Week nine is in the books! At this point, it feels like we have a pretty good read on where everyone stacks up, with a few top tier units, a bunch of okay teams with the pieces to make a run, and some absolute dumpster fires.
We'll detail that a little with Wednesday's power rankings, but for today, let's look back at a revelatory slate of ball
Steelers 20- Titans 16
-All the respect in the world to Mike Tomlin for just continuing to win ugly like this, year in and year out. The fact this team is 5-3 is something to be recognized
-Kenny Pickett is super average. He's still young, so there's time to improve some, but I think we've seen who he is
-On a night where Najee Harris performed pretty well, Jaylen Warren really outshined him, taking 14 touches for 113 total yards. He averaged 8 YPC on the ground and just looks explosive. Need to get him the ball more
-Seems like George Pickens hates playing for this team. 2 catches for -1 yards is hard to do
-Will Levis is a legit quarterback prospect. His stat sheet won't blow anyone out of the water, but he connected on big throws confidently down the field and shifted through the pocket, as it regularly collapsed around him. Kid looks good
-Derrick Henry's still a monster, nice weapon for a young QB to work with
-Scary moment late in this one, when Treylon Burks stayed contorted on the ground after hitting his head trying to make a catch. He ended up needing to be stretchered off the field and is in concussion protocol
Chiefs 21- Dolphins 14
-This Chiefs' defense is a force to be reckoned with. Not only did they hold the Dolphins to just 14 points, but they also scored 7 of their own on a strip and lateral score off of Tyreek Hill. They're the reason KC won this game
-Patrick Mahomes lost a fumble and only mustered 185 passing yards, but he picked up some first downs with his legs and threw two scores, which ultimately ended up being good enough
-If Travis Kelce doesn't get going, this pass offense sucks. Skyy Moore, Marques Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney...gross
-Speaking of Kelce, he had 3 catches for 14 yards. Fantasy owners are writhing
-Typical Tua, unable to sustain drives with any consistency and unable to score if the big play is taken away. Once again, he loses to a defense that forced him into managing the game. Not sure what happened on that final third down either, when he threw the duckiest of ducks to a wide open Cedrick Wilson. Would've likely knotted things up
-Raheem Mostert's really fast, it feels like they go away from him for stretches during the game-- stretches that are usually stagnant for the offense
-Xavien Howard's return really solidifies this secondary. The Chiefs offense couldn't throw at all in the second half
Vikings 31- Falcons 28
-Inexcusable loss for the Falcons here. They were at home and struggling with against opposing QB Jaren Hall, who went 5/6 for 78 yards before exiting with a concussion
-Then they completely dropped the ball against Josh Dobbs, whom the Vikings traded for just five days earlier. The man hadn't taken a practice snap with the team, yet goes 20/30 passing with 3 total touchdowns. This allegedly vaunted Atlanta defense (guilty of hyping it up) was pathetic
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| Photo: Dale Zanine/ USA Today Sports |
-Arthur Smith and company suck at getting Bijan Robinson the ball. Predictability be damned, you picked this guy 8th overall and are letting him get out touched by Tyler Allgeier...senseless
-Taylor Heinicke's definitely better than Desmond Ridder, but boy do the Falcons look stupid for not at least trying to sign Lamar Jackson when he was on the transition tag. Sad QB room that's dragging down an otherwise competent group
-Props to Minnesota, really gritty win in a game they could've mailed it in a couple of times. Keeps them surprisingly in the playoff hunt, while severely hampering a fellow NFC wildcard competitor
-Seems like Cam Akers suffered another Achilles' injury, a brutal blow to a guy whose had to go through that mess before
-TJ Hockenson and Jordan Addison each made it work, despite the roller coaster at quarterback. A little more trustworthy than I was expecting for fantasy purposes
Browns 27- Cardinals 0
-I called this shut out, so that's pretty cool
-Deshaun Watson looked very good, although a little luck on a tipped touchdown to Amari Cooper never hurts. We'll see if he can play like that against an actual NFL team
-With each passing week that I have to see the committee of Kareem Hunt and Jerome Ford, I'm reminded just how good Nick Chubb is. Would be a totally different offense with him in the backfield
-Clayton Tune, you can at least say you made it to the big stage. 11/20 for 58 yards and 3 turnovers-- a special kind of bad
-Nothing else really to say about this game for Arizona, onto next week
Packers 20- Rams 3
-This game might as well have been a shut out...Brett Rypien and this Rams attack was sad to witness. 187 total yards
-Took him a little while to get going, but Jordan Love put together an efficient afternoon, going 20/26 for 228 and a score. Doesn't boost my confidence in him substantially, but it was better than he'd been
-Aaron Jones was a workhorse for this offense, handling the ball 24 times. He did lose a fumble however, while only averaging 3.7 yards per carry
-Nice game for Luke Musgrave, catching 3 for 51 and a touchdown. LA isn't good at defending the tight end
Commanders 20- Patriots 17
-Mac Jones haters, y'all can come back out. The man had built up some momentum in recent weeks, but completely shit the bed against a Commanders secondary that's been very generous. Kendrick Bourne injury or not, Jones was terrible
-Rhamondre Stevenson busted loose for an electric 64-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He's a good player, stuck in a very bad offense
-Loved seeing rookie Demario Douglas step into that Bourne role, snagging 5 for 55 on the day
-It's not always pretty with Sam Howell, but the man makes big plays. 325 yards passing and a huge touchdown strike late to Jahan Dotson helped secure the win for Washington. Can't imagine they're scouring the draft too heavily for a quarterback right now
-Brian Robinson found the end zone as well, but we saw a lot more Antonio Gibson this week than recent ones. Keep an eye on that split
-Surprising that this DC front seven didn't manage one sack on Mac Jones. They're still a talented bunch, even with the departures of Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Thought they'd get to the Pats QB at least once
Saints 24- Bears 17
-Stop sweating yet Saints fans? This one was way closer than anybody expected
-Tyson Bagent was a huge part of that. The UDFA out of Shepard University helped the Bears to handily outgain the Saints, contributing 220 through the air and 70 with his legs. Unfortunately, he also was credited with four of their five turnovers, which ultimately doomed any chance they had of the major upset
-D'Onta Foreman looked good once again, rushing 20 times for 83 yards, and most importantly not ceding any substantial work to Roschon Johnson
-Darnell Mooney (82 yards) and Cole Kmet (2 TD) have been the main benefactors of Bagent's play
-Derek Carr was back to his usual "good enough" self, posting a modest 6.2 YPA through the air
-The lack of run game didn't help, with the team only averaging 3.2 yards per carry. Alvin Kamara was completely stifled on the ground
-Didn't expect to see an 0'fer from Michael Thomas against this shaky pass defense, but that's what we got Sunday
Ravens 37- Seahawks 3
-About as close to the slaughter rule as you're going to get between two teams that, on paper, were competitive. This game was not though, with the Ravens shutting down everything Seattle threw at them, outgaining the Seahawks 515-151
-Lamar Jackson was superb, though the box score would tell you otherwise. If he needed to do more to win this game, he would've easily
-Gus Edwards is a bruiser, but Keaton Mitchell is lightning fast. He's now fully healthy, as evidenced by his 15.3 yards per carry. Will we see a three headed monster form, or is Justice Hill about to start being phased out?
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| Photo: Jessica Rapfogel/ USA Today Sports |
-Zay Flowers has been really quiet over the last few games. More of an observation than cause for concern, especially given some of those game scripts, but you'd like to see more from your first rounder
-Classic Geno, coming up short against aggressive, man to man defenses. He was useless Sunday afternoon, throwing a pick, losing a fumble and failing to sustain any type of drive on offense
-Kenneth Walker wasn't any better, averaging under 2 yards per carry. Very exciting and talented player, a tad too boom or busty
-Jaxon Smith-Njigba had the best game of his young career, posting a team-high six catches for 63 yards
Texans 39- Buccaneers 37
-CJ Stroud has arrived. A week after falling short to top pick Bryce Young, the #2 overall pick responded in every way imaginable in this one, dicing the Bucs to the tune of 470 yards and 5 touchdowns. That wasn't a misprint
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| Photo: Troy Taormina/ USA Today Sports |
-The Texans had three 100 yard pass catchers: Noah Brown (153), Dalton Schultz (130) and Tank Dell (114). Tampa had boasted a pretty strong secondary too...guess Houston missed that memo
-Stroud did all of that with virtually 0 running game too. Devin Singletary filled in for injured lead dog Dameon Pierce, and proceeded to post a paltry 2 yards per carry. Really failed to seize that opportunity
-Baker Mayfield gets plenty of hate, but he's not out there blowing this game on defense. The quarterback completing a respectable 21/30 passes for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns
-Rachaad White was awesome again, handling 24 total touches for 119 yards. He found pay dirt twice on the ground too
-Called Cade Otton as a sleeper in this game and he boomed, posting a strong 6/70/2 line
Colts 27- Panthers 13
-As good as Bryce Young was a week ago, this was the complete opposite. Against a defense that'd been gashed by opposing passers, the rookie managed a sad 4.4 YPA with three interceptions. He literally recorded more points for the Colts than the Panthers, with two pick sixes to Kenny Moore. Ugly, ugly day for the young QB
-Chuba Hubbard seems to have officially taken over as the bell cow for this offense, but he's nothing special. Miles Sanders was better than usual, but should still be looked at as a waste of a contract
-Gardner Minshew was pretty bad Sunday too, but he just had to play mistake free to get the win. Which he was successful in, inching Indy back closer to .500
-Jonathan Taylor outcarried Zack Moss 18-7, seemingly signaling his shift back to RB1
-Michael Pittman Jr. was excellent too, snagging 8/8 targets for 64 yards against some outmatched corners
Raiders 30- Giants 6
-I'm not sure the Giants aren't the worst team in the NFL right now. I know the Cardinals are horrendous and lost head to head against the G-Men, but I mean...
-Felt really bad for Daniel Jones buckling like he did as his knee gave out on a drop back. Dude's a terrible quarterback, but he leaves it all out there on the field
-Saquon Barkley was good at least, rushing 16 times for 90 yards. Have to think he'd have cleared the century mark with any competency under center. There's virtually no chance he's back in New York next year, money don't talk that loud
-Josh Jacobs ran for more yards in the first half of this game than he had in any game this season. A testament to how bad he's been, as well as how bad the Giants actually are
-Aidan O'Connell played a clean game, completing 64% of his passes at an impressive 8.4 YPA. Absolutely no reason Brian Hoyer should've started for Las Vegas in Chicago
-Still far from a banner day for Davante Adams, but he'll take 4 catches for 34 yards compared to his last couple of outings
Eagles 28- Cowboys 23
-Statistically, Dak played very well in this divisional scrap. Per the eye test though, he came up way short far too often. He took some horrible sacks late that completely crippled any chance the Cowboys had at a comeback. Nothing new for #4
-Tony Pollard ran hard on the ground, but had to be phased out some as the game got away from Dallas. He's been good this season, but clearly benefitted from not having to be the guy
-CeeDee Lamb was locked in for a second straight week, catching 11 balls for 191 scoreless yards. He's been a revelation of late. Jake Ferguson was very productive in the pass game as well, posting a sharp 7/91/1 line
-That nagging injury everyone kept talking about, didn't see any effect on Jalen Hurts! The man threw all up and down the field on the Cowboys' secondary, tossing two, turnover-free touchdowns at 9 yards per attempt
-AJ Brown's streak of 125+ yard performances came to an end, but he'll happily take a 7/66/1 showing + the win
-The Eagles' D line was back to form after failing to sack Sam Howell once last week, swarming Prescott all evening, but particularly during the second half as Dallas was pushing for a comeback. 5 sacks and 10 QB hits, definitely got in Dak's head
Bengals 24- Bills 18
-The Bengals are all the way back. Joe Burrow looks great, posting a season high 348 passing yards. He just looks poised and ready to go at all times while he's out there. Dangerous team
-It's not just Ja'Marr Chase or bust either, with the star wideout only catching 4 for 41 Sunday. Burrow's been willing to ride the hot hand, which was Tee Higgins this week. The big body receiver also topped his previous best total for the year with 110 yards on 8 receptions
-Shoutout to the tight ends too. Drew Sample and Irv Smith Jr. each caught 3 balls and found pay dirt for the first time in 2023. Their increased involvement would definitely provide this offense with another dangerous wrinkle
-Really tough break for Dalton Kincaid...amidst a 10/81 receiving night, he had a brutal fumble in the red zone while down 11 in the fourth. It led to a long Cincinnati field goal drive that essentially iced the game. Dude looks like a future star though at tight end
-Josh Allen was good, not knocking him, but Buffalo failed to drive with much consistency yet again. Too clunky of a unit with how much talent they're working with
-Not sure why James Cook only got six carries. We've written about how the offense looks better as he's more involved, but I guess Ken Dorsey felt differently. Doesn't make sense to me though
Chargers 27- Jets 6
-That Derius Davis punt return TD was pretty sick. Completely deflated an entire stadium that knew they couldn't afford to give away cheap, quick points
-Keenan Allen added a wild one-handed catch too. Good bit of highlights for the Chargers in an otherwise boring game
-Justin Herbert was incredibly pedestrian, as was Austin Ekeler, besides the two scores. They didn't need to be spectacular or take any risks though against a Jets team that clearly wasn't going to be able to compete offensively
-When can you pull the plug on Zach Wilson? I know this is an emergency situation and he's got them at .500, but what he does on the football field is generally very, very bad. What a frustrating player
-Joey Bosa had 2.5 sacks, while Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu chipped in with 2 of their own. Eight team sacks for LA
-To throw Wilson and this New York offense a small bone, they're constantly dealing with offensive line issues. It's certainly taken it's toll on Breece Hall achieving anywhere near his potential and surely isn't helping a pretty subpar quarterback to settle in the pocket
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@Choppinglines
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