Quite frankly, we needed Week Nine of NFL football. Scoring had been down. Key players were getting hurt left and right. And, of course, there were still some duds sprinkled throughout (looking at you, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks). But we finally got a real taste of that excitement that is usually reserved for NFL playoffs. We got some high octane drama, some last minute wins, and some incredible storylines to go with it. So let’s take a look at five of the most memorable occurrences from Week Nine NFL Sunday and celebrate some of it’s heroes!

 

Week 9 Hot Takes

C.J. Stroud Is The Offensive Rookie Of The Year

Look, there were a lot of exciting candidates coming in like Bryce Young, Bijan Robinson, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. And some new ones emerges along the way like Puka Nacua, Sam LaPorta, and De’Von Achane. We even had a little bet on Rashee Rice who has scored some touchdowns and looked pretty decent at times. But yesterday made it abundantly clear that, barring injury or a complete change in circumstances, C.J. Stroud is going to win the offensive rookie of the year. The number two overall pick set a rookie passing record with 470 yards yesterday and he threw five touchdowns to boot. And, for the narrative folks out there, that included a game-winning drive with 46 seconds out there. This kid is already looking and sounding like a leader and he’s the exact kind of guy who deserves this award. 

Joshua Dobbs, American Hero

I know some folks are not fans of the Vikings. In particular, the folks that wear foam cheese on their heads. But it’s hard to not respect what Joshua Dobbs was able to pull off yesterday. After losing their leader Kirk Cousins (who many of the players wore shirts of to commemorate), they traded for journeyman quarterback Joshua Dobbs. They started rookie Jaren Hall yesterday however because Dobbs just arrived and wasn’t ready yet - or so we thought. After Jaren Hall suffered a concussion, Dobbs was forced into action. And he proceeded to put the team on his back, throwing two touchdown passes and running for another one. Counting his time in Arizona, that’s back to back games with two passing TDs and three in a row with rushing TDs. The Vikings may have a second life with Dobbs in charge and we might have found another fantasy relevant quarterback to throw in lineups. 

Taysom Hill Will Not Be Denied

Taysom Hill drives me nuts. There is no other way to say it. It’s my job to help people sort out the tight end position. And Taysom Hill being a “tight end” for fantasy football purposes really makes that difficult. But at this point you simply have to give it to him. For a long time he has been more of a boom/bust TD dependent coin flip that would either score a touchdown or get you ~1-2 points. But this year he has seemingly evolved to another level. Even yesterday where he was getting stuffed running the ball, he turns around and not only catches a touchdown pass but throws on as well. To the actual tight end, Juwan Johnson. This guy IS the redzone. And, because of that, it’s hard not to rank him with the real TE1s.  

Brandon Aubrey Goes From Futbol To Football To The Record Books

We don’t give kickers enough love if you ask me - how many games are won and lost on the foot of these unsung heroes? Today I want to take a moment to acknowledge the fun story of Brandon Aubrey and celebrate a milestone that he hit yesterday. Aubrey was a former first round MLS pick out of Notre Dame who flamed out in the soccer world and took a job as a computer engineer. But he never gave up on his professional sports dream and worked with One on One Kicking to develop into an NFL-caliber kicker. Or perhaps more than just an NFL-caliber kicker as his 51 yard field goal yesterday against the Eagles gave him the record for most consecutive field goals to start a career (19). I’m sure he will miss some day but for now let’s raise a glass to a guy who never gave up on kicking stuff. 

National Tight End Day - Part 2

National Tight End Day started out as a joke made by George Kittle back in 2018, in which every day there was an NFL game was “National Tight End Day”. But then the NFL gave it a more concrete date as the fourth Sunday in October which fell on October 28th of this year. But yesterday might as well have also been National Tight End Day as tight ends scored a whopping 15 touchdowns which included a passing touchdown. Cole Kmet, Cade Otton, and Taysom Hill scored two a piece. The only tight end who didn’t participate much on National Tight End Day Part 2 was Travis Kelce, who had his lowest scoring game in five years. Maybe he doesn’t like German food.