Published: Nov 03, 2024 at 04:34 PM
Updated: Nov 04, 2024 at 12:04 AM
Around The NFL breaks down what you need to know from all of Sunday’s action in Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season. Catch up on each game’s biggest takeaways using the links below:
Early Window
Atlanta Falcons 27, Dallas Cowboys 21
Baltimore Ravens 41, Denver Broncos 10
Buffalo Bills 30, Miami Dolphins 27
Carolina Panthers 23, New Orleans Saints 22
Cincinnati Bengals 41, Las Vegas Raiders 24
Los Angeles Chargers 27, Cleveland Browns 10
Washington Commanders 27, New York Giants 22
Tennessee Titans 20, New England Patriots 17 (OT)
Late Window
Arizona Cardinals 29, Chicago Bears 9
Philadelphia Eagles 28, Jacksonville Jaguars 23
Detroit Lions 24, Green Bay Packers 14
Los Angeles Rams 26, Seattle Seahawks 20 (OT)
Sunday Night
Minnesota Vikings 21, Indianapolis Colts 13
Early Window
Atlanta Falcons 27, Dallas Cowboys 21
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Eric Edholm’s takeaways:
Gritty Falcons lost two key players but outgunned Cowboys. The Falcons lost two of their more indispensable players, wide receiver Drake London (hip) and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (Achilles strain), but were still too much for the Cowboys as Atlanta recorded its fifth win in six games. London caught the game’s opening touchdown pass on a gorgeous fade but left the game about 10 minutes in and never returned. The Falcons leaned heavily on Bijan Robinson early, going to him 13 times in the first 18 offensive plays. He responded with 145 yards from scrimmage and was one of the Falcons’ biggest producers, along with Darnell Mooney , who caught five passes for 88 yards and a score when Kirk Cousins appeared to catch Dallas’ defense napping. Jarrett left late in the third, but the Falcons defense had three sacks (they had only six as a team coming in) and even had back-to-back sacks in the first half. Prescott injury, Cowboys’ third- and fourth-down struggles were costly. Dak Prescott left the game in the early fourth quarter with a hamstring injury, giving way to Cooper Rush with the Cowboys trailing, 27-13. Prescott also appeared to be dealing with a hand injury. He had a relatively effective day, completing 18 of 24 passes for 133 yards and running three times for 33 yards, but the Cowboys converted only three of 13 third downs (including 1 for their first 9) and were 0-of-3 on fourth downs. The Cowboys called timeout prior to CeeDee Lamb being stuffed on a fourth-and-1 end around, which led to a Falcons touchdown and a 14-3 lead. Then Mike McCarthy called for a fake punt from the Dallas 38-yard line. Bryan Anger (no completions since 2014) couldn’t hook up with C.J. Goodwin (two career targets), and once more Atlanta capitalized, this time for a 21-10 edge. On their next possession, the Cowboys appeared ready to go for it again on fourth and less than a yard to go, but they were flagged for 12 men in the huddle ( Dalvin Cook appeared to be No. 12) and ended up punting. Once Prescott was ruled out and Lamb was slowed by a shoulder injury late, the game was all but over. Falcons still can clean things up defensively. Atlanta held the Cowboys to 13 points for the game’s first 58 minutes but still had some issues defensively. Even with more pass-rush pressure than in other recent games and a strong showing on third and fourth downs, the Falcons were bad against the run again, allowing the NFL’s worst rushing attack to total 137 yards on the ground. That’s in line with the 132.6-yard average the Falcons had surrendered coming in, but Dallas averaged 6.5 yards per run and had only one attempt go for a loss. The Cowboys had been averaging fewer than 80 rushing yards per game and had a long run of 13 coming into the game, but they had five runs of 10-plus yards by three different players. The Falcons also watched as Rush replaced an injured Prescott and led the Cowboys on an 86-yard TD drive (and two-point conversion) in the final five minutes to make it a one-score game. It’s hard to argue with the Falcons’ recent team success, but they once again kept things too close for comfort with some breakdowns defensively.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Cowboys-Falcons (via NFL Pro): Falcons LB Kaden Elliss set season highs in tackles (13), defensive stops (nine), pass rushes (15) and pressures (five) and recorded his first sack of the season. Elliss leads the Falcons in pressures this season (19) despite ranking ninth on the team in total pass rushes (68). He also leads all off-ball linebackers in pressures this season, 13 of which have come walked up to the line of scrimmage (nearly twice as many as any other off-ball linebacker).
NFL Research: The Cowboys had four drives end in a turnover on downs, which was the most by Dallas in a game since at least 1993.
Baltimore Ravens 41, Denver Broncos 10
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Kevin Patra’s takeaways:
Jackson perfect again as Ravens steamroll Broncos. Lamar Jackson took a bad sack on Baltimore’s first possession, which knocked the Ravens out of field goal range. It was the only mistake of the afternoon for an offense that dominated a good Broncos defense. Baltimore scored on its next seven possessions, including four straight touchdowns between the second and third quarters. Jackson gashed Denver with deep digs to Zay Flowers that picked up chuck gains. In the second half, offensive coordinator Todd Monken dialed up a trove of screens to keep the blitz-happy Broncos at bay. This wasn’t some limp defense the Ravens ripped apart either — Denver entered the week allowing -0.14 EPA per play, tops in the league. Jackson’s presence forced Vance Joseph to call fewer blitzes early, and Jackson simply picked apart the defense. Jackson had a perfect 158.3 passer rating, going 16-of-19 passing for 280 yards with three TDs and zero interceptions. The QB had by far his worst rushing day of the season (4 yards), and it didn’t even matter. Then Derrick Henry kicked into gear, galloping for 107 yards and two TDs on the afternoon. When Baltimore is clicking like Sunday, the offensive is unstoppable. Nix didn’t play awfully but missed some throws early. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix never got rattled and made the right reads as the Broncos kept things close early before Jackson and the Ravens pulled away. Nix would likely want some misses back. On his first pass, he left it a tad high and the ball caromed off the hands of Lil’Jordan Humphrey for an INT. On the opening play of the second quarter, Nix missed an open Troy Franklin deep on fourth-and-4 that should have gone for a touchdown. Afforded a ton of time in the pocket — pressured on just four attempts through three quarters — Nix missed too many balls by just a smidge. Nix earned a tough box-out catch for his first career receiving TD, but Denver needed more offense to keep things close against a juggernaut. The Broncos turned it over on downs four times and went three-and-out twice in the third quarter. The miscues allowed the Ravens to run away with the contest. Ravens could still make moves ahead of the trade deadline. Newly acquired receiver Diontae Johnson played just 16 snaps on Sunday, per Next Gen Stats. The Ravens didn’t need the wideout to play a big role in his first game. His importance will come later. The question ahead of Tuesday’s deadline is whether the Ravens will add to the defense. The front struggled to affect the quarterback once again, with Nix having enough time for a few cups of tea on each dropback. Baltimore got pressure on just eight passes but did have four sacks. The secondary also got beat a few times. Better passes from the rookie quarterback and the numbers allowed by the secondary would have looked worse than the box score. The Ravens shut out Sean Payton’s club in the second half, but it wasn’t a perfect performance from Zach Orr’s D. There is room to improve in Baltimore.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Broncos-Ravens (via NFL Pro): Zay Flowers caught five of his six targets for 127 yards and two touchdowns in Week 9 against the Broncos, recording 62 yards after the catch and a season-high +42 yards after the catch over expected.
NFL Research: Lamar Jackson now has thrown for the most games with a perfect passer rating, since 1950 (minimum 15 attempts): Lamar Jackson (four), Tom Brady (three), Peyton Manning (three), Kurt Warner (three) and Ben Roethlisberger (three).
Buffalo Bills 30, Miami Dolphins 27
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Eric Edholm’s takeaways:
Bass kicked Bills to a big win. Tyler Bass drilled a career-long 61-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the game to deliver the Bills a massive victory and the Dolphins a crushing loss. The kick — which had plenty of leg — finished off a run of seven straight scores prior to the Dolphins being unable to score in the final seconds of the game. For Bass, the moment was huge. The Bills had worked out other kickers and signed competition to the practice squad after Bass had missed a pair of extra points, and he missed one Sunday and also had a kick clang in off the upright against Miami. Bass’ wide-right miss from the divisional-round loss last January also was fresh in fans’ minds. But his game-winner was the first big, clutch kick Bass had made this season and only his second make (and attempt) of 50 or more yards. The Bills looked to be in Hail Mary mode when Josh Allen ’s third-and-10 pass fell incomplete and with Buffalo sitting at the Miami 43-yard line. A miss would have given Tua Tagovailoa a slim shot at winning the game in regulation, but Bills coach Sean McDermott displayed confidence in sending Bass out there — and he was rewarded with a win that makes the Bills massive favorites to win the division again, having swept Miami in the season series. Dolphins’ critical errors cost them a much-needed win. After tying the game at 27 with 1:38 left, the Dolphins appeared to be in great shape, putting the Bills in a third-and-14 situation with less than a minute left, at their own 26-yard line with only one timeout remaining. Had they stopped the Bills, the Dolphins could have gotten the ball back and possibly won the game in regulation. But Chop Robinson (who had a big sack the play before) jumped in the neutral zone, and that was followed by a massive unnecessary roughness penalty by ex-Bills safety Jordan Poyer in his first game back in Buffalo. That gave the Bills new life, and they gained just enough yards to set up Bass’ game-winning kick. The Dolphins had a similarly damaging play early in the third quarter when Raheem Mostert had the ball poked out after a run in Buffalo territory. The Dolphins were threatening to increase their 10-6 halftime lead, but the Bills recovered and immediately went down and scored to take back control of the game. Tua Tagovailoa has played well in both games since returning to the lineup, yet the Dolphins still haven’t won since Week 5 over the Patriots, with each of their past three losses coming by one score. Allen should move up in MVP race. Despite not having Amari Cooper , the Bills had a big offensive showing — especially in the second half — to finish off their division rivals. Allen was being limited all game by the Dolphins’ two-high coverages, forcing him to check down and find underneath options. He also was nicely hemmed in as a scrambler, outside of one 14-yard run late in the second quarter. But even with an interception, he played a smart game and hit enough big plays to deliver another big win. Allen’s INT was off the hands of rookie Keon Coleman as the Bills were about to go in for a score, and they had a touchdown called back by penalty (a shaky one at that). Yet there was Allen, gunning to the tune of 156 passing yards and three TDs in the second half, including a pretty fourth-and-goal pass to Mack Hollins and an improvisational gem to Quintin Morris for a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. Allen certainly was among the favorites for MVP prior to Sunday, but his effort against the Dolphins deserves a bump to his stock.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Dolphins-Bills (via NFL Pro): Josh Allen was efficient against the blitz in Week 9, completing seven of nine pass attempts for 97 yards and three touchdowns. Allen recorded an 8.9% completion percentage over expected against the blitz, his fourth-highest mark in a game this season (two of his top four performances have come against the Dolphins). Allen also recorded a career-low 3.7 air yards per attempt, leading to his highest percentage of yards coming after the catch (81.7%).
NFL Research: The Bills have won six straight and 13 of the past 14 against the Dolphins, including the playoffs. Sean McDermott is now 15-2 versus Miami since becoming Bills head coach.
Carolina Panthers 23, New Orleans Saints 22
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Christian Gonzales’ takeaways:
Young shows improvement in victory. Bryce Young showed some flashes of promise in his fourth start of the 2024 season. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick was pressured at times, but he gave his pass catchers a chance to make plays. In the fourth quarter, Young threw a deep pass to Xavier Legette , who was stripped by Saints cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles for an impressive interception. Fortunately, Young got another chance in the final minutes of the game. Young connected with Legette for a 26-yard catch to get into New Orleans territory. On the next play, Young took another shot down the field to Ja’Tavion Sanders and forced a defensive pass interference to get Carolina into the red zone. Chuba Hubbard put the finishing touches on the go-ahead drive with a 16-yard rushing TD. Young looked confident throughout the game and completed 16 of 26 passes for one touchdown and the one INT. Kamara continues impressive campaign. With Derek Carr returning to the lineup for the first time since Week 5, the Saints quarterback relied heavily on Alvin Kamara all afternoon. Kamara touched the ball 35 times and was involved seven times during New Orleans’ 11-play, 70-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter that was capped off by Foster Moreau ’s go-ahead touchdown catch. The running back was essential to the Saints offense with 29 carries for 155 yards. He also contributed six catches for 60 yards. It was Kamara’s third game in his career with over 100 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards. Despite the result and the team’s record, Kamara has been one of the bright spots for New Orleans. Carolina’s D comes up clutch. After allowing 28 or more points the last five weeks, the Panthers defense turned it around on Sunday. With the Panthers up in the final minutes, Derek Carr and Co. had one more chance to get a road win. On second-and-10 in the final drive for New Orleans, Carr was sacked by Charles Harris . The Saints couldn’t recover and get a first down after Harris’ sack. Linebacker Demani Richardson has a game-high 12 tackles while Harris was a force that the Saints offensive line couldn’t contain. Harris had two QB hits, two tackles for loss and the sack. Shortly after, Bryce Young was in victory formation as the Panthers earned their second win of the season.
Next Gen Stats Insight from Saints-Panthers (via NFL Pro): Ja’Tavion Sanders caught four of his five targets for 87 yards in Week 9 against the Saints, generating the most receiving yards over expected in a game by a rookie tight end this season (+50).
NFL Research: Alvin Kamara reached his eighth consecutive season with over 1,000 scrimmage yards.
Cincinnati Bengals 41, Las Vegas Raiders 24
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Nick Shook’s takeaways:
Burrow lights up Las Vegas. Joe Burrow put together a nearly perfect game’s worth of teaching tape for quarterbacks interested in learning how to navigate the pocket, improvise and produce big returns for the offense. He was masterful at this Sunday, completing five of eight pass attempts for 32 yards and three touchdowns while on the run (8-plus mph), his most in a game in his career. In a notable shift, Burrow didn’t find a ton of downfield success, going 0-for-4 on deep pass attempts, but it didn’t matter. He spent most of the afternoon shredding Las Vegas’ defense with his arm and legs, finding open targets amid the chaos of a pass rush and taking off for first downs when required. With five touchdowns thrown, Burrow had to feel good in the final minutes of this lopsided affair because his efforts — which have been Herculean for most of this year — finally produced a home win for the Bengals. Details doom Raiders. Las Vegas is headed toward a dark place. Look no further than quarterback, where Antonio Pierce once again grew frustrated enough with Gardner Minshew to bench him for his backup. This time, that meant Pierce was calling for Desmond Ridder , the former University of Cincinnati star who took the field in the third quarter and finished the game, throwing a nice touchdown pass in garbage time. Other than that and an impressive opening drive, these Raiders couldn’t do much of anything right. They couldn’t get off the field on third down (Cincinnati converted eight of 15 attempts), they couldn’t sustain drives and even when the game was out of hand, they couldn’t stay onside on a fourth-and-2 punt, drawing an encroachment penalty. The Raiders are a bad football team with little reason to believe it’s going to improve soon. Days like Sunday prove it. Brown, Hendrickson have memorable days. From the Bengals’ very first drive of the afternoon, it was clear Chase Brown was going to play an important part in this offense. He balanced out Cincinnati’s attack effectively, averaging 4.4 yards per carry on 27 attempts. Brown tacked on five catches for 37 yards, including an excellent toe-tapping grab in the back of the end zone for an early touchdown. For one Sunday, Brown became the Bengals’ true bell cow, recording his first 100-yard game of his career on a day it was needed. Defensively, it was Trey Hendrickson ’s day to shine. He dominated Raiders blockers all afternoon, finishing with four sacks and helping a defense that had previously struggled to generate pressure and ended Sunday’s game with a pressure rate north of 55 percent. Because they’re playing the woeful Raiders, there’s no guarantee this will carry over for the Bengals, but this season has already been challenging enough. For one day, it was nice to see a player of Hendrickson’s caliber feast.
Next Gen Stats Insight from Raiders-Bengals (via NFL Pro): Trey Hendrickson generated 10 pressures and a career-high four sacks on 30 pass rushes in Week 9 against the Raiders, resulting in his highest single-game pressure rate of the season (33.3%).
NFL Research: Joe Burrow became the only player with multiple games of five-plus passing touchdowns in the 2024 season.
Los Angeles Chargers 27, Cleveland Browns 10
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Nick Shook’s takeaways:
Herbert is on fire. Sunday marked a third straight week in which Justin Herbert looked like the quarterback we knew him to be before the difficulties began to mount last season. Herbert was excellent against a stingy Cleveland defense, overcoming a pressure rate of 52.9% to complete seven of 11 passes while pressured for 106 yards and one touchdown. He was equally as good when free from pressure, completing 11 of 16 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown. No matter what the Browns defense did in terms of pass rush, Herbert dealt all afternoon, capitalizing on blown coverages to find Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston for 28- and 66-yard touchdown passes, respectively, and even helped Johnston record his first career game over 100 receiving yards. And for the first time in 2024, the Chargers had a truly explosive air attack that produced significant points. That starts with Herbert, who is playing some of the best football of any QB in the NFL right now. Browns offense falls back to earth. Sunday was U-G-L-Y on the shore of Lake Erie for the home team. Jameis Winston threw three interceptions (carrying varying degrees of blame), the Browns had no semblance of a running game, Ken Dorsey’s play-calling resembled the stretch that got him fired by Buffalo, and Dustin Hopkins kicked a field goal attempt so low, it hit the Chargers’ Teair Tart in the chest. The only positive was Cleveland’s defense, which also had its own share of atrocious moments (e.g., Denzel Ward ’s blown coverage on Johnston’s 66-yard touchdown) and gave up chunk runs to J.K. Dobbins . Their entire operation was flawed, from inaccurate throws by Winston to drops by intended targets and drive-stalling penalties. After enjoying a euphoric win last weekend, the Browns reverted to their same old miserable selves Sunday. Chargers outcoach, outclass Browns. Look, Cleveland isn’t a proper litmus test for any team with aspirations of contending, but the Chargers proved an important point Sunday. They found a legitimate groove offensively, forced three takeaways and were a step ahead of Cleveland’s coaching staff on both sides of the ball all afternoon. They piled up 342 yards of offense despite only possessing the ball for 25:51 of the total 60 minutes, played turnover-free football, proved themselves as a tough and disciplined defense and never had reason to worry they wouldn’t get the job done on the road. Jesse Minter and Greg Roman both outcoached their counterparts, guiding their units in a way that allowed their strengths to shine. At 5-3, this might be the win that sends the Chargers on a run.
Next Gen Stats Insight from Chargers-Browns (via NFL Pro): Justin Herbert was most productive on passes over 10 air yards in Week 9 against the Browns, completing seven of 12 downfield attempts for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Herbert has reached 100-plus passing yards on downfield attempts in three straight games since the Week 5 bye (14.8 YPA), after totaling just 145 pass yards on such attempts in Weeks 1-4 (6.0 YPA).
NFL Research: Justin Herbert finished Sunday with a 2-0 TD-INT ratio, marking the sixth straight start he completed without throwing an interception. It’s the longest active streak in the NFL and tied for both the longest streak of his career and the Chargers’ all-time franchise record.
Washington Commanders 27, New York Giants 22
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Kevin Patra’s takeaways:
Daniels calmly leads Commanders to road win over Giants. No need for a Hail Mary this time. Jayden Daniels calmly led the Commanders up and down the field, with Washington punting just twice on eight drives. The rookie quarterback makes difficult throws look effortless. His second touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin was perfectly dropped over the shoulder of cornerback Deonte Banks . Against that type of coverage, it took confidence from the QB to make that throw and faith that his guy would make a play on the ball. Daniels plays with a tranquility beyond his years. He makes plays and avoids rushers with the coolness of a veteran star. Without Brian Robinson , the Commanders were still able to churn out yards on the ground, and Daniels made clutch throws when needed. As the defense couldn’t get stops late to secure the win, Daniels and the offense handled business. The rookie hit Olamide Zaccheaus for a hefty 42-yard pass on the final drive to help ice the game without Big Blue touching the pigskin again. Through nine weeks, Daniels has had all the answers to the test. Giants offense takes too much time to kick it into gear. Big Blue came out pounding the rock. At one point, New York rushed 15 times to two dropbacks. Unfortunately, that second dropback was a Daniel Jones fumble that Washington turned into a touchdown. Jones had exactly zero yards at halftime on 4-of-6 passing with a TD. With a defense that couldn’t slow Daniels, the Giants fell behind, 21-7, at halftime. It proved too deep a hole to dig out of. New York scored on all three of its second-half drives. Once again, it was the little things that burned Brian Daboll’s club. Jones committed the fumble and missed several passes that scuttled drives. An offensive pass interference flag wiped out a third-quarter touchdown. On a day in which the offense went 6-of-11 on third downs and 2-of-2 on fourth downs, the slow start and an ineffective defense ultimately led to a fourth consecutive loss. Commanders defense struggles late. Dan Quinn is thanking his stars for Daniels because the Washington defense has gotten wobbly. If not for a fortunate OPI flag that went their way, the Commanders would have let Jones lead three consecutive TD drives to close the game. Washington allowed the Giants to churn out 5.3 yards per carry and pressured Jones on just five pass attempts, per Next Gen Stats. Dante Fowler generated two sacks, but no one on Washington earned three QB pressures on the day. The Commanders could be a club looking for upgrades on defense ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Commanders-Giants (via NFL Pro): Jayden Daniels completed every deep pass he threw against the Giants, finishing 3-of-3 for 91 yards and a touchdown on passes over 20 air yards. Daniels has generated +25.5 expected points added on deep passes this season, third-most in the NFL (behind Aaron Rodgers +26.5, and Sam Darnold, +25.7).
NFL Research: Daniel Jones is the first starting QB since at least 1991 to have zero or fewer pass yards and a passing touchdown in the first half of a game.
Tennessee Titans 20, New England Patriots 17 (OT)
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Coral Smith’s takeaways:
Takeaways finally go Titans’ way. Turnovers have been the story of the season for the Tennessee Titans, though up to this point it’s largely been to their detriment, recording 16 giveaways — 31st in the league — including four costly ones in last week’s blowout loss to Detroit. But this Sunday, the curse reversed, and the Titans earned their second win of the season with the help of their own aptly timed takeaways. Amani Hooker , who had one of the Titans’ three forced turnovers coming into this game, got the party started by intercepting a Drake Maye throw in the second quarter. And then with the game tied in the fourth quarter, Arden Key had a strip sack of Maye in New England territory. Jeffery Simmons recovered the fumble to set the offense up with short field position, which led to a score to take the lead. Though Maye was able to tie the game up, another interception by Hooker in overtime sealed the win, getting in front of the receiver on an ill-advised deep heave. The Titans didn’t quite avoid their ball-protection woes on offense, with a fumbled snap forcing their overtime drive to end in a field goal and Mason Rudolph throwing one interception. But it was still their first positive turnover margin of the season, and that effort led directly to the win. Maye wills his team almost all the way. The Titans might have won it in overtime, but it only got to that extra period because of the extraordinary efforts by Drake Maye. The Patriots’ rookie QB returned to the field on Sunday after clearing concussion protocol and did what he could to will his team to victory, falling just short at the end. Maye managed to scramble out of pressure often throughout the afternoon, rushing eight times for a total of 95 yards, with five gains of at least 11 yards and two for 22-plus yards. He became the seventh rookie in the Super Bowl era and just the second Patriot ever to record 200-plus passing yards and 90-plus rushing yards in a game. And with New England trailing by a touchdown with under three minutes to go and no timeouts, Maye orchestrated a touchdown drive to take the game to OT. During the game-tying series, he connected with Hunter Henry on a 10-yard catch on fourth-and-2 before spiking the ball to set up first-and-goal with eight seconds left. Two plays later, Maye managed to evade pressure for almost 12 seconds before tossing the ball up and into the end zone as he was tackled, miraculously finding Rhamondre Stevenson for the score with zeros on the clock. Though Maye’s overtime game-ending interception, one of his three turnovers on the day, meant this dramatic play was ultimately for naught, that mistake does not fully negate Maye’s work to lead his team to the brink of victory. Ridley, Pollard lead game-winning drive. In the last two weeks, the Titans offense has opened up in ways that it had struggled to do to start the season, putting together back-to-back weeks of 400 yards, a mark they hadn’t hit in the previous six weeks. This emerging trend culminated on Sunday in an overtime game-winning field goal drive, led by contributions from Calvin Ridley and Tony Pollard . The former had his best game of the season last week, as the wideout accumulated 143 receiving yards. He led the team again this week with five catches for 73 yards Sunday, which included two key receptions of 16 and 14 yards in the Titans’ overtime scoring drive, including one to convert on third down. Most of the rest of the Titans’ march down the field came courtesy of Pollard, as the running back capped off his best showing of the season (128 yards on 28 totes) with seven carries for 36 yards in the final possession to put Tennessee in range for the winning kick to get its first W since Week 4.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Patriots-Titans (via NFL Pro): Drake Maye scrambled for 11.82 seconds before finding Rhamondre Stevenson for the 5-yard touchdown that led to overtime. This is the second-longest time to throw on a touchdown pass in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016), only surpassed by Jayden Daniels ’ Hail Mary from last week.
NFL Research: Drake Maye, who now has six passing touchdowns and 209 rushing yards, is the first rookie since the 1970 merger with at least five touchdowns and 200 rushing yards in his first five career games.
Late Window
Arizona Cardinals 29, Chicago Bears 9
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Eric Edholm’s takeaways:
Cardinals over .500 for first time under Gannon, and his defense is improving. Entering Sunday, the Cardinals had three or more sacks in only two games this season, with only one such performance since Week 2. But on Sunday against the Bears, the Cardinals had sacks on three consecutive plays in a six-sack outing, their most in a game since Week 1 of last season. The three-sack span occurred over two possessions, forcing a turnover on downs and helping lead to a fast three-and-out with the game still technically in question. The pressure might have been unexpected, but it was relentless. Zaven Collins had two sacks, and Xavier Thomas had 1.5, but this was a total team effort. Thirteen different players registered at least one pressure, and seven had two or more. After a brilliant punt and Joey Blount downing the ball inside the 1-yard line, the Cardinals forced a Bears safety — the cherry on top of a terrific performance for Jonathan Gannon’s defense. That unit has had its share of struggles this season, but this is the type of performance that can lift a team that now has won four of five games. And with first-round pick Darius Robinson maybe a week or two away, this young defense has reinforcements coming. Bears flubbed another end-of-half play in a road loss. The Bears appeared to be caught flat-footed when the Cardinals handed off to Emari Demercado , clearly expecting a pass, with 12 seconds left in the first half. Instead, Demercado ran 53 yards — nearly untouched — for a touchdown one week after Jayden Daniels ’ Hail Mary stunner. Demercado ran past the slot blitz and Austin Booker from the backside, and when Tremaine Edmunds stayed glued to a block, Demercado was gone. Kevin Byard also did his part by getting too far inside and giving Demercado the outer lane to coast to the end zone. It wasn’t the game-ending disaster that last week’s breakdown was, but allowing that TD gave the Cardinals a win probability added boost of 14.2%, per Next Gen Stats. Prior to that, a “leverage” call wiped out a made Cardinals field goal, as they took the first down and converted it into a touchdown. The Bears got the ball first in the second half but went three-and-out quickly and never really threatened again. Even with a slew of talented inactives, led by Montez Sweat , the Bears were outcoached and looked unprepared; perhaps there was a hangover from last week’s disappointment and the demotion of Tyrique Stevenson . Either way, Matt Eberflus — especially with his defense regressing the past two weeks — will face even tougher scrutiny with the Bears falling back to .500. Cardinals’ run game can’t be forgotten. On a day when Kyler Murray and the Cardinals’ pass game had a quiet day, the run game stepped up in a big way. James Conner is the heartbeat of this team, and he’s not slowing down as he approaches his 30th birthday. He ran for 107 yards on 18 carries before coming out of the game in the third quarter. Demercado coughed up a late fumble, but his pre-halftime 53-yard TD romp was a game-changer, and he totaled 70 yards on six touches. Trey Benson took over for Conner and added 37 yards and a TD, also adding an 18-yard catch. After Gannon took the penalty and the points off the board following a made field goal, Conner drove six yards to the Chicago 1, and Benson punched it in. That was the point the Cardinals started taking control of the game, and the rushing attack had a lot to do with it. This really was a three-phase victory for the Cardinals, and this is the type of formula that makes them so dangerous. Murray had 160 combined passing and rushing yards, and the Cardinals dominated the Bears. Arizona has a fun thing going on all of a sudden.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Bears-Cardinals (via NFL Pro): Twelve different Cardinals pass rushers generated at least one pressure in the first half against the Bears, the most by any team in the first half of a game over the past two seasons.
NFL Research: The Bears’ streak of games allowing 21 or fewer points ended at 13 games Sunday at Arizona. The Cardinals had 21 points by halftime and upped their total to 29, the most the Bears have allowed since the Lions scored 31 against them in Week 11 last year.
Philadelphia Eagles 28, Jacksonville Jaguars 23
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Nick Shook’s takeaways:
Barkley continues to be the difference for Philadelphia. Saquon Barkley did it all Sunday, opening a prosperous first half by making a great over-the-shoulder touchdown catch from 20 yards out to put the first six points on the board for the Eagles. That set the tone for yet another productive outing for the offseason acquisition, who has endeared himself to Eagles fans with explosive runs and highlight reel-worthy plays. He made a few of them Sunday, including the reverse hurdle heard ’round the world, seemingly defying the laws of physics by clearing a defender while hurdling backward via his best impression of Super Mario. Eagles fans should be thanking both their general manager, Howie Roseman, for opening the check book for Barkley, and Giants GM Joe Schoen for letting him test free agency. Barkley has elevated this offense on a weekly basis and is responsible for most of their wins this season, including his 199-yard (from scrimmage), two touchdown performance on Sunday. Jaguars forced to play catch-up. Sunday marked another instance in which the Jaguars sleepwalked through the first half of a game, dug themselves a hole and needed to be aggressively shaken out of their sleep to find any sort of rhythm. They found that after 35 minutes of dormancy, in which they’d tallied a total of 37 yards of offense. With an up-tempo offense setting a new tone, Trevor Lawrence urgently got to work, leading a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown run. Travon Walker ’s fumble recovery and return for a touchdown made it a one-score game, but Doug Pederson’s choice to punt on fourth-and-3 from Philadelphia’s 49 gave the Eagles a chance to build onto their lead (they did, via a DeVonta Smith touchdown), and even when the Jaguars responded with a touchdown, the room for error grew slim. Lawrence’s poor throw in the direction of D’Ernest Johnson in the end zone doomed their comeback hopes, delivering yet another example of how this team’s frequent first-half struggles have hamstrung it, explaining the 2-7 record with another frustrating loss. Eagles escape with fourth straight win. Philadelphia cruised through the first half, building a 22-0 lead. The cracks were visible even during that romp, though, as Nick Sirianni’s decision to go for two on two occasions cost the Eagles a minimum of two points. So did his decision to dial up a play-action rollout on fourth-and-inches, which failed and signaled the potential for a colossal meltdown in a game that seemed to be headed toward a blowout. Fortunately for Sirianni, Smith’s one-handed touchdown grab and Nakobe Dean ’s game-sealing interception in the end zone helped them stave off an embarrassing defeat, but folks in Philadelphia aren’t going to forget how their coach put them in a bad spot with his overly aggressive calls. The Eagles are 6-2 and have won four in a row, which is great, but they better hope their coach takes a lesson or two from this game. A better opponent makes him pay for his decisions.
Next Gen Stats Insight from Jaguars-Eagles (via NFL Pro): Saquon Barkley generated more rushing yards than expected on 55.6% of his carries, his highest rate in a game over the past two seasons. Barkley also caught three receptions on four targets for a season-high 40 yards and a touchdown. He generated +15 receiving yards over expected, his highest mark with the Eagles.
NFL Research: Sunday marked Saquon Barkley’s fifth game with 100-plus rushing yards in 2024, the first time in his career in which he’s had five such games in the first eight contests of a season. Eagles running backs only had five such games combined between 2022 and 2023.
Detroit Lions 24, Green Bay Packers 14
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REWATCH: Lions-Packers on NFL+ Premium READ: Campbell says Lions ‘built for this’ after dominant win at rainy Lambeau READ: Packers lament ‘self-inflicted wounds’ in loss to Lions
Kevin Patra’s takeaways:
Lions sprint out to big lead, roll over Packers at Lambeau. Chants of “ Jared Goff ” echoed through Lambeau Field late in the contest as Detroit took a firm grip of the NFC North. Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur eschewed a fourth down, kicking a short field goal after a good opening drive. The Lions matched the march, but Dan Campbell went for it on fourth down. Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown to give Detroit a lead it would never relinquish. The Lions scored touchdowns on two fourth-down calls, underscoring Campbell’s aggressive attitude. The Lions played the cleaner game on a rain-soaked evening in Green Bay. The offense put up three long drives and, with a big second-half lead, didn’t have to do much late. Goff peppered the short game in the rain and avoided the catastrophic mistakes. The QB completed his first 11 passes of the game, highlighting his continued efficiency. The Lions leaned on David Montgomery (17 carries for 73 yards) and Jahmyr Gibbs (11/65/1) to spearhead the offense. It says a ton about Campbell’s squad that it got outgained by 150 yards and went 4-of-12 on third down, and yet the game was never really in question in the second half. The Lions continued to prove they can win any type of game — even outdoors in bad weather. Packers’ mistakes prove costly in big division loss. Green Bay moved the ball seemingly at will but continually shot itself in the foot. Brutal penalties, at least six drops, a missed field goal, poor short yardage blocking. You name it, the Packers committed it Sunday. The rotten cherry on top of the terrible-tasting sundae was a Jordan Love panic pick-six at the end of the second quarter, giving Detroit a double-digit lead. The brutal decision allowed the Lions to blow the game wide open with another TD after halftime. Detroit scored 24 unanswered points over the second and third quarters. The self-inflicted errors included 10 penalties. Love and the offense churned out 411 yards of offense but were poor on key downs, including going 3-of-12 on third downs and 1-of-4 in the red zone. Love has immense talent, but his mistakes are glaring. He’s now thrown an interception in each of his first seven starts in 2024, joining Irv Comp (1944) as the only Packers to have an INT in each of a player’s first seven games of a season, per NFL Research. Kerby does it again. Lions safety Kerby Joseph continues to make big plays. In the waning moments of the second quarter, clinging to a seven-point lead, Joseph swiped Love’s pitiful pass and raced 27 yards to the end zone. Like he has many times this season, the play was a game-changer by the ball-magnet. A close game became a laugher. It marked Joseph’s sixth INT this season, tied for the most in the NFL (Packers’ Xavier McKinney ). It was also his 14th career INT, tied for the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2022 ( DaRon Bland ). Since 2000, only Hall of Famer Ed Reed (16) has more interceptions among safeties in their first 40 games. With a banged-up defensive front and the Lions losing Brian Branch early (ejection), Joseph helped spearhead a secondary that might give up yards but stands tall in big moments.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Lions-Packers (via NFL Pro): Alim McNeill generated a team-high five pressures on 33 pass rushes, translating to a 15.3% pressure rate. No other Lion had more than two QB pressures.
NFL Research: The Lions have started 7-1 or better for the first time in the Super Bowl era. The last time Detroit started 7-1 was in 1956 (2024 is the fifth time in team history).
Los Angeles Rams 26, Seattle Seahawks 20 (OT)
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REWATCH: Rams-Seahawks on NFL+ Premium READ: Smith apologizes for mistakes in Seahawks’ overtime loss
Christian Gonzales’ takeaways:
Stafford is perfect in overtime. After going 22-of-41 for 219 yards, one touchdown and one interception in regulation, Matthew Stafford was perfect in overtime to lead the Rams to their third consecutive win. With the Seahawks foregoing a field goal to take the lead in extra time and getting stopped on fourth-and-1, Stafford took advantage. He connected with Tyler Johnson for a 24-yard gain. On the next play, Tutu Atwell was open for a 16-yard catch. On the fourth play of the drive, Stafford launched a beautiful pass to Demarcus Robinson , who caught the 39-yard pass for a game-winning TD with a Seahawks defender all over him. It was an impressive victory for the Rams, with Cooper Kupp (11 receptions for 104 yards) held to four catches in the second half. and Puka Nacua ejected from the game due to throwing a punch at Seahawks linebacker Tyrel Dodson in the second quarter. The win keeps the Rams in the thick of the fight in a tough NFC West division. Smith’s turnovers costly in brutal loss. Geno Smith ’s play for the better half of fourth quarter was not what Seattle needed. Smith was inefficient in the red zone when it mattered the most and threw two crippling interceptions. With 11:17 left in the game, Smith was pressured and pedaled back from the pocket before throwing a ball that Rams rookie safety Kamren Kinchens returned for a 103-yard pick-six. On the Seahawks’ next possession, Smith targeted AJ Barner for a short pass, however, it was Kinchens again that intercepted Smith in the red zone. One positive for the Seahawks offense was Jaxon Smith-Njigba stepping up in DK Metcalf ’s absence. The second-year WR had a career-best 180 receiving yards and two touchdown catches. Rams defense delivers against Geno. Even though Kinchens delivered an impressive two-interception performance, first-year defensive coordinator Chris Shula’s unit deserves an overall round of applause for making Smith uncomfortable. Seven Rams defenders recorded 0.5 or more sacks in the win that resulted in Smith looking for the home run play at times. The Seahawks offensive line couldn’t contain rookie Jared Verse . He came up clutch with two tackles for loss, one QB hit, one sack and a batted-down pass in the fourth quarter. The rookie pass rusher has recorded at least one QB hit in six of his first eight games.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Rams-Seahawks (via NFL Pro): On his 103-yard pick-six, Kamren Kinchens traveled 128.3 yards from snap to score, the most distance traveled on a play by a ball carrier this season.
NFL Research: Rookie safety Kamren Kinchens had a 103-yard interception touchdown return, which was the longest defensive TD in Rams history.
Sunday Night
Minnesota Vikings 21, Indianapolis Colts 13
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REWATCH: Colts-Vikings on NFL+ Premium
Grant Gordon’s takeaways:
Vikings defense stands strong to stop two-game skid. Though Minnesota had three turnovers and two missed field goals, the Vikings were able to snap their two-game skid largely because of the tenacious play of their defense. Veteran stalwart Harrison Smith, who recovered a fumble on a botched Colts handoff during the game’s opening drive, had back-to-back breakups in the fourth quarter when he brought the wood to dislodge would-be completions. That led to a turnover on downs and a subsequent Sam Darnold touchdown toss on the ensuing drive. Darnold accounted for each of his team’s turnovers, but he also threw three touchdowns as the Vikings defense bailed him out time and again. On the Colts’ final possession and last gasp, they were held to three points as Joe Flacco was sacked thrice on the drive. The Vikings didn’t allow an offensive touchdown, relinquished just 227 net yards and helped Minnesota win the first down battle, 29-13. Justin Jefferson was his usual phenomenal self and Darnold overcame his struggles, but Minnesota is back in the win column chiefly because its defense was dastardly on Sunday night. QB switch will be questioned after Colts lay offensive egg. This was not the Joe Flacco who rescued and resurrected the Cleveland Browns offense in 2023 or whom Shane Steichen was looking for to give the Colts a playoff push. This was the version of Flacco who was teammates with his Sunday night counterpart, Sam Darnold, on the New York Jets four years ago. Flacco captained a largely lifeless offense that generated zero touchdowns, was a miserable 3-of-11 on third downs, taxed a Colts defense that performed sensationally most of the night and totaled 227 yards on 49 plays. It was the first time Indy’s gone without an offensive TD since Week 16 of the 2022 season, per NFL Research. With Steichen having made the move to the veteran Flacco and benching 2023 first-rounder Anthony Richardson for the good of the team in the here and now, the decision will be scrutinized all the more after Sunday’s dismal initial results. It wasn’t all on Flacco, of course. Jonathan Taylor was held to 3.7 yards per carry on 13 attempts and was responsible for a head-scratching botched handoff to open the game. But Flacco went 16-of-27 for 179 yards and an interception. He snapped a streak of seven consecutive starts with a TD pass, his last instance without a scoring toss coming in his final start for the Jets in Week 18 of the 2022 season. The Colts defense kept them in the game, but the Flacco-led offense kept them out of it — and out of the end zone. Jefferson’s going to get you eventually. Through one quarter of play, Justin Jefferson was held to one catch. Then he did what Justin Jefferson does and made big play after big play, hauling in seven receptions for 137 yards on the evening. Darnold threw three touchdowns to three receivers, none of them Jefferson, but it was the All-Pro who most impacted the game. Jefferson, who also had a 22-yard completion to Aaron Jones, had five catches of 20-plus yards, including a 41-yarder to set up Minnesota to take a 14-7 lead a few plays later. Those five catches for 20-plus yards are tied for the most for any player in a game this season — the other being Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba earlier in the day — per NFL Research. This was hardly the most optically pleasing game, with five combined turnovers and three combined missed field goals. But the best wideout in the game showcased his usual excellence and, for good measure, recovered an onside kick to seal the win and snap the Vikings’ skid.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Colts-Vikings (via NFL Pro): Justin Jefferson caught seven of his nine targets for 137 yards against the Colts, generating a season-high +53 receiving yards over expected. Jefferson accounted for over half of the Vikings’ air yards (53.4%) for the third time this season.
NFL Research: Vikings kicker Will Reichard, a sixth-round rookie, made the first 14 field goals attempted in his career prior to missing two on Sunday night. In five years at Alabama, Reichard only missed multiple field goals in three games.
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