Saints Blow Huge Lead But Still Come Out On Top
Much like the week before, the early Sunday slate of games were mostly blowouts as we saw Nathan Peterman turn the Chicago Bears into the NFL’s best defense again.
The Carolina Panthers hung 42 on the board vs the matador Buccaneers defense, the Chiefs kept Chiefing, Vikings sacked the Lions, and Atlanta continued to breath life back into their season with a blowout win at FedEx Field vs the Redskins.
Luckily, the best was saved for last and we certainly got some entertaining action in the later afternoon games that provided high drama and memorable snapshots for the week.
Here are my takeaways from Sunday’s NFL Week 9 action below.
Brees, Saints Hang On To Thwart Unbeaten Rams
Mercury Morris and the 72′ Miami Dolphins can now safely pop those champagne bottles.
The New Orleans Saints escaped the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with a 45-35 victory over the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon.
In a game expected to produce a lot of points, it did not disappoint.
Drew Brees threw for 346 passing yards and four touchdowns as the Saints nearly blew what was once a 21-point lead in the first half.
Alvin Kamara would finish with 116 total yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns (one receiving) in the win.
Michael Thomas set a new career-high and franchise-record with 211 receiving yards, which included a dagger 72-yard touchdown with 3:52 remaining in the game that put the Saints up 10.
The Saints came out guns blazing with the Rams defense having little next to no answer for the offensive firepower of Sean Payton’s team.
As quickly as they fell behind, they would soon make it a game in the second half.
Jared Goff, who finished with 391 passing yards and three touchdowns with an interception, helped rally the Rams to a tie game after a 41-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp tied the game at 35-35 with 9:48 remaining.
The Los Angeles Rams, however, were unable to get points after their defense forced New Orleans into a field goal on the ensuing possession and saw Michael Thomas, as previously mentioned, beat Marcus Peters for the big touchdown.
Los Angeles (8-1) had been playing with fire in four out of their past five games coming in, winning those games by an average of 3.5 points.
Their defensive woes finally caught up with them as they’ll now be looking to avoid consecutive losses with the Seattle Seahawks coming to town next.
For the New Orleans Saints, it’s a win of major importance, with tiebreaker implications looming large for the top seed in the NFC.
The New Orleans Saints (7-1) have a daunting schedule the rest of the way, but they’ve proven to be up to the task having navigated through a tough schedule already to this point.
The Saints defense gave up a 21-point lead, but their offense didn’t help much with short possessions resulting in Los Angeles getting the ball back.
This is to say that unit is rounding into form, something that should prove to vital as they begin their second half schedule.
Brady Wins Battle With Rodgers In Foxboro
The matchup didn’t live up to the hype, but we saw one team continuing to excel even while undermanned and leaving plays on the field while the other continued to show why they are now in a mid-season crisis.
The New England Patriots defeated the Green Bay Packers 31-17 on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium to win their sixth straight game.
Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, two of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks ever, locked horns for just the second time, and it was Brady who got the upper hand this time around.
Tom Brady finished the game with 294 passing yards and one touchdown pass as the Patriots overcame the absence of three key offensive players.
James White would continue his strong season with 103 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.
New England outscored Green Bay 14-0 in the fourth quarter as they moved to 5-0 at home in 2018.
It was a night in which defensively the New England Patriots rose to the challenge vs the two-time NFL MVP as they limited Aaron Rodgers to a 55.8 completion percentage.
Aaron Rodgers finished with 259 passing yards and two touchdowns, but he had trouble finding men downfield against New England’s strong secondary.
We didn’t get a shootout, but this was a very competitive game as the Packers defense hung in there for three plus quarters with the Patriots.
Looking to be driving for a go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the tide would turn after Patriots defensive end Lawrence Guy forced running back Aaron Jones into a fumble that would be recovered by a standout on the night for New England, Stephen Gilmore.
After the fumble, New England went on a 10 play, 76 yard touchdown drive to take a 24-17 lead. They would then virtually put the game with a 55-yard touchdown reception from Josh Gordon on their next possession after forcing a three-and-out.
New England (7-2) didn’t play its best football offensively, admittedly, and a big reason why is because they were without Rob Gronkowski for the second time in the past three games as well as running back Sony Michel and right guard Shaq Mason.
To have seen the results they did without them is a testimony to Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels ability to game-plan and make adjustments on the fly.
The New England Patriots will visit the Tennessee Titans next Sunday as they look to extend their winning streak to seven.
Chargers Stop Wilson, Seahawks Comeback Bid Late
The Los Angeles Chargers may be in the market for a new kicker before too long, but that didn’t stop them from getting a win in one of the NFL’s toughest venues.
The Los Angeles Chargers eked out a 25-17 victory vs the Seattle Seahawks after they stopped the Seattle on the final play of the game in the red zone.
Phillip Rivers threw for 228 passing yards and two touchdowns as the Chargers won their fifth straight game.
The Chargers got a strong performance out of Melvin Gordon, 113 rushing yards and one touchdown.
In a game where they were mostly in control and appeared to have wrapped up after a pick-six of Russell Wilson in the fourth quarter, the Chargers nearly blew this one in the end.
The Seahawks marched down the field on a 14 play/54 yard drive to make it a eight-point game with under two minutes to go before forcing Los Angeles into a three-and-out.
The Seahawks would then drive deep into Chargers territory with one shot at the end zone with five seconds remaining on 4th and 2.
A pass interference penalty on Michael Davis in the end zone with no time remaining would set the Seahawks up with a 1st and Goal at the one-yard line that would be moved to the six-yard line after a false start penalty.
Looking a last gasp miracle, Russell Wilson would be let down by wide receiver David Moore, who dropped a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone as the game ended.
Coming off of a bye week, Anthony Lynn’s defense looked sharp in limiting Seattle to three points for much of the game after they had scored on the opening drive of the game.
It was the hiccup at the end by Caleb Sturgis (missed extra point) and the defense that Lynn (and Chargers fans) can do without. The team is fortunate for the second straight game to escape with a win after a team had an opportunity to either tie or win the game in the final moments.
Nonetheless, this Chargers team is moving towards a playoff birth at the very least and will have something to say about the AFC West when they meet the Chiefs later this season.
Connor, Steelers Get Revenge In Baltimore
It was “Ravens week” for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and with vengeance on their minds, they left their rivals in ruins.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens 23-16 on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium to win their fourth straight game.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 270 passing yards and three total touchdowns (one rushing) as he helped Pittsburgh avenge a Week 4 loss at home to Baltimore.
James Connor led the way for the Steelers on ground and played a huge role in the passing game as he finished with 163 total yards, including 107 rushing.
He also scored on a touchdown reception.The Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2-1) came into this game looking to make a statement against their arch-nemesis, and they did just that.
In a hard-hitting game, it was the Steelers doing most of the hitting. Not just on defense, but offense as well as Pittsburgh dominated in the trenches.
The Steelers defense continued its roll by holding Baltimore to 265 total yards, including 61 rushing yards.
The game was won not only in the trenches, but also on third down as the Steelers went 10-for-16 on third down while Baltimore went 4-for-12 on third down.
Pittsburgh may have eliminated their top threats to an AFC North title in the Baltimore Ravens, who’s swoon hit three games after the loss.
Considering a loss would of hurt the Steelers ability to win a tiebreaker with Baltimore, this is a huge victory for Mike Tomlin’s team who look better by the week.
What are your thoughts from Week 9? Leave your comments below!