NFL Week 9 Recap

Week 9 NFL Recap

San Diego Chargers over Kansas City Chiefs

This week’s effort by the Chiefs cements their status as the worst team in all of football led by the NFL’s worst head coach, Romeo Crennel.  The Chiefs haven’t led in regulation in any game this season and don’t seem to be getting better any time soon.  This team seems likely to bottom out right now are without question the favorites to get the 1^st overall pick.  The Chargers had a dominating effort but in all honesty I’m not sure the game means anything for the team.  The Chiefs are so terrible that beating them really doesn’t show anything however they did move to .500 with the victory which thrusts them in the middle of AFC Wild Card race.

Indianapolis Colts over Miami Dolphins

Well the Colts moved to 5-3 in a battle between two shocking teams fighting for the final Wild Card spot.  Andrew Luck was extremely impressive as he led the Colts to an emotional victory over the Dolphins.  This game really solidifies the Colts position as favorite to make the playoffs as Luck leads the quite impressive offense.  The team isn’t a great team but having a great quarterback like Luck can make any team go far.  The Dolphins moved to .500 in a tough loss against a good team that they are fighting for a playoff spot this season.  The defense is very impressive and the shockingly good play of Ryan Tannehill has kept the team in contention.

Houston Texans over Buffalo Bills

Well the Bills lost this week in a game that they were fairly competitive in a game against a far superior team and yet I couldn’t feel worse about the performance by the coaching staff.  CJ Spiller touched the ball 11 times and got 102 yards of offense.  Why he touched the ball only 11 times is an unanswerable question, as Chan Gailey’s explanation was that the Texans gameplan was to stop him, something they failed to do.  He is unwilling to go for it on 4^th and short even though it should be the team’s strength and it hurts their win probability.  The Texans on the other hand got a solid victory over a struggling Bills team.  They weren’t playing their best but came up with a 2 score victory as they hold their lead in the AFC.

Baltimore Ravens over Cleveland Browns

Well the Ravens are really the least impressive 6-2 I have seen in a long time.  Their offense isn’t that good and neither is their defense and it somehow they have 6 victories right now.  They haven’t been impressive all season outside of their victory over the Patriots and don’t look strong as a title contender.  The Browns had another solid performance as they stayed competitive and even had a 4^th quarter lead that they blew.  This game really comes down to the Browns having one of the worst coaches in football Pat Schumer who kicked 5 short field goals when a touchdown would have dramatically changed the game.

Denver Broncos over Cincinnati Bengals

Well the Broncos seem to be making their move this year as Peyton Manning starts to make his MVP case.  The Broncos this season have been more impressive than anyone really predicted led by Peyton Manning and the much improved defense.  There is a case to be made that the Broncos have been the best team in the AFC this season, Football Outsiders actually has them as the 3^rd best team in all of football.  Well the Bengals seem to week by week strengthening their case that yes they are in fact a fraud and last year’s playoff run was an aberration.  They have one superstar player, AJ Green, but besides that they are weak at quarterback, running back and their defense just isn’t that good.  While AJ Green might be the best receiver in all of football he won’t be able to save the team from the mediocre unit that it is by himself.

Chicago Bears over Tennessee Titans

Well the Bears made their case as the best team in football with a resounding victory over the Titans where their defense proved yes they are in fact the best in football and to question that is an exercise in futility.  The offense is getting more impressive each week with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall’s connection being the foundation for this.  Really though the defense can outscore some teams, they force a boatload of turnovers and can stop people from scoring, a truly devastating combination.  The Titans on the other hand added another loss to their resume to move to 3-6 and in all honesty they are probably one of the worst teams in football.  Their defense might be the worst of any team in football and their offense isn’t that much better.  They are without question a considerably better team than the Chiefs but that doesn’t really mean that much.

Detroit Lions over Jacksonville Jaguars

Well the Lions have moved to .500 in a way that seems a bit shocking to me as the team seems to be a huge disappointment.  The team is without question a flawed one but to be .500 after 8 weeks in a tough NFC means you are in the race and when you have some star players like the Lions do you have to be taken seriously.  Again while they looked dominant this week it was against the Jaguars so that has to be taken with a grain of salt.  The Jaguars on the other hand lost again moving their record to 1-7 as they fight the Chiefs for the worst record in football.  This team isn’t strong on either side of the football as the Blaine Gabbert era seems to be drawing to a quick end.

Green Bay Packers over Arizona Cardinals

Well that slow start that everyone was so worried about is now over and the Packers have returned to the land of Super Bowl contenders.  Why has this happened you ask?  Well Aaron Rodgers level has been upgraded from being a really good quarterback to being an elite quarterback.  The Packers have now won 4 games in a row and seem poised to fight with the Bears for the NFC North crown.  Well on the other hand the Cardinals seem to be headed in the exact opposite direction.  They have now lost 5 games in a row and seem to be putting on a good impersonation of last year’s Bills team.  Their offense is just really bad led by the putrid offensive line and their defense good enough to recover from that. 

Carolina Panthers over Washington Redskins

In a battle between last year’s young running quarterback who took the league by storm and this year’s edition of it, last year’s won.  Cam Newton was able to lead the Panthers to their 2^nd victory of the season in a hard fought defensive battle.  This Panthers team was probably better than their 1 win record indicated and seemed due for a victory.  Newton played well and didn’t turn the ball over while the Panthers’ defense put up an elite effort.  The Redskins seemed due for a loss as the entire media seemed to collectively fall in love with RGIII and whenever that happens to a rookie the next game is usually a bit of a dud.  However he didn’t even play that poorly as he didn’t turn the ball over at all.  The Redskins might have lost the game but overall if those are going to be RGIII’s “bad” games then Redskins fans should be ecstatic.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Oakland Raiders

Well we might as well refer to this game as the Doug Martin game.  The week Doug Martin emerged as one of the best running backs in football as he simply dominated the Oakland Raiders.  The Bucs move to .500 themselves as their team is without question improved over last year.  They have a pretty good offense led by Martin and the resurgent Josh Freeman, along with a great run defense and mediocre pass defense.  This team isn’t great by any means but they have the talent to beat anyone and could easily sneak into the playoffs or be a spoiler as the season progresses.  The Raiders on the other hand moved to 3-5 and seem like a team moving in the entirely wrong direction.  Their defense is a mess, they can’t get the ball to Darren McFadden and they mortgaged their future for Carson Palmer who doesn’t seem to be all that good a player.

Seattle Seahawks over Minnesota Vikings

This game brings both teams to 5-4 for another two teams that will be fighting for the final NFC Wild Card spot.  The Seahawks were impressive in victory and if not for Adrian Peterson miraculous play then the game wouldn’t have been that close.  The Seahawks totally shutdown Christian Ponder, while Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks running game both played well.  The Seahawks continued their home dominance this season and there is a good chance they will need just a few victories on the road this season to sneak into the playoffs and if they do that than anything is possible.  The Vikings season is likely going to come down to whether or not Ponder is able to improve his play from how he has played the last few weeks.  If he continues struggling it is not going to matter how well the team plays the Vikings are likely to miss the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers over New York Giants

The Steelers won their 3^rd game in a row as they seem to be slowly moving their way into the upper echelon of the AFC and into contender status.  Big Ben is still an elite quarterback, without question the 3^rd best qb in the AFC who can keep plays alive and always seems to have Pittsburgh’s offense playing above the level it should.  The running game is a work in progress but this week was quite impressive and the defense this week started to look like the defense that is expected out of the Steelers.  The Giants lost again at home as they continue their reign of being a significantly better road team than home team.  Eli struggled and as their 2^nd half schedule gets tougher they are without question going to “quit” on Tom Coughlin then probably make an “unlikely” playoff run with some major upsets along the way.

Atlanta Falcons over Dallas Cowboys

Well the Falcons continue their unlikely undefeated season with another close victory as the Cowboy shockingly blew another night game that they probably should have won.  That Jason Garret is the coach of this team at this point is shocking considering Jerry Jones is the owner and each week he seems to be more and more disappointing.  The Cowboys easily could have and in some ways should have won that game but the team is dysfunctional and dysfunctional teams don’t win games like that against good teams like the Falcons.  The Falcons are undefeated though even though I’m not sure anyone considers them to be the best team in football, myself included. They will in all likelihood have the best record in the NFC though so they will have a very good chance of making it to the Super Bowl.  They have a good offense, a pretty defense and are fairly well coached, a very good team, but in no way best team in the league material.

New Orleans Saints over Philadelphia Eagles

Well the Eagles lost what might well be the last game of the Andy Reid era in embarrassing fashion.  They kept turning the ball over in the redzone, couldn’t protect Vick at all, and refuse to give the ball to LeSean McCoy an appropriate amount of times.  This team is a dysfunctional mess and is far removed from the super team that everyone was expecting before last season.  The Saints moved to 3-5 but in all honesty don’t seem like they are in that much better shape either.  Their defense is probably the worst in all of football, the Eagles only scoring 13 points notwithstanding, and they just learned that their head coach Sean Payton will be a free agent at season’s end.  While I would venture a guess and see he is likely to stay in New Orleans there is a huge risk that he could leave if some team blows him away with an offer.  If Payton leaves then I would be terrified as a New Orleans fan considering how this season has unfolded. 

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