Drew Brees still rules the NFC South, and more NFL Week 9 takeaways

So it should come as little surprise that QB play once again dominated the discussion this week. Here are my five takeaways from Week 9:

The NFC South is still ruled by Drew Brees.

Tom Brady might be the GOAT when it comes to quarterbacks, but Sunday night reminded us that he and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still second in their division. The Brees-led New Orleans Saints destroyed the Bucs, 38-3, on “Sunday Night Football,” dominating in every way. The Saints had already won the first meeting, in the season opener, despite Brees and Coach Sean Payton not having their best days.

On Sunday night, everything clicked. Brees got everybody involved; 12 players caught passes. It certainly helped that Brees had his two starting wide receivers back in Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but regardless it was an impressive performance and a reminder that Brees isn’t done yet.

Tampa Bay’s offense lost its way in this one. Despite having Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and the newly acquired Antonio Brown, the Bucs came out in a two-tight-end offense but only ended up throwing one pass to a tight end. Rob Gronkowski was targeted six times and had one catch for two yards. And the Bucs fell behind so quickly with Brees’s TD drives and Brady’s turnovers, they only ran the ball five times (including a kneeldown at the end of the game). Brady was cold from the start, opening with three three-and-outs.

With the win, the Saints should be considered a contender to earn the NFC’s No. 1 seed. That’s a big change from the past few weeks, when many were calling the Bucs the best team in the conference. They’ll have their work cut out for them to get back in front of New Orleans in the division.

The September version of Josh Allen came back.

During the Buffalo Bills’ 4-0 start, Allen was playing at an MVP level. He completed 105 of 148 passes for 1,326 yards and 12 touchdowns. His quarterback rating was 122.7. He averaged nine yards per attempt.

October’s schedule was tougher, and it made Allen look average. The Bills went 2-2, and Allen’s stats dropped. But in Sunday’s 44-34 win over the Seattle Seahawks, the September version of Allen returned — and was even better. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll decided to put everything in Allen’s hands. Knowing the Seahawks were struggling in the secondary, he had Allen attack relentlessly.

During Buffalo’s first two touchdown drives, Allen dropped back to pass on 12 of the first 13 plays, and it produced a 14-0 lead. The Bills’ running backs had a combined 12 rushes in the whole game. Overall, Allen completed 31 of 38 passes for 415 yards and three touchdowns.

Give General Manager Brandon Beane credit. In two offseasons, he has given Allen one of the best three-receiver sets in football. Stefon Diggs had nine catches for 118 yards. John Brown had eight catches for 99 yards. Cole Beasley had three catches for 39 yards.

At 7-2, the Bills are the clear front-runners in the AFC East, but the September version of Allen could lead them deep into the playoffs.

The Seahawks’ pass coverage problems could cost them a trip to the Super Bowl.

Even though Russell Wilson is having an MVP year, the defense is limiting his team’s potential. In Sunday’s loss to the Bills, the defense might have had its worst game yet. After Allen’s 415-yard explosion, the Seahawks are giving up 362 passing yards per game. The Seahawks entered the season thinking they had a talented secondary, but injuries have limited cornerbacks Shaquill Griffin, Quinton Dunbar and Ugo Amadi, along with star safety Jamal Adams, the team’s major trade acquisition.

The bigger concern might be the pass rush, although there have been a few signs of promise, including three sacks last week against Arizona and seven against Buffalo. Carlos Dunlap, the edge rusher acquired at midseason, looked good in his debut.

In many ways, the Seahawks resemble the 2018 Kansas City Chiefs, who got an MVP campaign from Patrick Mahomes but were let down by their pass defense. No matter how good Wilson is, Seattle’s Super Bowl hopes might be dashed if the defense doesn’t get fixed.

Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins could make a playoff run.

After he threw for just 93 yards in his NFL debut, it was amazing to see Tagovailoa win a 34-31 shootout against Arizona’s Kyler Murray. Murray had his usual mix of running and throwing, with 106 rushing yards and 283 passing yards, and Tagovailoa did his best to match him: 20 for 28 for 248 yards and seven runs for 35 yards.

His biggest accomplishment came in the fourth quarter. Trailing 31-24, Tagovailoa led an 11-play, 93-yard drive to tie the score before Miami eventually added a field goal to win.

The AFC is starting to look stronger in the long term than the NFC, because its young quarterbacks are coming in. Allen is back in the MVP race. Even though Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow are on losing teams, they’re playing great. What’s clear, though, is that the Dolphins’ roster is the best of the three teams that drafted QBs in the top six picks this year. If Tagovailoa plays like he did Sunday, the 5-3 Dolphins have a chance to make the postseason.

Nick Foles hasn’t been the answer for the Bears.

Chicago is on a three-game losing streak after Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans. The Bears have managed just 50 points in that stretch, and at 19.8 points per game they’re one of the lowest-scoring teams in football. Things show no signs of getting better.

Coach Matt Nagy complained about the offense all week. The front office probably deserves some blame for the lack of talent in the running game; the Bears’ 82.3 rushing yards per game is the worst in the NFL.

As far as Foles, he’s 2-4 as a starter. His yards per attempt number (6.1) is bad. Against a Titans defense that has been beaten 61.9 percent of the time on third down, Foles went 2 for 15. The Bears’ playoff hopes are starting to slip away.

This wasn’t the year to pay big money for edge rushers. The Bears spent $14 million per year for linebacker Robert Quinn. He has one sack. The Falcons paid Dante Fowler Jr. $15 million per year. He has two sacks. The Titans gave $21.5 million per year for Vic Beasley and Jadeveon Clowney. They have no sacks; Beasley was cut, and Clowney might need knee surgery.

Mike Zimmer is getting his way on offense, and Kirk Cousins is buying in. Zimmer wants Minnesota to run more and pass less. In Sunday’s 34-20 win over Detroit, the Vikings had 34 running plays and Cousins attempted only 20 passes. He was 13 for 20 for 220 yards and three touchdowns as the Vikings improved to 3-5.

It was sad to see Kyle Allen go down with a fractured ankle, but Alex Smith taking over the starting job is one of the best stories in sports. Smith completed 24 of 32 passes for 325 yards in Washington’s 23-20 loss to the New York Giants. Smith is in line to be the comeback player of the year.