Copyright Essentially Sports
After one of the most boring weeks in NFL history, we finally had some fireworks this week. There were major upsets, massive comebacks, game-winning touchdowns, and much more. From the opening kickoff of the weekend, which was returned for a touchdown, to the final whistle of Sunday Night Football, we were treated to some amazing football this week. Here are my 10 takeaways from Week 9 of the NFL season. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad The Ravens are still AFC threats After starting the season 1-5, the Baltimore Ravens have turned things around, winning two straight games to move to 3-5 on the year. Lamar Jackson is back, and their offense looked very good on Thursday night. They scored 28 points, Jackson threw for four touchdowns, and Derrick Henry rushed for 119 yards. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad On top of their offensive success, their defense played its best game of the year, holding the Miami Dolphins to just six points. Yes, the same defense that conceded 37 or more points four times this season. The Dolphins got into the red zone three times, but failed to score a touchdown in every single one of those drives. It was very much a bend-but-don’t-break style of defense, but it worked. If Baltimore can keep playing how they did on Sunday, they’ll be a major threat in the AFC. They might not be real Super Bowl contenders, but they can make the playoffs and be very dangerous. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports I knew we were right about Green Bay Tim Wood and I have been very critical of the Green Bay Packers this year. While everyone had them in the top five, we had them sitting between 10-13 in our power rankings for weeks, but after their win last week against Pittsburgh, we decided to give them some respect and move them to the top 10. We should’ve listened to our gut. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad I know the Packers are still 5-2-1 and in a very good spot, but they just aren’t convincing. They’re inconsistent and have struggled to beat a lot of average teams (including their loss to the Carolina Panthers this week). They have a ton of talent, but they’re not playing to their potential. Green Bay is a good football team, but they’re not the Super Bowl contenders the national media wants them to be. Pittsburgh exposed Indianapolis’ weakness All week leading up to this game, I said the Pittsburgh Steelers would sell out to stop Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts’ run game. That’s exactly what they did, holding Taylor to 45 yards on 14 carries (3.2), and it exposed the Colts’ biggest weakness. When Daniel Jones is forced to drop back and pass against, he’s prone to making mistakes. He’s had a great run game to aid him, but the Steelers took that away, and it resulted in Jones having his worst game of the year, throwing for 342 yards, three interceptions, and one touchdown. What makes this so funny is the fact that Steelers fans held a funeral for the Steelers defense, which had been very disappointing this year until this game, in the parking lot before the game. Pitt did the unthinkable: they made Indy look human. The secret’s out. If you stop Jonathan Taylor, you can stop their offense. Unfortunately for most of the league, not many teams are capable of stopping that rushing attack. What. A. Game. I thought the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs would give us the game of the week, but we may have just got the game of the century. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I can count on one hand the number of games that were more thrilling than the Chicago Bears vs the Cincinnati Bengals. With 4:53 left in the game, the Bears led the Bengals, 41-27. Joe Flacco and Co. looked dead to rights, but after a touchdown and an onside kick recovery, they were in business. Flacco led a six-play, 57-yard touchdown drive to give the Bengals a 42-41 lead with 49 seconds left, and it looked like we may have just seen one of the best comebacks of the season. But… The Bears got the ball back and burned their last timeout with 25 seconds left. It looked like, at best, the Bears would have a long field goal to possibly win the game, but Caleb Williams found his rookie tight end, Colston Loveland, over the middle of the field. He broke a tackle and ripped off a 58-yard game-winning touchdown. You’re not going to see too many games as entertaining as this one. 89 total points, a near 14-point comeback, and a 58-yard game-winning touchdown. Hard to ask for much more. Denver keeps finding ways to get it done The Denver Broncos have to have one of the best offenses in clutch situations. Let’s just look at some of the fourth-quarter situations they’ve faced and overcome this year. They have overcome four fourth-quarter deficits this season. Their offense has been pretty inconsistent early in games, but when it comes down to crunch time, they just keep finding ways to win. Bo Nix has been incredible in the fourth quarter this season, but you also have to give credit to Denver’s defense. In those four comebacks, they’ve allowed just 14 points in the fourth quarter, all of which came in the Giants game. They may not be dominating everyone, but the Broncos will be more battle-tested than anyone else in the playoffs, and that’s a very important trait in a Super Bowl contender. The NFC North is going to be an absolute war Every year, there’s one division that’s just better than the rest. The NFC West may be the strongest division, with teams like the Rams and Seahawks at the top, but the NFC North has four teams that are legit playoff contenders, and after today’s results, it’s shaping up to be an absolute battle for the top spot. With the Packers and Lions losing and the Vikings and Bears winning, everyone is within a game of each other. The Packers stand alone atop the standings with a 5-2-1 record, the Lions and Bears both sit at 5-3, and the Vikings are now 4-4. The Vikings are 2-0 in the division, the Packers are 1-0, the Lions are 1-2, and the Bears are 0-2. This division could go any way. The Lions are probably the favorites, but they’ve had three games where their offense has been off. The Packers are next, but they’ve struggled to beat average teams this year. The Bears are the hottest team in the division, winning five of their last six, but they’ve been very hit or miss. And the Vikings are in last, but with J.J. McCarthy back, they’ve got some momentum behind them. The NFC North has a four-way race for the division crown, and by the end of the year, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are three teams within a game or two of the lead. More injuries to the Chargers’ OL could be their downfall Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Chargers lost their starting left tackle, Rashawn Slater, to a season-ending injury. They also lost their starting right tackle, Joe Alt, but he was able to return from his injury a couple of weeks ago. However, he went down again this week, and it looks like it could be more severe. Reports are saying it’s another high-ankle sprain for Alt, but this one could require surgery to fix. There’s no timetable for a return, but it appears he could end up on IR. With both of his starting tackles out, Justin Herbert was sacked six times by the Tennessee Titans, who have one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL. Herbert was already being pressured on 41 percent of his drop-backs (third-most in the NFL), and now it’s only going to get worse with Alt out. The Chargers have stayed afloat despite a ton of injuries, but I’m not sure how much Herbert will be able to do with his two starting tackles out. Hopefully, he can stay healthy because he’s going to take a beating. We got a new NFL record! Cam Little, the man who hit a 70-yard field goal in the preseason, just set a new NFL record after connecting on a 68-yarder as time expired in the first half. He even received a drug test from the NFL just hours after the game. There’s a problem in the NFL. It’s not too bad yet, but it’s coming. Kickers are just too good. A 55-yard field goal today is like a 35-yarder 10 years ago. And with the new kickoff rules, which are handing teams the ball at the 30-35 yard line pretty much every time, all you need is 20 yards and you have a shot at a field goal. In this case, the Jags had a 19-yard drive after getting the ball at the 30-yard line before kicking the field goal. I’m not sure of the exact way to fix it. I know they love the dynamic kickoff because of safety reasons, which I’m totally game with, but they need to find a way for the average starting field position to be the 20-25 yard line, not the 30+. It’s just going to be the Chiefs and Bills again, isn’t it Despite all the parity in the NFL this year, I can already tell we’re heading towards another Chiefs/Bills AFC Championship game. Watching that game on Sunday afternoon just made me realize they’re still the two best teams in the AFC. The Colts were exposed a bit this week, and while I still think they could sneak in, I think the Chiefs and Bills are better teams at their peak, and they always seem to peak right in time for the playoffs. The Bills looked very good on Sunday. Their defense did a great job shutting Patrick Mahomes and Co. down, and Josh Allen did a great job using his arm and legs to beat the Chiefs’ vaunted defense. On the other side, the Chiefs played one of the worst games they could’ve played, and they still had a chance to win it as time expired. I just trust Allen and Mahomes more than anyone in the playoffs. It would depend on the seeding, but I feel like there’s a pretty good chance this is the AFC Championship matchup, despite how open the NFL seems at the moment. The NFC is MUCH deeper than the AFC The AFC has some elite teams, primarily the Chiefs, Bills, and Colts, but the NFC has just as elite teams, and much more depth. I believe the Los Angeles Rams are the best team in the league right now. They’re running through everybody they face, and Matthew Stafford should be the MVP favorite as of Monday morning. Then there’s the Seattle Seahawks. Everyone wants to keep discrediting Sam Darnold, but when are we going to admit we were wrong about him? He was on some terrible teams early in his career, but since he’s had a competent roster around him, he’s been great. Just look at his – and the rest of the team’s – performance on Sunday night. They were absolutely unstoppable. Then, in the next tier down, you have the Lions, Eagles, Packers, and Buccaneers. All of those teams could make – and win – the Super Bowl. Want to keep going? The 49ers and Bears are real playoff threats that could win a game or two, and then nobody wants to play the Cowboys and that offense. The NFC is an absolute gauntlet this year. There are eight teams that deserve to make the playoffs, but only seven can. If everyone keeps up this pace, I think every single NFC team in the playoffs would have a realistic shot of representing the conference in the Super Bowl. It’ll come down to who gets hot at the right time.
