The NFL had a case of the upsets in Week 9. Some teams were dealing with extenuating circumstances, such as the Green Bay Packers without MVP quarterback Aaron “I discount double-checked the coronavirus myself” Rodgers and the New Orleans Saints trying to get quarterback Trevor Siemian to play like it’s Week 3 in 2016 again.
In all, eight division leaders played in Week 9 and five were defeated. *Scott Hanson voice*
Let’s take a look back at some of these poor performances put up by a handful of the NFL’s best teams.
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2 / 5
Denver Broncos vs. Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos vs. Dallas Cowboys
Image: Getty Images
I mean, who better to single out for a bad game than America’s Team? The Cowboys’ were riding high after overcoming quarterback Dak Prescott’s injury in Week 8 to knock off the Minnesota Vikings and remain one of four NFC teams with one loss. Prescott returned to the field and was thoroughly outplayed by Broncos starting quarterback Teddy “always willing to take a short completion” Bridgewater.
While Bridgewater only threw for 249 yards in the game, he got everyone out of their seats at AT&T Stadium with a 44-yard rainbow down the sideline to wide receiver Tim Patrick for a touchdown. To show that he’s not a one-trick pony, Bridgewater completed another 40-yard pass.
That was it for excitement from the Broncos on offense, but their defense went after Prescott like a stampede of wild... broncos. At the 11-minute mark of the 4th quarter, Prescott had only 79 yards passing. He finished the game with 232 yards passing, averaging 5.9 yards per attempt with a 48.7 completion percentage.
As good as the Cowboys have been this season, this loss highlighted who is always the unsung hero of the team, left tackle Tyron Smith. The 30-year-old missed Sunday’s game with a bone spur injury in his left ankle. When Smith doesn’t play, Prescott will always have a much more difficult day at the office, especially against a defense like the Broncos.
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3 / 5
Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Image: AP
If you were in Duval County and watched or attended this game, what a waste of a sunny day in Florida that wasn’t trying to choke you to death with humidity. Not a single touchdown was scored, and the game was tied 6-6, from the 5:36 mark in the second quarter until Matthew Wright kicked what would end up being the game-winner with 12:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. The only fun from this field-goal fest was fun facts. For one, the Jaguars had not made a field goal on American soil this season until yesterday.
The other fun fact? The Josh Allen vs. Josh Allen matchup.
For those who don’t follow the Jaguars or Kentucky football closely, there is another Josh Allen in the NFL who plays defensive end for the Jaguars. His sack of the Bills’ Josh Allen was the first time in NFL history a quarterback was sacked by a player with the same exact name. But the Jaguars’ Josh Allen wasn’t done yet. He also intercepted the Bills’ Josh Allen in the third quarter. Then in the fourth quarter when the Bills needed a score their Josh Allen fumbled and it was recovered by, of course, the Jaguars’ Josh Allen. Yes, I’m trying to set a world record for the most times Josh Allen has been written in a paragraph.
Here’s a clip of all the significant Josh Allen vs. Josh Allen plays because there is nothing else worth watching from this game.
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4 / 5
Tennessee Titans vs. Los Angeles Rams
Tennessee Titans vs. Los Angeles Rams
Image: Getty Images
It was reasonable to believe that the 6-2 Titans would struggle on Sunday Night Football against the Rams. They are without all-world running back Derrick Henry for the rest of the season, and their first game without him is on the road against Aaron Donald.
As expected, the offense did struggle. They accumulated 194 yards of total offense. This once great rushing attack that attempted to replace Henry with Adrian Peterson, D’Onta Foreman, and Jeremy McNichols gained 69 total yards on the ground.
Fortunately for the Titans, they could’ve left their offense in Nashville and still won this game. They came into it with the 20th-ranked defense per Football Outsiders, but if this was the only game you saw the Titans play this year, you would’ve sworn it was the ’85 Bears or 2000 Ravens playing at SoFi Stadium. The Rams were shredded by the Titans’ stunting and blitzing defense. They committed 12 penalties for 115 yards and quarterback Matt Stafford, who at 33 years old is having the best year of his career, was not comfortable at any point in the game.
Almost right on cue as Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth were singing his praises in the second quarter, Stafford gets pressured up the middle near his own goal line and throws an interception. The Titans scored on the Rams’ very next play. Stafford also threw a pick-six in this one, and the game was over in the second quarter.
This is the Titans’ fifth consecutive victory and over the last three weeks, this defense has begun to look strong. If they can keep delivering timely turnovers, Tannehill and whoever is running the football simply needs to keep the ball in their hands for four quarters.
