Best NFL Week 9 Performances: MMQB Hands Out Game Balls

Standouts feature a speedy receiver, bruising running backs and a couple of unsung heroes on defense. Plus, a Patriots defensive end is on pace for a 22-sack season.

Week 9 on the NFL schedule is almost in the books (we still have Monday Night Football), and the best performances deserve to be recognized by our MMQB staff. Even if you’re feeling down because your team didn’t win, maybe one of your favorite players or coaches will get awarded a game ball by our staff.

Here are this week’s standouts:

Michael Fabiano: Joe Mixon, RB, Bengals. Joe Mixon went scorched fantasy earth on Carolina. Mixon single-handedly led a lot of fantasy managers to a win, scoring five touchdowns and a bananas 55.1 points in a blowout win over the Panthers. Aside from the touchdowns, Mixon also had four catches and 211 scrimmage yards in the contest. His 55.1 points are the ninth-most scored by a running back in the Super Bowl era, and it’s the most points scored in a single game since Alvin Kamara scored 56.2 fantasy points on Christmas 2020 with six touchdowns against the Vikings. If you were wondering, Mixon’s previous career high in points was 42.1 in ’20.

• Fabiano: Top 10 Week 9 Fantasy Takeaways

Mixon was downright nasty to deal with on Sunday with 153 yards rushing and 58 yards receiving :: Sam Greene/USA TODAY Sports

Mitch Goldich: Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seahawks. Our site has had plenty of coverage this year of the Seahawks’ impactful rookie class, and for Week 9 let’s go with the one whose name is most familiar to fantasy players. Kenneth Walker III ran 26 times for 109 yards in a 31–21 win over the Cardinals that sent first-place Seattle to 6–3 before a big date with the Buccaneers in Germany next week. In four games since Rashaad Penny went down, Walker has averaged more than 100 yards. He also scored two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter as Seattle put the game away. His longest run of the day was a mere 15 yards, so this was not a situation where a player inflated his total and average thanks to one big play. He just bruised through Arizona’s defense picking up chunks at a time. We know Pete Carroll wants to run the ball, and he has found a great weapon in the backfield to make life easier on Geno Smith.

Claire Kuwana: Kerby Joseph, Safety, Lions. The rookie was a big part of Sunday’s narrative against the Packers with two of Aaron Rodgers’s three interceptions, but he also recorded 10 tackles (five solo, five assisted) to help the Lions break a five-game losing streak. Detroit coach Dan Campbell said after the game that Joseph is in concussion protocol: After steadily improving all season (he has increased or tied his TOT in all but one week so far), it will be a big loss for the already struggling Lions’ secondary if Joseph does not return soon.

John Pluym: Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins. We’ve heard a lot about Tua Tagovailoa this season, and for good reason. He’s overcome some big injuries, only to lead the Dolphins to a 6–3 record after Sunday’s 35–32 win over the Bears. The Dolphins are tied for second place in the AFC East with the Jets and now trail the first-place Bills by only a half game in the standings. But the biggest acquisition of the offseason certainly looks like wide receiver Tyreek Hill, whom the Dolphins gave up multiple draft picks to the Chiefs. Hill has been targeted 100 times by Dolphins quarterbacks and has 1,104 yards and three touchdowns. Paired with Jaylen Waddle, Hill has helped elevate the play of Tagovailoa, who also played lights out Sunday. Hill is on pace for 144 receptions and 2,085 yards, which would make him the first receiver in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 yards. He could make all the difference in the second half of the season and whether Miami makes the playoffs.

Conor Orr: Matthew Judon, DE, Patriots. New England is still in this thing, and to remain in this thing, it's going to need the absolute best out of its pass rush. Judon logged three sacks (he now has 11.5 on the season) and four quarterback hits in the Patriots’ rout of the Sam Ehlinger–led Colts. Say what you will about the Patriots this year, but, save for the Bears game, all of their losses have been somewhat understandable to teams they were theoretically worse than. But they handled an inferior Colts team on Sunday.

Gary Gramling: D.J. Reed, CB, Jets. I thought he hit free agency as a perfectly fungible second-third corner. While there is volatility with those types of guys (call it the Ronald Darby rule), Reed has played like a top-20 corner this season. He was tremendous again in the upset over the Bills, including an impressive flash of recovery speed in breaking up a downfield third-and-long throw intended for Stefon Diggs midway through the fourth quarter. He’s getting little attention—a combination of a pedestrian name and the fact that he plays opposite a top-10 pick who goes by “Sauce”—but Reed is one of the biggest reasons the Jets are a legitimate wild-card contender in 2022.

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