Raiders' Derek Carr up, Ravens' Joe Flacco down, Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger back

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A quick preview as Week 9 rolls on in the NFL …

• Who’s hot: Derek Carr. After throwing for 513 yards and four TDs at Tampa last week to keep Oakland perfect on the road, what does the emerging young quarterback need to do for an encore? Beat the defending Super Bowl champs, which means getting the best of arguably the NFL’s best defense in the league’s premier matchup of the week. That’s a tall order for Carr, but there’s no winning the A-West for the Raiders (6-2) without going through the No Fly Zone. Of course, it starts up front. With Von Miller leading the charge, the Broncos are tied for the league lead with 26 sacks. Oakland has protected Carr like the Secret Service, allowing an NFL-low 9 sacks. What gives? We’ll see. But there’s little guesswork when revisiting the 2014 NFL draft and identifying the best franchise quarterback to roll with. Carr, a second-rounder, was the fourth quarterback drafted (36th overall) in his class – after Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater. After 40 games, two of the teams that passed on Carr for other quarterbacks (Jacksonville, Cleveland) still lack a franchise passer, while his 70 TDs match the total that Peyton Manning, P-Money himself, had the same juncture. Now he’s positioned to make a bigger statement – or not.
• Pressure’s on: Joe Flacco. Another Ravens-Steelers clash commences Sunday at the Big ATM, but it’s not the usual script for either of the heated A-North rivals, given an assortment of issues. Baltimore has tried – or been forced – to ride the arm of its quarterback. And it’s not working out. Flacco is tied for fifth in the NFL for passing attempts but last in TD percentage (five TDs, six INTs) and 29th for efficiency (75.4). Even worse, the running game, coming off a franchise-record-low 11 rushing yards against the Jets, has been abysmal. And injuries to Steve Smith and first-round tackle Ronnie Stanley were significant setbacks, too. Maybe the unit regrouped during the bye. If the Ravens, riding a 4-game losing streak after a 3-0 start, are to make a run at the playoffs, there’s no better time to prove they are capable than against a Steelers D that has been light on big plays.

• Key matchup: Dez Bryant vs. Joe Haden. Ezekiel Elliott returns to Ohio with the hottest team in football. The Browns are still seeking their first win. Dak Prescott is becoming a household name with the Cowboys. Yet for all the storylines on tap for Sunday in Cleveland, there’s an intriguing game-within-a-game matchup featuring two of the best competitors at their respective positions. Bryant returned from a four-week layoff last weekend and put up a 113-yard, one-TD effort, without any apparent setbacks to his recovery from a knee injury. Haden came back last week, too, after missing two games with a groin injury. If the Cowboys wind up in must-throw situations, it will be interesting to see what transpires between two prideful ballers.

• Rookie watch: Tyreek Hill. The fifth-round pick is emerging as quite the impact player for the Chiefs. His dynamic production on special teams --  leads the AFC with a 15.9-yard punt return average and  eighth in the NFL with a 23.2 kick-return mark – has come as advertised. Yet the bonus has come in recent weeks as he earned more snaps as the No. 3 receiver. Hill scored TDs in the past two games, and with his 38-yard score against New Orleans in Week 7 and two long receptions during a 98-yard game at Indianapolis last Sunday he has provided a stretch-the-field dimension the Jaguars must contend with at Kansas City on Sunday. According to Pro Football Focus, when quarterbacks target Hill – and Sunday it will be Nick Foles subbing for concussion-protocoled Alex Smith – they have a 148.5 passer rating that is best for any receiver in the NFL. The Chiefs took a lot of heat when they drafted Hill, on probation after pleading guilty to domestic abuse by strangulation. He was accused of punching and choking his pregnant girlfriend, which is why he was booted off the squad at Oklahoma State and finished his collegiate career at West Alabama. So far, there have been no off-the-field issues in the NFL for Hill, and he’s giving the Chiefs than they bargained for on the field.
• Next man up: Pat Shurmur. Changing offensive coordinators has been all the rave in the NFL this season. Now Minnesota -- with a two-game losing streak as it hosts Detroit on Sunday -- is forced to try it, given Norv Turner’s unexpected resignation. The Vikings are the fourth team to switch OCs, following Buffalo, Baltimore and Jacksonville, but the first do so without forcing someone to walk the plank. In any event, Shurmur, promoted from tight ends coach, was perceived to be the coordinator-in-waiting as Turner, 64, was seemingly in his final lap. His experience as a Browns head coach and Eagles coordinator with Sam Bradford as his quarterback, give him added juice. When the Vikings dealt for Bradford after Teddy Bridgewater suffered a season-ending knee injury, Shurmur provided input. Now he can design gameplans with an intimate background in how to best use Bradford. Unfortunately, he inherits the same issues that hampered Turner: an injury-ravaged O-line and no Adrian Peterson. The Vikings, with Jerick McKinnon as the featured back, average an NFL-low 2.7 yards a carry. Minnesota’s second-ranked defense is surely equipped to slow down hot Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, but a bigger swing factor may exist in the trenches with Detroit’s deep defensive line matched up against a weak Vikings’ O-line – conditions that could result in Ziggy Ansah finally getting his first sack of the season. 
• If the playoffs were today … The Giants would claim the NFC’s final slot, based on a tiebreaker edge against the Eagles. This makes Sunday’s matchup at MetLife pitting the NFC East rivals, both 4-3, all the more compelling. Philadelphia is 0-2 in divisional play, dropping both road games, but Eli Manning has had such a tough time beating the Eagles on his own turf. He’s 1-8 against them in his nine home starts. This one could hinge on whether Manning and his bevy of receivers can exploit a Philly secondary that has been susceptible to big plays. Regardless, the winner gets a huge boost to playoff visions.

• Stomach for an upset? Titans at Chargers. Injuries and blown opportunities have defined the season for San Diego, which has 16 players on injured reserve while suffering four losses by six points or fewer. This week, knee injuries have challenged receivers Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams, and sidelined two  emerging rookies -- No. 2 tight end Hunter Henry and impressive inside linebacker Jatavis Brown. The Titans, meanwhile, have found their footing in winning three of the past four games. Two keys: DeMarco Murray, the NFL’s 2014 rushing champ in Dallas, is No. 2 in the league with already more yards (756) than he had all of last year during his disastrous experience in Philadelphia. Marcus Mariota, whose risky running adds to a third-ranked rushing attack, has found a groove in the pocket with a 10-1 TD-to-INT ratio in his past four games. San Diego, favored by 4, must do a better job than it did last weekend in Denver at protecting gutsy quarterback Philip Rivers against a Titans D that is in a four-way tie (Washington, Seattle, Philadelphia) for third in the league with 22 sacks.
• Did you notice? Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who has gutted it out in his toughest season yet physically (with ankle, knee and pectoral injuries) heads into the Monday nighter against Buffalo having not thrown a touchdown pass in over a month (Week 4, Jets). And that may reflect how opponents are better able to defend him because he can’t run like himself. Wilson has just 44 rushing yards and three rushing first downs all season – totals he’s undoubtedly had on single drives before when healthy. And it doesn’t help that the O-line is in transition and the post-Marshawn Lynch running game was set back by Thomas Rawls’ broken leg.
• Stat’s the fact: Ben Roethlisberger, who could start at Baltimore less than three weeks removed from arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, is known as a quick healer. But fast returns have not always been the ticket. The Steelers are just 2-5 in Big Ben’s return after missing at least one game.

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