson sent hospitalized teammate Jack Campbell a message after the @Lions win
🎤 @Melanie_Collins pic.twitter.com/sXaleMszsf
"A lot of what we said was win No. 6 for 46," Lions coach Dan Campbell told reporters on Sunday. "And we did that today. We got that done."
6. The number of quarterbacking changes, necessitated by various reasons, in Week 9. Sunday saw the Cleveland Browns’ Shedeur Sanders, Philadelphia’s Joe Milton and the Arizona Cardinals’ Garnder Minshew II all make their first starts of the 2026 – none of them successful. Minshew’s Cards’ were swept by the Seattle Seahawks and their QB2, Drew Lock, who stood in for injured Sam Darnold and vanquished Arizona for the second time this season – though an oblique injury raises the possibility Lock could join Darnold on the sideline in Week 10. The Baltimore Ravens’ Joe Fagnano lost his first career start Thursday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
7. The number of times New York Jets WR Adonai Mitchell was targeted in Sunday’s 35-12 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He didn’t catch a single pass.
8. The number of times Chargers QB Justin Herbert was sacked by the Texans on Sunday, the most abuse a Bolts passer has absorbed in a half-century.
9. To illustrate how much the QB carousel has spun in 2026, Jacoby Brissett, who just lost his starting job to Minshew in Arizona, is expected to replace Fagnano by becoming the Ravens’ fourth different staring quarterback this season on “Monday Night Football” in Week 10. Brissett was officially obtained from the Cardinals on Friday and would face the winless Chargers if that is indeed his Baltimore debut.
10. Speaking of QB2s on Monday night, the Minnesota Vikings are turning to Carson Wentz this week against the Buffalo Bills as Kyler Murray rehabs a sore hamstring … though it’s worth wondering if either he or Wentz will be the Vikes’ starter on the other side of the trade deadline.
11. New Orleans Saints WR Jordyn Tyson caught four passes for 30 yards – and also lost a fumble – in his NFL debut Sunday. A hamstring injury suffered in training camp delayed the start of his career.
12. With Tyson now in action, Los Angeles Rams QB Ty Simpson is the only first-rounder from the 2026 draft who has yet to play.
13. The number of penalties (for 119 yards) committed by the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. They lost to the Denver Broncos.
14. The number of penalties (for 153 yards) committed by the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. They beat the Indianapolis Colts.
15. The play of Week 9? How about Broncos DB Devon Key’s amazing, heads-up interception in Charlotte which completely changed the momentum of the game Denver eventually won.
Such a heads up play in the end zone by Devon Key 😱
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2026
DENvsCAR on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/hdvAXazM8J
16. The number of consecutive regular-season games decided by one score which the Broncos have now won – a new NFL record.
17. Sanders had perhaps the best game of his career – his 114.6 passer rating was a personal best for the Browns’ second-year passer – but he came an overtime two-point conversion shy of upending the Saints in the Superdome. TBD what Sanders’ 297-yard day (with two TD passes) means for incumbent QB1 Deshaun Watson, who sat out Sunday after clearing concussion protocol late in the week.
18. The number of touches (for 64 yards) Colts RB Jonathan Taylor had in Sunday’s loss to Dallas, potentially his final game with Indianapolis pending what happens ahead of the trade deadline – Taylor perhaps the most prized player who remains potentially available. He had averaged nearly 23 touches over the first six games, but it’s perhaps not surprising the Colts have reduced his workload lately.
19. How can a team as talented as the Cowboys nearly find a way to lose to a team as decimated as the Colts? Dallas outgained Indianapolis 508-271, averaged 2.6 yards more per play and dominated time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 11 more minutes of game time. But when you draw that many yellow flags, turn the ball over twice and even your normally elite kicker is missing field goals, you remind everyone why you might not be good enough to win even the downtrodden NFC East.
20. What a wild day for the Eagles’ Braden Mann, half of his eight punts covering 60 yards – one at the end of the first half bombed 86 yards, the longest in the league in a quarter-century.
This is the longest punt since 2001. What a 🚀 by Braden Mann. pic.twitter.com/J3T7bZJyoL
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 8, 2026
21. Yet Mann wound up with an unremarkable 48-yard gross average on the day given another punt traveled 17 yards, while his worst went for minus-2 yards. Woof.
Braden Mann with an 86-yard punt and a -2 yard punt in the same game. 😳 pic.twitter.com/QbQHsTnE9Q
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) November 8, 2026
22. Here’s hoping the Chiefs don’t have to dig down their QB depth chart after Patrick Mahomes experienced what he described as “scary” elbow injury in Sunday’s shellacking of the Jets. Mahomes didn’t miss a play but will have more testing done this week.
23. Justin Fields is Mahomes' backup nowadays … in case you were wondering.
24. In the meantime, Mahomes and Travis Kelce did break the record for most passing yards by a quarterback-tight end duo in NFL history, surpassing the mark of former AFC West rivals Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates.
During today's game against the Jets, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce became the all-time leaders for most Pass/Rec Yards by a QB/TE duo! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KaQwkiRYgG
— theScore (@theScore) November 8, 2026
25. Defensively, Chiefs DT Chris Jones had two sacks Sunday, the three-time All-Pro’s first full sacks of the season. He entered Sunday with a half-sack through the season’s first two months.
26. Who needs a running game when your top two receivers are doing things the storied Green Bay Packers have never accomplished in the Super Bowl era (since 1966)?
Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are the first Packers teammates with 150+ receiving yards and 1+ receiving TD since Don Hutson and Andy Uram in 1942.#GoPackGo | @packers
— NFL Researcher (@NFL_Researcher) November 8, 2026
27. And while the Pack whacked the New England Patriots 45-27 in front of Pats legends Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, shoutout to Gronk on the weekend he entered the team’s Hall of Fame.
@RobGronkowski had to do one more Gronk Spike after being inducted into the @Patriots Hall of Fame 🥹 pic.twitter.com/qxXrWWRVty
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2026
28. Props to Las Vegas Raiders TE Brock Bowers, who now has 224 career catches – the most ever by a tight end in his first three NFL seasons. And Bowers obviously has a chance to now blow well past Trey McBride’s previous mark (221).
29. Props to the Cincinnati Bengals, whose defeat of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in Madrid tied them with the idle Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North lead. More noteworthy, the Stripes’ TD celebrations in front of Spanish fans in the iconic home (Bernabéu) of Real Madrid were most definitely on point.
when in Spain 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/cPtPMwPF9o
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2026
Joe Burrow with Neymar’s celebration at the Bernabéu 😮💨🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/QZYIJDuwIr
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) November 8, 2026
30. Brother on brother crime overseas, Falcons DB Sydney Brown tackling his identical twin brother, Bengals RB Chase Brown, for the first time in the NFL.
All love between these two 🫶
— NFL Canada (@NFLCanada) November 8, 2026
Chase and Sydney Brown are now 1-1 against each other after the Bengals defeated the Falcons 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/D4NpkWhSaW
31. Brother on brother crime in the heartland, Cowboys DB Caleb Downs trash talking older brother Josh Downs, a wideout for the Colts, when he dropped a pass … and nearly got literally lit up by the rookie. Adding insult to insult, Caleb Downs intercepted Indy’s final pass of the day to put the four-point win on ice for Dallas.
Just a little sibling rivalry between Caleb and Josh Downs
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 8, 2026
📺: FOX/FOX One pic.twitter.com/g5FBGjY3Pn
32. Congratulations to the real vets, not the NFL variety, who will be celebrated Wednesday on Veterans Day. And a shoutout to the NFL, which has raised more than $80 million for its military nonprofit partners since 2011, when the league instituted its “Salute to Service” program, which will be in high gear from Weeks 9 through 11.
Salute to Service is the NFL's ongoing commitment to honor, empower, and connect with U.S. service members, veterans, and their families. ❤️
— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2026
To learn more, visit https://t.co/Zu9c1qXs9U pic.twitter.com/bw5XtcC5PG
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 32 things we learned in NFL Week 9: QB crises testing teams as backups flounder
