Saints embarrass Tom Brady and the Bucs. Philip Rivers had sad tackle attempt. Here's our Week 9 NFL breakdown.
Who made the statement of the week?
- The Buffalo Bills, who dropped a 40-burger on the team many considered the best in the NFC?
- The New Orleans Saints, who absolutely embarrassed Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on national television?
While each team coming away with wins wasn't totally unexpected, the manner in which the Bills and Saints emerged victorious was eye-opening.
What was also eye-opening was how much of a struggle it was for the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers to escape Big D with a win against the fourth different starting quarterback that the Cowboys have used, the former Orlando Apollos QB Garrett Gilbert.
Quick hits: Sunday's biggest moments
- Philip Rivers was the last line of defense on a Ravens fumble return for a touchdown which turned into a football follies moment.
- Remember in the Super Bowl when the Chiefs ran a goal-line play that was also a play run in the 1948 Rose Bowl? Well, the diabolical Chiefs were at it again Sunday.
- Vikings RB Dalvin Cook is hard to contain. It's even harder when you only put 10 players on the field on defense.
- Matthew Stafford seemed mentally and emotionally spent after the Lions' latest loss.
- The Chargers found another painful way to lose a football game.
- The Giants and the Football Team provided the perfect play to sum up the NFC East.
- Bills WR Stefon Diggs' cleats had a hilarious shoutout to one of comedian Dave Chappelle's best sketches.
- Just days after his wife underwent emergency surgery to prevent life-threatening complications, Giants DB Logan Ryan sealed a win he dedicated to her.
Key Week 9 story lines
- 32 things we learned: While it seems the NFL's QB paradigm is shifting, every NFC East matchup -- no matter how bad -- could impact who wins that division.
- Winners and losers: There's parity atop the NFC. The Seahawks defense is the week's biggest disappointment.
- Season full of surprises: Mike Jones breaks down the biggest surprises -- both good and bad -- at the halfway point of the 2020 season.
- Tom Brady, Bucs fail their biggest test yet: Brady's arrival had the Buccaneers dreaming of an NFC South title, but the Saints showed the QB and his team they're a far from being a contender, Jarrett Bell writes.
- 'Clear and obvious'? Philip Rivers wasn't happy with the NFL after a replay review concluded Ravens CB Marcus Peters recorded an interception. The play was pivotal in the Colts' 24-10 loss.
- 'I don't even recognize us': The 44 points that the Seahawks gave up in Sunday's loss to the Bills was the most that the team had allowed in Pete Carroll's 11 years in Seattle.
- 'Ain't nobody elite': After the Steelers narrowly escaped Sunday's game with a win, Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence said he doesn't believe anyone in the NFL is "elite."
Week 9 rundown
- Saints 38, Buccaneers 3: New Orleans served an emphatic reminder that it still rules the NFC South.
- Steelers 24, Cowboys 19: This game gave many folks who had Pittsburgh in their survivor pools a scare, as it took the Steelers 57 minutes and 41 seconds of game time to take a lead.
- Dolphins 34, Cardinals 31: Tua Tagovailoa was on the winning end of an exciting duel between exciting young QBs against Kyler Murray.
- Raiders 31, Chargers 26: The hard-luck Chargers experienced yet another brutal finish.
- Falcons 34, Broncos 27: Atlanta is figuring out how to halt those devastating fourth-quarter rallies that decimated its season.
- Bills 44, Seahawks 34: Buffalo delivered one of the season's most impressive victories, dismantling what was arguably the NFC's best team.
- Chiefs 33, Panthers 31: The Chiefs escaped with this win when Panthers kicker Joey Slye's 67-yard field goal attempt as time expired fell short.
- Titans 24, Bears 17: Tennessee's new-look defense put forth the unit's best performance of the season.
- Vikings 34, Lions 20: Dalvin Cook continues to boot stomp opponents. He also might have kicked aside any hopes Detroit had of making the playoffs.
- Ravens 24, Colts 10: Turnovers and an offense stuck in the mud (or, the Lucas Oil Stadium's sand and rubber FieldTurf infill) stymied the Colts in a key AFC matchup.
- Giants 23, Football Team 20: Daniel Jones is now 4-0 in his career against the Washington Football Team.
- Texans 27, Jaguars 25: Rookie QB Jake Luton very nearly pulled out a win in his first NFL start.
- Packers 34, 49ers 17 (Thurs.): Aaron Rodgers had very little problem taking advantage of an absolutely depleted 49ers team.
Eyes on the (fantasy) prize
Early exits for a pair of starting running backs opened the door for two of the coming week’s most interesting waiver wire pickups. The Texans’ David Johnson was sidelined with a concussion after only two carries, opening the door for Duke Johnson to take over. He didn’t pile up huge numbers (41 yards rushing, 32 receiving), but he did score a touchdown. And outside of QB Deshaun Watson, no one else carried the ball.
Meanwhile, the Chargers’ Justin Jackson reinjured his knee in the first quarter and Kalen Ballage -- just activated this week from the practice squad -- became one of Week 9’s top running backs. Ballage rushed 15 times for 69 yards and a touchdown, while catching two passes for 15 more yards.
If Johnson or Jackson are limited in practice this week, their backups will have value.
Who knows who on the 49ers' roster will have available this week after the team was decimated by a coronavirus outbreak. However, WR Richie James stood out with nine catches for 184 yards and a TD on Thursday. That’s impressive under any circumstances.
Even though the Panthers finally got playmaker Christian McCaffrey back, do-everything wideout Curtis Samuel doesn’t look like he’s going away. He caught all nine of his targets for 100 yards and a touchdown. Plus, he still carried the ball three times for 13 yards.
And if you’re looking deep, Washington RB J.D. McKissic caught nine passes and racked up 82 total yards. And Falcons WR Olamide Zaccheaus stepped up with Calvin Ridley out for 103 yards and a touchdown on four catches.
Coming this week
Monday: Week 9 wraps up with the Cam Newton-led New England Patriots visiting the winless New York Jets (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Tuesday: Paste BN Sports offers its power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 9.
Thursday: Week 10 kicks off with a showdown for AFC South supremacy between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans in Nashville (8:20 p.m. ET, NFL Network). Before the game, make sure to check out our expert picks for every Week 10 game.
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