NFL Week 9: Biggest Surprises from Sunday's Action

As it always does, the NFL provided plenty of surprises on Sunday as the midway point of the season passes.

Who saw the previously unbeaten Denver Broncos losing to the Indianapolis Colts? How did the San Francisco 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons with Blaine Gabbert at quarterback and Shaun Draughn at running back?

We have studied previous form and rosters to rank Week 9's biggest surprises. The list includes coaching decisions and individual and team performances.

Will Andrew Luck’s heroics earn him top spot, or does Gabbert’s first win since 2012 see the 49ers at No. 1?

Honorable Mentions

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This time, Murray shines against the Cowboys

DeMarco Murray had 161 yards from scrimmage in the Philadelphia Eagles' 33-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

In Week 2, he had just two rushing yards on 13 carries against Jason Garrett’s team.

That’s some improvement, though Murray’s performance doesn’t make the list because it’s not exactly out of the blue. After a rough start in Philly, Murray has steadily improved in recent weeks, and Sunday’s showing was further proof he’s finding his groove.

Newton torches the Packers defense through the air

Both Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning had great success against the Green Bay Packers, but, though some believe he’s having an MVP-calibre season, it was a surprise to see Cam Newton in such aggressive spirits in the Carolina Panthers' 39-27 win against Green Bay.

Newton threw for 297 yards, his second-highest total of 2015. He had completions of 59, 52 and 39 yards. His average completion went for 19.8 yards.

This is a quarterback who has thrown for more than 300 yards just nine times in his NFL career, unleashing lengthy throws against a Packers defense that ranks 23rd in pass defense but whose stats are slightly obscured by Rivers’ 503 yards from 65 throws in Week 6.

Newton’s 50 percent completion percentage means he doesn’t make the list.

7. Peterson/Gurley Duel Fails to Live Up to the Hype

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It was dubbed the battle of the league's two best running backs (of the healthy ones, at least), but Adrian Peterson’s battle with Todd Gurley was rather deflating.

Gurley’s 16-yard scamper was the most either could manage on a single play. Tavon Austin had more rushing yards than Gurley after three quarters.

Meanwhile, Peterson fumbled on back-to-back downs and averaged 4.3 yards per carry, disappointing by the All-Pro running back’s standards.

Both entered Sunday’s game in blistering form. In his previous four games, Gurley managed 566 rushing yards, while Peterson had at least 5.1 yards per carry in four of his previous five games.

So to see Gurley muster 89 yards from 24 carries and Peterson’s best run of the game be a 15-yard dash, it was not only anti-climactic, but also unforeseen too.

6. Brown and Williams Combine for 531 Yards

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It was the Antonio Brown-DeAngelo Williams show on Sunday as the pair set a new NFL record, putting up 531 yards against the Oakland Raiders.

The Pittsburgh Steelers duo blitzed the record Art Powell and Clem Daniels set; they combined for 481 yards against the Houston Oilers in 1963, per Football Perspective’s Chase Stuart. Incidentally, Powell and Daniels were playing for the Raiders.

Brown amassed 306 yards, catching 17 balls for 284 yards and rushing for a further 22 yards.

We all know Brown is a special player. He is already over the 1,000-yard receiving mark despite having four games under 50 yards.

But 306 yards is utterly astonishing. It easily surpasses his previous best—a 196-yard performance against the Chicago Bears in 2013.

Meanwhile, Williams ran for 170 yards from 27 carries and added 55 yards from two catches. His total for the day was 225 yards.

Williams, a 32-year-old filling in for the injured Le’Veon Bell, showed that there’s still plenty left in him. He topped the 213 yards he put up against the New Orleans Saints in 2012.

What are the chances of both Brown and Williams having the best days of their careers in the same game, playing for the same team?

5. Patriots Offense Slows After Fast Start Against the Redskins

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Little over 10 minutes into their game against the Washington Redskins, the New England Patriots led 14-0.

So that they only scored 13 points in the remaining 50 minutes is a huge surprise.

The Patriots averaged 36.25 points at Gillette Stadium prior to the 27-10 win over the Redskins. The league has come accustomed to seeing Tom Brady and the offense rack up points without a care for their opposition’s dignity.

That's especially true this season, which the Rolling Stone's Steve Greenberg refers to as the Patriots’ “Revenge Tour” after the Deflategate saga. Brady is angry, Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe wrote, and is letting his emotions out on opposing defenses.

But the offense slowed down after going up 14-0. Their ensuing drives concluded: interception, field goal, field goal, punt, touchdown, punt.

For the first time since Week 5, Brady didn’t throw for 300 yards. Rob Gronkowski averaged 92.3 receiving yards per game through Week 8 but was held to just 47 yards.

Running back LeGarrette Blount was given an excessive workload, ensuring the Patriots controlled the clock. The decision to give Blount a career-high 29 carries was likely influenced by fears the ever-changing offensive line could lead to Brady suffering a serious hit.

4. Saints Come Unstuck Against Titans

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Few would have expected the Tennessee Titans to leave New Orleans with their second win of the season.

But they did just that.

The Titans were 1-6 entering the game. Mike Mularkey, 16-32 as a head coach at Jacksonville and Buffalo, was making his first appearance as interim head coach following Ken Whisenhunt’s firing. Quarterback Marcus Mariota was playing for the first time since suffering a knee injury in Week 6.

As for the Saints, they had every reason to be optimistic after three successive wins put their season back on track. Drew Brees was coming off a game in which he threw for 505 yards and seven touchdowns, and the Titans were without injured defensive backs Jason McCourty and Blidi Wreh-Wilson.

The Saints even led 21-10 in the second quarter.

The odds were heavily stacked against them—they were -8.5 point underdogs, according to Odds Shark—but the Titans secured a 34-28 win in overtime, thanks to a 371-yard, four touchdown performance from Mariota.

3. Quinn Kicks a Field Goal Late in the Fourth While Trailing

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Trailing 17-13, the Atlanta Falcons faced a 4th-and-goal from the San Francisco 49ers’ 2-yard line with just over three minutes to go.

Instead of keeping Matt Ryan and the offense on the field, Dan Quinn sent on the field-goal team to reduce the deficit to one point, hoping his defense could get a quick stop and allow Ryan to lead a game-winning drive.

But Ryan didn’t even get the opportunity to do so. The 49ers managed to get the two first downs it needed and sealed a shock win.

Quinn defended his decision, saying: “The way I chose to do it in that one was to, ‘Let’s kick it, get the stop.’ I felt like we were stopping defensively, and we’d go stop it again and go win it that way," (via the Atlanta Journal Constitution; h/t Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith). 

His plan backfired. He didn’t believe Ryan, known as "Matty Ice" for his clutch play in high-pressure situations, Devonta Freeman and Julio Jones could get two yards.

Further adding to the intrigue is the fact that, had the Falcons failed to convert the 4th-and-goal, 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert would have been pinned on the 2-yard line. By kicking a field goal, the ensuing kickoff gave Gabbert the ball at the less constricting 20-yard line.

2. Luck Shines as Colts Beat Denver

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It was billed as Peyton Manning’s night, but Andrew Luck turned it on as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Denver Broncos for the second time in the calendar year.

Luck’s struggles were expected to continue against the league's best defense. Colts head coach Chuck Pagano compared the Broncos defense to the stifling Baltimore Ravens defense of 2000, per Troy Renck of the Denver Post. 

Luck might have felt the same way after watching the Broncos dismantle Aaron Rodgers’ offense on November 1.

Rodgers, the reigning MVP and in the running to defend his title, threw for just 77 yards and zero touchdowns.

A day later Luck would complete just 48.9 percent of his passes and throw three interceptions as the Colts lost to the Carolina Panthers.

So his performance against Denver was quite remarkable. It would have been easy for Luck to crumble against such an imposing defense, but a 11-yard scramble in the third quarter (0:34 in the video) highlighted his steadfast character.

Luck’s steely attitude was on full display as he threw for 252 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Manning would have broken Brett Favre’s record for passing yards had he thrown three more yards, but Luck made sure the headlines were all about him.

1. Makeshift 49ers Stun Falcons

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The San Francisco 49ers game against the Atlanta Falcons was supposed to end ugly for the Red and Gold.

Vernon Davis had been traded to the Denver Broncos on November 2, and running backs Carlos Hyde and Reggie Bush missed the game through injury.

Blaine Gabbert, a quarterback the Jacksonville Jaguars deemed unworthy in 2013, started following Colin Kaepernick’s benching.

Pierre Thomas, Shaun Draughn and Kendall Gaskins all carried the ball for the 49ers. As NFL Network’s Andrew Sicilano noted, none were on the roster nine days ago. 

Somehow Jim Tomsula assembled a roster strong enough to take down the 6-3 Falcons. Devonta Freeman, the NFL’s leader in rushing touchdowns, averaged 88.6 rushing yards heading into the game, but spearheaded by Navorro Bowman, the 49ers defense was able to limit Freeman to 12 rushing yards and zero rushing touchdowns.

San Francisco was even without impressive linebacker Aaron Lynch, who recorded a sack, for some plays due to a sprained ankle and dislocated finger.

The reason the 49ers win tops Luck’s performance is due to the makeshift roster Tomsula was forced to play. Gabbert’s last start before Sunday was in Week 5 of 2013; his last win was in Week 3 of 2012. Draughn, who led the team with 16 carries and managed 96 yards from scrimmage, had just two carries in 2015 prior to Week 9 and 14 carries in the 2014 and 2013 seasons combined.

Meanwhile, Luck has started 61 games, including playoffs, since entering the league in 2012.

Gabbert finished 15-of-25, passing for 185 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. For his efforts, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2011 draft will start in the Week 11 clash against the Seattle Seahawks, per Taylor Price of the 49ers' website. 

It’s been a miserable season for San Francisco, but Sunday’s win provided some much-needed cheer. Even 49ers fans probably didn’t see it coming.