What’s Hot and What’s Knott in Football – Week 9

By Rhys Knott

The duality of man is hot in Week 9. Several players caught fire for a quarter or a half, but few did it for a full 60 minutes.
 
Passing the ball is smoking hot; Caleb Williams is hot, but for the reason you’re thinking of and, counterintuitively defense is also hot.
 
And you’ll never guess what Geno Smith did in Week 9.
 
While nothing could be more Knott than using an NFL legend to promote some very questionable politics, Harrison Butker is trying his level best to compete.
 
Let’s take a look.  

What’s Hot in Football – Week 9

Remember when Spider-Man was hot in Week 1? Well, Aidan Hutchinson is hot in Week 9, and also the biggest Spider-Man in the world!
Azeez Al-Shair might be playing on the most disappointing defense in the NFL in 2026, but he’s still hot. The Texans linebacker is definitely using his platform for good; everyone should be more Azeez.
Caleb Williams celebrating the midterm election results is hot too. Let’s all bow down to our new liberal King.
Brandon Aiyuk is seriously Knott (so is having to talk about anyone who hasn’t played football for two years), but the 49ers’ reactions to someone who didn’t turn up when he was supposed to and hasn’t shut up about it since are definitely hot. First up, George Kittle, who really didn’t want to answer questions about someone he hasn’t seen since October 2024.
And Kyle Shanahan is definitely not an Aiyuk fan.
Going to Spain is hot, especially if you’re a foodie like Zac Taylor. His players may not share his passion, though.
We like aggro here at The Touchdown (we already did the Aiyuk aggro), so Ben Johnson telling a reporter he’s wrong is hot.
Malik Nabers directing his aggro towards Greg Olsen is hot too, even if Greg insists he didn’t say that.
Elsewhere in the NFL, using as many quarterbacks as humanly possible is definitely hot in 2026.  
On the subject of quarterbacks, C.J. Stroud is having a hot season. His first half in Week 9 is still smouldering.
Caleb Williams has also been smoking hot in first quarters this season!
And Shedeur Sanders’ performance in the fourth quarter and overtime is right up there when it comes to hotness. The Saints’ defense is eye-wateringly bad, though.
We piled on Matthew Golden when he couldn’t catch some easy passes in the last two weeks, so, in the interest of fairness, we’ve got to jump on his Week 9 first quarter. The Packers lit up the Patriots, but Golden absolutely roasted Christian Gonzalez.
Christian McCaffrey is hot, not just in Week 9; he’s permanently hot!
Anyone who attended the Jags game against the Texans at Wembley this year will tell you that corgi races are really anxiety in canine form. Apparently nobody in Carolina was paying attention; an escaped corgi is always hot, though. This dawg can scoot.
The Chargers are all sorts of awful in 2026, but these uniforms are most definitely hot.
Elsewhere, in Canada, how does winning the first 13 starts of your career sound? That’s right, it sounds hot, and if it sounds hot, just imagine how hot it feels!
And while we’re north of the border, check out this catch! That’s hot, and so is Montreal. Just imagine the parties this score ignited.
While we’re talking about kickers, Harrison Butker getting booed by fans in Kansas City- you already know that’s hot!
Not all special teams are terrible, though. Fake punts are hot in Week 9. Two in the same game; it’s the first time both teams have completed one in the same game! Jack Fox must have been taking throwing lessons from Jared Goff, ’cause the QB would have loved this timing route.
And the Dolphins threw to a guy who the Commanders released with the intention of re-signing, only for the ‘Phins to sign him off waivers! (It’s been a hell of a season for the Commies).
But all of that hotness pales into insignificance in comparison to the hot defense in Week 9. Starting with Geno Smith, where else?
Geno wasn’t the only guy lowering the boom this week. Just watch Devin Bush pulverise Emeka Egbuka! You can bet that’s hot.
A younger brother who plays on defense beating big brother who plays on offense is hot too.
15 different guys recorded more than one sack in Week 9; Arvelle Reese and Myles Garrett had three each! But Chase Young is on a heater, a hot heater.
21 guys made interceptions in Week 9; that is, in and of itself, pretty hot stuff. But Evan Williams might have made the most magical and hilarious reception of the season. This is a hot one!
Devon Key made a “right guy in the right place at the right time” hilarious interception. It’s hot, but the Panthers need to keep Tommy Tremble away from the endzone from now on. What is he doing?
Daiyan Henley’s hilarious interception is a rare bright spot for the Chargers in 2026. Those are some hot reactions.

What’s Knott in Football – Week 9

We’re not done talking about Harrison “homemaker” Butker, check out how Knott has been this season. This is another reason why Taylor didn’t invite you to the wedding, Hazza.
Trash-talking is part of the game, but there are some things regular people just don’t bring up, however bad their arses are getting kicked. The Blue Bombers are very Knott.
Hijacking someone’s actions to promote your own agenda will always be Knott. So Turning Point pretending that Gronk is in New Hampshire as an ambassador for their charity is some B.S. He’s actually back in New England to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame, and just happened to take some selfies with voters at a local polling station. Do better, Erika!
Mark Andrews is absolutely Knott and has been suffering a terminal crisis of confidence since he dropped that 2-point conversion in the Divisional round of the 2025 playoffs! This fumble on fourth down is awful, but so is asking someone who hasn’t had a good game in 20 months to stand under centre for a trick play! Derrick Henry took multiple direct snaps on Thursday night; he would have been a far more logical choice.
Screaming at your offensive linemen when they’re obviously not very good (with the exception of Vega Ioane, who is immense) and your coaching obviously hasn’t improved them is very Knott too. You can do that in the film session on Tuesday, Dwayne.  
The Ravens were so Knott on Thursday night that the officials decided to dispense with the 2-minute warning. A rare moment of common sense from the zebras!
It seems like just last year that we talked about how absolutely terrible these Saints’ uniforms are. They’re supposed to be gold, but they look more like lemon sorbet. If your gold looks like that, then it needs polishing. But the Saints did win, and Charlie Smyth scored 11 of their 23 points! At least that’s hot.
Talking of scoring points, the Chargers reached new levels of Knott before they scored some.
Ross Tucker putting the hoodoo on a kicker and preventing points from being scored is definitely Knott, too.
But the most Knott thing to happen is a Cowboys penalty. Everyone pretend to be shocked.

RHYS KNOTT

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

Rhys has been watching the NFL for 30 something years and still hasn’t managed to pick a team to support. When he’s not fixatED on pass rushers you can find him blithering on about most sports on Twitter @wrhys_writes

Rated 5 out of 5
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