After a Week 8 defined by blowouts, the pendulum swung within the different course in Week 9, with 9 of the 11 video games within the 1 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. ET window determined by a landing or much less. The razor-thin margin between shedding and profitable magnified the importance of this week’s worst performances.
Listed here are 5 that stood out most.
The Bengals protection is the present that retains on giving to opposing offenses. On Sunday, the unit reached its nadir (issues cannot probably get any worse, proper? Proper?) in a wild 47-42 house loss to the Chicago Bears (5-3). Cincinnati’s miraculous comeback, which included a profitable onside kick try with 1:43 remaining and quarterback Joe Flacco throwing for 470 yards, was undone by a 58-yard landing move from Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to rookie tight finish Colston Loveland.
On the season’s halfway level, the Bengals (3-6) have as soon as once more dug themselves right into a gap that seems too steep to get out of. And similar to final season, their horrid protection is why.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff was continually harassed in a 27-24 upset house loss to the division-rival Minnesota Vikings (4-4). Detroit’s line had arguably its worst sport of the season, with Goff being sacked 5 occasions. Working backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery averaged 3.3 yards per carry, combining for 65 yards on 20 carries. Accidents performed a task as Detroit fell to 5-3, however that is additionally a regarding signal for the long run.
Beginning left guard Christian Mahogany suffered a knee harm, and after the sport, head coach Dan Campbell informed reporters the 2024 sixth-rounder can be out “for a very long time, most likely.” Beginning tackles Taylor Decker (knee) and Penei Sewell (shoulder) additionally suffered harm scares that should be monitored, as did beginning proper guard Tate Ratledge (shoulder).
The Packers (5-2-1) suffered essentially the most sudden lack of Week 9, falling at house, 16-13, to the Carolina Panthers (5-4). With higher red-zone manufacturing, Inexperienced Bay may need simply walked away with a win. The offense sputtered quite a few occasions inside Carolina’s 20-yard line, scoring one landing in 5 alternatives. Inexperienced Bay settled for 2 discipline objectives, had a turnover on downs and a fumble, and one other possession that stalled on the Panthers’ 25-yard line ended with a missed discipline objective.
The Packers out-gained the Panthers, 369-265, together with 265-102 by the air, however because of their lack of ability to complete drives, the sport was a lot tighter than it had any enterprise being. It value Inexperienced Bay a victory and management of the NFC’s 1-seed.
Did the clock strike midnight on Jones’ unbelievable 2025 comeback? The previous first-round decide seemed extra just like the quarterback who was benched by the New York Giants final season than the one who guided the Colts to seven wins of their first eight video games throughout a 27-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3).
Jones ended 31-of-50 for 342 yards, one landing and three interceptions. He additionally misplaced two fumbles and was sacked 5 occasions, shedding 29 yards. ESPN NFL author Benjamin Solak shared some troubling numbers after the sport, revealing that Jones has seen an alarming uptick in pressure-to-sack charge over the previous two weeks (33.3 p.c, 27.8 p.c) after managing stress nicely by his first seven video games.
Sunday could have merely been a blip, but it surely may be an ominous signal for the back-half of the season.
At the very least one quarterback confirmed within the hyped 2025 chapter of the Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen rivalry. The Buffalo Bills quarterback and 2024 league MVP was almost flawless, going 23-of-26 for 273 yards and three whole touchdowns. Mahomes, in the meantime, had his worst NFL sport, a minimum of by way of completion proportion. He was 15-of-34, finishing fewer than 50 p.c of his move makes an attempt for the primary time in eight seasons as a beginning quarterback, for 250 yards and an interception. Mahomes’ 57.2 passer score was the second-lowest of his profession.
We’re used to seeing Mahomes play his greatest on the most important levels, making his flop within the high-stakes AFC showdown particularly jarring. He is nonetheless the very best quarterback in soccer, however Sunday was a reminder that even the greats aren’t all the time nice.
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