Most of week 9 is in the books and it started back on Thursday night with a game between the Texans and Jets. After starting the year with a 2-6 record – the Jets won with a score of 21-13 and looked miles better than they have in any of the previous several weeks. This was their first win since all the way back on September 19th in week 3 against the Patriots – and both Davante Adams and Garrett went for 90 yards and each scored a touchdown – with Garrett scoring two. At times this was definitely an ugly game and especially in the first half. For a moment I thought the Jets were going to lose, but we saw the Aaron to Davante connection like it was 2021 and that sealed them the game. The second half of this game was what I envisioned for the Jets this year. I’m not fully buying back in and saying the Super Bowl is back on – but this was definitely a positive outcome and 21 points in the second half is something to build on. For the Texans – this was a very ugly game for several reasons. CJ was sacked 8 times and anytime you are sacked 8 times – you are probably not going to win that game – no matter what. Ka’imi Fairburn also was just 2/4 and allowing 8 sacks, and your kicker missing two field goals is a recipe for losing football. CJ looked extremely uncomfortable and that was the story of this game offensively – at least when they tried to pass because Joe Mixon has been one of the better players this year. He has been an animal.
The Ravens dismantled the Broncos with a score of 41-10 and despite each team having the same record entering the game – I think this game showed where each franchise really is. Yes the Broncos are a fun team at times and they have more than proved they are not a bad team – but it’s different playing the best of the best and when you play the best – your weaknesses are exposed. Denver’s receivers – at least at this current state are going to limit what they’re going to be able to do – and they missed a lot of tackles in this game. Lamar is going to be Lamar – and he’s going to make plays – and this game showed it. They may also lose to Kansas City next week – but I don’t think Broncos fans should hold their head too much with this game. Yes this loss stunk, but it’s a rebuilding year and there’s been a lot more good than bad in 2024. For the Ravens – Lamar now has an insane 20-2 TD – INT ratio on the year and they looked phenomenal in this game. Derrick Henry ran for over 100 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Zay Flowers had over 125 yards and 2 touchdowns too. I know a lot of people point to the loss the Ravens had against the Browns and point to them being unserious – but good teams have bad games. And look how the Ravens responded. They are elite and they are absolutely a Super Bowl contender
We’re onto Cincinnati to discuss Raiders Bengals and this game in a microcosm – to me – was the Raiders 2024 season. This was already a 17 point loss for the Raiders – but it wasn’t even that close – and that’s already a 3 score loss. They benched Gardner Minshew in this game for Desmond Ridder and they had less than 220 yards of total offense. I know this is a weekly recap and a takeaways stream – but there’s not a lot I have to say here. Everyone unfortunately knows this is a bad football team. Although Brock Bowers is obviously a bright spot, he can’t do everything. Ameer Abdullah and Zamir White combined for 10 carries for 22 yards in this game. The pick 6 and the garbage time touchdown made this game look a lot prettier than how it was played. The Bengals could have easily lost this game as they play in Baltimore on Thursday – but they didn’t and Joe Burrow threw for 5 touchdowns. After a 20 point loss in week 8 – it was good to see this team bounce back the way they did. Cincy has struggled at times this year – and hopefully this is the start of getting them back on track. I do want to clarify – I released the week 8 recap last week and captioned it “they’re done” – and I think they are in the sense of them winning a Super Bowl – but this was a good get right game.
The Chargers were up 20-3 at half and never looked back. Justin Herbert threw for over 280 yards and 2 touchdowns and Quentin Johnson had the first 100 yard game of his career. Ladd McConkey played well too and Jk Dobbins even got in the end zone twice. They also held the Browns to less than 300 yards of offense and this could have been a dangerous game given what Cleveland did in week 8. Like with the Bengals Raiders game – this game wasn’t as close as the 17 point final would suggest. In the first 56 minutes of the game – Cleveland had just 220 yards of offense and had 3 points. They sacked Jameis 6 times and I know Chargers fans aren’t used to this type of stress free win – but this type of game is why I was so excited for the Jim Harbaugh era to get underway. He has completely transformed the culture and the Chargers are a good football team. Myles Garrett had a great game and Cedrick Tillman pre draft hive – let’s go – but other than that it was a bad game for the Browns. Jameis wasn’t good in this game, but it was far from the worst quarterback play we’ve seen from Cleveland this year. Unfortunately for Browns fans – I expect them to trade a few players before the trade deadline and this was a humbling game.
The Washington Commanders are 7-2 for the first time since 1996 and I know it’s supposed to be a rebuilding year – but Commanders fans – have fun. That’s the main takeaway. Oh and they swept a division rival in the New York Giants. As someone from Maryland and someone who has watched this organization over the last 20 years – Washington fans deserve this type of year. I know the end of the game was a little more stressful than Commanders fans would have liked – especially the Theo Johnson touchdown – but a win is a win – and again – you’re 7-2. The game against Pittsburgh next week is one I am very much looking forward to for both teams. You’re not going to win many games when your quarterback goes 4/6 for 0 yards in the first half. Their run defense wasn’t great, they dropped several passes – and of course their quarterback had 0 yards in the first half – and their offensive line is down their best player in Andrew Thomas. I simply ask this team to feed Malik Nabers as much as they can and go from there. He had 11 targets in this game and please continue to give him double digit targets
The Titans defeated the Patriots with a score of 20-17 and I know some people like when I use this line – but out of all of the regular season games played in 2024 – this was one of them. I don’t have a lot to say regarding the Titans other than this was a good win to get from a culture standpoint. I also thought Tony Pollard played pretty well and out of the hodge hodge of receivers they have – Nick Westbrook Ikhine should probably be the wide receiver 2 for the rest of the year. Tennessee also allowed less than 300 yards of offense which was nice to see – and Amani Hooker had two interceptions. Now I would be surprised if the Titans win next week against the Chargers – but a win is a win. New England had 15 yards of offense that were not manufactured by Drake Maye. And obviously that’s not going to cut it. I don’t care about the last play interception especially when you see flashes throughout games – like the play that sent them to over time – and especially when everyone knew this was a rebuilding year and for a team that’s bad outside of a few positions. I don’t think there’s any major takeaways from this game other than what we knew for both teams.
Kirk Cousins threw for 3 touchdowns against his former head coach’s defense in Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and the Falcons quietly improved to 6-3. I also think there’s a very real possibility the Falcons win against the Saints and Broncos in the next two weeks and improve to 8-3 through 11 games. I’m happy for Atlanta for winning this game – but I will always be hesitant on fully buying in with this team knowing they can lay an egg any week. I’m not saying to not enjoy the win of course – but I am a little hesitant moving forward. I know the Cowboys have players out and Dak also left this game early with a hamstring injury – but this team plays uninspired every week and they play like they know their coach is getting fired. I think my main takeaway with the Cowboys that applies to not just this week – but most weeks. They look like they are uninterested and the results show. They’re not a good team, and they have clear weaknesses that also show every week – and this is the definition of a team that needs to hit the rebuild button. Please understand – this is significantly more than a Dak Prescott problem
Buffalo narrowly beat Miami with a score of 30-27 and improved to 7-2. This marked Buffalo’s 4th straight win and they played Indy next week and Kansas City the following week – so I think there is a very good chance they enter the week 11 game against Kansas City with an 8-2 record. I was very nervous for Bills fans when Tyler Bass walked out to attempt a 61 yard field goal and I was absolutely shocked when he nailed it. Ray Davis had a great touchdown in this game and Josh Allen – like Lamar – continues to play at an MVP level. When we use the phrase – good teams find a way to win games – this is what we mean. I hope Buffalo can get healthy in the coming weeks because that week 11 game is going to be must see tv. This game summarized the 2024 Dolphins. They had several opportunities to win, but ultimately came up short. Making the playoffs was always going to be tough especially when your quarterback misses time – but Tua played really well in this game and was not the reason they lost. Not even close. The Jordan Poyer penalty was awful and two of their next 4 games are At the Rams, and At the Packers – and if they were going to make the playoffs – or have any hope of salvaging this season – this was a must win game. If there were any questions before the game – there’s none now. They’re done
The Saints lost to the Panthers and I know that’s going to be the main thing everyone points at – but Ja’Tavion Sanders had a really good game and the one play specifically is one of the best plays a Carolina Panther has made all year. Obviously this is a rebuilding year for Carolina, but having Jake Coker and Xavier Legette improve week by week is critical and I thought they all played well in this game. And Bryce Young even looked better – as in a lot better than we’ve seen from him. The Bryce Young situation is a lot more than just one solid game and he’s fine – he’s now the franchise quarterback – but this was definitely a start. For the Saints – this confirms everything most of us have thought since before the seasons started. 2-0 to 2-7 and that’s who Dennis Allen is as a coach. He is 26-53 lifetime as a coach after this game. And if you are watching this stream – tomorrow morning – on Monday – there’s a chance he’s gone by the time you’re watching this. They need to move on from him before they move forward as a franchise. And I hope Chris Olave, and anyone else who was hurt – get healthy because the Olave injury was brutal
Matt Eberflus is now 14-28 as the Bears head coach and is 3-18 on the road. They have a -181 point difference on the road. And they Bears lost to the Cardinals in week 9 with a score of 29-9. There’s a lot of things to be disappointed about with the Bears in this game – like not scoring an offensive touchdown – or like you know – losing by 20 points on the road – but the Bears right now are a losing franchise – not because they lost this game – but because of how they go about doing things. Caleb Williams being out there with a minute left in a game they were never going to win – and then hobbling off the field – is coaching malpractice – and that’s a fireable decision for somebody on the hot seat. And to be honest – that’s an embarrassment to the Bears franchise. Eberflus should be gone yesterday. The Cardinals are now on a 3 game win streak and they play the Jets next week and there’s a chance they improve to 6-4. They ran for over 210 yards as a team and this was a game I kind of envisioned for the Cardinals when thinking about how they would play in 2024. They want to be a team similar to the Lions in the dominate the trenches aspect – and they absolutely did that in this game. Well done Arizona
I know the Eagles won in week 9 – but if this isn’t a sign that Nick Sirianni should be fired – I don’t know what is. They were up 22-0 in the third quarter and nearly lost – and I do think Nick would be fired if they lost this game. I do have to note – Saquon’s hurdle was awesome and I don’t usually note plays like that – but the backwards hurdle was pretty frickin cool. Also regarding Saquon – the one call was definitely ridiculous – and Eagles fans know what I’m talking about. But Philly dominated this game. They had over 440 yards of offense, they held the ball for over 38 minutes, and they won the turnover battle 3 to 1 – and they nearly lost this game. My main takeaway for Philly is – if you are a player on the Eagles – I don’t know how you can actually trust Nick Sirainni and think you are winning multiple playoff games in a row with him as the coach – because this is a problem. My main takeaway for the Jags – is I’m not surprised they lost this game – not in the slightest – but Trevor throwing a jump ball to D’Ernest Johnson with the game on the line is one of the problems I have with the Jags. Doug Pederson said in his post game press conference that he was the number one read on the play. And that’s a problem. Guys you have Brian Thomas Jr on your team. Anybody would have been a better option. The Jags need to clean house from Trent Baalke to Doug Peterson and that’s the main takeaway. They’re going to continue to be a losing team.
The Lions improved to 7-1 with a 24-14 win over the Packers and with the weather conditions in this game – whoever played the cleaner game was probably going to win. And that’s more or less what happened. The Packers had all sorts of snapping issues and the Lions took advantage. I will be the first to say the Lions offense is phenomenal and I think Ben Johnson is one of the best offensive minds in all of football – but the Lions haven’t had to dive deep into their bag over the last few weeks. This also isn’t intended to be Jared Goff slander – but he hasn’t put up insane numbers over the last two games because he hasn’t had to. And I think that makes the Lions all the more scarier. They’re beating teams by double digits – without maximizing one of the best offenses in the league. My biggest takeaway for the Packers is they are not going to go far if Jordan Love doesn’t learn to throw the ball away. He obviously has all the talent in the world and is a very good player – but the pick 6 was entirely preventable and certainly not the only reason they lost – but it was certainly game changing when it happened. The penalties also killed the Packers in this game and they dug themselves too deep before they could get out. I personally can’t wait to see these teams play again
The Rams won in a very exciting game in Seattle and i would imagine this was one of the most stressful regular season games Rams fans have had over the past few years. I was very high on Kam Kinchens in the pre draft process and I was so glad to see him play well in this game including a 100+ yard pick 6. The Rams have said f them picks for several years but I really really like their draft class this year which is highlighted by Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, – and now – Kinchens. The Rams are absolutely back and they play the Dolphins in week 10 and the Patriots in week 11 – and they could easily be 6-4 through 10 games. Easily. Jaxon Smith Njigba had a career game in week 9 as he went for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns and without a doubt – played the best game of his career. Yes Geno did throw 3 interceptions and obviously that’s a big deal – but so is allowing 7 sacks. Allowing 7 sacks and getting even close to winning a game is kind of impressive in itself. My biggest takeaway for Seattle after that was they will not do anything of note until they seriously improve their offensive line. They are a problem and will continue to be a problem. And it’s frustrating for everyone in the Seahawks organization and especially their fans.
