NFL Week Nine is complete. Let’s break down some of the key games from this week.
NFL Week Nine TNF
NFL Week Nine’s Thursday Night Football was a showdown between the 5-2 Jacksonville Jaguars and 4-4 Baltimore Ravens. With Lamar Jackson being an inconsistent starting quarterback this season, the Ravens’ playoff contention has been unknown.
Trevor Lawrence’s Jags have been making a strong appearance so far in the season, and this game wasn’t any different. Like I mentioned last week, the teams that recognize the entire roster rather than depending on one player tend to do better. The Jaguars had a total of 242 over seven players, which is so admirable. Of course some were a little higher performing, but showing that everyone deserves to play and can contribute.
The Jaguars move on to being 6-3 after their 33-10 win against the Ravens.
Madrid Match Up
The Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons took a trip across the Atlantic to Madrid, Spain, for their NFL Week Nine game. The Bengals came into this game with a 5-2 record and the Falcons 3-4.
Top performers on both sides of the aisle were: Joe Burrow, Chase Brown, and Ja’Marr Chase for the Bengals, and Michael Penix Jr., Bijan Robinson, and Drake London for the Falcons. Burrow went 24-29, 271 yards, and three touchdowns. Brown totaled 57 yards with nine carries. Chase had ten receptions for 155 yards and one touchdown. Penix Jr. went 20-31, 162 yards, and one touchdown. Robinson totaled 19 carries for 100 yards and one touchdown. London had 68 yards over five receptions.
The Falcons fell to the Bengals with a score of 34-17.
Cali Rival Teams
Even though the Raiders belong to Las Vegas, they will always be true to the California fan base. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out that this game is America’s game of the week. Though separated by states and conferences, this will always remain a top rivalry in the NFL for fans, and players.
With the Raiders trailing the majority of the game, and some questionable penalty calls, the 49ers would go on to win 38-17. Without a doubt, the 49ers rushers and receivers had a marvelous game, which in hindsight secured this win. The total yards from the rushers were 190 and the receivers racked up 232.
NFL Week Eight SNF
Sunday night NFL Week Nine took the Chicago Bears down to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stadium. In what the Bears thought to be a sure easy win, turned out to be an all hands on deck fight to the finish.
With a 14-0 start at the end of the 1st quarter, the Buccaneers started picking up a slow pace in the second, putting up two field goals. Now, whether a stern talking-to occurred at the half, who’s to say, but I’m sure the Bears were trembling when the game tied in the 4th quarter. Thanks to Cairo Santos, he put up another 3 points for the Bears with seconds left to make it a walk-off game. Final score: 27-24.
Chicago will be able to take a breather this week with a bye and Tampa as well.
NFL Monday Night Week Nine
Now this is a head-to-head that people would be okay with being a potential Super Bowl. With the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings coming in at 6-1, neither one of these teams came here to lose.
A slow start with a lot of punts and field goals. Each team, though, was not backing down. Every play seemed to be fourth down and then punted out. Certainly didn’t have any fake punt plays like the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins game Sunday.
Josh Allen finally came through with a bomber of a throw to Latu in the end zone before half time. Once the teams came back from the half, the Bills just dominated. The final score of the night was 23-6. The Buffalo Bills will take on the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings will travel to division rivals, the Green Bay Packers.
The End of My NFL Week Nine Rant
Who’s at the top? No surprise here, the NFC West is UP with 25 wins. Is it too early to claim we could see one of these teams in the Super Bowl? The AFC North is still at “second best” with 21 wins. The NFC West is ranked at “third best” at 20 wins.
Also, can we get a wellness check in for the Los Angeles Chargers? 0-8 is absolutely insane. This is not the same team from last year. However, with scheduled games against “higher ranked” teams, it makes it difficult to win when you’re not what you once were.
We approach our fifth round of “Bye” week with the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers sitting on the sideline. The Bears and Broncos have had a spectacular season so far. The Eagles and Buccaneers not as much, but still have a lot of games left to play.
Tune in next week for the NFL Week Ten recap.
