Big questions from Sunday's NFL games: Did Burrow enhance his MVP bid?

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  NFL NationNov 8, 2026, 12:29 PM ET

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  NFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.

The Sunday slate for Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season kicked off in Madrid with the Cincinnati Bengals' offense erupting vs. the Atlanta Falcons.

Our NFL Nation reporters react to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and detailing everything else you need to know. Fantasy football analysts Matt Bowen and Tristan Cockcroft also have fantasy takeaways from each matchup.

Let's get to it with the biggest lessons from Sunday.

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CIN-ATL

Catch up on JAX-BAL from Thursday

Cincinnati 34, Atlanta 17

Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap

Bengals

Has Joe Burrow established himself as the MVP? It's hard to argue against it, especially with how he has looked recently. One week after Burrow had six total touchdowns in an overtime win over the Titans, he put on an even more impressive against the Falcons, going 24-of-29 for 271 yards and three TDs. Burrow completed 16 of his first 18 passes and notably threw the ball much better than he did after tallying three interceptions last week. He's enhancing his case to finally break through and win an MVP after being a two-time finalist. And Ja'Marr Chase also played his part with a season-high 155 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions.

Most surprising performance: Sunday was the day running back Chase Brown was looking for. He finally reeled off his first carry of 15 or more yards and put together a couple more big runs on Sunday. A dynamic rushing attack was the biggest thing the Bengals have been missing this season, and Brown's performance could be the catalyst to fixing that issue. He finished with 57 yards on nine carries for an average of 6.3 yards per carry. Samaje Perine added 43 yards on 11 carries. -- Ben Baby

Next game: vs. Steelers (Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET)

Falcons

Will this loss change the Falcons' approach to the trade deadline? Probably not. There has been speculation the Falcons could move safety Jessie Bates III for picks. Bates will be a free agent after this season. Atlanta's 3-6 record does not look good, but the reality is the Falcons are still in the NFC South race and have the personnel to win the division if they can figure out a way to turn things around. Half of Atlanta's losses are with Cooper Rush starting at quarterback or in a driving rain. It doesn't seem like the Falcons are ready to pack it in for this season, especially since this franchise has not made the playoffs since 2017.

What to make of the QB performance: There was some good and mostly not good from Michael Penix Jr. The good? He showed the ability to make plays with his legs: a career-high 50 yards rushing. The bad? An inability to push the ball down the field with efficiency en route to just 5.2 yards per attempt. He finished 20-of-31 with a TD and a pick. -- Marc Raimondi

Next game: vs. Chiefs (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

Fantasy football takeaway: Falcons WR Drake London is no longer a surefire fantasy WR1. London faced a favorable matchup against the Bengals then saw only five targets and scored 11.8 fantasy points. Worse yet, his rest-of-November schedule is unfavorable: the Chiefs in Week 10, a bye week, at the Vikings in Week 11 and he also has matchups with the Browns (Week 14) and Buccaneers (Week 16). -- Cockcroft