NFL Scores Week 9: Results and Top Fantasy Football Stars for Sunday Games

As if any more evidence was needed, the 2014 NFL season is completely bonkers.

The Cleveland Browns moved to 5-3 after a 22-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Most would've been surprised to see the Browns win five games all season, and now they're a playoff threat in the AFC North.

The Minnesota Vikings ruined Robert Griffin III's return to the Washington Redskins after Matt Asiata scored three—yes, three—rushing touchdowns in a 29-26 victory.

Then there's the 37-0 pasting the Miami Dolphins handed the San Diego Chargers. Philip Rivers threw for 138 yards and three interceptions. The Chargers looked like one of the best teams in the league a few weeks ago, and now they're staring at a three-game losing streak.

All of the chaos spilled into the fantasy realm, where a few different unexpected stars posted massive numbers.

Away	Score	Home	Notable Fantasy Star
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	17-22	Cleveland Browns	Mike Evans (7 rec., 124 yds., 2 TDs)
Arizona Cardinals	28-17	Dallas Cowboys	Carson Palmer (249 yds., 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Philadelphia Eagles	31-21	Houston Texans	Jeremy Maclin (6 rec., 158 yds., 2 TDs)
New York Jets	10-24	Kansas City Chiefs	Alex Smith (199 yds., 2 TDs)
Jacksonville Jaguars	23-33	Cincinnati Bengals	Jeremy Hill (154 rush yds., 2 TDs, 9 rec. yds.)
San Diego Chargers	0-37	Miami Dolphins	Ryan Tannehill (288 yds., 3 TDs, 47 rush yards)
Washington Redskins	26-29	Minnesota Vikings	Matt Asiata (26 rush yds., 3 TDs, 31 rec. yds.)
St. Louis Rams	13-10	San Francisco 49ers	Anquan Boldin (6 rec., 93 yds., 1 TD)
Denver Broncos	21-43	New England Patriots	Tom Brady (333 yds., 4 TDs, 1 INT, 4 rush yds.)
Oakland Raiders	24-30	Seattle Seahawks	Marshawn Lynch (67 rush yds., 2 TDs, 76 rec. yds.)
Baltimore Ravens	23-43	Pittsburgh Steelers	Ben Roethlisberger (340 yds., 6 TDs)

Top Fantasy Performers from Week 9

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins

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Ryan Tannehill must have stolen some of Dan Marino's talent Space Jam-style when the two had those film sessions earlier in the week. The Dolphins quarterback had one of the best performances of his career on Sunday, going 24-of-34 for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

The numbers are obviously impressive, but Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com walked away encouraged by Tannehill's presence in the pocket:

Throughout his career, Tannehill has been a somewhat frustrating QB for his inability to consistently put together strong performances. Sunday was a big step toward eliminating that problem.

NFL.com's Jeff Darlington thinks that the third-year starter is more of a late bloomer compared to the other signal-callers drafted in 2012:

Tannehill is on pace to set career highs in passing yards and touchdowns and a career low in interceptions, so his Week 9 showing wasn't exactly an aberration.

You shouldn't expect these kinds of numbers every week, but the 26-year-old is becoming a more and more reliable fantasy QB.

Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

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It turns out that the Cincinnati Bengals didn't miss Giovani Bernard at all. In his absence, Jeremy Hill stepped into the starting role and rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries to produce Sunday's biggest fantasy game on the ground so far.

The rookie ran for more yards than any Bengals RB since Cedric Benson in 2009, per ESPN Stats & Info:

During his somewhat limited time on the field this year, Hill has performed well. He entered Week 9 with 195 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 50 carries.

The problem with Hill going forward is that there's almost no chance he supplants Bernard as the feature back in the Bengals backfield. When Bernard is healthy again, he'll assume the starting role and push Hill to the fringe.

Jeremy Maclin, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

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When Nick Foles exited Sunday's game, per the team, and made way for Mark Sanchez, most fantasy owners who started Jeremy Maclin had their heads in their hands. Then Sanchez and Maclin immediately connected for a big play:

Maclin wound up with six receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Miles Austin in 2009 was the last player to have 150-plus receiving yards in back-to-back weeks:

"I'm just going out there and making the most of my opportunities," said the Philadelphia Eagles wideout after the game, per Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com. "They're doing a good job dialing it up for me."

Maclin has 45 receptions for 790 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. He'll almost certainly surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career. As FoxSports.com's Peter Schrager pointed out, Maclin has a strong motivation behind putting in a career year:

Having Sanchez under center will likely make fantasy owners a little uneasy, but many have wondered if Chip Kelly's offense makes Foles look a lot better than he is. Even if Sanchez is the starter for the immediate future, Maclin's value shouldn't drop at all.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

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So far, Week 9 hasn't been a bonanza for tight ends. A few different guys have had good games, but nobody's put up ungodly numbers like Rob Gronkowski's 149 yards and three touchdowns or Antonio Gates' 54 yards and two TDs last week.

After two poor performances, Travis Kelce found the end zone for the fourth time this year, catching four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown in a 24-10 win for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kelce had a run of three straight games with a TD between Weeks 3 and 5 before failing to register a score in Weeks 7 and 8. Maybe he can hit a rich vein of form again and crack the top five of fantasy tight ends.

Kelce is unlikely to have a huge game like Gronk, Gates or Jimmy Graham, but he's generally very reliable, with a comfortable floor. Even his bad performances aren't all that bad.