NFL Week 9 Takeaways: Bill Belichick proves once again he is the greatest of all time

Every week in an NFL season is a learning experience. Here's what we learned in Week 8…

1. Browns GM John Dorsey wasted a lot of money last offseason

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While the early returns on Dorsey's first draft in Cleveland have been positive, the general manager's class of veteran acquisitions isn't doing so hot. The Browns splashed a lot of cash during the offseason in order to field a competitive team, and they don't have much to show for it after the team fell to 2-6-1 on Sunday following a loss to Dorsey's former employer. And we're starting to see why the Chiefs may have parted ways with him.

Here's a quick look at all the veterans Dorsey brought in…

To recap:

• Taylor was benched after three starts.
• Hyde was traded last month. Landry has produced only 528 yards on 94 targets.
• Kendricks was released after being charged with insider trading.
• Carrie has been mediocre.
• Gaines hasn't seen much of the field and hasn't been all that productive when he has.
• Hubbard isn't helping a line that has struggled to protect Baker Mayfield.
• Mitchell was placed on IR after a rough first month.
• Smith still hasn't registered a sack.
• And Janis was released before the season.

The trade for Damarious Randall was the only move for a veteran that can be considered a success. In all, the Browns are paying around $56.6 million for all of their veteran acquisitions, and what do they have to show for it? Not a whole lot. Cleveland got Randall, two backup quarterbacks (including Drew Stanton, who is making $2.5 million this year to model team apparel on the sideline), a solid slot receiver, an average tackle and a handful of mediocre defensive backs.

This was Dorsey's M.O. in Kansas City: He was great at finding studs in the draft but did not know how to manage the cap. Not much has changed in Cleveland.

2. The Steelers are going to run away with the AFC North

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A few weeks ago, the Steelers were falling behind the Bengals and Ravens in the AFC North standings and the defense looked like an unmitigated disaster. Things change quickly in the NFL, though. Pittsburgh defense is playing good football - it now ranks 15th in points allowed after a disastrous start - and the team looks primed to run away with the division after a convincing victory in Baltimore on Sunday.

The Steelers' lead in the division isn't insurmountable by any means. They lead the Bengals by a half-game and the Ravens by two-and-a-half. But both Cincinnati and Baltimore are trending down - they're a combined 1-5 over their last six - and their schedules don't get any easier over the second half of the season. The Bengals play the Saints at home next week and still have trips to Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Los Angeles left on their slate. The Ravens have road games against the Chiefs, Falcons and Chargers scheduled after a Week 11 matchup with Cincy.

Pittsburgh has a daunting schedule ahead, too. They'll play the Panthers, Patriots, Chargers and Saints over the next two months, but those first three games are at home.

3. Bill Belichick is still in a class of his own

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Nobody should have been surprised by Cordarrelle Patterson's breakout game as a running back on Sunday night in a 31-17 win over the Packers. We actually called it back in April.

This is what Belichick does. Give him a player with some skills, and he'll find a way to turn him into a useful player. Everybody laughs when Belichick praises a seemingly mediocre player during press conferences, but his ability to see the best in a player is one of the many reasons that he is, far and away, the best coach in the NFL. Belichick is so good at recognizing a player's strengths and weaknesses and carving out a role for that player based around what he does best.

Take Patterson for example. He is a bad route-runner but can do serious damage with the ball in his hands. So Belichick and his staff have put him in positions where he can get the ball in his hands without having to get himself open. The easiest way to do that? Just hand him the ball on a running play. Against the Packers, Patterson needed only 11 carries to rack up 61 yards and a touchdown. As crazy as it sounds, the receiver is probably the team's best short-yardage option going forward. Who would've thought? Belichick. That's who.

The Patriots roster is never overly impressive. There are a handful of stars and then a bunch of guys who do one thing really well. Belichick just doesn't ask those other guys to stray too far out of their comfort zone. Patterson is no different.

4. The Marcus Peters trade is officially a disaster

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The Rams spent the offseason collecting star players like they were Infinity Stones. While the strategy has mostly worked, it seems to have backfired in at least one instance: Marcus Peters has been awful.

Looking back, this shouldn't be much of a surprise. The former Chiefs star isn't the best fit for what Wade Phillips wants to do on defense, which, so far in 2018, has been playing press man coverage. In Kansas City, Peters was at his best in off-coverage, where he was able to keep his eyes on the quarterback. That's when he made the bulk of his splash plays.

His coverage skills have been exposed in Los Angeles. He was roughed up by Michael Thomas in the Rams' 45-35 loss to the Saints. Thomas went for 211 yards and a score with Peters shadowing him for much of the game.

It was another bad performance in a season full of them. Coming into Week 9, quarterbacks targeting Peters had compiled a passer rating of 138.7, per Pro Football Focus. That number will only go up after Drew Brees and Thomas picked on him all afternoon.

5. The NFC playoff field is nearly all set, and the 3-4-1 Packers are still very much alive

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So we have the Rams running away with the NFC West; the Panthers and Saints will represent the NFC South in the playoffs with the runner-up taking the first wild-card spot; the North is the Vikings' to lose (sorry Chicago); and the NFC East will come down to two late-season matchups between the Eagles and Redskins. That leaves one wild card spot for the East and North runners-up plus the Falcons, Seahawks and Packers to battle it out for.

Here's how I see that race playing out: The Vikings will take control of their division over these next two months as the Bears fall victim to a tough schedule that includes two against Minnesota and games against the Rams and Vikings. The Seahawks will also fall out of the race after a brutal stretch that includes away games against the Rams and Panthers and home tilts with the Packers, Chiefs and Vikings.

That leaves Green Bay, Atlanta and the loser of the Eagles-Redskins matchups to battle it out for the last playoff spot. The Falcons still have two matchups with Carolina and New Orleans left on the schedule, as well as a trip to Lambeau. That could be an elimination for both teams. Washington has the easiest schedule of these teams, so Philadelphia may have to sweep the series to have a shot at the division. Even if they do, the defending champs still have to go on the road to play the Rams and Saints. It will be tough for the Eagles just to get to 10-6.

Based on the schedule, the Redskins and Packers should have the inside track to those last two playoff spots that are up for grabs.

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NFL Week 9 Takeaways: Bill Belichick proves once again he is the greatest of all time