In The First Read, Jeffri Chadiha provides a snapshot of the hottest stories and trends heading into Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season, including:
But to kick things off, seven ways the season was altered by Week 8's wild slate ...
Week 8 told us something important to remember about this NFL season: Anything can happen on any given week. We saw Jayden Daniels launch a prayer that Noah Brown answered in Washington, Jameis Winston lead a comeback win over a Ravens team that had been on fire, and the Patriots hand the Jets their fifth straight loss. Yes, the back-to-back reigning champion Chiefs remain undefeated. On the other hand, somebody please show us the prophet who predicted Arizona and Seattle would be tied with San Francisco for first place in the NFC West at this point.
This season is shaping up to be particularly crazy. The past few days proved as much; the landscape of the league shifted mightily as some of the games played out. It initially seemed like there were bigger matchups in Week 7, when a few of the hottest teams locked horns. Now it feels like we learned more about where things are heading -- and how extreme the parity is this year -- in Week 8.
This edition of The First Read focuses on making sense of the chaos that just ensued. There is plenty of football left to be played, of that there is no doubt. There also should be a lot more attention paid to certain players and franchises as we move toward midseason, precisely because of what just happened. So, here is one writer's assessment of Sunday's season-shaping outcomes ...
1) The NFC West just became a lot more interesting. This division has belonged to the 49ers and Rams in recent years, but nearly halfway through the 2024 campaign, all four teams are tied in the loss column. The Cardinals have charged back into the race with consecutive wins, including a 28-27 victory in Miami, thanks to another game-winning field goal from Chad Ryland. The Rams have produced wins in the last two weeks, as well, and they're especially intriguing because their season seemed to be in flames when they were sitting at 1-4. A Thursday night win over Minnesota changed their situation so much that now it seems highly unlikely that wide receiver Cooper Kupp -- whose name was bandied about in trade talk last week -- will be dealt. The Rams don't have all their problems solved, but an offense that reunites a healthy Kupp, wide receiver Puka Nacua (also back from injury) and running back Kyren Williams with quarterback Matthew Stafford still sounds pretty dangerous. The 49ers are hoping they can get some star players healthy, too, especially All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey. That team has been so up and down this year that it's easy to forget how strong San Francisco can be when the roster is intact. It's too hard to predict how this division will go, but with three teams winning this weekend, it feels like nothing will be decided until the final week of the season.
2) Chicago's road to the postseason is a lot harder. The Bears might regret that Hail Mary that Daniels and Brown pulled off for more than just the obvious embarrassment of allowing such a play to succeed. Chicago is trying to keep pace with all the other heavy hitters in the NFC North. Instead of improving to 5-2, the Bears fell to 4-3 and last place in the division. What's even more disturbing is that there are few gimmes left on Chicago's schedule. No team has a tougher strength of schedule moving forward than the Bears. Now, can they overcome that? Sure. One glance at their stingy defense and the maturation of quarterback Caleb Williams should tell you that. The problem is the NFC overall became a lot more muddled this weekend. The Commanders secured a vital tiebreaker in the event they are competing with Chicago for a wild-card spot in January. The NFC West, as noted earlier, is filled with a number of teams that are sitting at four wins. In other words, this could've been the victory that put Chicago into a seriously advantageous position. Instead, it's a defeat that could now haunt this blossoming team when playoff seeds are determined.
3) The AFC East race is about done. The Bills did their part by going out to Seattle and beating up on the Seahawks by a score of 31-10. It was the type of effort that showcased everything that is going right with the Bills -- from the efficient play of quarterback Josh Allen to a stingy defense that keeps improving with each passing week -- and why they're well on their way to claiming a fifth straight division title. The Jets dropped their fifth straight game Sunday after surrendering a game-winning touchdown in the final seconds. It's gotten so bad in New York that interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich was openly talking about his team dealing with “a moment of darkness.” The Jets already have fired head coach Robert Saleh and traded for wide receiver Davante Adams. At some point, it's worth wondering if it's time to stop thinking one more decision is going to right everything that has gone wrong in that franchise lately. The Dolphins aren't dealing with that kind of drama. In fact, it was nice to see quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back on the field after he missed more than a month following a concussion in Week 2. It felt like that story would've been even sweeter when Miami led late in the fourth quarter, but then Arizona walked away with the win after Ryland's clutch kick. That defeat means Buffalo, at 6-2, is the only team in the AFC East that has more than two wins. It's hard to see the Bills melting down so severely that they allow that cushion to vanish any time soon.
4) Baltimore's hopes of earning the top seed in the AFC playoffs took a major hit. The Ravens looked like the best team in the AFC a week ago. Today, they look like a team that is not going to come close to having the type of postseason advantage they held when last season's playoffs began. It was going to be hard for the Ravens to catch Kansas City for the top seed, given that the Chiefs are 7-0 and Baltimore just dropped to 5-3 after Sunday's loss to Cleveland. However, the Ravens also lost to Kansas City in the season opener, which means Baltimore needs the Chiefs to fully implode in the second half of the season to make up that four-game deficit. Put it this way: There are better chances of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid passing on a free cheeseburger than Kansas City falling apart in that fashion. The Bills still have a shot at the top seed because they will play the Chiefs next month. The Texans also are 6-2 and on the Chiefs' schedule in Week 16. As for the Ravens, they still have the talent to reach the Super Bowl without having the best record in the conference. It just means they'll have to find a way to win on the road, likely in Arrowhead at some point, and with a defense that needs to improve vastly when January football rolls around.
5) The Vikings' offense has a major challenge: Minnesota lost left tackle Chrisitan Darrisaw after he tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee in Thursday night's loss to the Rams. As much as the Vikings have been headlined by quarterback Sam Darnold, wide receiver Justin Jefferson and the defensive schemes of coordinator Brian Flores, Darrisaw is a player Minnesota couldn't afford to lose. That offensive line has been strong all season, and Darrisaw has been a foundational piece for that offense. Losing him puts Darnold at risk while making play-calling for head coach Kevin O'Connell far more challenging. The impact of Darrisaw's loss was immediate against Los Angeles, as Rams outside linebacker Byron Young sealed that Vikings loss by sacking Darnold in the end zone for a safety (while getting away with a would-be face-mask penalty). It is worth nothing that Minnesota has proven to be quite resilient under O'Connell when it comes to injuries, as he's found ways to play and win games with multiple quarterbacks over the last couple years. The difference is the Vikings don't really have a great replacement for Darrisaw at a time when they're trying to keep pace in the race for the NFC North. The deeper we get into the season, the more obvious that will become.
6) The Texans will have their own depth tested. There will be a lot of people waiting to see what happens with Stefon Diggs and his right knee in the coming days. He injured that knee in the third quarter of Houston's win over Indianapolis, and he did it in a way that always sounds ominous -- without contact. Diggs walked to the locker room without any assistance after dropping to the turf while running a route. What happens next -- after doctors evaluate him -- will tell us a lot about how challenging the Texans' season is about to become. Houston already has been playing without star wide receiver Nico Collins, who is recovering from a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve after Week 5. Losing Diggs would be another blow, one that would require Houston to put even more pressure on Tank Dell. Collins was leading the league in receiving yards when he went down, while Diggs -- who was acquired in an offseason trade with Buffalo to bolster the receiving corps -- has 47 receptions for 496 yards. The Texans are about to face three straight teams with strong defensive backfields (the Jets, Lions and Cowboys), so now isn't the time to be playing short-handed at receiver.
7) The Falcons are in position to run away with the NFC South. Atlanta has to be quite happy with the decision to sign quarterback Kirk Cousins this offseason. The Falcons have won five of their last seven games and four of those victories have come over NFC South opponents. Cousins, in particular, has feasted on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season. He completed 23 of 29 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-27 win on Sunday. He also threw for 509 yards with four touchdowns and an interception in a 36-30 overtime win on Oct. 3. There is no other team in the South that can challenge the Falcons. The Saints and Panthers have three wins between them, and the Bucs are playing without their two best receivers (Mike Evans has a hamstring injury and Chris Godwin is out for the season). The Falcons haven't been without their own issues, but it's hard to see them blowing this opportunity.
THREE UP
The Packers running back revealed once again why Green Bay was so eager to add him to its offense this offseason. Jacobs ran for 127 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns in Sunday’s win over Jacksonville. His 38-yard score in the third quarter also was a huge play after quarterback Jordan Love left the game with a groin injury. The Packers leaned heavily on Jacobs when Love missed time with a knee injury earlier this season. They might have to do it again with a major matchup against Detroit looming next week.
The Cardinals have launched themselves into the conversation for who’s going to win the NFC West, largely because of how Gannon has led this team. Arizona just pulled off a 28-27 win at Miami after driving 73 yards for the game-winning field goal. The Cardinals have won two consecutive games, and they have two impressive road victories -- the other at San Francisco -- after trailing in the fourth quarters in both contests. This team clearly believed in Gannon when it played hard late in the 2023 campaign despite finishing with four wins. The Cardinals now are 4-4 and thinking of much loftier goals under his direction.
The Chargers need more weapons to emerge in their passing attack, which is why McConkey’s performance in a win over New Orleans means so much. He finished with six receptions on six targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns, all numbers that point to him maturing into a go-to target for quarterback Justin Herbert. McConkey, a second-round pick in this year’s draft, already was leading the Chargers in receptions and yards coming into Week 8. If he can be a more prolific target in this offense, Los Angeles will have one more reason to think about a postseason appearance in Year 1 under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
THREE DOWN
Baltimore has struggled all season to maintain its lofty defensive standard from last year, and Sunday’s loss to Cleveland was yet another example of that. The Ravens came into the game dealing with injuries at cornerback (Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins didn’t play), but that still doesn’t explain how Jameis Winston was able to throw for 334 yards, three touchdowns and the game-winning score. Safety Kyle Hamilton could’ve clinched this game if he’d held onto an interception in the final minute. Instead, the Ravens gave up another fourth-quarter lead -- it’s become a disturbing habit with this unit -- and created more questions about first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr.
The Colts have a real predicament developing with their quarterback position. Richardson is the future, but his current play too often has been confounding. He completed just 10 of 32 passes in Sunday’s loss to Houston and somehow misfired on 13 of his 15 attempts in the first half. There’s no question Richardson has shown flashes of the potential that made him a top-five pick. The problem is this offense -- and this team’s playoff hopes -- looked far better when Richardson was hurt, and Joe Flacco was under center.
The Jets have a kicking problem that might just end with them pursuing another option at that position. Zuerlein has missed a league-high six field goals this season, and he blew both a field goal and a point-after try in Sunday’s loss to the Patriots. Those four points could’ve made all the difference in a 25-22 defeat. The Jets simply aren’t good enough to live with a kicker this unreliable, and it’s fair to say Zuerlein has factored into three of the six New York losses.
WORTHY OF NFL PRO DEEP DIVES
- Commanders over Bears. It's impossible to beat a Hail Mary, which is exactly what Jayden Daniels and Noah Brown delivered with their 52-yard touchdown connection in this epic finish.
- Browns over Ravens. Jameis Winston threw the game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute of Cleveland's biggest win this year.
- Cardinals over Dolphins. Arizona ruined Tua Tagovailoa's return from his latest concussion by ending the contest with yet another game-winning field goal.
MOST INTRIGUING GAME OF WEEK 9
Detroit already has claimed one huge road win in the NFC North with its Week 7 win in Minnesota. Now comes another critical showdown with a Green Bay team that is one-half game behind the Lions in the standings. No offense in the league is hotter than Detroit’s. The Packers' defense is the best at taking the ball away. The big question, however, is whether Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love plays in this one. Malik Willis finished the team's last-second win over Jacksonville after Love exited with a groin injury.
MVP WATCH
A simple ranking of the top five candidates, which will be updated weekly, depending on performance. Here is how it stands heading into Week 9 (with DraftKings odds as of 9 a.m. ET on Monday, Oct. 28):
- DraftKings odds: +370
- Weeks in top five: 8
- Next game: vs. Dolphins | Sunday, Nov. 3
- DraftKings odds: +800
- Weeks in top five: 2
- Next game: at Packers | Sunday, Nov. 3
- DraftKings odds: +275
- Weeks in top five: 6
- Next game: vs. Broncos | Sunday, Nov. 3
- DraftKings odds: +1000
- Weeks in top five: 5
- Next game: at Giants | Sunday, Nov. 3
- DraftKings odds: +1300
- Weeks in top five: 7
- Next game: at Jets | Thursday, Oct. 31
EXTRA POINT
My slowly evolving Super Bowl pick, which also will be updated each week, depending on performances: Lions over Bills.
Previous picks:
- Week 7: Ravens over Lions
- Week 6: Ravens over Vikings
- Week 5: Ravens over Vikings
- Week 4: Bills over Vikings
- Week 3: Bills over Packers
- Week 2: Lions over Bengals
- Week 1: Lions over Texans
