2024 NFL: Previewing Week 9

One of the things I dislike about the 17 game NFL schedule, is that there is no clear delineation of the halfway point in the schedule.
That said, for our purposes here, let’s say that point has been reached.

It feels to me that after Week 8, and heading into Week 9; pretty much every division has clarity.

Week 8 Quick Hits

Rams 30 Vikings 20 – LA pulled to within a game of .500 at 3-4, and Minnesota fell to 5-2 with their second straight loss. 4 TD’s for Matthew Stafford who had Puka Nacua, and Cooper Kupp available. The Rams had 3 sacks, including 1.5 from rookie Jared Verse.

Eagles 37 Bengals 17 – Philadelphia won their third straight game, and dropped Cincinnati to 3-5 overall (including 0-4 at home). The Eagles had 161 yards rushing, with 3 TD’s from Jalen Hurts. DeVonta Smith, and AJ Brown combined for 11 catches and 169 yards. Cincinnati got rolled even though they were 10 of 13 on 3rd down. Just 280 total yards for the Bengals though.

Browns 29 Ravens 24 – Can read my reaction to the Ravens loss here. From the Browns perspective, it’s not shocking that they looked like a different team without Deshaun Watson under center.

Lions 52 Titans 14 – Detroit is staking their claim as being the NFL’s best team. 52 points for Detroit, and Jared Goff only threw for 85 yards (12 of 15, 3 TD’s). Didn’t need to do more with Tennessee turning the ball over 4 times, and Jahmyr Gibbs running for 127 yards on just 11 carries.

Cardinals 28 Dolphins 27 – Tua Taovailoa was back, and the Dolphins looked better; but they lost again.  Miami is now 2-5. Arizona got to .500 at 4-4.  Kyler Murray was 26 of 36 for 307 yards, and 2 TD’s. Both Trey McBride, and Marvin Harrison Jr went over the 100 yard mark receiving.

Patriots 25 Jets 22 – I don’t think I can add anything which has been said already about the Jets, but I’ll pile on. What a disaster. New York entered this 2024 season with Super Bowl aspirations. They’re 2-6 overall, 1-4 on the road. Going into this game, there was a path to believing the Jets could get to 9 wins, reach the playoffs, and at-least have a chance to get hot once there.  After this game, that feels largely out of reach. If you can’t beat New England when you need to win, what hope is there? The defense isn’t as good as they expected, and that’s a problem. Aaron Rodgers still has the arm, but he doesn’t move well in the pocket. He’s not able to extend plays, and he looks like a target.  That’s also a problem.  Seems like the rest of the year could be a really ugly situation in New York.  That NY managed to lose this game, after Drake Maye left early with a concussion is that much harder to believe.

Falcons 31 Buccaneers 26 – For the second time in a month, Atlanta got a win over Tampa Bay.  The Falcons are now 3-0 on the road. Tampa Bay gets some credit for their showing. They were without Mike Evans. Chris Godwin is now done for the year. Instead of completely rolling over and dying, Baker Mayfield competed ( 37 of 50, 330 yards, 3 TD’s ) with what he had available. Former Terp Rakim Jarrett had 3 catches for 58 yards. Still, Atlanta is now a game up on Tampa Bay, and they have the two head-to-head wins.  One disappointment for Atlanta is that it was another game without any sacks. The lack of consistent pressure no doubt helping Mayfield and the Bucs go 9 of 14 on 3rd down.

Packers 30 Jaguars 27 – Green Bay won their fourth straight game, but lost Jordan Love to injury. After missing two games earlier in the year with a knee injury, Love injured his left groin in this game and might miss some more time. There is a chance he still plays in Week 9. Malik Willis was able to come in and contribute like he did in the previous games where GB was without Love. They aren’t going to be throwing the ball around a ton, but he looks like he can give the Packers a chance in games with his ability to run.  Josh Jacobs had 127 yards on 25 carries with 2 TD’s. Jacksonville was coming off their win vs. NE in London.  They competed here some, but it’s another L.  The Jags are 2-6.

Texans 23 Colts – Houston got a second win vs. the Colts, and are in-firm command of the AFC South at 6-2.  The Texans are 4-0 on the road. Joe Mixon had 100 yards rushing for the third straight game, and for the fourth time in his five games this year. He’s averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Houston had 5 sacks.  The Texans held the ball for 35 minutes.

Chargers 26 Saints 8 – New Orleans lost a sixth straight game. 5 sacks for the Chargers, and 2 TD’s for Justin Herbert. New Orleans was 2 of 16 on 3rd down.

Bills 31 Seahawks 10 – Seattle lost for the 4 time in 5 games, and suffered their 3rd home loss. Buffalo has now won 3 in a row. The Bills limited Seattle to 233 total yards, and held the ball for over 38 minutes. James Cook had 111 yards on 17 carries, and 2 TD’s. Khalil Shakir had 9 receptions for 107 yards.

Broncos 28 Panthers 14 – 284 yards, and 3 TD’s for Bo Nix. Four different Broncos had at-least 4 receptions. Denver was 11 for 17 on 3rd down, and had 400 total yards. Bryce Young was back starting for Carolina after Andy Dalton injured his thumb in a car accident earlier in the week. Carolina is probably one of the worst teams of the last ten years. They clearly plan to move on from Young in the draft. I’m sure they’ll look to trade Young for whatever they can get. If he doesn’t play, I understand he can’t get hurt, and that helps make sure that he will bring something back in draft capital. But any trade offer figures to pretty cheap as is. Could he play well enough that someone gives you a 3rd or 4th round pick vs. a 5th or 6th?  Some will point out that playing him could help Carolina  have a chance to win games they don’t want to win at this point. I don’t think that’s a real risk.

Chiefs 27 Raiders 20 – Kansas City stayed unbeaten improving to 7-0 overall, winning their 13th straight game overall. Patrick Mahomes became the fastest in league history to reach 30,000 yards passing. DeAndre Hopkins had 2 receptions in his Chiefs debut. 5 sacks for the Chiefs. Has to be a hard time to be a Raiders fan. Not only is KC the two-time defending champ, but Denver and the Chargers are on the upswing and obviously in better places organizationally with their Head Coaches, and QBs.

Commanders 18 Bears 15 – The Hail Mary was wild. Really, how does that happen? Hilarious seeing the replay with the one Bears defender talking to the Commanders crowd as the ball was snapped. It’s an impactful result for both teams.  DC improved to 6-2. Chicago fell to 4-3.  DC stayed a half game up on Philadelphia in the NFC East, and are well positioned for the stretch run.  Chicago is looking up at each of their divisional foes in the NFC North, and their schedule gets appreciably harder in the second half. Jayden Daniels had 326 yards and a TD. Washington had 168 yards rushing. Terry McLaurin and Zach Ertz had a combined 12 catches for 202 yards. Chicago was just 2 of 12 on 3rd down, with Caleb Williams going 10 of 24 for 131 yards. Washington had 481 yards to Chicago’s 307. The Commanders deserved to win, and the Football Gods rewarded them.

49ers 30 Cowboys 24 – It wasn’t pretty, but San Francisco got to .500 going into their bye week.  The NFC West is jumbled currently, but I still like SF best. Let’s see what they look like after the bye.  With Dallas, the Cowboys are 3-4 overall now.  Don’t see them chasing down Philadelphia or Washington.

Steelers 26 Giants 18 – Pittsburgh is 2-0 with Russell Wilson starting and now lead the AFC North at 6-2. Najee Harris had a 3rd straight game with 100+ rushing yards. George Pickens, Van Jefferson, and Calvin Austin each had 3+ catches, and each averaged 15.5+ yards per catch. 4 sacks and a pick from the Steelers defense. Two of those four sacks coming from TJ Watt.

Week 9 Games

Thursday October 31st 

Houston at NY Jets – The 2-6 Jets host the 6-2 Texans on Halloween night. Maybe this will be the game the Jets show up?  These Thursday games are just odd.  Late word Tuesday night that Stefon Diggs is now out for the year with a torn acl.

Sunday November 3rd

Dallas at Atlanta – I don’t think the Cowboys are making the playoffs, and I think the Falcons are going to win the NFC South. Atlanta has won 4 of 5, but that bizarre 34-14 loss to Seattle two weeks ago stands out, and doesn’t let me fully trust them.  Still, I’d think the Falcons will be able run right at Dallas, and that should be enough to win. I’ve always thought Dax Prescott and Kurt Cousins were pretty comparable talents.

Miami at Buffalo – The Bills figure to improve to 7-2.  Is Miami going to sell off pieces before the Nov. 5th tradeline?

Las Vegas at Cincinnati – The Bengals losing a tough game to Philadelphia last week would have been understandable. Getting blown out on your homefield is a tough look. Falling to 0-4 at home is a horrible look. I figure Joe Burrow gets the W this week vs. Vegas, and I guess Cincinnati still has a chance at the 7th seed in the AFC Playoffs.  I’m figuring Buffalo, Baltimore, Houston, KC, Pittsburgh are going to be 5 of the playoff teams. Then it’s 2 of 3 out of Cincinnati, Denver, and the LA Chargers; with the Broncos and LA both being 2 games ahead of the Bengals in the loss column.

LA Chargers at Cleveland – The Browns and Winston will probably come out excited after beating the Ravens last week. If the Chargers hit them in the mouth early, they’ll probably roll over. If LA doesn’t take control, the Browns might go two for two against the Harbaugh’s in back-to-back weeks.

New England at Tennessee – If a game is played, and nobody watches, did it really occur?

DC at NY Giants – DC is a better team. The Giants will have a short week of preparation. These teams played in Week 2, with DC winning at home 21-18. The Giants did have 5 sacks in that game.

New Orleans at Carolina – New Orleans needs to end their losing streak here, right?  It helps that Derek Carr could return this week.

Denver at Baltimore – The 5-3 Broncos are 3-1 on the road.  The Ravens have traded for Carolina WR Diontae Johnson. Johnson spent the previous 5 years with Pittsburgh, having a 107 reception season in 2021 which was his 3rd year in the league.  Johnson is another weapon that opposing teams will have to account for, but another EDGE or further CB help would have been a higher priority for me.  The Broncos are 11th overall in DVOA, 24th in Offense, 5th in Defense, and 4th in Special Teams.  The Ravens are 2nd overall in DVOA, 1st in Offense, 18th in Defense, and 25th in Special Teams.

Jacksonville at Philadelphia – The Eagles should improve to 6-2, with a 4th straight win.

Chicago at Arizona – This is one of the more interesting games of the week.  The Bears are likely still in disbelief after the Hail Mary loss at Washington. Chicago has yet to win on the road. If the Bears are going to make a playoff push, they need this road win over another NFC team that’s potentially in the playoff mix.

Detroit at Green Bay – Still the game of the week, even with Love’s status for this game being up in the air.  If he plays, he’s not going to be 100%.  If he doesn’t play at all, have to expect Detroit wins. The Lions enter Lambeau with a 1/2 game lead over Green Bay in the NFC North.

LA Rams at Seattle – The Rams have a chance to get back to .500, if they can win on the road for the first time this year.  You’d think the Seahawks would be motivated to look better than they did vs. Buffalo. Seattle either gains separation on the Rams, or the NFC West becomes further jumbled.

Indianapolis at Minnesota – The Vikings are 5 point favorites at home, with ESPN’s Match-Up Predictor giving Minnesota a 52.9% chance of ending their two game losing streak.

Monday November 4th

Tampa Bay at Kansas City – Mayfield had a productive game vs. the Falcons without Evans and Godwin; but at KC will be more difficult.  The Bucs need to be able to run the ball effectively and set-up play action. If not, it figures to be a long night for the Bucs. On the other-hand, KC’s offense is probably not in a position where they’re going to run and hide, so maybe the game is tighter than I currently expect? KC is an 8.5 point favorite.