NFL Game Recaps: Week 9, 2026

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

Jaguars 33, Ravens 10
The Jaguars, favored by nearly double digits, got off to a great start in this game when Trevor Lawrence found Nate Boerkircher on a deep pass to set up a Bhayshul Tuten rushing touchdown. However, the Ravens, starting undrafted rookie quarterback Joey Fagnano, hung tough with Jacksonville. The teams exchanged field goals after that until the two-minute warning.

It looked like the Ravens would be in position to pull the upset, but Jacksonville finally stopped tripping over its own two feet and put together a great drive right before halftime. Lawrence tossed a short pass to Parker Washington, and the dynamic receiver did the rest. Washington sprinted 50 yards for a touchdown to open up an 11-point lead.

The rain picked up in the second half, and the Ravens could do nothing with their possessions. They constantly went three-and-out or turned the ball over to Jacksonville. Fagnano completed just one pass longer than six yards. He went from the 10-minute mark of the third quarter to the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter without completing a single pass.

Baltimore had a glimmer of hope when Jacksonville, up 20-3, lost a fumble after Travis Hunter caught the ball around midfield. However, the Ravens botched a fourth-down snap on the ensuing possession to effectively end their chances of competing in this game.

Bengals 34, Falcons 17
The Falcons opened this game with a touchdown drive, but that was the highlight of their morning. The Bengals answered with a Joe Burrow bomb to Ja'Marr Chase, who had an epic first half.

Chase tore apart Atlanta's secondary, which had been playing very well, catching numerous impressive passes, including a terrific toe tap on the sideline. This was when the game was just 14-10, and later on the drive, Burrow found Tee Higgins for a touchdown to give Cincinnati a double-digit lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Burrow entered the game with the moniker "Sleepy Joe" because he had struggled in so many first halves. But that obviously changed in this overseas affair in which the lights went out with two minutes remaining. Perhaps getting up early is key for Burrow. Either way, he was totally locked in for this game. There was one instance where the Bengals botched a third-down opportunity, and he slammed the tablet on the sideline in frustration.

The Bengals, now 6-2, appear to be hitting their stride. Conversely, the Falcons need to worry about Michael Penix's inability to push the ball downfield, as his weak arm was exposed against Cincinnati's improved defense.

Saints 23, Browns 22
It appeared as though the two young New Orleans receivers would be responsible for yet another loss for the team. In a 3-3 game, Tyler Shough made a huge play to Barion Brown. However, on the next series of downs, Jordyn Tyson caught his first pass in the NFL, only to have linebacker Carson Schwesinger knock the ball out of his arms right near the goal line. Then it was Brown's turn to screw up. He fumbled on a punt return, giving the Browns great field position at the end of the first half.

However, Cleveland couldn't capitalize with Shedeur Sanders making his first start of the year. The Browns failed on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line when Sanders stumbled before getting the ball to Quinshon Judkins, who was promptly stuffed. It appeared as though Sanders didn't know which way to turn.

Meanwhile, the young Cleveland receivers made some big plays. Denzel Boston had a huge gain down to the New Orleans 3-yard line. However, the Browns screwed up yet another sequence near the end zone. Judkins took a loss of two yards, and then Sanders was sacked. Sanders' third-down pass fell incomplete, so the Browns could only kick a field goal to go up 6-3.

The Saints tied the game with their own field goal after Shough made a great spin move to advance the ball into the red zone. Shough later made another excellent spin move to move New Orleans into scoring position once again. The Saints stalled, however, settling for a field goal to go up 9-6.

The first touchdown of the game came shortly after that. Sanders heaved the ball to KC Concepcion, who scored his first NFL touchdown on a 64-yard play to put the Browns up 13-9. Shough responded with a long bomb of his own to Chris Olave. Audric Estime then scored a touchdown to put the Saints up 16-13.

It looked like New Orleans would escape with a three-point victory, but the Browns moved into field goal range despite Concepcion dropping a wide-open pass. Sanders fired a 30-yard laser to Jerry Jeudy, setting up a field goal to send the game to overtime.

The Saints had the initial possession, and Shough made the most of it with a great touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson. The announcers claimed that Shough went through Cleveland's defense like a surgeon. The Browns, under the new overtime rules, were able to respond. Harold Fannin, who didn't catch a single pass in regulation, made a huge play to score a touchdown. Cleveland, however, lined up to go for two because there was only one minute remaining in the extra session. Sanders' pass fell incomplete, allowing the Saints to come away with a 23-22 victory.

Lions 19, Dolphins 9
The Lions won this game by 10 points, but it was a struggle. Miami's pass rush gave Jared Goff lots of problems in the early going. It appeared as though Goff lost a fumble on a strip-sack during the first drive that was returned for a touchdown. However, replay review ruled the pass incomplete. The Lions managed to kick a field goal, but on the ensuing possession, Goff threw an interception as he was hit. The Dolphins turned the short field into three points, tying the game.

Detroit once again struggled to move the ball and had to utilize a fake punt to convert a first down. It didn't matter, however, as the Lions were eventually forced to punt.

This game turned on two possessions by Miami to close out the first half and open the third quarter. Usually, teams like to double dip in these situations, but that backfired for the Dolphins. On the initial possession, Miami drove down the field and appeared to move into field goal range, but a holding penalty made the kick longer, and the attempt doinked off the right upright. To begin the third quarter, Malik Willis was intercepted, which gave the Lions a short field that they turned into three points.

Up 9-6, the Lions saw Amon-Ra St. Brown make a great play, with Jahmyr Gibbs eventually scoring a touchdown on a fourth-and-1. This was the third time in three attempts that the Lions converted fourth downs in this game. Now down 16-6, the Dolphins had to mimic the Lions and attempt a fake punt. They turned that into a big gain, but they stalled in the red zone. They settled for a field goal to trim the margin to 16-9. However, the Lions answered with a field goal, and then Miami couldn't get off the field on the next possession as Detroit ran the clock out to win the game.

Rams 20, Redskins 13
Myles Garrett made his return to action for the first time since his Week 1 injury, but his presence wasn't felt positively in the early going. In fact, Garrett made a mistake when he jumped offside on third down, allowing the Redskins to kick a field goal. The two teams swapped scores, with Washington getting a touchdown.

Down 10-3, the Rams and Redskins had a wild exchange in which there were numerous mistakes. It began when Puka Nacua lost a fumble near midfield. The Redskins took over in a great spot to extend their lead, but a Sam Cosmi holding penalty negated a huge Rachaad White gain. Jayden Daniels was then promptly strip-sacked by Garrett, who finally made his presence known. Daniels' lost fumble was the turning point of the game, as the Redskins began playing poorly after that.

The Rams scored 10 unanswered points to go up 13-10, but Matthew Stafford gave the lead away with a horrible interception into double coverage. Washington, however, couldn't fully capitalize on the mistake, only kicking a field goal to tie the game at 13. The Rams were able to drive down the field on the ensuing possession to score a touchdown.

Now down 20-13, the Redskins had a comedy of errors to close out the game. Pass protection was an issue, with Garrett creating chaos in the pocket with two sacks. On the penultimate possession, they advanced the chains enough to put themselves close to field goal range. However, Antonio Williams dropped a pass on third down, and then the Redskins wasted too much time on the play clock and couldn't get lined up on fourth down. A false start forced a punt.

A bit later, the Redskins moved past midfield once again and had enough time for two Hail Mary tries, but didn't attempt a single one. Daniels threw short passes on both downs, and Washington predictably couldn't score. This was yet another confusing series of plays at the end of a game for the Redskins.

Cowboys 27, Colts 23
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

EDITOR'S NOTE: The team that trades for Jonathan Taylor might want to invest in some Elmer's glue as well, because Taylor simply can't hold on to the ball, whether it's committing costly fumbles or dropping the ball just shy of the goal line. Also, was it just me, or did Josh Downs look scared to get hit by his younger brother Caleb all afternoon?

Dallas improved to 4-5 to keep their NFC East hopes alive while the rebuilding Colts fell to 2-7. With the trade deadline looming, Jonathan Taylor could have been playing his final game with Indianapolis, and it was a letdown with a costly fumble. CeeDee Lamb had a prolific game with 195 yards through the air, but it could have been even better as he didn't drag a toe for a touchdown reception and had a fumble inside the Colts' 20 after a 48-yard catch. Despite 14 penalties, Dallas was able to pull off a road win and help improve the draft slot for one of the New York Jets' first-round picks.

Dallas struck first with a field goal on the opening drive, but the Cowboys set the Colts up at the Dallas 19-yard line when Laiatu Latu strip-sacked Dak Prescott. Indianapolis took the lead with a short touchdown run from Seth McGowan. The Cowboys started using the ground game and benefited from an absurd unnecessary roughness penalty to get to the red zone. To cap the drive, Jake Ferguson made a superb catch in the back of the end zone to put Dallas up 10-7. Late in the first half, Prescott connected with CeeDee Lamb on a 44-yard touchdown to put Dallas up 17-7 at the half.

In the third quarter, Indianapolis produced a field goal drive to cut the lead to a touchdown. Dallas responded by moving down the field. Lamb caught a touchdown pass over Sauce Gardner, but he didn't drag his second foot to fall incomplete. Dallas settled for a field goal. Indianapolis quickly responded with a wide receiver screen to Ashton Dulin, and he exploded down the field for a 54-yard touchdown. Dallas had a long completion to Lamb for 48 yards, but Lamb fumbled the ball away inside the Colts' 10-yard line.

Penalties aided the Colts in moving down the field and crossing the 20, but Quinnen Williams put a massive hit on Taylor for a fumble. Indianapolis forced a punt, and McGowan ripped off a 36-yard run to cross midfield, and the Colts made a 59-yard field goal to tie it at 20 with just under six minutes remaining. A 30-yard completion to Lamb got Dallas across midfield, but Brandon Aubrey missed a 50-yard field goal. McGowan had a chunk run, and the Colts connected on a 50-yard field goal for a 23-20 lead with 97 seconds remaining. Promptly, Precott dropped in a 46-yard pass to Ryan Flournoy, who beat Sauce Gardner to adjust for the ball and get Dallas inside the 20. A few plays later, Javonte Williams charged into the end zone to put Dallas up 27-23 with 1:08 remaining. Caleb Downs got his first career interception to clinch the win for Dallas.

Giants 19, Eagles 11
We discussed whether Joe Milton could provide a spark for the Eagles on our livestream heading into this game. It appeared as though that might be the case because when the Eagles were down 6-0, Milton and Darius Cooper were able to draw a deep pass interference penalty, setting up a Saquon Barkley touchdown run. The Eagles went for two, and following the successful conversion, we saw Milton do a backflip. This was the highlight of Philadelphia's afternoon.

The Eagles appeared to have a chance to score again toward the end of the first half following a muffed punt. However, Milton lost a fumble on a strip-sack after taking a huge hit from Arvell Reese.

While Milton didn't spark the Eagles beyond the initial touchdown drive, another quarterback provided a spark for his team in this game. That was Jameis Winston. J.J. McCarthy took a crushing hit to the ribs on a play in the third quarter, paving the way for Winston to enter the game. Winston immediately energized the team when he converted a third-and-15 with a pass to Malachi Fields. He then moved the chains on a fourth-and-1 sneak. Following a 10-yard scramble, Winston located Darnell Mooney for a gain of 27 yards and then found Fields for a 14-yard gain. He capped off the drive with a touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely, putting the Giants up 13-8.

I thought Winston would finish the game, but McCarthy re-entered after missing just one possession. McCarthy responded well, nearly leading a touchdown drive, though he missed Malik Nabers for a potential score. Still, the Giants kicked a field goal to go up 16-8, which effectively ended Philadelphia's chances because the Eagles couldn't move the ball at all in the second half.

Chiefs 35, Jets 12
There was a moment in this game when it appeared as though Kansas City's season might be over. In the second quarter, David Bailey generated a great pass rush against Patrick Mahomes. He blasted Mahomes with a crushing hit, causing the quarterback's arm to get caught awkwardly. Mahomes held his arm in obvious pain, and we saw Travis Kelce looking completely dejected on the sideline. For a while, it seemed like Mahomes' season might be over. The announcers were already discussing Justin Fields entering the game.

However, Mahomes somehow managed to return and not only play, but perform effectively. In fact, the injury seemed to spark him. This was a close affair at the time, with the Chiefs leading 14-12. However, it was all Kansas City in the second half. The Chiefs engineered three touchdown drives to reach 35 points, while the Jets could do absolutely nothing.

New York was at least able to kick four field goals in the opening half, but the offense completely bogged down following intermission. The Jets also committed penalties and other mistakes all afternoon, prompting one of the announcers to remark, "The Jets, once again, being the Jets."

Broncos 26, Panthers 21
It certainly looked like the Broncos were going to run away with an easy victory. They opened the game with two great drives, with only one disruption coming on third down on the initial possession. Bo Nix saw heavy pressure and had to throw the ball away. Still, the Broncos scored twice to go up 10-0. The Panthers, meanwhile, had two three-and-outs. Making matters worse, a Carolina player was whistled for taunting when the score was 10-0, which was completely ridiculous.

However, the taunting penalty seemed to spark the Panthers, who finally put together a good drive, though it ended with a missed 43-yard field goal. Carolina got the ball back, however, when Nix was intercepted in the red zone after failing to see the cornerback in zone coverage. Still down 10-0, Young delivered a perfect pass to Tetairoa McMillan to convert a third-and-17 following a 24-yard burst by Chuba Hubbard on fourth-and-1. Young then found Tommy Tremble in the end zone to cut the lead to 10-7.

Following a Denver field goal to close out the first half, Carolina opened the third quarter with a great drive in which Young fired a dart to Waller in the end zone to go up 14-13. The Panthers regained possession and moved down the field, thanks to a great scramble from Young. However, Young threw a pass into the end zone, which bounce off Tremble's hands into the arms of a Denver defender.

This interception completely flipped the game. The Broncos took possession and drove down the field to score a touchdown. Denver's defense then forced a punt, and the Broncos once again when Nix found Pat Bryant for a touchdown to go up 26-14, clinching the victory. It appeared as though the Panthers would have a chance at the end, but Denver's pass rush swarmed Young and forced a fumble on a strip-sack.

Texans 44, Chargers 22
The Chargers hadn't scored a touchdown since Week 5, so they were looking to get off the schneid against the Texans, who have allowed more points and yardage than anyone would have expected heading into the season. However, things once again went awry for the Chargers, as Ladd McConkey suffered an injury in the early going.

Los Angeles was at least set up well when C.J. Stroud was intercepted on a deflection. Down 10-6, the Chargers had an opportunity to get into the end zone but had to settle for a field goal. With Houston leading just 10-9, the Texans were able to distance themselves when Stroud launched a deep ball to Tank Dell.

Stroud was charged with the earlier interception, but he was otherwise incredible in this game. He threw some unbelievable dimes on a drive to close out the first half, ultimately capping off the possession with a touchdown pass to Ka'imi Fairbairn. This put the Texans up 24-9.

Houston was in clear control of this game, but there was some drama at the end regarding whether the Chargers would finally be able to score a touchdown. Justin Herbert completed a deep pass on fourth-and-1, but Los Angeles squandered the red-zone opportunity when Keenan Mitchell lost a fumble.

Undaunted, Herbert delivered another deep pass on the next possession, this time finding Quentin Johnston for a 58-yard touchdown. The Chargers celebrated despite still being blown out.

49ers 35, Raiders 17
It was no surprise to see the 49ers have an electric start to this game, given that they always have a terrific opening possession. Plus, they were battling a Raiders team that hasn't been able to stop anyone this season. The goal for Kyle Shanahan, as he told the announcing crew, was to run the ball as much as possible. That's exactly what the 49ers did, whether it was with Christian McCaffrey and Kaelon Black or via Brock Purdy scrambles. Purdy had a number of terrific scrambles in this game to help set up three scoring possessions in the opening half.

The Raiders were trailing 21-10 entering the second half but had a chance with possession. However, Kirk Cousins threw an interception right to a defender for a pick-six. This preceded a bizarre sequence of events with the 49ers leading 28-17. San Francisco gave the Raiders a glimmer of hope when Purdy made one of his rare mistakes of the afternoon with an interception. Las Vegas took over, but Brock Bowers lost a fumble in field goal range. The 49ers regained possession but were stuffed on fourth-and-inches near midfield.

Gifted another opportunity, the Raiders drove down the field and appeared to score a touchdown on a Cousins pass to Michael Mayer. One of the officials even raised his arms to signal a touchdown, but replay review showed that Mayer lost the ball inches shy of the goal line.

The 49ers finally put the Raiders away with a touchdown drive to go up 35-17, but that wasn't the end of Las Vegas' misfortunes. The Raiders once again appeared to score a touchdown on a Mayer reception, but a penalty nullified the play. On the next snap, Cousins threw an interception to end any hope that the Raiders would cover the spread.

Packers 45, Patriots 27
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

EDITOR'S NOTE: I can't believe the Patriots were this pathetic. Or are the Packers this good despite having no running game and a poor rush defense?

The Packers improved to 6-3 thanks to a series of big plays through the air. Even though Green Bay struggles to run the ball, New England was incapable of defending the deep part of the field as Jordan Love aired it out and shredded New England. Christian Watson and Matthew Golden both went over 160 yards receiving in a prolific day for Green Bay. The Patriots fall to 5-4 as they head to Germany to play the Lions next Sunday.

The Packers had a fast start with Xavier McKinney intercepting Drake Maye and returning the pick for 36 yards. A couple of plays later, Love scrambled up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown. After a Patriots punt, Love connected with Matthew Golden for a 49-yard completion, and they finished the drive with a short touchdown reception to go up 14-0. At the end of the first quarter, Love hit another deep ball to Golden for 43 yards. A Patriots sack forced a field goal to make it 17-0. Brandon Cisse deflected a pass, and Evan Williams controlled it for another interception.

New England's defense forced a punt, and Maye got the Patriots moving with a long completion to DeMario Douglas. A couple of plays later, Maye lofted in a scoring strike on a 30-yard wheel route to Rhamondre Stevenson. New England hit another chunk completion to Douglas, but then McKinney jumped a route to get his second interception of the game. Love connected with Christian Watson for a 43-yard completion, and a few plays later, Kaleb Johnson charged into the end zone to put the Packers up 24-7. The Patriots quickly answered as Maye hit Eli Raridon for a 28-yard pass and then an eight-yard scoring strike to Efton Chism III. That cut Green Bay's lead to 24-14 at the half.

Early in the third quarter, the Packers hit another long pass to Watson and then a short touchdown strike to Savion Williams to put Green Bay up 31-14. A 33-yard completion to Watson set up a field goal for the Packers to go up 34-14. Stevenson fumbled the ball away, and the very next play Love hit Watson for a 39-yard touchdown. At the end of the third quarter, Mack Hollins got open running into the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown. That made it 42-21 entering the fourth quarter, and the game was effectively over.

Seahawks 17, Cardinals 3
The Cardinals kicked an early field goal in this game to go up 3-0, potentially signaling that they could threaten a superior NFC West team with another upset. This, however, wasn't the case, as Arizona did absolutely nothing offensively after that until a very late drive.

The Seahawks had some offensive struggles themselves, though that changed when Jaxon Smith-Njigba started making some nice catches. He drew a deep pass interference penalty on one drive, which set up an A.J. Barner touchdown to put Seattle up 14-3.

Meanwhile, it looked like Gardner Minshew suffered an injury prior to halftime when he hurt his elbow, similarly to how Patrick Mahomes injured his in the Chiefs-Jets game. Minshew, like Mahomes, was able to stay on the field, but he couldn't accomplish anything against Seattle's dominant defense.

The Seahawks, however, managed just a field goal in the second half, opening the back door for the Cardinals. Seattle ultimately slammed that door shut when Minshew misfired toward Trey McBride in the end zone on fourth down.

Bears 27, Buccaneers 24
The Bears won this game on a last-second field goal, but it certainly didn't appear as though it would come down to that. Chicago jumped out to a 14-0 lead, as Caleb Williams was a "one-man show," as one of the announcers put it.

The trouble began with Chicago leading 14-3. The Bears looked like they would go up 21-3, but Rome Odunze dropped a touchdown. Following a Chicago penalty, Williams threw an interception on a telegraphed pass, which seemed like a complete aberration given how well he had played up until that point. Little did we know that this was just the beginning of a trend that would last all night.

The Buccaneers did nothing with their new possession, as Baker Mayfield was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at his own 35-yard line. However, Williams gave away another possession when he fired his second interception off his back foot. Tampa Bay once again did nothing with the ball, and Chicago was able to kick a field goal. Mayfield then telegraphed an interception, and it was Williams' turn to toss another pick, launching his third interception up for grabs right before halftime.

The Buccaneers trailed 17-6 entering the third quarter, but Mayfield quickly trimmed the margin to four with a 60-yard bomb to Tez Johnson. The Bears couldn't respond right away, as Williams threw his fourth interception off a deflection. Chicago's defense, however, bailed out Williams with a pick-six of Mayfield. While the interception was Mayfield's fault, he was also clobbered all night by Chicago's improved defensive front. There was a sequence late in the game when Mayfield took two sacks on consecutive plays, forcing the Buccaneers to punt with just a few minutes remaining.

Down 24-16, the Buccaneers didn't appear to have much of a chance, as the Bears likely would have been able to milk the clock. However, Williams completed a pass to Luther Burden, who caught the ball and then fumbled. Tampa Bay took over in the red zone, and Bucky Irving scored a touchdown. Mayfield then ran into the end zone for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 24.

Williams seemingly forgot how to throw the ball for much of the game, but he suddenly remembered when everything was on the line. He located Colston Loveland for a big gain down the sideline, setting up Cairo Santos' decisive 38-yard field goal.

Bills 23, Vikings 6
The Vikings entered the game with the league's top defense, but even they had a tough challenge ahead of them when it came to stopping Josh Allen. The league's MVP front-runner was 6-0 against Brian Flores in his career, so the Vikings would have to score some points to keep up with Buffalo. Instead, Minnesota had one of the worst offensive performances of the year.

The Vikings converted just nine first downs and were 0-of-8 on third downs. Carson Wentz was absolutely miserable and had zero passing yards between halftime and the middle stages of the fourth quarter. He couldn't complete basic throws and was hobbling around with some sort of injury. It's unclear why the Vikings didn't go to Max Brosmer earlier, given that Brosmer had a nice drive at the end of the game, although the Bills were obviously playing soft prevent defense.

Nevertheless, Minnesota's defense was able to stymie Buffalo for a while. Josh Allen had an early interception on a deep shot following an intentional grounding penalty. Wentz, however, bailed out Allen on the ensuing possession with a fumble on an odd backward pass. Allen was then strip-sacked near his own goal line, but was ruled down. This was the sort of game Allen had. He didn't run very much, and he saw tons of pressure in the pocket.

However, just before halftime, he put together his first good drive of the night. On one play, he moved out of the pocket to his right, waited, and found an open backup tight end for a touchdown to put his team up 10-3.

The Bills had some scores in the second half, but the Vikings seemingly had a chance to strike first. They ran well on one drive, but that possession ended when Wentz threw an interception as a result of not seeing Terrel Bernard. Buffalo was then able to ice the game with an 84-yard touchdown drive that featured seven first downs. The possession was capped off by James Cook's rushing touchdown to put the Bills up 20-6.