NFL Scores Week 9: Top Fantasy Stars, Results and Latest Team Stats

Many of the big names around the NFL stepped up in Week 9, helping a lot 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 on Sunday.

Here is a look at the latest scores and individual performances in Week 9.

Away	Score	Home	Notable Fantasy Star
Atlanta Falcons	43-28	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Mike Evans (11 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TDs)
Pittsburgh Steelers	14-21	Baltimore Ravens	Ravens D/ST (2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 TD, 14 points allowed)
Dallas Cowboys	35-10	Cleveland Browns	Ezekiel Elliott (92 yards, 2 TDs)
Jacksonville Jaguars	14-19	Kansas City Chiefs	Blake Bortles (252 pass yards, 2 TDs, 54 rush yards)
New York Jets	23-27	Miami Dolphins	Jay Ajayi (111 yards, 1 TD)
Philadelphia Eagles	23-28	New York Giants	Eli Manning (257 pass yards, 4 TDs)
Detroit Lions	22-16	Minnesota Vikings	Golden Tate (11 receptions, 79 yards, 1 TD)
Indianapolis Colts	31-26	Green Bay Packers	Aaron Rodgers (297 pass yards, 3 TDs, 43 rush yards)
Carolina Panthers	13-10	Los Angeles Rams	Greg Olsen (5 receptions, 52 yards, 1 TD)
New Orleans Saints	41-23	San Francisco 49ers	Mark Ingram (158 rush yards, 13 receiving yards, 2 TDs)
Tennessee Titans	35-43	San Diego Chargers	Melvin Gordon (196 rush yards, 1 TD, 65 receiving yards)
Denver Broncos	20-30	Oakland Raiders	Latavius Murray (114 rush yards, 13 receiving yards, 3 TDs)

Notable Week 9 Performers

Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Brian Blanco/Getty Images

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 with 11 catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

"Mike played the best game I've seen him play in my time here," Buccaneers head 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 that led to a game-high 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 through the air and posting six interceptions this season.

That didn't stop Eli Manning, who had no problem spreading the ball around to his targets and throwing four touchdowns in a winning effort.

Odell Beckham Jr. was his top 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 passes Sunday, with six players grabbing 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

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

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 post 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 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

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

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 shows 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 fantasy football owners all the faith that he is here to stay as an RB1.

San Diego Chargers D/ST

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

This game showed the difference between a good defense on the field and a good fantasy defense.

San Diego allowed 35 points to the Tennessee Titans and a total of 393 yards from scrimmage. However, the unit came through for fantasy teams with three turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota had a roller-coaster of a game, showcasing an impressive dual-threat ability while totaling four touchdowns. The problem was that a few mistakes were enough to ruin any chance of beating a quality opponent on the road.

While defensive touchdowns are tough to replicate and even more difficult to predict, San Diego now has four non-offensive scores this season, including three in the last two games. It's still a risky bet in most leagues, but the upside is there for anyone who plays the Chargers defense.

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