As the NFL wraps up the first half of the season this week, the intensity has ratcheted up a few more notches.
Teams with championship aspirations are burning up the phones in search of one more difference-making roster piece before Tuesday’s trade deadline. Teams mired in disappointment have begun offloading talent with an eye on offseason rebuilds. Meanwhile, others that have gotten off to slow starts find themselves grasping at quickly diminishing strands of hope.
This week’s action kicked off Thursday, when the host New York Jets beat the Houston Texans 21-13 behind a second-half surge from Aaron Rodgers and a miraculous touchdown catch by Garrett Wilson.
Sunday’s slate features eight 1 p.m. ET games, four more in the 4 o’clock hour and then the Indianapolis Colts at the Minnesota Vikings in prime time. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the still-unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.
Here are five of the most intriguing storylines around the league in Week 9. (Find the full schedule here.)
Time could be running out for a handful of projected contenders, whose early-season struggles have spilled over into the second quarter of the schedule and now have these teams in holes that could soon prove impossible to escape.
After showing a burst of life, winning two games to rebound from a 1-4 start, the Cincinnati Bengals got blown out at home by the Philadelphia Eagles last week. Now 3-5, they hope a date with the hapless Las Vegas Raiders enables them to take a step back in the right direction. Joe Burrow just can’t seem to get the support of a healthy arsenal or stout defense when he needs it most. Fortunately for the Bengals, who trail the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North, the Raiders are in even worse shape.
Meanwhile, divisional rival Cleveland also finds itself in do-or-die mode. At 2-6, a season turnaround and playoff push seems like a long shot. Jameis Winston has taken over at quarterback, however, and provided a spark last week in an upset of Baltimore. He will try to do so again Sunday when the Browns host the Los Angeles Chargers while going for their first two-game win streak of the season.
In the AFC East, 6-2 Buffalo hosts Miami and looks to take another step toward wrapping up the division before the regular season even reaches its final month. However, the Dolphins have their guy Tua Tagovailoa back at quarterback and they hope he can build on last week’s promising showing in a heartbreaking 28-27 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Pointing to the 2021 season, when the Dolphins rebounded from 1-7 to finish 9-8, Tagovailoa and his teammates refuse to give up hope. They believe that with a strong second half of the season, they can position themselves for a return to the playoffs. But without an upset of the host Bills on Sunday, such a quest will prove almost impossible.
And then there’s Dallas. At 3-4, the Cowboys certainly aren’t out of it mathematically. But their warts are plentiful, and solutions for their underachieving offense don’t seem readily available. Their defense could be getting some reinforcements soon, but Micah Parsons doesn’t seem healthy enough to return this week. So this week’s road trip to Atlanta, where the 5-3 Falcons aim to build on their lead in the NFC South, could prove most challenging for Dallas. Another loss could put Mike McCarthy’s team too far behind Washington and Philadelphia in the NFC East. (All games at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.)
The best division in football treats us to another high-stakes matchup as the Green Bay Packers host the red-hot Detroit Lions. The 6-1 Lions enter this game with an NFC-best five-game win streak while the 6-2 Packers have won four straight. Detroit’s high-powered offense will present a great test for a Green Bay defense that has looked fierce at times, while struggling in other outings. And then there’s the Packers’ offense, which must keep pace with a Detroit offense that leads the NFL with 33.4 points a game. Green Bay averages 27.0 points per contest. But it remains unclear if the Packers will have Jordan Love (groin) under center, or if Matt LaFleur will have to roll with Malik Willis instead. A win here will carry division and conference implications. (Lions at Packers, 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday.)
The Ravens are regarded as one of the best teams in the NFL, but they struggled last week against the previously downtrodden Browns and lost 29-24 on the road. Meanwhile, the Steelers won their third straight game to remain in first place in the AFC North, and the Chiefs improved to 7-0 to remain well ahead of the pack in the AFC.
The Ravens need a strong rebound this week as they host an intriguing Denver Broncos team that at 5-3 has exceeded expectations for the first half of the season. Baltimore is at its best when it’s able to establish a strong run game and then open things up in the passing attack. This season, the Ravens are 4-0 when NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry tops the 100-yard mark, and 1-3 when he does not. Denver’s defense ranks seventh in the NFL against the run, holding teams to 106.4 rushing yards per game. It’s stingy against the pass as well, holding teams to 176.4 air yards per game (fourth best). So, the Ravens, who lead the NFL in total yards (452.1) will be tested on both fronts. Lamar Jackson and company do rank fifth in passing (252.1) but could soon reach another level following the addition of wide receiver Diontae Johnson, whom they acquired via trade from Carolina this week. (Broncos at Ravens, 1 p.m. ET Sunday.)
Don’t look now, but the Los Angeles Rams — once so battered and broken they appeared destined for a season full of disappointment — are finally getting healthy again and have won two straight to improve to 3-4.
With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back on the field last week against Minnesota, L.A. looked like a different team. Matthew Stafford racked up 279 passing yards and four touchdowns and his unit torched Minnesota’s usually dominant defense for a season-high 30 points. Suddenly, the Rams have hope for a turnaround, though Nacua is questionable for Sunday after banging his knee in practice on Thursday.
Sunday, the Rams visit Seattle (4-4) for a pivotal NFC West showdown. Arizona (hosting Chicago) leads the NFC West with a 4-4 record. San Francisco (also 4-4) is on a bye. With a victory, the Rams could place themselves squarely in the midst of this race with nine weeks remaining.
Seattle enters this game with plenty of motivation, however. After enduring an up-and-down first half of the season — a three-game win streak followed by a three-game losing streak, a win and a loss — the Seahawks remain in search of their first victory within the division and would like to enter their bye on a victorious note. (Rams at Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday.)
The Colts decided to put the Anthony Richardson experiment on hold and have turned to Joe Flacco in hopes that the 39-year-old former Super Bowl MVP can help carry them to the playoffs. Task No. 1: Leading 4-4 Indianapolis over 5-2 Minnesota on the road Sunday night.
Flacco has been in this situation before. Last season, the Browns signed him off the couch after Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Flacco knocked off the rust and went 4-1 as the starter while helping the Browns reach the postseason. This year, he has been Richardson’s backup and led the Colts to victories in two of the three games in which he played (two starts) during a brief injury absence by the 2023 fourth pick.
GO DEEPER
Colts believe winning now is more valuable than Anthony Richardson’s future. They’d better win
Colts coaches and officials believe they have a roster fit for contention, but Richardson has struggled mightily as a passer, completing only 44.4 percent of his passes. Indianapolis’ offense had two of its better outings with Flacco as starter, and after another woeful Richardson performance (and that controversial tap out), coach Shane Steichen decided it was time to make a change as his team kicks off a tough stretch that includes games against Minnesota, Buffalo and Detroit in three of the next four weeks.
The Colts are preparing to face a Vikings team that opened the season 5-0 before losing to the Lions and the Rams the last two weeks. Minnesota aims to get back on track and keep pace with Detroit and Green Bay in the NFC North. Indianapolis trails Houston in the AFC South, but if Flacco is able to withstand Minnesota’s blitz-heavy defense, the Colts believe they can mount some momentum to make a second-half push similar to that of the Browns last season. (Colts at Vikings, 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday.)
(Top photo of Josh Jacobs: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
