Ja'Marr Chase has been in the top tier of NFL wide receivers since he entered the league with the Bengals in 2021 and proved on Sunday why he belongs in the superstar echelon. Week 9 brought the absolute best version of the three-time All-Pro. He showed off his pass-catching prowess to an international audience with the best first half of his career in the 2026 Madrid Game.
Back on American soil were a number of other star-caliber performances but also a handful of lowlights. The Washington Commanders were among those teams who left something to be desired when they fell to 2-5-1 on the year. For every standout showing, there is typically an inverse effort that is equally as poor.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from Sunday's Week 9 action across the NFL. The final box score shows that Chase had himself a massive day in Madrid. The Bengals receiver caught 10 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown in the 34-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons and was integral in his franchise securing its first win on international soil.
Far more impressive than his totals, however, was the percentage of that production that came in the first half alone. Chase hauled in eight of his receptions in the game's first half hour. The touchdown and 142 of his yards also came in the opening half.
The yardage was the most in any first half of Chase's tremendous career and the most in a first half by a Bengals wide receiver since 1988. In the process, Chase joined Randy Moss as the only two wide receivers in NFL history with at least seven touchdowns in each of their first six seasons. It took until Week 9, but the Los Angeles Rams were finally able to unleash a ridiculously talented defensive line duo of Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald.
Garrett made his first appearance since Week 1 as he returned from injured reserve and completed his comeback from an in-season knee surgery. It was his first game with Donald, who joined the lineup in Week 2. Garrett said in advance of the 20-13 win over the Commanders that opposing offensive lines would have to pick their poison when dealing with the one-two punch of future Hall of Famers and that they would have fun exploiting any one-on-one matchups that came their way.
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