Questions asked in ledes are typically rhetorical, but seriously: has there ever been a more chaotic week in the NFL?

If you somehow slept through Tuesday into Wednesday, you would have woken up to Jay Ajayi, Jimmy Garoppolo, Kelvin Benjamin, and Duane Brown (who gave up only one sack in 12 games last year) all dawning new jerseys. Add that to the numerous injuries that occurred (sorry, Houston Texans fans) and the break in the Ezekiel Elliott case (sorry, Kansas City Chiefs fans), and suddenly a normal week in the league is anything but.

That obviously means it's more important than ever to dive into the trickle-down effect of an absent player. As I've discussed in this piece time and time again, football isn't basketball. If Player A is out, Player C could be as optimal a solution as Player B.

Let's get right into it. Here are five splits that matter for a hellacious Week 9.