NFL Week 9: What We Learned from Sunday's Games

NFL Week 9 again put on display the chaos that is the 2015 season.

Here are some things I learned Sunday.

The Packers and Carolina Panthers' defenses are a perfect dichotomy. The Panthers defense is a great example of execution, while the Packers defense looks lost.

The matchup didn't bode well for Green Bay from the jump because of its inability to stop the run, but that lack is deeper than mere talent up front. It's a scheme thing. "The Packers' 3-4 defense is built more to stop the pass," said Vinnie Iyer of sportingnews.com. "In coordinator Dom Capers’ tenure (since 2009), only in that first season were they considered stout against the run."

"

Again, the opposing QB makes a call at the line and the Packers defense has zero adjustment to it. Just static calls out of the huddle.

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) November 8, 2015"

That didn't bode well for a Panthers team who leads the league in rushing with 142.3 yards per game. But it wasn't the run game that destroyed the Packers. It was the passing game. Cam Newton threw for 297 yards on 15 completions. So what can the Packers do well defensively?

It all exploded when Ha Ha Clinton-Dix got into an argument with veterans Julius Peppers and B.J. Raji on the sideline, per @SBNation.

Fights will happen. Football is ultra competitive, but look at Clay Matthews sitting on the bench and watching it all happen. It's not an indictment on his leadership skills, but it's hard to believe your defense's best player would just let that go.

As for Carolina, Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly combined for 15 tackles and one sack and continue to terrorize fools, including Davis's game-ending interception, per @CarPanthersNews.

"

Defensive play of the game: @ThomasDavisSDTM's game winning #interception pic.twitter.com/2AGDVvuqat

— CAR Panthers News (@CarPanthersNews) November 8, 2015"

Notice how Davis fights off a block to jump and make that pick. For a guy with three ACL surgeries on one knee, it's a treat to watch him play.

The future of NFL quarterbacks seems to be in good hands in Derek Carr, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. Though Carr and Winston lost yesterday, the talent is certainly there. 

Don Wright/Associated Press

Here are the season stats for all three players:

Player	Yards	Completion %-age	Touchdowns	Interceptions
Derek Carr	2094	63.7 percent	19	4
Jameis Winston	1897	57.7 percent	10	7
Marcus Mariota	1610	65.5 percent	13	5

Carr is the most experienced of the three in his second year, but it's comforting to see three guys with franchise potential. And his chemistry with wide receiver Amari Cooper can be the next great duo in the NFL. His 2,000 yards this early in the season means Oakland is finally drafting well. (Sorry, Raiders fans, I had to.)

With Cooper's talent and Carr's development, can you see them being an all-time great tandem? It's a bold statement, but is in unrealistic?

The three are limiting turnovers despite their inexperience, so it's exciting to think where they can be in five years if they keep improving. Winston hasn't thrown a pick in four games.

Winston's diving end zone score was proof of his toughness, competitiveness and desire to win. That's a combination that even if you don't like Winston, you can at least respect. He's a gamer.

“I had a big wakeup call those first few games,” Winston said via Peter Kiing's Monday Morning Quarterback. “After the Carolina game, I felt like I lost that game for us, and I was so down. A division game at home. I just can’t play like that. It was awful. But my teammates, my coaches, coach [Dirk] Koetter, coach [Mike] Bajakian, basically said to me, ‘Hey, you’re going to have games like this. It’s the NFL.’ That opened my eyes.”

Mariota is a dead-eye passer and so graceful when running that I'll be lamenting forever the Eagles never got him. (Damn you, Whisenhunt!)

Here are some stats that explain how lucrative Mariota's game can be when he's on, both per ESPN Stats & Info.

“He’s a good quarterback,” New Orleans cornerback Keenan Lewis said of Mariota via Paul Kuharsky on ESPN.com. “There is a reason why he was the No. 2 pick.”

And, finally, Antonio Brown reminded us he's still one of the best receivers in the league. What seemed like struggling because quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wasn't playing turned out to be the complete opposite. Brown is a guy who just needs the ball to get to him and he'll do the rest.

Case and point (per @NFL):

Two or three players (maybe) can make that catch in the NFL. It's unbelievable a sixth-round pick (who went 196, three picks before Tom Brady's 199) fell through the cracks that far. With Le'Veon Bell out and Big Ben sidelined for a few weeks, Brown will have to keep that offense explosive. With his ability to catch 17 passes for 284 yards in one game, is there any doubt he can't keep that up? Pittsburgh needs to force feed him passes.

So what did you learn this week? Do you doubt Winston/Mariota/Carr? Are you a believer? Can the Packers make a run? Let me know in the comments.