🏈🏈 NFL 2020 Week 9 Review 🏈🏈

  

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TNF: Green Bay 34, San Francisco 17 – Green Bay seemed to be one of the elite teams last season, but their biggest albatross was San Francisco, where they suffered two blowout losses, the second one in the NFC Championship Game. So the Packers wanted to go out and prove that they are a quality team this season, and deserve to be rightly regarded as among the elites. They dominated the 49ers, exacting some measure of revenge for those embarrassing losses last season. It is interesting, because these two franchises have a fascinating history against one another. The Packers seemed to completely dominate this rivalry in the nineties and into the new century, winning the vast majority of meetings, both regular season and the playoffs. Yet, San Francisco won the most famous and exciting of the playoff contests with the “Catch II.” Then, the pendulum swing the other way, as the Packers lost each of the three playoff meetings of the 2010’s, including the NFC title game last season. So, the Packers managed to win this one, to improve to 6-2 and remain in first place in the NFC North. The 49ers, meanwhile, dropped their second consecutive game, dropping down to 4-5. Right now, they are the last place team in the NFC West.  

NY Giants 23, Washington 20 – The Giants earned only their second win of the season by defeating the same team – and the only team to this point in the season – that they managed to beat earlier this season. Once again, just like in the first game, they built a pretty impressive lead, only to see that gradually almost disappear behind a furious Washington comeback. Yet ultimately, the G-Men held, managing a rare victory. What is strange is that normally, when a team like the Giants improves to just 2-7 on the season, they have basically been out of the running already for quite some time, and have no realistic hopes of achieving much of anything. But by virtue of the NFC East being so historically bad this season, Big Blue manages to pull into a three-way tie with Washington and Dallas for second place in division, and a game and a half behind first place Philadelphia. Plus, they will host the Eagles in their next game, with a chance to pull even closer, to make this a real race for first should they win.                           

Baltimore 24, Indianapolis 10 – Two seemingly elite teams of the AFC squaring off in a big showdown. The Ravens, who have only lost to other elite teams of the AFC thus far (the Chiefs and the Steelers), went on the road, but still managed to produce a convincing win at Indianapolis. The Colts, who had caught up to the Titans in the AFC South for a first place tie, were hoping to further establish their credentials as one of the premiere teams in the league. But the Ravens proved a bit too much, particularly in the second half, when they dominated with 17 unanswered points, coming back from a 14-7 halftime deficit. An impressive win for Baltimore, as they improve to 6-2 on the season, while the Colts drop to 5-3, and once again find themselves having fallen behind Tennessee in the AFC South, as the Titans won.              

Buffalo 44, Seattle 34 – The Seahawks entered this game with the best record in the NFC at 6-1, and were flying high. Orchard Park is not an especially easy place for road teams to have to play, especially in November. Still, the weather was more accommodating than what you likely would expect of western New York in November. But the Bills still played extremely well, jumping in front early and taking a 17-0 lead early in the game, and then more or less hanging onto a sizable lead for the duration of the game, which turned into a shootout between the two teams. The Bills defense was stretched out and had their hands full against the explosive Seahawks, but they benefited by four Seattle turnovers, and the Buffalo offense kept them on top as they continually managed to score. There were plenty of offensive fireworks for both teams, but in one of their biggest tests to date so far this season, the Bills managed to validate their status as one of the seeming elite teams in the AFC. They improve to 7-2 on the season, while the Seahawks drop to 6-2 after suffering only their second loss of the season.

Houston 27, Jacksonville 25 – A game that likely means little to nothing in the overall playoff picture. Houston managed only their second win of the season, but it is against another struggling, lowly team in Jax. Yes, the Jaguars managed an upset win to open up the season, but have now dropped seven straight since, which is the second longest active losing streak in the league. Their 1-7 mark is the second worst in the league behind the winless Jets. As for Houston, they improve to a 2-6 mark on the season with the narrow win.

Tennessee 24, Chicago 17 –  The Titans may not be undefeated anymore (in fact, they have lost two games so far this season), but they keep winning, and remain as one of the league's division leaders for now. A Colts loss, combined with this solid win by the Titans over the suddenly reeling Bears, has them flying high, and once again looking and feeling like one of the relative elites in the league, particularly in the AFC. The win improves the Titans overall record to 6-2, while Da Bears lose their third in a row. After a once very promising 5-1 start, Chicago is now 5-4.

Kansas City 33, Carolina 31 –  The Panthers once again came close to pulling off a pretty big upset. And the Chiefs once again flirted with another surprise loss. But in the end, order was restored, and Kansas City had managed to win, mostly with their offensive firepower pulling them through again. The win improves KC to 8-1 on the season, the second best mark in the league after undefeated Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, this loss drops Carolina to 3-6 on the season, and in last place now in the NFC South. 

Minnesota 34, Detroit 29 –  The Vikings appear to be turning their season around, with a solid win against Green Bay at Lambeau Field, and another key divisional win against Detroit. True, it took Minnesota a long time to really get going, and coming back from a 1-6 hole to qualify for the postseason would be a historical level turnaround. However,  it is not impossible. After all, there is that extra playoff spot this season. Also, the Vikings are surging right around the same time that each of the other NFC North opponents seem to be reeling, and the Vikings have yet another divisional showdown coming up against the Bears, who have dropped three in a row. Another win there, and they are very much in the thick of things again. As for Detroit, this season is beginning to look disappointing for the Lions. So, nothing new in the Motor City, in other words.

Atlanta 34, Denver 27 –  Like Minnesota, the Falcons are suddenly starting to surge. But also like Minnesota, you have to wonder if it's not too late, after a dismal 1-6 start. Still, their recent slate of wins has been impressive. This was a tricky one, because the Broncos were hovering somewhere between the status of a losing team, and a team with a chance to contend for a playoff spot. This loss hurts them, but it helps the Falcons look a bit more respectable. That said, they are in a tough division, so it is hard to imagine them actually coming back to make the playoffs. But time will tell.

Las Vegas 31, LA Chargers 26 – It almost feels like the Chargers were cheated in this one. They appeared to score the game winning touchdown on what would have been the game’s final play, only to have it reversed.  This is probably the biggest heartbreak for a team that seems to have no shortage of heartbreaks every season. But for the Raiders, it is a key win in a still promising season that has them seemingly as a legitimate playoff contender as Thanksgiving approaches, which is where most teams want to be by late November. 

Miami 34, Arizona 31 – Man, the Dolphins are looking incredible, are they not? They have now won four games in a row, and are soaring, flying high with a 5-3 that has them in second place in the AFC East, a game and a half behind the Bills. They lost at home to the Bills earlier this season, but they will meet again in the final week of the season, in Buffalo. Not exactly the most accommodating time to visit western New York, but so be it. Meanwhile, Miami just looks awesome. Many people expected the Bills to finally manage to surpass the Patriots this season, but I am guessing that few people would have expected two teams to do it. Yet so far, that is exactly what is happening. The Fins are looking very solid, having beaten some quite decent teams so far already. Remember, this year, there are seven playoff spots open, even though the AFC field is seriously crowded with competitive teams. They have beaten two wining NFC West teams, the Rams and the Cardinals, in consecutive weeks, and crushed the 49ers in San Francisco several weeks ago. In between those games, they also shut out the Jets. And their streak could really be extended and they have a chance to improve that record in the near future. Looking at their next four games, they host the Chargers, visit Denver and the Jets, and then host the Bengals, before facing some really tough games again. So, yes, the Dolphins look serious, and they may very well make a real run at the playoffs. Impressive. As for the Cardinals, they too, like Miami, are improving, even if this was a difficult loss. They had an impressive record, but this loss drops them to 5-3. Still, they look good to this point, and the loss by the Seahawks means that Arizona really did not lose any ground to them, but they also failed to gain any ground, by the same token. They are tied with the Rams for second place in the NFC West

Pittsburgh 24, Dallas 19 – Whenever these two teams get together, it is hard not to remember this being a classic rivalry in the biggest game of all: the Super Bowl. Yes, these two teams clashed in that biggest stage three times, more than any other two teams have ever done in Super Bowl history. The Steelers beat Dallas both times when they met in the seventies, while the Cowboys managed a win in the most recent Super Bowl meeting in the nineties. So to me, growing up under the shadow of the great Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty that was, this felt like the classic rivalry. They renewed it again this weekend, and it proved to be a good game, to boot. The Steelers entered the game as the only remaining unbeaten team in the NFL, while the Cowboys, once one of the favorites in a season that has spiraled down in disappointment and key injuries, entered with a 2-6 mark. Yet, Dallas played well, and very nearly pulled this off. Possibly should have pulled it off. But in the end, Pittsburgh came up with the goods. At least, just enough to get the win and stay undefeated, improving to 8-0. Dallas drops to 2-7 on the season, although in the weak NFC East, they are in the middle of a three way tie for second place, and only a game and a half behind first place Philly. 

SNF: New Orleans 38, Tampa Bay 3 - I had assumed – wrongly, evidently – that Tampa Bay was emerging as potentially the elite team in the NFC, a force to be reckoned with. To that end, I had also assumed that the Bucs, who lost at New Orleans earlier this season, but played well in the game nonetheless, would get a measure of revenge when the two teams met again, this time in Tampa. Boy, was I wrong! The Saints jumped all over the Buccaneers in this game, taking an early lead, then building on it, and building on it, until they owned a 31-0 lead by halftime. They added another touchdown in the second half, before the Bucs just managed a field goal late in the fourth quarter to officially avoid a home shutout. But this one was all New Orleans, as they seemed to finally show the dominant team that many people expected them to be this season. With this win coupled with the loss by the Seahawks up in Buffalo, just like that, the Saints have the best record in the NFC at 7-2. And this road win against a quality NFC opponent and divisional rival to complete the season sweep was an exclamation point kind of win. Right now, they appear to be playing some of the best football in the league, and probably the best in the NFC But they had better hope that they are not peaking too soon, because the playoffs are still a long ways away. Nevertheless, an impressive win, while this was a sobering loss for the Bucs, who drop to 6-3 on the season.

MNF: New England 30, NY Jets 27 – True, these two teams do not appear to be very good right now. The Patriots, who have usually been a pillar of success and stability in the league, and indeed in North American sports, have suffered through an unusually, uncharacteristically difficult and tumultuous season, where they keep barely missing. They entered this game with a 2-5 mark on the season, and having lost four straight games. Yet, they still were well ahead of the Jets, who entered this game as the league’s only remaining winless team, matching a franchise worst ever 0-8 start. So yes, clearly, these two teams hardly rank among the elites of the league. But these two teams managed to produce a very entertaining game that was filled with intrigue, and which literally was not decided until the final play. Both offenses played extremely well, and showed serious life, even explosiveness. It was almost unlike anything we were expecting from either team. Still, in the end, the final results felt almost predictable. The Patriots capitalized from mistakes made by Gang Green, including the game’s first and only turnover late, and then an untimely stall by the Jets offense with less than two minutes left in the game. New England managed to keep hanging in, even by a thread, and in final seconds, they just managed to get into field goal range. It was a long 51-yard kick, but Patriots placekicker Nick Folk managed to nail it, clearly and seemingly almost easily splitting the uprights to break a 27-27 tie and lift New England to victory, avoiding the uncertainty of overtime, and snapping their losing streak. The Pats improved to 3-5 on the season, while the Jets remain winless and now sink down to 0-9, which officially qualifies as the worst start to a season ever for Gang Green.