NFL Game Recaps: Week 9, 2022

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Eagles 29, Texans 17

No one expected it, but the Texans gave the Eagles everything they could handle. They began the game with a 75-yard touchdown drive spanning five-and-a-half minutes, and they created a turnover when they strip-sacked Jalen Hurts on the Houston 27-yard line. This was Philadelphia’s first lost fumble of the year.

Thanks to a great drive at the end of the half, as well as a missed Jake Elliott field goal, the Texans locked up the Eagles in a 14-14 tie entering halftime. It looked like they’d have a chance to win this game when they forced Philadelphia to a pair of three-and-outs to kick off the third quarter, thanks to heavy pressure from Jerry Hughes, but the Eagles eventually broke through. The defense set up a short field by picking off Davis Mills, and Hurts connected with A.J. Brown on a 17-yard touchdown to take the lead. This was part of Philadelphia outscoring Houston, 15-3, following intermission.

The Eagles had two issues in this game. One was mentioned already. Hughes abused left tackle Jordan Mailata, who usually plays on a Pro Bowl level. The second was Philadelphia’s inability to tackle Dameon Pierce. The rookie runner broke countless tackles, as he broke the century mark. Pierce rumbled for 139 yards on 27 carries.

Philadelphia was able to prevail with Hurts coming through with some big plays in the second half. He misfired on just six occasions, going 21-of-27 for 243 yards and two touchdowns to go along with the aforementioned fumble.

Hurts’ touchdowns went to Dallas Goedert and A.J. Brown. Goedert led the Eagles in receiving with eight grabs for 100 yards, while Brown was next with four catches for 59 yards. DeVonta Smith was a huge disappointment with only two receptions for 22 yards.

Miles Sanders also found the end zone. He didn’t breach the century mark against the NFL’s worst run defense, but he still dashed for 93 yards and a score on 17 attempts.

As for the Texans, Mills had some bright moments in this game, but crushed his team with a couple of interceptions. The first, a desperation heave as a result of Brandon Graham pressure, gave the Eagles the lead. The second occurred in Philadelphia territory toward the end of regulation. Mills finished 13-of-22 for 154 yards, two touchdowns and the pair of interceptions.

With Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins sidelined, Phillip Dorsett led the Texans in receiving with 69 yards on three catches. Chris Moore was next with four grabs for 43 yards and a touchdown. They were the only Texans to log more than 14 receiving yards.

Dolphins 35, Bears 32

Justin Fields and Tua Tagovailoa were a year apart from battling each other in the college football national championship, as we saw a clash between Fields and Mac Jones instead. We finally had the Fields-Tagovailoa battle we didn’t see, and it was an absolute thriller.

It should be no surprise that Tagovailoa was brilliant. He torched the Bears routinely, beginning immediately when he and Tyreek Hill drew an interference flag in the end zone to set up a Raheem Mostert touchdown. The Bears fought back after that. Fields showed that he would be engaged in a shootout when he drilled a pass to Darnell Mooney on third-and-10, setting up a play-action touchdown to Cole Kmet to go up 10-7.

This, however, would be the final time the Bears would have the lead. Tagovailoa engineered a touchdown drive and then Miami scored on a blocked punt returned for six. Fields fought back with a 16-yard touchdown to Mooney, but couldn’t quite keep up with Tagovailoa mercilessly torching Chicago’s depleted defense. The Dolphins let the Bears crawl to within three near the end of regulation, thanks to two failed fourth-down conversions. Their defense, however, came up big with one final stop, as they were able to finally pin Fields down for a loss after being gashed by him all afternoon. Two final Fields passes fell incomplete, thanks to a blown non-pass interference call and a drop by Equanimeous St. Brown to give Miami the three-point victory.

Both quarterbacks were amazing in this shootout. Hill praised Tagovailoa after the game, calling his quarterback the most-accurate thrower in the NFL. Tagovailoa lived up to that description for the most part, going 21-of-30 for 302 yards and three touchdowns. As mentioned, he missed out on another potential score when Hill drew an interference flag in the end zone. Tagovailoa made only two poor throws, but they nearly proved to be costly. One was when he skipped a pass to a backup tight end on a fourth down. The other occurred when he woefully underthrew Jaylen Waddle for a potential deep touchdown with a few minutes remaining in regulation, allowing the Bears to break up the pass.

Fields, meanwhile, did most of his damage on the ground. He made Lamar Jackson look like a statuesque quarterback, scrambling 15 times for 178 rushing yards and a touchdown. This was the most rushing yards for any quarterback in any game in NFL history. However, Fields also did well as a passer, going 17-of-28 for 123 yards and three touchdowns.

Hill was the top skill player in this game. Despite missing out on an early touchdown, he caught seven passes for 143 yards and a score. It should surprise no one that he and Waddle were the only receivers posting any numbers of significance for Miami in this contest. Waddle hauled in five of his seven targets for 85 yards and a touchdown. He drew a deep interference flag as well.

Chicago’s receivers didn’t have nearly the same production, but two were able to thrive. Mooney led the way with seven grabs for 43 yards and a touchdown, while Cole Kmet visited the end zone twice while reeling in five of his six targets for 41 yards. The newly acquired Chase Claypool caught just two passes for 13 yards. He also drew a deep pass interference flag on the opening drive and should have drawn another flag on the penultimate play of the game.

Speaking of recently traded players, Jeff Wilson Jr. rushed for 51 yards on nine carries. He and Mostert each had nine attempts, with Mostert accumulating just 26 yards. He scored, but also dropped a pass.

As for the Bears’ rushers, David Montgomery continued to look sluggish with just 36 yards on 14 carries. Khalil Herbert (7-23) once again was the better runner.

Jets 20, Bills 17

The Bills entered this game with some concerns regarding their red zone offense after Josh Allen threw a couple of interceptions against the Packers last Sunday night. Those worries seemed warranted right away when Allen fired an interception right to Jordan Whitehead on the opening drive, ruining a pretty 42-yard completion to Stefon Diggs to put the Bills deep in New York territory. Allen then fumbled on the ensuing drive, which also occurred in the red zone. However, a teammate recovered the loose ball, giving Allen a second chance. Allen made amends for his blunders with a touchdown run. He later scored on another scramble, a 36-yarder, to give the Bills a 14-3 lead. At that stage of the game, Buffalo appeared to be in complete control.

While it seemed as though Allen may have been behind his mistakes, that turned out not to be the case. Allen threw an interception when Sauce Gardner undercut the route, setting up a short field for the Jets and a subsequent James Robinson touchdown. The Bills eventually tied the game, but Zach Wilson did a good job of keeping a late, run-heavy drive alive with a laser to Denzel Mims to move the chains on third-and-5. This allowed the Jets to drain the clock and kick a field goal to go up 20-17. The Bills had one final chance, but more mistakes sunk them. A deep completion to Diggs was negated by a hold, and then Allen took a big loss, thanks to a lost fumble on a strip-sack. This put the game out of reach for Buffalo.

It’s hard to believe, but Allen barely completed half of his passes, going 18-of-34 for 205 yards and two interceptions. He was able to scramble nine times for 86 yards and two touchdowns, but his passing was poor against the Jets’ terrific defense. Allen will almost certainly improve in the wake of this defeat, and he’ll do so as long as his next opponent doesn’t play keep-away as well as the Jets did. New York had multiple long drives, prompting the game announcer to comment the following in the third quarter: “Allen feels like he hasn’t had the ball for three hours.”

Thanks to Allen’s struggles, only one Buffalo player logged more than 33 receiving yards. That was Diggs, who reeled in five of his 10 targets for 93 yards. Gabriel Davis was next on the stat sheet with two catches for 33 yards. He had a chance to make a deep reception to keep the final drive alive, but couldn’t come up with the catch even though the ball hit him in the numbers.

The Bills barely ran the ball outside of Allen’s scrambles, with Devin Singletary mustering only 24 yards on eight carries. The newly acquired Nyheim Hines was barely seen; he failed to catch his only target.

While Buffalo couldn’t do anything on the ground, the Jets ran extremely well to keep Allen off the field. Michael Carter rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while Robinson tallied 48 yards on 13 tries. The New York running game was instrumental on a Jets third-quarter drive that lasted nearly nine minutes, though that possession ended when Von Miller forced a fumble on Wilson with a strip-sack.

Speaking of Wilson, he did a good job of managing the game. He misfired on just seven passes, going 18-of-25 for 154 yards and a touchdown. He took a nasty hit to the helmet in the first half, but was able to remain on the field.

More than half of Wilson’s passing yardage went to Garrett Wilson, who reeled in eight of his nine targets for 92 yards. No other Jet logged more than 16 receiving yards.

Chargers 20, Falcons 17

The Falcons had every opportunity to win this game. They were up 10-0 in the early stages, but watched the Chargers have an offensive explosion in the second quarter to take a 14-10 lead heading into intermission. It appeared as though Atlanta would take a lead early in the third frame, but a Cordarrelle Patterson touchdown run was negated by a hold, and later on the same drive, Khalil Mack ripped the ball away from Drake London at the Chargers 7-yard line. The Falcons ended up scoring a touchdown on the ensuing drive and then had a change to extend the lead, but Younghoe Koo missed a 50-yard field goal.

Following a Chargers field goal, Marcus Mariota had Kyle Pitts wide open for a deep touchdown, but overthrew him. This gave the Chargers an opportunity to win at the very end, but they appeared to blow that chance when Austin Ekeler lost a fumble. An Atlanta defender scooped up the ball and ran back close to midfield, but fumbled the ball himself. The Chargers reestablished possession at the Atlanta 43, and following a 22-yard Justin Herbert pass to Joshua Palmer, the Chargers were able to drill the game-winning field goal.

Palmer came up big for a Charger team missing its top two receivers. He caught eight passes for 106 yards, as he and DeAndre Carter (5-53) were the only Chargers with more than 53 receiving yards. Palmer made one mistake, which was dropping a pass that resulted in an interception.

Despite Palmer’s heroics, Herbert didn’t have the great fantasy performance that was expected of him despite battling a miserable Atlanta secondary. Herbert was 30-of-43 for 245 yards, one touchdown and an interception, which was the result of a Palmer drop.

While Herbert flopped, Ekeler met expectations, despite nearly throwing the game away with a lost fumble. He rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and he also caught seven passes for 24 receiving yards and a second score. Ekeler nearly ran in a third touchdown when he rolled over an Atlanta defender, but replay review showed that his elbow barely grazed the ground.

The Falcons were better when running the ball, which wasn’t a surprise, given how bad the Chargers’ run defense has been this year. Patterson was the big story, as he scored twice on 13 carries for 44 yards. Patterson trampled a defender on his second trip into the end zone. Tyler Allgeier outgained Patterson by a wide margin, rumbling for 99 yards on 10 attempts.

Mariota made some nice plays in this game, including one where he escaped several potential sacks and floated a 24-yard reception to Allgeier. However, he really let his team down by missing a wide-open touchdown at the end. He barely completed half of his passes, going 12-of-23 for 129 yards. The Falcons should consider a quarterback change.

Thanks to Mariota’s struggles, no Falcon player logged more than 27 receiving yards. Pitts led the way with that exact yardage on two catches. Both he and London (3-23) converted fewer than half of their targets (seven each).

Bengals 42, Panthers 21

Everyone seemed to write off the Bengals in the wake of their embarrassing loss to the Browns. They didn’t even score a single point until garbage time and had to prepare for a game on a short week. How could they possibly bounce back against the Panthers, who had been more competitive since Phillip Walker took over for Baker Mayfield?

We had our answer very quickly, as Cincinnati’s offense could not be stopped against a Panther defense that had been ranked 13th in defensive EPA in the past six weeks. Joe Burrow misfired just five times in the opening half, but it was Joe Mixon who dominated. Mixon had looked lethargic for most of this season, but he came alive against a usually solid run defense. Mixon rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns and caught four passes for 58 receiving yards – in the first half alone! The defense, meanwhile, limited Walker to 3-of-10 for nine yards heading intermission. The result was a 35-0 laugher in which the Bengals outgained the Panthers, 311-32, in the opening two quarters.

Mixon completed his monster game with five touchdowns. He scored four times on the ground, rushing for 153 yards on 22 carries. He also caught four passes for 58 receiving yards and his fifth score. Mixon looked like he was running in quicksand heading into this game, but was revitalized in this dominating performance.

This game was such a blowout that Burrow attempted only five passes in the second half. He finished 22-of-28 for 206 yards and a touchdown despite not having Ja’Marr Chase at his disposal once again.

Tee Higgins was the only Bengal receiver with more receiving yards than Mixon, hauling in seven of his eight targets for 60 yards. Tyler Boyd caught five passes for 44 yards. Boyd just barely missed out on a touchdown after replay review wiped out an apparent score of his on the third drive of the afternoon.

The Panthers, meanwhile, benched Walker in the second half, opting to go with Baker Mayfield, who was 14-of-20 for 155 yards and two touchdowns in garbage time. His scores went to Terrace Marshall (3-53) and Tommy Tremble (2-11), who dropped a pass on third down early in the game. D.J. Moore was a huge disappointment with two catches for 24 yards.

Carolina obviously couldn’t get anything out of its running game. D’Onta Foreman mustered just 23 yards on seven attempts.

Lions 15, Packers 9

Detroit is known for its abysmal defense, so it was going to take a miracle for it to hold the Packers to single digits. Perhaps we had a miracle in this game, as the Lions had numerous odd bounces go their way. This was apparent in the opening quarter when Aaron Rodgers drove down to the Detroit 5-yard line, but proceeded to throw an interception when a pass of his bounced off the helmet of a Lions player. The Packers hit a big play on the ensuing possession with Allen Lazard being tackled inches shy of the goal line at the end of a 47-yard catch, but following a Rodgers incompletion to Sammy Watkins in which Watkins ran the wrong route, Rodgers threw another interception while looking for David Bakhtiari on a trick play.

The Packers continued to shoot themselves in the foot throughout the remainder of the afternoon. Lazard dropped a fourth-down pass. Rodgers heaved a third interception into double coverage. A backup receiver fumbled a fourth-down conversion on the final drive. The Packer were a mess, as they dropped a loss in embarrassing fashion to the previously one-win Lions.

Rodgers spent some time yelling on the sideline, and understandably so. He finished 23-of-43 for 291 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. As if things weren’t bad enough for him, he had to endure some injuries to his teammates. Romeo Doubs was carted off the field almost immediately, and David Bakhtiari, Aaron Jones and Christian Watson were lost later in the game. The defense also had some casualties with Rashan Gary and Eric Stokes getting hurt.

With Doubs barely playing, and Watson concussed, Lazard was the top receiver by a wide margin with four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Josiah Deguara was next with five grabs for 41 yards, followed by Samori Toure (2-34).

Surprisingly, the Packers couldn’t run the ball on the Lions. In fact, Rodgers was the leading rusher with 40 yards on four scrambles. Jones was limited to just 25 yards on nine attempts, thanks in part to his injury. A.J. Dillon barely outgained Jones with 34 yards on 11 tries.

Jamaal Williams was the top rusher in this matchup with 81 yards on 24 carries. Pre-game reports indicated that D’Andre Swift would not see many opportunities, and that ended up being true. Swift had just two carries for 10 yards, though he was second on the team in receiving with three catches for 40 yards.

Swift trailed only Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had an underwhelming performance with only four grabs for 55 yards, as he had issues with Jaire Alexander. James Mitchell, T.J. Hockenson’s replacement, caught both of his targets for eight yards and a touchdown.

Jared Goff did not play well, as his accuracy issues kept the Packers in the game. He barely completed half of his passes, going 14-of-26 for 137 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, which was a bad throw picked off by Alexander. Goff was so lucky he wasn’t picked off more often. He got away with potential interceptions on consecutive plays at the end of the first quarter. One was a hideous pass, while the other was a deflection on an attempted screen where two Green Bay defenders collided. As the FOX announcer later said, “Every pass is an adventure.”

Patriots 26, Colts 3

This was an ugly, defensive grinder. Neither offense was able to generate anything, with the two teams combining for just 155 net yards of offense in the opening half, as neither the Patriots nor the Colts averaging more than 2.9 yards per play. The Patriots had a 13-0 lead at that point, thanks solely to a blocked punt that set up a short touchdown to Rhamondre Stevenson. Otherwise, neither team could move the chains at all, with Indianapolis producing a laughable 121 net yards of offense and failing to convert a single third down on 14 attempts. The Patriots had a bit more success – they accumulated 203 net yards – only to stall in field goal range. The Colts, conversely, seldom drove over midfield with Sam Ehlinger, who had no chance against Bill Belichick. His offensive line did him no favor, surrendering nine sacks.

The Colts benched Matt Ryan in favor of Ehlinger, which looks quite silly right now. Ryan wasn’t playing well, but Ehlinger doesn’t resemble a viable starting NFL quarterback. Ehlinger barely completed half of his passes and had to scratch and claw his way to the century mark. He finished 15-of-29 for 103 yards and an interception, which was a pick-six toward the end of regulation. Ehlinger did his best work as a scrambler, running five times for 39 yards. However, this didn’t matter because he had trouble completing routine passes. For example, he had an open Michael Pittman Jr. on a third down in the opening half, but overthrew him. Also, his offensive line didn’t do him any favors, though some of the nine sacks of his were on him. Ehlinger should have been sacked a 10th time, but the play was negated by a face mask penalty.

Mac Jones, meanwhile, wasn’t much better; he was just protected by superior blocking and coaching. He didn’t commit a turnover, which was key in New England maintaining control of this game. Jones went 20-of-30, but for only 147 yards and a touchdown.

While Jones didn’t give the ball away, Jakobi Meyers did on a lost fumble. He was second on the team in receiving with five catches for 42 yards, trailing only Hunter Henry (4-50).

Thanks to Ehlinger’s incompetence, the Colts didn’t have any receivers who logged more than 23 receiving yards. Pittman caught three passes for only 22 yards on six targets, trailing only Alec Pierce (1-23).

Stevenson handled most of the workload with Damien Harris sidelined, rushing for 60 yards on 15 carries against a stout run defense. He also caught three of his seven targets for 10 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Aside from Ehlinger, Indianapolis’ leading rusher was Deon Jackson (11-23), serving as a replacement for the injured Jonathan Taylor. Jackson got hurt in this game, but didn’t miss many snaps.

Vikings 20, Redskins 17

The Vikings looked like they would be off to the races against the hapless Redskins when they quickly scored a touchdown on their opening drive. Kirk Cousins, in his return to Washington, whipped the ball down the field with some nice completions to Justin Jefferson, ultimately finding his top wideout in the end zone. It was only 7-0, but it seemed as though the Vikings would stomp all over their opponent.

And yet, the Vikings didn’t score again until the fourth quarter. They couldn’t run the ball, and Cousins was unlucky with an interception off a deflection while targeting Jefferson right before halftime. The Redskins weren’t having much offensive success either, but that changed right after intermission when a sure interception from Taylor Heinicke turned into a Curtis Samuel receiving touchdown because an official ran into a Minnesota defensive back. Heinicke got away with throwing a pick into triple coverage, but his recklessness would cost him later.

Up 17-10 with eight minutes remaining, all Heinicke needed to do was take care of the ball and move the chains on occasion. For some reason, he thought it would be a good idea to attempt a deep pass. He went too deep, and the overthrow was picked. The Vikings returned the ball to the Washington 12-yard line, setting up a Cousins-to-Dalvin Cook touchdown, which tied the game. This allowed the Vikings to keep a short field goal on the ensuing possession to steal this game from the Redskins.

The Vikings improved to 7-1 during Cousins’ return to his old stomping grounds, but it wasn’t pretty. Following an early touchdown, Cousins struggled to move the chains, thanks to some bad luck and poor accuracy. He went 22-of-40 for 265 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Cousins is lucky that a second interception, a pick-six, was overturned by penalty.

Heinicke, who now mans Cousins’ old post, looked like he would pull the upset, thanks to the ridiculous play in which the official interfered with a Minnesota defender. Heinicke, however, threw this game away with a hideous interception. He struggled to complete half of his passes, going 15-of-28 for 149 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Jefferson was easily the top play-maker in this game, as he caught seven of his 13 targets for 115 yards and a touchdown. He almost caught a second score, but a deflection ruined that possibility. Elsewhere, T.J. Hockenson was a big producer in his first game with the Vikings, snatching all nine of his targets for 70 yards. Adam Thielen (3-67) wasn’t too far behind his new tight end.

Samuel paced the Redskins in receiving, thanks to his 49-yard touchdown. He caught three passes for 65 yards, while Terry McLaurin snatched five of his nine targets for 56 yards.

Neither team had success running the ball. Dalvin Cook mustered only 47 yards on 17 carries, while Brian Robinson gained 44 yards on 13 attempts. Cook at least salvaged his fantasy performance with a receiving touchdown.

Jaguars 27, Raiders 20
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: How the hell did the Raiders not score any points in the second half? They went from dominating this game to looking completely helpless.

It was clear in the second half of this game that Josh McDaniels is a bad head coach and his players do not play hard for him. The Raiders were up 17-0 and then 20-7 prior to the Jaguars coming back with 17 unanswered points to go up 24-20 in the fourth quarter. Las Vegas was shut out in the second half by a vulnerable defense, and the Raiders played disinterested football in the final two quarters. The Jaguars improved to 3-6 with this outcome, while Las Vegas fell to 2-6. The disappointing season for the Raiders is directly the responsibility of franchise owner Mark Davis, who never should have gotten rid of Jon Gruden and then Rich Bisaccia.

Early in the first quarter, Trevor Lawrence and Ja’Mycal Hasty botched a pitch, and Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby fell on the loose ball to prevent a scoring opportunity inside his team’s 30-yard line. Derek Carr hit Davante Adams for handful of receptions on the ensuing drive, including a fourth-down conversion. Carr and Adams capped the drive by connecting for a 25-yard touchdown. By the end of the first quarter, Adams had six catches for 88 yards. He was dominating the Jacksonville secondary. Good special teams play set up the next Raiders possession near midfield, and they turned that into Daniel Carlson’s 40th-consecutive field goal. Lawrence’s inaccuracy led to another punt, and quickly, Carr connected with Foster Moreau for a 29-yard completion and then hit Adams for a 38-yard touchdown.

The Jaguars finally started moving with a completion to Zay Jones. Lawrence then had a run of about 20 yards, and a 13-yard run by Travis Etienne set up Jacksonville at first-and-goal. Etienne plunged into the end zone to make it 17-7, and each team scored a field goal in the final two minutes to leave the contest 20-10 Raiders at halftime.

Jacksonville took the opening kickoff of the second half just past midfield. A few completions to Christian Kirk moved deep into Jaguars territory, and the drive was capped with a seven-yard touchdown strike to Kirk. Andre Cisco dropped an easy interception, but that play forced a punt. Lawrence was hot, hitting conversions to Marvin Jones, Dan Arnold, and Kirk to get inside the 20. Etienne then scored from five yards out to give his team a 24-20 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.

After trading punts, the Jaguars moved into Raiders territory, but Riley Patterson missed a 41-yard field goal attempt, which breathed some life into Las Vegas. However, the Raiders couldn’t do anything with the opportunity, going four-and-out hurt by Carr being inaccurate on a few throws. Patterson soon redeemed himself with a 48-yard field goal to cushion the Jacksonville lead. The Raiders had one last chance down by seven with a minute remaining, but the Jaguars defense quickly slammed the door.

Lawrence completed 25-of-31 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 53 yards as well. After a slow start, Lawrence played really well in the second half.

Etienne ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns over 28 carries.

Kirk led the Jaguars with eight catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Carr completed 21-of-36 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns.

Josh Jacobs ran for 67 yards on 17 carries.

Adams caught 10 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

Seahawks 31, Cardinals 21
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Kliff Kingsbury’s days are numbered. I can’t see him being the Cardinals’ coach for much longer. Not only does he suck at his job; he also wears sunglasses indoors.

This was a must-win game for the Cardinals, but their offense really struggled to sustain drives. Aside from a superb play by Zaven Collins for a pick-six, Geno Smith played really well, guiding Seattle to a road win. At 6-3, the Seahawks are in firm control of the NFC West with eight games remaining.

Seattle struck first with a field goal drive in the first quarter, but the Cardinals answered with a drive down the field, with Murray connecting with DeAndre Hopkins (4-36-1) on a short pass that Hopkins turned into a 21-yard touchdown. Smith responded with a few completions to Noah Fant that produced over 30 yards, and Kenneth Walker took off on a 15-yard run. To cap the drive, Smith threw a bullet to D.K. Metcalf (5-37-1) for a touchdown. Arizona had a drive moving into Seattle territory, but Kyler Murray fumbled the ball away, which protected Seattle’s 10-7 lead at halftime.

Early in the third quarter, Collins made an excellent leaping interception of Smith on a screen pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. It was a superb play on Collins’ part. On the ensuing drive, the Seahawks hit a third-and-12 conversion to Tyler Lockett (5-67-1), and an unnecessary roughness on Collins made that into a 27-yard play. A few plays later, Seattle regained the lead thanks to Smith throwing a bullet to Lockett for a nine-yard touchdown.

Smith keyed another scoring drive with two runs that worked out to just under 30 yards. To cap the drive, Walker plunged into the end zone Arizona stayed in the game via Murray tossing a short touchdown pass to Zach Ertz (5-40-1). The Seahawks clung to a 24-21 lead with three and half minutes remaining, but they quickly produced a back-breaking play with a short pass to Noah Fant (5-96) that he turned into a 51-yard gain. Walker banged his way into the end zone from there to put Arizona away with his second touchdown of the game.

Smith completed 26-of-34 passes for 275 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 38 yards.

Walker ran for 109 yards and two scores over 26 carries.

Kyler Murray completed 25-of-35 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 60 yards and lost a fumble.

James Conner ran for 45 yards on seven carries.

Rondale Moore led the Cardinals with eight receptions for 69 yards.

Buccaneers 16, Rams 13

Both of these teams struggled heading into this game, but the winner would be able to achieve their fourth victory and give themselves a good chance of making the playoffs. For a while, it seemed like the Rams would prevail, thanks to numerous mistakes made by Tampa. It started when Leonard Fournette was stuffed once again near the goal line, as offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich apparently didn’t get the memo that Fournette has been awful in short yardage. Meanwhile, Fournette and Mike Evans dropped several passes, as did a Tampa Bay defensive back when Matthew Stafford threw the ball right at the helmet of a Tampa Bay defender.

Thanks to a 69-yard Cooper Kupp touchdown, the Rams maintained a lead throughout the afternoon, as the Buccaneers couldn’t get anything going offensively. When Tampa Bay wasn’t dropping passes, the running backs were getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage. When the running backs weren’t getting stuffed, Tom Brady was swarmed in the pocket. This was most significant when Aaron Donald sacked Brady on a fourth down in the third frame.

The Rams’ offensive woes kept the Buccaneers within striking distance, and it looked like the Buccaneers would take the lead in the fourth quarter, but Scotty Miller dropped a touchdown that would have given Tampa Bay the lead, and the drop ruined the scoring opportunity. The Buccaneers had one more chance after that because the Rams failed to achieve a first down, and Brady made the most of it. He attacked the sideline, as the Rams didn’t force Tampa into the middle of the field. Evans drew an interference flag, setting up a Brady touchdown to Cade Otton for the decisive score.

Brady had insane volume in this game, as the Buccaneers couldn’t run the ball at all. Brady finished 36-of-58 for 280 yards and a touchdown. He endured several drops and poor pass protection, so don’t blame him for the poor overall offensive output.

Otton, who hauled in the game-winning score, led the Buccaneers in receiving with five catches for 68 yards and the touchdown. Miller (7-53) was next on the stat sheet, as the two players outclassed Evans (5-40) and Chris Godwin (7-36). Evans’ drops were a huge problem, though he drew a pair of interference flags.

Rachaad White outgained Fournette, as the two were close in carries. Fournette mustered only 19 yards on nine attempts, while White’s eight tries went for 27 yards. Fournette was significant in the passing game with five catches for 41 receiving yards.

The Rams also struggled to run the ball, with Darrell Henderson doing nothing outside of a 23-yard burst. He had 56 yards on 12 carries, but managed only 33 yards outside of that one play.

Stafford failed to complete half of his passes, going 13-of-27 for 165 yards and a touchdown. Almost all of his yardage went to Kupp, who snatched eight of his nine targets for 127 yards and a touchdown. Allen Robinson (3-24) was the only other Ram with more than 10 receiving yards. Van Jefferson, who failed to catch any of his five targets, dropped what should’ve been a 30-yard reception.

Chiefs 20, Titans 17

No one gave the Titans much of a chance to win this game, especially when it was announced that Malik Willis would start over Ryan Tannehill. Tennessee was a two-touchdown underdog heading into kickoff, and that spread seemed warranted when the Chiefs scored on two early drives to establish a 9-0 lead. The Titans offered no resistance to Patrick Mahomes, who stormed down the field in a hurry.

Mahomes, however, would not score again for a very long time, as Tennessee’s terrific front seven put heavy pressure on him. The Titans frustrated Mahomes into nearly throwing an interception into double coverage, which occurred following an actual Mahomes interception that was the byproduct of the ball bouncing off Travis Kelce’s hands. As all of this was happening, Tennessee engineered some scoring drives, thanks to Derrick Henry’s great running ability, as well as a terrific Malik Willis back-shoulder pass. The Titans ultimately led 17-9 late in the fourth quarter, a margin that would have been greater had Titans receiver Chris Conley not dropped a deep pass.

Mahomes was behind the eight ball late in the game, down 17-9, and stuck in a third-and-19. All hope seemed to be lost, but Mahomes didn’t quite get the memo, as he scrambled for 20 yards to move the sticks. Mahomes eventually ran into the end zone for a touchdown and also scored on the two-point conversion to tie the game. This contest went into overtime shortly later, with Kansas City winning the coin toss. Kelce, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Noah Gray all made great catches to move the Chiefs into chip-shot field goal range. The Titans had a chance to tie or win, but Willis’ inexperience showed when he took two big losses on a pair of sacks. One final pass fell incomplete on fourth-and-26, giving the Chiefs this hard-fought victory.

Constantly throwing while in a deficit, Mahomes nearly set the record for most passes thrown in a game. Drew Brees once passed the ball on 70 occasions. Mahomes fell short by two, going 43-of-68 for 446 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He also scrambled six times for 63 rushing yards and another score. Mahomes took four sacks, but overcame Tennessee’s great pass rush to engineer two scoring drives at the end of the evening to earn the victory.

Despite dropping a couple of passes, Kelce led the Chiefs with 106 receiving yards on 10 catches. Smith-Schuster also reeled in 10 balls for 88 yards. Mecole Hardman (6-79) found the end zone early in the game.

The Chiefs got nothing out of their rushing attack, as their three runners combined for nine rushing yards. The group was “led” by Isiah Pacheo, who mustered five yards on just as many carries.

Henry, conversely, had a monstrous performance, at least prior to overtime, when he lost just one fumble. Henry rumbled for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 17 attempts.

Willis made some great passes in the first half, but worsened as the night progressed. He completed just 2-of-10 passes in the second half! Willis finished 5-of-16 for 80 yards. He also scrambled eight times for 40 rushing yards.

Willis was not helped by a miserable receiving corps. The Titans wide receivers caught zero passes.

Ravens 27, Saints 13

Everyone loves focusing on Lamar Jackson, but Baltimore’s defense was the entity to watch in this game because it would look radically different than it had in previous weeks. The unit had Tyus Bowser and Calaias Campbell returning from injury, while also welcoming Roquan Smith, who was acquired from the Bears prior to the trade deadline.

All three players had a massive impact against the Saints, who mustered only six points prior to garbage time. Andy Dalton’s primetime struggles continued, as he saw tons of pressure. Dalton took four sacks, with the Saints achieving just 13 first downs and converting only three third downs.

Jackson, meanwhile, did a good job of keeping the chains moving, particularly with his legs. The passing wasn’t great because Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman were sidelined, but New Orleans had issues getting off the field while trying to stop Baltimore’s dominant rushing attack.

Jackson finished just 12-of-22 for 133 yards and a touchdown, but did a ton of damage on the ground with 82 rushing yards on 11 scrambles. Jackson was betrayed by a couple of drops, as his receiving corps will be an issue the rest of the year.

Kenyan Drake was also a big part of Baltimore’s great ground attack. He dashed for 93 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. He also caught two passes for 16 receiving yards.

Amazingly, no Baltimore player recorded more than 24 receiving yards. The leader in that department was Isaiah Likely, who snatched a 24-yard touchdown. That was his only catch of the night, as he dropped a pass in the second half. James Proche (2-22) was next on the stat sheet. The newly signed Desean Jackson caught one pass for 16 yards.

Dalton posted better passing numbers than his counterpart, but only because of garbage time. Dalton went 19-of-29 for 210 yards, one touchdown and an interception that was deflected at the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter. Dalton had Marquez Callaway open for a second touchdown, but completely missed him.

Alvin Kamara was a greater disappointment. He found no running room, mustering only 30 yards on nine carries. He also caught three passes for 32 receiving yards.

Kamara was third on the team in receiving behind Chris Olave (6-71) and Juwan Johnson (2-41), who caught a late touchdown to win someone $500,000 on DraftKings. If you want to be a great DFS player like this guy, sign up for Stokastic for the greatest projections and ownership data. Sign up with this link or use promo code WALTERFOOTBALL for 25% off.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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