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I woke up on a Monday morning with a strong desire to forget everything that happened on Sunday. I wondered if I could just write: "Believe it or not, Week 9 was awful and we should try not to think about it anymore." Because I very much believe that. 

So many of the happenings in Week 9 were a result of injuries or strange happenings. The Packers without Aaron Rodgers. The Cardinals without Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, and Chase Edmonds. The turnover-fest in Miami. The complete no-shows from Buffalo, Dallas, Cincinnati and the Rams. There's really not much to take from those anomalous performances. But I don't believe we can call the struggles of the Kansas City Chiefs anomalous any longer. So let's start there.

Patrick Mahomes is no longer a must-start QB

The Case: For all the struggles of the Chiefs offense, this was one of the most disappointing performances yet. There were no unlucky turnovers, no turnovers at all in fact. Just putrid offense. Mahomes delivered just 166 yards on 37 pass attempts. The 4.5 yards per pass attempt was a career-worst. It was his third straight game below six yards per attempt, and fifth this season. For reference, Mahomes entered the year with two career games below six yards per attempt.

Mahomes hasn't scored more than 16 Fantasy points in a game since Week 6. Regardless of what he's done in the past, you can't keep running him out there. It's time to bench Mahomes.

The Verdict: Don't believe it.

As someone who writes about streaming QB every week, I very strongly agree with Adi Joseph. Streaming has been miserable this week. We started Week 9 with Tua Tagovailoa and Taysom Hill as the top streamers. By Sunday morning we'd switched to Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor. The four of them combined for 17.7 Fantasy points this week.

The Chiefs offense, and Mahomes, look broken. I still believe they will eventually snap out of it, but I have no idea when. That doesn't offer any comfort, I'm sure. Neither should the prospect of benching Mahomes for the top Week 10 streamers. Like the Chiefs, you're just going to have to keep running Mahomes out there and hope that he figures it out in time for you to sneak into the playoffs. 

Jordan Howard is the best RB on the Eagles until Miles Sanders returns

The Case: In one of the few moments of clarity from Week 9, we learned something about the Eagles offense. They are a run-first team. For the second-consecutive week they had more than twice as many rush attempts than pass attempts. What was different in Week 9 was that Howard looked pretty clearly like the No. 1 back. He gained 26 yards on his first two carries and never looked back, leading the team with 17 rush attempts and 71 rushing yards. 

We don't know how long Sanders will be out, but for however long that is, Howard is the Eagles back to roster.

The Verdict: Believe it.

Boston Scott actually got the start, but it was clear early who the hot hand is. And it shouldn't be as surprising as it seems. Howard had three consecutive seasons with 250-plus carries, Scott's career-high is 80. And while it seems like Howard has been around forever, he's barely six months older than Scott. 

The only thing left to determine is what happens if the Eagles get in a real negative game script. They were playing from behind against the Chargers, but never really lost contact. Either Scott or Kenneth Gainwell could have a bigger role if the Eagles are forced to pass more. But I don't really expect that to happen in Week 10 against the Broncos.

James Conner is a top-12 RB if Chase Edmonds misses time

The Case: For much of the offseason, the talk was about how good Edmonds could be if Conner missed time. We saw the flipside of that in Week 9. Conner saw a season-high 26 touches and delivered a monster 173-yard, three-touchdown performance. For as long as Edmonds is out, Conner is not just a must-start running back, he's a top-12 option.

The Verdict: Believe it.

Conner was already dominating inside the five-yard line and has 11 touchdowns in his first nine games. while he'll still share with Eno Benjamin, Conner now figures to play a more prominent role in the passing game, especially after his 45-yard touchdown scamper on Sunday. Conner, for the time being, is a workhorse back on arguably the best offense in football. Top-12 might be selling him short.

But also, with Conner's injury history, you should probably pick up Benjamin if Edmonds' injury is serious.

Mike Williams is a boom/bust Flex once again

The Case: This one is pretty easy. Williams has four games with at least 22 Fantasy points. He also has four games with fewer than 8 Fantasy points. Even Tyler Lockett thinks that's inconsistent. The mirage that was WR1 Mike Williams has faded, and there's no reason to view him as a starting wide receiver in Week 10 against the Vikings. 

The Verdict: Believe it.

There could be an explanation for Williams' recent struggles. He has been dealing with a knee injury. But even that fits with Williams' history. He hasn't missed a lot of games, but he has had a hard time staying fully healthy. 

Whatever the reason, Williams has five or fewer targets in four of his past five games. Until that changes, he's a Flex at best.

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