Many of the big names around the NFL stepped up in Week 9, helping tons of fantasy football teams put up impressive numbers for the week.
While the football season is always filled with surprises, with backups and little-known contributors coming through with huge efforts for a week at a time, it seemed to be mostly household names getting into the end zone and picking up large chunks of yardage.
After Mike Evans and Matt Ryan kicked things off with impressive performances on Thursday, the rest of the league did its best to catch up throughout Sunday.
Here is a look at the latest scores and individual performances in Week 9.
Notable Week 9 Performers
Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The first game of the week was a blowout, with the Atlanta Falcons earning a 43-28 win over the Buccaneers in a contest that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate. However, the one shining light for Tampa Bay was the play of Mike Evans.
The receiver made outstanding catches throughout the night and finished up with 11 catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
“Mike played the best game I’ve seen him play in my time here,” Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “Mike was fantastic tonight.”
Evans has become the only legitimate option in Tampa Bay, and this led to by far a game high of 17 targets in the loss.
Although inconsistency has been a problem in the young receiver’s career, these types of numbers could continue.
Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
The Philadelphia Eagles came in with one of the top pass defenses in the NFL, allowing just eight touchdowns with six interceptions through the air this season.
This clearly didn’t stop Eli Manning, who had no problem spreading the ball around to his targets and throwing for four touchdowns in a winning effort.
Odell Beckham Jr. was his best target on the day, finishing with 46 yards and two touchdowns, but Manning was also able to find guys like Roger Lewis on this long touchdown pass, via the NFL:
Eight different receivers caught a pass Sunday, including six players with at least three receptions.
Although he threw a couple of interceptions late that kept the Eagles in the game, he was still great from a fantasy perspective.
Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys
You could single out a handful of players who had great individual efforts in this game.
Dak Prescott built off his great finish in Week 8 to have 247 passing yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Ezekiel Elliott scored two touchdowns while rushing for 92 yards in the win.
However, Jason Witten arguably had the best performance on the day in what was clearly his best showing all season. The veteran finished with eight catches for 134 yards and a touchdown, more than doubling his best yardage output of the year.
ESPN’s Todd Archer joked about the tight end’s perception coming in:
The Cleveland Browns don’t have the best defense in the NFL, but Witten still looked as good as ever in the win.
Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins
While he wasn’t able to continue his streak of 200-yard games, Jay Ajayi showed he is for real as an elite running back in this league.
The second-year player was a workhorse against the New York Jets, totaling 24 carries for 111 rushing yards and a touchdown. He especially came through when the team needed him the most, finishing with 44 yards on four carries to seal the game on the final drive.
All yards count the same in fantasy, but Ajayi showing he can get the tough yards when the defense is expecting a run show his true ability on the field.
The running back first burst onto the scene in Week 6, when he rushed for 204 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers and followed it up with 214 yards against the Buffalo Bills. Showing he can keep it going with another 100-yard performance should give you all the faith that he is here to stay as an RB1 in fantasy football.
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