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This is officially the most ridiculous NFL season ever. Aaron Rodgers is certifiable trash, Justin Fields and Tua Tagovailoa have played out of their minds the past three weeks, and the Geno Smith led Seahawks are a juggernaut. The icing on the cake is Jeff Saturday being named head coach of the Colts, surpassing actual coaches within their organization and other free agent coaches around the league with legit NFL experience. With half of the season passed us, let's review Week 9.
Photo: Quinn Harris/Getty Images
Week 10 Power Rankings
Teams to Note
Indianapolis Colts (Dropped 5 spots)
Between awful offensive and defensive play, and the addition of Jeff Saturday as the new head coach, I don't see the Colts threatening anyone else for the remainder of the season. Not saying Jeff will do a bad job, but it seems like an unserious hire. Their 3 wins came against the Chiefs who had a bad offensive game, the Broncos, and the Jaguars. Besides those performances, they've been flat out bad.
Chicago Bears (Rose 2 spots)
Despite the loss, the Bears have been putting together some really solid football lately, and a lot of that is thanks to the proper usage of Justin Fields. The offense is thriving through the use of his legs, and despite a bad defense, there are some bright spots among it in guys like Jaquan Brisker, Kindle Vildor, and Jaylon Johnson.
Minnesota Vikings (Dropped 2 spots)
Yes, the Vikings are 7-1, but I don't believe their winning formula is sustainable through the rest of the year. They're hitting a rough patch in the next four weeks, as they play the Bills, Cowboys, Patriots, and Jets. They could be that good and finish 3-1 in this stretch, or they could reveal themselves as frauds by dropping four straight. In addition, they have only had one win by more than 8 points, and that was in Week 1 against the Packers.
Week 9 Awards
AFC Offensive MVP: Joe Mixon - Cincinnati Bengals
AFC Defensive MVP: Josh Uche - New England Patriots
AFC Trench Tyrant: Laremy Tunsil - Houston Texans
AFC Special Teams MVP: Nick Folk - New England Patriots
NFC Offensive MVP: Justin Fields - Chicago Bears
NFC Defensive MVP: Kerby Joseph - Detroit Lions
NFC Trench Tyrant: Kaleb McGary - Atlanta Falcons
NFC Special Teams MVP: Jake Camarda - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Award Winners to Note
Kaleb McGary - After struggling through the first three years of his career, McGary has stepped up this year and had a career day against the Chargers. He recorded his third game without allowing a single pressure this year, and that was going against an edge rush unit of Khalil Mack and Kyle Van Noy. He also blocked well in the run game, as the Falcons ran for 201 yards, tied for their second highest mark of the season, and 2 TDs on 35 rush attempts.
Kerby Joseph - Kerby made some clutch plays on Sunday, which included 2 INTs and a pass breakup, all of which stopped potential touchdowns by the Packers. He recorded 8 tackles, as well as 1 stop, en route to a masterclass defensive performance from the Lions defense against *fraudulent* back-to-back MVP, Aaron Rodgers.
Josh Uche - Even though he had the same sack total as his pass rushing counterpart in Matt Judon, Uche actually had to work to get his. Where Judon thrived from stunts and missed blocking assignments, Uche got home with a great ghost stab move, a chase down towards the sideline, and great patience to counter back inside towards a QB stepping up in the pocket. Given his 19% pressure rate on just 21 pass rush snaps, 3 TFLs and an additional stop, he played outstanding.
Photo: Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images
Key Fantasy Players Recap (Week 9)
QB: PJ Walker vs Cincinnati Bengals
Projected - 11.9
Actual - hahahahaha (Season Low)
Result - Busted
RB: Darrell Henderson vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Projected - 7.6
Actual - 5.6
Result - Busted
WR: Devin Duvernay vs New Orleans Saints
Projected - 11.4
Actual - 1.5 (Season Low)
Result - Busted
TE: Noah Fant vs Arizona Cardinals
Projected - 6.8
Actual - 14.6 (Season High!)
Result - Boomed
D/ST: Detroit Lions vs Green Bay Packers
Projected - 4.9
Actual - 9.0 (Season High!)
Result - Boomed
K: Cairo Santos vs Miami Dolphins
Projected - 7.5
Actual - 6.0
Result - Busted
Week 9 Total: 2 Boomed, 0 Pushed, 4 Busted
Yearly Total: 10 Boomed, 1 Pushed, 6 Busted
Key Fantasy Players for Week 10
QB: Derek Carr vs Indianapolis Colts (proj. 15.0)
The Colts are in shambles, the offense can't hold onto the ball, and their defense is just as mediocre. Carr should have a field day this week.
RB: Raheem Mostert vs Cleveland Browns (proj. 9.9)
The Browns have struggled against running backs this year, and with Mostert regressing the past few weeks, expect him to have a big bounce back game against Cleveland.
WR: Rondale Moore vs Los Angeles Rams (proj. 11.2)
Rondale is getting more and more targets as Kliff has figured out that AJ Green sucks. With Ramsey on D-Hop, that should open the door for Moore to rake in targets.
TE: Cole Kmet vs Detroit Lions (proj. 6.3)
Despite a lack in target volume this season, Kmet had a season best day with 2 TDs and should build on that against the Lions.
D/ST: Denver Broncos vs Tennessee Titans (proj. 6.3)
Regardless if Malik Willis starts or not, the Broncos defense should be fresh off a bye week and come out swinging against Tennessee's one-dimensional offense.
K: Chris Boswell vs New Orleans Saints (proj. 7.9)
Bye week's are a theme in this weeks projections, and Boswell should benefit from that. This revamped offense should move the ball well enough to give Boswell some chances.
Photo: Caitlyn Epes/Arizona Cardinals
Final Notes:
Be on the look out for my midseason recap dropping later this week. I'll be giving out my midseason awards, releasing my season long change in power rankings, and highlighting key fantasy performers throughout the year so far.
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