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There was plenty of drama in Week 9 of the NFL as the 2024 season reached its halfway point.

Not only did we see historic performances on offense, but there were also overtime victories and last-second game-winning field goals that sent teams home happy.

Seven Week 9 games were decided by seven points or fewer, meaning 74 games were won by that margin this season, the most such Week 9 games in NFL history.

Here are the main storylines from Sunday's action.

Sunday's game at Lambeau Field between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers was named the Game of the Week as both got off to great starts to the season.

But it was never really a battle, as the Lions jumped out to an early lead and ultimately prevailed over their NFC North rivals, 24-14.

The animosity between the two teams began long before kickoff, when the Lions' star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown arrived at Lambeau Field wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words “Green Bay sucks.”

And St. Brown was impressive in the early going, catching a touchdown pass on Detroit's first possession in rainy Wisconsin.

Lions defensive back Kerby Joseph intercepted Packers QB Jordan Love and scored a touchdown before halftime to extend the traveling team's lead.

And when Jahmyr Gibbs ran for a score midway through the third quarter, Detroit's lead was 21 points and the game was effectively over.

Green Bay scored a field goal and a late touchdown to cut the deficit to 10, but it was all inconsequential as the Lions extended their winning streak to six games and solidified their position as the NFL's current best team.

“I'm not shocked one bit that we came here and played some pretty good football in the elements,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said afterward, referring to his own team's domed stadium. “We’re made for this and it doesn’t matter just because we’re playing indoors. It doesn't matter.

“We can play anywhere. We can play in the snow. We can play in the rain. Play in the mud. It’s just us and we’re built to win, man.”

During the Lions' winning streak, quarterback Jared Goff has played outstanding football with an 82.8 completion percentage, 13 touchdowns, one interception and a 140.1 passer rating.

According to the NFL, both Goff's completion percentage and passer rating are the highest in a six-game period since at least 1970 (at least 100 passes attempted), breaking previous records set by Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.

“We’re supposed to be the Dome team that can’t play outside,” Goff said afterward. “We should be the team that can only win in one direction. I think we showed a few times that we can win in different ways. We are chameleons.”

It was a disappointing result for the Packers at home, even though they had 150 more offensive yards than Detroit.

Mistakes and costly penalties resulted in the offense faltering in crucial moments and the team unable to score as often as it needed to keep up with the Lions.

The Packers fall to 6-3 heading into their bye, while the Lions improve to 7-2 and face the Houston Texans in Week 10. It's the first time in the Super Bowl era that the Lions have started 7-1 or 7-1 better, with the only other time coming in 1956, according to the NFL.

Saquon Barkley is no stranger to producing outstanding plays with exceptional athleticism.

But he could have surpassed all of his previous individual abilities on Sunday in the Philadelphia Eagles' 28-23 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In the second quarter of the game at Lincoln Financial Field, the 27-year-old received a pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts on an important third down and had to evade two defenders to reach the first down marker.

He first sidestepped one defender and then turned away from another. And after the first game was solidified, Barkley had what Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni called afterward the “best game” he had ever seen.

In the wrong direction and without looking, Barkley jumped into the air and pounced over incoming cornerback Jarrian Jones, who flew past before Barkley was finally tackled.

Replaying the moment on the big screen at Lincoln Financial Field drew huge cheers, while Barkley took a moment to recover on the sideline.

The official NFL

“What I think is so cool is that there will be kids all over the country and all over Philadelphia — I really think about it — trying to make this game, talk about this game and simulate this game while they Playing backyard football or peeing. “Wee football,” he told reporters.

“They won't be able to do it because I think he's the only one in the world who can do it. I'm speechless. It was unbelievable…I can’t emphasize enough how athletic he is.”

Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat said he “felt like a fan for a brief second” while watching Barkley play.

That acrobatic moment was the exclamation point on a productive day for Barkley, which made the difference for Philadelphia on Sunday.

He had 199 total yards – 159 on the ground and 40 through the air – as well as a rushing and receiving touchdown.

Hurts also added three touchdowns of his own, two passing and one rushing, helping the Eagles improve to 6-2 while the Jags fell to 2-7.

The Baltimore Ravens put on a dominant performance and returned to winning ways on Sunday, handily defeating the Denver Broncos 41-10 at M&T Bank Stadium.

More notable than the large winning margin, however, were the historic performances of two of Baltimore's most important players.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson had an excellent start to the season, and that continued against the Broncos for the reigning NFL MVP as he went 16 of 19 in passing attempts for 280 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, a perfect mark passer rating of 158.3.

It is the fourth time in his career that Jackson has posted a perfect passer rating in a game, the highest ever in the Super Bowl era as he outpaces such luminaries as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger.

But Jackson wasn't the only Baltimore player to have a historic performance.

Derrick Henry entered Week 9 as the NFL's leading rusher and increased that status by another 126 yards and two touchdowns.

It was the 21st^st For the first time in Henry's storied career, he rushed for at least 100 yards and scored two scores in a game, tying Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith for the third-most such games in NFL history, behind only Jim Brown and LaDainian Tomlinson.

The two touchdowns were also Henry's 100th and 101st career rushing touchdowns. In his 128th career game, he tied Adrian Peterson for fifth-fewest games played and reached 100 career rushing touchdowns.

Henry's offseason signing added another element to the Ravens' offense and paid dividends in the first half of the NFL season, as both he and Jackson performed at an extremely high level.

After Baltimore improved to 6-3, Henry described what it was like playing alongside Jackson.

“He's dangerous with his arm and I think he showed that today. If you try to take the ball away from him, he will go over your head and throw it,” Henry told reporters. “If he has to run it, he will. Hats off to him. He’s the engine that makes this thing run – ‘MV3’.”

Away vs home (winner in bold)

Dallas Cowboys 21-27 Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos 10-41 Baltimore Ravens

Miami Dolphins 27-30 Buffalo Bills

New Orleans Saints 22-23 Carolina Panthers

Las Vegas Raiders 24-41 Cincinnati Bengals

Los Angeles Chargers 27-10 Cleveland Browns

Washington commanders 27-22 New York Giants

New England Patriots 17-20 OT Tennessee Titans

Chicago Bears 9-29 Arizona Cardinals

Jacksonville Jaguars 23-28 Philadelphia Eagles

Detroit Lions 24-14 Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams 26-20 OT Seattle Seahawks

Indianapolis Colts 13-21 Minnesota Vikings