It might not have been evident on Monday night, but Week 9 was a great week for those who are fans of quarterback play and high-flying offensive attacks.
As many of you likely saw on “America’s Game of the Week,” Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers easily took down the New England Patriots with a strong downfield passing attack. Receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden seemingly caught everything thrown their way as part of their 45-27 win.
However, only one of those players was able to make the cut onto this week’s All-Star team because there were just way too many good performances at quarterback and wide receiver. Which Packers standout was able to make the cut, and who joined him?
Here’s our full All-Star Team for Week 9.
It’s hard to look past a five-touchdown game, which is what C.J. Stroud had in the Texans’ win over the Chargers. Joe Burrow’s three-TD game in Madrid could also have won this week’s spot at QB.
But we’ll go with Jordan Love, who was efficient and dominant. He completed 23-for-29 for 372 yards and three touchdowns without a pick (Stroud had one) in the Packers’ win over the Patriots. He added a rushing touchdown as well.
And because the Packers got snubbed in the receiver vote, we’ll give shutouts to both Christian Watson (seven receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown) and Matthew Golden (10 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown) for huge games on an unreal weekend for receivers.
Kenneth Walker might have made this team as often as anyone has so far, but Sunday was an easy call. He ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, plus two more receiving scores in an easy Chiefs win over the Jets.
The second nod wasn’t as easy, as Cowboys standout Javonte Williams rushed for 101 and a score and 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey had two scores in their win.
But we’ll go with Bucky Irving, who rushed for 97 yards and two scores with another four catches for 28 yards in the Buccaneers’ close loss at the Bears.
There were legit five receivers with at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown on Sunday. And we strongly considered Texans’ receiver Kayshon Boutte, who had four catches for 125 yards and two scores.
But we’ll respect the sheer numbers of CeeDee Lamb going for 195 yards on 10 catches with a score to lead the Cowboys past the Colts, and Ja’Marr Chase getting Sunday started with a huge game in Madrid. The Bengals star had 10 catches for 155 and a score in the win over the Falcons. We could easily bump the tight end this week and go with a third receiver, but we won’t.
It’s almost inevitable here with Brock, because the volume is always there: seven catches for 111 yards and a score in the Raiders’ loss to the 49ers.
It’s not often that we strongly consider a player with 10 yards of offense, but Seahawks tight end A.J. Barner had the only touchdowns in their win over the Cardinals. He had a QB-sneak for a rushing touchdown and caught two passes for 7 yards and a score.
OL: Seattle Seahawks
Seattle was without left tackle Charles Cross and newly acquired left guard Quenton Nelson on Sunday, and the Seahawks still took home the weekly o-line honors, protecting Drew Lock without a single sack and rushing for 120 yards on 33 carries in a win over Arizona. The starting line (l-r) of Josh Jones, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, Anthony Bradford and Abraham Lucas played every snap for Seattle. We almost went with Houston’s line, which held up well with one sack on a busy day for Stroud, but Seattle it is.
This is the present and the future here. Myles Garrett’s impact has been long-awaited for the Rams, and he came through with three sacks and a forced fumble in their win over the Commanders.
David Bailey, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, had another big game in a loss for the Jets, with nine tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and three tackles for loss against the Chiefs.
Close but not quite honored is the Chiefs’ George Karlaftis, who had two sacks and three TFLs in Kansas City’s win.
More rookie presence here. Arvell Reese had a three-sack game himself as part of a 12-tackle game with a forced fumble in the Giants’ win over the Eagles. Reese now has 4.5 sacks, showing he’s dangerous as a blitzer as well.
We gave strong consideration to Browns’ star Carson Schwesinger, who piled up 15 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in their overtime loss to the Saints.
It was a strong weekend for defensive backs, with Green Bay’s Xavier McKinney and Tampa Bay’s Zyon McCollum getting two picks each. Cowboys rookie Caleb Downs got a game-clinching pick and a sack as well.
This was a multiple pick-six weekend, too. The 49ers’ Jaden Dugger had one, but not as pivotal as Jaylon Johnson’s 67-yard interception return of a Baker Mayfield pass in the Bears’ home win. That play came on the heels of Caleb Williams’ fourth pick of the day, proving to be vital in Chicago’s win.
There were games decided on kicks, yes, but were any of them the longest in 25 years? Braden Mann uncorked an 86-yard punt for the Eagles in their loss to the Giants — from his 8 to the opposite 6-yard line — for the longest punt since 2001.
Mann had a decidedly strange punting day, with punts of 60, 62 and 63 yards as well, but he also had a punt that was muffed and kicked out of bounds for a minus-2-yard punt. He also had a 17-yard punt, so despite the longest single punt in 25 years, his average for the day was only 48.0 yards.
