Week 9 is in the books but not without some wild upsets and even wilder scores. Let’s break it down.
New York Giants 23- Las Vegas Raiders 16
It seems as though there were finally too many off-field distractions for the Raiders to overcome this week. There was Gruden, then Ruggs, and most recently Arnette, who was released after parading around a gun in some Instagram messages threatening to kill a fan. And to think, this team started off 4-0…
Atlanta Falcons 27- New Orleans Saints 25
You know the NFL is broken when a team is voluntarily starting Trevor Siemian while Cam Newton is sitting at home watching another white dude have a lacklustre day. Sure, Newton can’t throw the deep ball anymore but on a team that is very clearly run first, who cares? Credit to Atlanta who seemed to have unlocked the Matty Ice of old as they fight to stay relevant in the division.
Jacksonville Jaguars 9- Buffalo Bills 6
Someone tell Buffalo that just because you stop the other team from scoring a touchdown doesn’t automatically mean you’ll win…especially if they stop you from scoring a touchdown. But props to the Jaguars for winning a game on this continent, and more notably for beating a team that people were saying had a bye month while playing against you.
Cleveland Browns 41- Cincinnati Bengals 16
The Browns became the first team since 1967 to have three touchdowns go for 60 yards or more, so I think they’ll be just fine without OBJ.
New England Patriots 24- Carolina Panthers 6
Sam Darnold saw that Bill Bellichick was coming to town and seemed to forget he wasn’t playing for the Jets anymore. Darnold threw three picks, all seemingly intended for ghosts of games past, en route to a humbling by a Patriots team that has suddenly inserted themselves into the playoff conversation. A large part of New England’s resurgence comes down to their defence, notably their secondary led by J.C. Jackson (aka Mr. Int on Instagram.)
Denver Broncos 30- Dallas Cowboys 16
In the grand scheme of things is this embarrassment of a loss really going to impact the Cowboys’ season? No not in the slightest but it’s still fun to laugh. What it did do however is quiet down the “Dak for MVP” talks, a yearly tradition that both oddsmakers and media hype up until an egg gets laid like this one. Instead it was the Denver defence that looked like the MVP and that was without long-time crown jewel Von Miller. Fangio’s squad stumped the star-studded Dallas offence, who went scoreless through the first three quarters.
Baltimore Ravens 34- Minnesota Vikings 31
Another Ravens overtime, another Justin Tucker game-winning field goal. Seriously, Baltimore fans will have some of the strongest hearts of all NFL fan bases after their team went through their third overtime game this season. As per usual, it was Justin Tucker’s leg that saved them from an upset. It was more of the same for Minnesota as well, just for them it was the same type of heartbreak.
Miami Dolphins 17- Houston Texans 9
In the battle of the team that has Deshaun Watson and the team that reportedly wanted him (you know other than the federal prison system) it was the team without the criminal that ended up on top. The Dolphins ended an embarrassing skid, and even though this game was the Toilet Bowl, maybe the momentum can propel the Dolphins out of the AFC East basement.
Los Angeles Chargers 27- Philadelphia Eagles 24
The electricity is back in the Chargers offence with Justin Herbert completing 32 of 38 passes for 358 yards and two passing touchdowns in addition to the score he ran in. In what was a truly exciting QB duel, it all came down to a late field goal, and more wondering what could have been for Hurts and the Eagles.
Kansas City Chiefs 13- Green Bay Packers 7
Rumour has it that Jordan Love’s mom is still making her way down to ground level from the seats given to her at Arrowhead Stadium. Rumour also has it that Aaron Rodgers’ third arm is recovering well from the vaccine while the rest of his body deals with the virus he lied about getting vaccinated against. As a result, we saw Love in Packers’ green for the first time and it’s safe to say that it’s only up from here for the future face of the franchise.
Arizona Cardinals 31- San Francisco 49ers 17
Who needs Kyler Murray when you have Colt McCoy (said nobody ever)? With their star QB out the Cardinals were forced to fly with McCoy and the results were shocking. The backup completed 22 of 26 attempts for a touchdown and no interceptions meaning there shouldn’t be too much fear if Murray is out for another few weeks.
Tennessee Titans 28- Los Angeles Rams 16
Matt Stafford proved you can take the quarterback out of Detroit but you can’t take the Detroit out of the quarterback with his goalline pick-6 from his backside. It was one of the few blemishes on what has been an incredible redemption arc for Stafford who, along with Cooper Kupp, has been taking the offensive fantasy pages by storm. Nevertheless, it may be time to start paying attention to these Titans who pulled off this win without MVP-candidate Derrick Henry.
How did your team do this week? And how did I do roasting them? Let us know both over on Twitter!
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