NFL Week 9 Overreactions
Sports Seriously’s Mackenzie Salmon breaks down some of the craziest plays of NFL Week 9.
Sports seriously
NFL power rankings entering Week 10 of the 2023 season (previous rank in parentheses):
1. Ravens (2): Baltimore? League leaders? Remember – no team allows fewer points per game (13.8); The difference of +115 points is 35 points ahead of the next closest club. and the Ravens have beaten two NFC division leaders (Detroit, Seattle) by a combined 75-9 in their last two home games, outscoring the Seahawks by nearly 400 yards. And when WR Odell Beckham Jr. scored his first touchdown since Super Bowl 56 and rookie RB Keaton Mitchell rushed for 138 yards on his first NFL touches, is it just gravy? Heads up – this is Cleveland and Cincinnati, the teams are heading to Charm City in the next two weeks.
2. Eagle (1): The only 8-1 team in the league and the first to repeat such a start in consecutive seasons since Peyton Manning’s heyday in Indianapolis in 2006. But with weak QB Jalen Hurts still dragging his leg around, the bye week has come at the perfect time – not to mention Philly has Kansas City, Buffalo, San Francisco, Dallas and Seattle in succession on the other side of the break. While it may not be a cause for concern, Hurts has matched Manning’s mark (2008-10) of 12 consecutive regular-season victories against opponents with winning records.
3. Chiefs (3): KC is currently the top-seeded club in the AFC (again) and also has a bye against Philadelphia before the Super Bowl rematch in Week 11 in Arrowhead. The reigning AFC champions are giving up just 15.9 points per game, their lowest in the 11-year Andy Reid era.
4. 49ers (5): They just had their best week in recent memory: They acquired DE Chase Young for a pittance, gave injured LT Trent Williams and WR Deebo Samuel the rest they needed, and are back in first place at the top of the NFC after Seattle’s resounding loss advanced west.
5. Jaguars (4): After their Week 9 bye, the Road Fighters of October will only leave Jacksonville once over the next four weeks. Beating the Niners on Sunday would be quite a statement.
6. Bengals (10): “(W)he’s back and we’re here,” WR Tee Higgins said after Sunday night’s big win, Cincinnati’s fourth straight overall and sixth straight at home in prime time (a team record). Unfortunately, there are no more (planned) home dates under the lights this season.
7. Lions (7): In the three games he has started, rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs has averaged a league-best 132.3 yards from scrimmage per game. Maybe he should stay in the starting lineup even if Hammer RB David Montgomery returns from a rib injury?
8. Cowboys (6): Four of their next five games will be at AT&T Stadium and the next three will be against teams with a total of 12 games under .500. Very good opportunity to score in the NFC East before the Week 14 rematch against Philadelphia – especially if WR CeeDee Lamb stays hot (30 catches for 466 yards in the last three weeks).
9. Bills (8): They only have one more away game (at Philadelphia) until December 10th – a good time to patch things up considering Buffalo enjoys an advantage in Orchard Park… and perhaps try to get that offense over QB Josh Allen, who runs or throws to WR, to develop Stefon Diggs.
10. Dolphins (9): For those scoring at home, that’s 39 points per game in their six wins (all against teams without a winning record) and 17 per game in three losses – all against projected playoff squads.
11. Steelers (12): Of the 29 teams that have lost in each of their first eight games since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, Pittsburgh (5-3) is the only one to have a winning record.
12. Seahawks (11): I didn’t expect the acquisition of DE Leonard Williams to coincide with Seattle’s loss of 37 points and 515 yards.
13. Browns (13): Their toughest defense lost 58 yards on Sunday, the third-fewest in franchise history. Cleveland became the first team in 41 years to hold two opponents under 100 yards in the first eight games of a season.
14. Chargers (14): We give Brandon Staley a lot of criticism for his disappointing defense. Well, on Monday night there were eight sacks, three takeaways and no touchdowns allowed… But does performance really count when it comes to the Jets?
15. Texans (22): After a weekend full of breaking rookie passing records, Houston QB CJ Stroud has his sights set on another. With 14 touchdown throws and a pick, he shattered Dak Prescott’s mark (23 TDs, 4 INTs in 2016) for the best TD-to-INT ratio among rookie passers.
16. Vikings (23): “It’s like you study AP Spanish all year and you show up on Wednesday and someone tells you you have an AP French exam on Sunday,” new quarterback Josh Dobbs said as he impromptu learned Minnesota’s offense on Sunday . Good thing he’ll be playing against the Lily from New Orleans on Sunday.
17. Stallions (21): CB Kenny Moore II became the first player in franchise history to hit two pick-sixes in a game at the most opportune time. No Indianapolis player has recorded multiple TD catches in a game this season.
18. Jets (15): Only one team in the league has not scored a goal in its opening game this season. Guess. The NYJ have eight offensive TDs this season, two fewer than Miami…in Week 3.
19. Titans (17): Maybe their quarterback problem with Will Levis is solved for now. But a defense with a league-low six takeaways needs to give the rookie a little help… and a few extra possessions.
20. Falcons (18): Remember, this is the team that decided earlier this year that it wasn’t worth signing QB Lamar Jackson on an offer list.
21. Buccaneers (19): As good as they did, the 37 points they scored on Sunday were more than they scored against QB Tom Brady in any game last year.
22. Saints (20): Taysom Hill’s 5.2 yards per rush is nearly 50% better than any other regular New Orleans ball carrier.
23. Aries (16): They are 1-4 since the return of WR Cooper Kupp, who had fewer than 50 receiving yards in every game of LA’s three-game losing streak.
24. Raiders (24): Playing against the depleted Giants obviously helped, but it was seemingly no coincidence that Las Vegas scored the most points and gave up the fewest in Game 1 after Josh McDaniels – and had a lot of fun doing it.
25. Broncos (25): Quiet at the trade deadline, time to find out if they’ve overvalued their players…or if they might take them on the road after wins in the last two games.
26. Packers (28): Nice to see LB Rashan Gary get a four-year, $96 million extension after a 2022 season limited by a torn ACL.
27. Bears (29): We’re in the middle of a five-week stretch in which Chicago is scheduled to play three primetime games. Let’s hope QB Justin Fields (thumb) can return on Thursday to at least make the Da Bears entertaining.
28. Commanders (30): QB Sam Howell, who has consecutive 300-yard games for the first time in his career, now leads the NFC with 2,471 passing yards – a number that could continue to rise after the defense is traded at the trade deadline.
29. Patriots (27): Hopefully the good people in Germany aren’t expecting Manning against Brady in Sunday’s Colts-Pats game in Frankfurt.
30. Panthers (31): The NFL may not have a regular-season tournament yet, but one has to assume that Carolina is desperate to win the DJ Moore Bowl.
31. Giants (26): You have to feel bad for injured QB Daniel Jones. You also have to feel like New York probably has buyer’s remorse after extending him in the offseason. Now, for example, they could be one of a dozen teams that need to rethink their QB1 plans through 2024.
32. Cardinals (32): Welcome back, Kyler Murray. Good luck with it.
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