Strasser: NFL Week 9 Recap

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After a huge divisional win against the Dallas Cowboys last week, the Philadelphia Eagles were gifted with a bye week to recover and get healthy.

But, while the Eagles were getting rest, the Washington Football Team was trying to become the second team in the NFC East with three wins. The only thing in their way was quarterback (QB) Daniel Jones and the New York Giants whose only win this year came against Washington in their earlier matchup.

The Giants hopped out to an early 10-0 lead after running back (RB) Wayne Gallman’s touchdown and a field goal.

Washington QB Kyle Allen was severely injured early in this game, going down with a sprained ankle that looked worse than a sprain. Allen left the game, and QB Alex Smith was left to bring Washington back in this game.

The score was 20-3 Giants at the half, and Smith looked overwhelmed early in the game. Then in the second half, Washington settled in and began to cut the deficit.

Their offense finally got into a rhythm in the second half, but it was too little, too late. RB Antonio Gibson and wide receiver (WR) Terry McLaurin found their way into the end zone, but Washington threw away some golden opportunities late in this game, due to two horrible interceptions by Smith which sealed it.

After this game, the Giants now have two wins along with the Cowboys and Washington. The Eagles are the sole leader of the NFC East at 3-4-1, with a great opportunity to lengthen that lead against the Giants next week. 

The next notable game was the Kansas City Chiefs playing the Carolina Panthers at home. The main reason this game was so exciting was because of the return of star RB Christain McCaffrey for the Panthers.

After being out for six weeks, McCaffrey managed to combine for 151 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. He scored the first touchdown of the game and gave the Panthers an early 7-0 lead.

Then in the second quarter, the Chiefs fought back with a few scores but still found themselves down 17-13 at half.

In the second half though, the Chiefs’ defense locked up, and gave QB Patrick Mahomes the chance to win this game. After throwing one to RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire late in the third quarter, Mahomes opened up the fourth quarter with a strike to WR Tyreek Hill to give the Chiefs a nine point lead.

Carolina QB Teddy Bridgewater drove down the field and scored on a run play to cut the lead to 26-24. On the next drive, Mahomes threw another dagger to Hill for his second touchdown of the day, and Mahomes’ fourth. The Panthers scored again, but they ran out of time and lost 33-31.

The Chiefs seem to have taken their seat at the top of the NFL once again, after starting out 8-1 this year.

But another AFC team with Super Bowl aspirations and also having a great start to the year is the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers figured Sunday’s game against the Cowboys would be a cake walk for them.

Well, just as everyone expected, this game was super close and fourth string Cowboys QB Garrett Gilbert almost broke the Steelers’ undefeated streak.

Oh wait, no one expected that to happen.

Well I knew this game was going to be weird from the start, after the Cowboys jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the second quarter. The Steelers put together two quick scoring drives right before half and were trailing 13-9 at halftime.

Then the Steelers once again came out flat, and didn’t score the entire third quarter. The Cowboys were unable to officially put this game away, and were forced to settle for three twice, and led 19-9 heading into the fourth.

The inexperience of Gilbert finally showed itself, and the Cowboys failed to move the ball at all in the fourth. Big Ben and the Steelers defense took advantage of that, and they went on to score three times in the fourth including touchdowns from WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end (TE) Eric Ebron.

Ebron’s touchdown sealed the game late in the fourth, and the Steelers survived getting upset by the 2-6 Dallas Cowboys and remained the only undefeated team in the league.

Notable Headlines: 

  • Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers shined against the San Fran 49ers on Thursday Night Football and improved his MVP chances, along with Mahomes and Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.
  • Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook eclipsed 200 scrimmage yards for the second week in a row, and has combined for six touchdowns in the last two games alone. The Vikings have won two in a row and improved to 3-5.
  • Wilson had four turnovers in a Seahawks loss against QB Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Wilson struggled all game to hold on to the ball, and the Bills got a really impressive win against a strong Seahawks team.
  • In the battle of QBs wearing the number 1, Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa came out victorious over Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. Both were excellent, Tagovailoa in only his second NFL game threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns, while Murry threw for 283 and three, but added 106 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. That wasn’t enough, as kicker (K) Zane Gonzalez missed the game tying field goal and the Dolphins beat the Cardinals 34-31.
  • QB Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs got absolutely crushed by the New Orleans Saints at home on Sunday Night Football. Brady threw three picks, and was unable to get anything going the entire game. After beating them earlier in the year as well, it looks like the division rival Saints have the Bucs’ number this season as they won 38-3.

Games To Look Out For Next Week:

  • Colts vs. Titans, Thursday Night Football, 11/12 at 8:20 p.m.
  • Eagles vs. Giants, Sunday 11/15 at 1 p.m.
  • Seahawks vs. Rams, Sunday 11/15 at 4:25 p.m.
  • Bills vs. Cardinals, Sunday 11/15 at 4:05 p.m.
  • Chargers vs. Dolphins, Sunday 11/15 at 4:05 p.m.

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