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A memorable midseason weekend in the NFL.
Let's take a look at the Week 9 that was in the NFL:
Frankfurt, Germany Game - Kansas City Chiefs 21, Miami 14- Everybody knows that the KC offense is very talented and dangerous, and has been the main reason for the success that this franchise has enjoyed now for the past five or six seasons. But it was the defense that proved instrumental in this one. They shut out Miami's top-ranked offense through the first half, and produced a defensive touchdown on their own which, ultimately, proved the difference in this game. In the final Miami drive, it was the defense that clamped down on the Dolphins and ended the threat, allowing KC to get another win - the fourth country that this franchise has won a game in, which I suspect is an NFL record. My pick: Accurate
Washington 20, New England 17 - This could have gone either way, as I mentioned in the preview. And while my official pick was off, it still felt like the kind of game that you could expect between these two. Ultimately, Washington's defense clamped down on the Pats late in the game, and the offense did just enough to produce a solid road win, which keeps Washington in the playoff hunt. My pick: Inaccurate
Minnesota 31, Atlanta 28 - Yes, some Vikings players clearly were missing Kirk Cousins before the game, wearing t-shirts in his honor. Yet, newly acquired QB Joshua Dobbs looked pretty good in this game, nevertheless. Minnesota's offense looked solid, and Dobbs led the team down the field and, ultimately, throwing a touchdown pass with just 22 seconds left to help lift the Vikings over the Falcons in Atlanta, which has been a tough place for road teams this season. An impressive win! My pick: Accurate
New Orleans 24, Chicago 17 - The Saints won a potentially dangerous game for them, as the Bears played well and might have produced an upset. Still, the Saints did just enough to produce the victory, and by virtue of that, mixed with the Falcons losing, New Orleans is now in sole possession of first place in the NFC South. They are the only team in the division with a winning record at the moment, and also the only team in the division which has scored more point than they allowed. My pick: Accurate
Green Bay 20, LA Rams 3 - Boy, I really got this one wrong! The Rams looked flat from beginning to end in this one. The defense actually played decently. But the offense could not produce anything but a field goal, and that obviously will not cut it. The Packers snapped a long losing streak, and Jordan Love once again looks like the future of the franchise, at least for now. My pick: Inaccurate
Cleveland 27, Arizona 0 - The Browns earned their third win in the last four games by producing the first shutout win that this franchise has earned in over a decade and a half. The Cardinals just could not do anything on offense in this one. And Cleveland got a decent level of production from their offense. Don't look now, but Cleveland is still very much in the thick of the playoff picture, and even a division title is not unthinkable, although next week's huge division showdown with the Ravens could answer a lot of questions as to how good this Browns team really is. My pick: Accurate
Houston 39, Tampa Bay 37 - This was one of the rare games which I actually got to see the end of live, as bonus coverage. And man, was that ever an exciting game! First, it seemed Houston had the win. Then, Tampa Bay marched down the field and got a touchdown for an apparent, come from behind win. Only then, Houston produced an improbable drive all the way down the field for a touchdown, and all in under one minute - think it was probably closer to forty seconds or so, and that pushed Houston to an improbable and highly invigorating win. CJ Stroud completed 30 of 42 pass attempts for 470 yards and five touchdowns, which is a new record for rookie quarterbacks in the NFL. Think he's going to be a great one! My pick: Accurate
Baltimore 37, Seattle 3 - What happened here? Yes, I picked the Ravens for the win. But a complete and total blowout? This was a sobering and, frankly, an embarrassing blowout loss for the Seahawks, who had looked like they were flirting with possibly being regarded as one of the elites in the league entering this game. But they looked lifeless here. The Ravens look like the complete package: capable on both offense and solid on defense. What a win for Baltimore! My pick: Accurate
Indianapolis 27, Carolina 13 - The Colts need this one. Amazingly, despite a serious losing streak entering this one, they look like they are still right in the thick of the playoff race on the AFC side. The Panthers, meanwhile, can at least take solace in no longer being winless, but they still really aren't very good. My pick: Accurate
Las Vegas 30, NY Giants 6 - This was the kind of game where I really scratch my head and wonder just what in hell I was thinking about picking the G-Men. Big Blue showed little to no real signs of life on their offense. Once again, it was the O-line which hurt them, as they allowed just a ton of sacks. The Raiders defense looked like this was the elite Silver and Black units of the late seventies and early eighties. New head coach Aaron Pierce, who starred for the Giants years ago, and helped them to win Super Bowl XLII, earns a victory in his first ever start as the interrum head coach for the Raiders. A solid win all around for Las Vegas, while this was yet another obnoxious loss for the G-Men, who are pretty much realistically already eliminated from the playoffs. Looks like it will be another last place finish in the NFC East. My pick: Inaccurate
Philadelphia 28, Dallas 23 - Huge win for the Eagles. The Cowboys certainly had some chances, outplaying the Eagles in the final quarter. They came very close to doing everything that they needed to in order to steal a win on the road at Philly. Yet in the end, they fell just short. That means - and I don't want to sound like a broken record here - that Dallas still seems unable to beat any of the truly top quality teams in the league. A disappointing loss that drops their position in the standings, but it gives the Eagles a fairly commanding lead for first in the NFC East race. These two teams will meet again later in the season. My pick: Accurate
SNF: Cincinnati 24, Buffalo 16 - This has become quite a decent rivalry in the NFL. Perhaps not the league's top one, although both of these are quality teams. Yet the Bills seem to have fallen a bit this season. Who could have expected that they would only be 5-4 at this point in the season? They are 5-4 at this midway point, and have won only one single road game. True, they lost some close battles, some games which, frankly, they should have won. It could be argued that this was one of them. The Bills kept making mistakes, kept shooting themselves in the foot. Yet, they gave themselves a chance to win towards the end. If they play at their best, they very well might be good enough to beat anybody in the league. Maybe if they improve and get things right, they could dazzle us with a serious and impressive playoff run. It's just that right now, they are not looking too good. The Bengals, meanwhile, have now won four in a row following a dismal 1-3 start to the season. Their defense looks solid, and they once again look like the elite team that they are, a team that qualified for the AFC Championship Game in both of the last two seasons. My pick: Inaccurate
LA Chargers 27, NY Jets 6 - Boy, the Jets look really bad when they lose, don't they? It was not even the fact that they lost this game. That could be forgiven. It's just how poorly they played. The defense played fairly well, at least under the circumstances. But the offense? They looked sad, frankly. The Chargers defense had more than a little something to do with that, of course. But Gang Green failed to score even one touchdown, and produced three turnovers, which the Chargers seemed to have done a good job of capitalizing on. Overall, just a very sloppy game for the Jets, who looked like they took a couple of steps back from the positives they had managed to produce during the three game winning streak, which obviously was shut down last night on a nationally televised game. My pick: Inaccurate
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