NFL Week 9: Colts vs. Steelers, Falcons vs. Patriots, Texans vs. Broncos and more – Live | NFL
Main events
Landing! Patriots 14-7 Falcons 8:51, 2nd quarter
Backup running back Terrell Jennings broke a three-yard score for the first time in the NFL. Fantasy football gurus would be happy with themselves if they started Jennings. genius!
Steelers 0-7 Colts 11:27, 2nd quarter
Huge play from TJ Watt. He fights the edge across the offensive line, sneaks out of the corner behind Daniel Jones and knocks the ball out of the hands of the oblivious quarterback. Pittsburgh with another big leg. They need to make it count. 62 yards to push dirt.
Landing! Bengals 10-14 Bears 14:54, 2nd quarter
Cincinnati’s defensive struggles continue as they allow Olamide Zacchios to run right and dive into the end zone. One of the few players stopped the receiver but he jumped home for a 15-yard touchdown.
Landing! Giants 7-14 49ers 13:08, 2nd quarter
Jauan Jennings puts San Francisco ahead with an 11-yard touchdown run from Mac Jones. The 49ers’ strong backup play continues with their second game of the day.
Landing! Titans 14-7 Chargers 1:55, 1st quarter
Tennessee has come to play. And special teams are coming up big for the Titans. Rookie Chimere Dike races a punt return 67 yards to give the home team something to shout about. This is not going as expected so far for Los Angeles. They need a…ahem…giant.
Packers o-0 Panthers 12:15, 2nd quarter
Interception master Xavier McKinney picks off Bryce Young to give the Packers a turnover. It’s very easy for a floated ball to come off the cornerback and make its way into the end zone before it reaches the receiver. Can Green Bay take advantage of this?
Landing! Lions 7-14 Vikings 4:08, 1st quarter
JJ McCarthy is cooking. A seven-yard pass to tight end TJ Hockenson gives the away team the lead and the young quarterback his second touchdown pass of the day.
Landing! Patriots 7-7 Falcons 0:24, 1st quarter
Michael Penix Jr. quickly sent the ball to Drake London on the goal line for a 1-yard score. Every square.
it’s good! Texans 3-0 Broncos, 15:00, second quarter
As expected in this battle between strong defenses, the scores are low. Houston takes the lead but it’s Denver that will be happier getting out on offense. The Broncos stuff the Texans on the goal line and then force them to punt again but when they go for another touchdown they are caught offside and have to settle for a 23-yard shot from Kai Vieburn.
Steelers 0-7 Colts 4:17, 1st quarter
The Steelers come out whining over and over again. Pittsburgh’s second punt went deep, Josh Downs was there but spilled it and the Steelers recovered. Instant red zone for Pittsburgh. They get closer but Indy’s defense gets back on fourth down, they go for it and Rodgers fires a fastball to their tight end Darnell Washington. He would have been able to land if he caught it. The Colts take over traveling 95 yards.
Landing! Titans 7-7 Chargers 7:24, 1st quarter
Landing! Giants 7-7 49ers 6:34, 1st quarter
It’s officially raining, so that’s all tie points. Christian McCaffrey does some Christian McCaffrey things and catches the dump and runs it for five yards for the 49ers. Justin Herbert then quickly redeemed himself with a brilliant strike from two yards to full-back Scott Matlock. The big man has only had two receptions in his career, and this one gets the Chargers back on track.
Landing! Bengals 7-7 Bears 8:44, 1st quarter
They keep coming as Caleb Williams walks up the Bears and pushes it to DJ Moore for a two-yard score.
Landing! Lions 7-7 Vikings 10:17, 1st quarter
Landing! Steelers 0-7 Colts 8:05, 1st quarter
Minnesota responded immediately with a 10-yard touchdown run from JJ McCarthy to Justin Jefferson as the Colts get off to a fast start against the Steelers. Pittsburgh’s defense got ahead big on the goal line to force a fourth down but it didn’t matter for Indianapolis. They go to sneak up on the QB and Jones dives. cheeky!
Choose six! Titans 7-0 Chargers 11:19, 1st quarter
Oh no. Justin Herbert looks for Keenan Allen but can only find linebacker Cody Barton who returns the interception for a 24-yard touchdown.
Landing! Giants 7-0 49ers 10:50, 1st quarter
Landing! Patriots 7-0 Falcons 5:53, 1st quarter
Jaxson Dart hits Theo Johnson for 15 yards for the Giants while Drake Maye finds Pop Douglas for a 16-yard pass and a score. Starting to crack for both.
Landing! Lions 7-0 Vikings 12:37, 1st quarter
Detriot digs into his bag of tricks with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta on fourth down. With four yards remaining, they risk everything for a score and Jared Goff finds his man but the tight end has to fight tooth and nail through three defenders and falls only in the end zone.
Steelers 0-0 Colts 12:43, 1st quarter
A disappointing start for Pittsburgh with a penalty highlighted by a shocking touchdown from tight end Jonnu Smith.
The Colts come out on offense and have Jonathan Taylor stuffed on their first play behind the line of scrimmage. They will need a few of them.
Landing! Bengals 7-0 Bears 14:49, 1st quarter
Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained?!
Cincinnati’s Charlie Jones goes 98 yards on a kickoff return for a touchdown! Only the second return of the result this season. amazing.
Preamble
Hey football fans, welcome to Week 9 of NFL action. After being thrashed seven days ago, playoff contenders have emerged, but there is still enough rope left in the underdogs’ cache to plot a postseason path. So what about Houston? What do you have Atlanta? The crows are flying, Pittsburgh, so can you take down the mighty Colts?
With eight endless matches to follow, we want drama, we demand drama. So let’s, as they say, ‘get it.’
Your group of eight starts at 12pm CST/1pm EST/6pm (home teams listed first):
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(3-5) Cincinnati Bengals vs. Chicago Bears (4-3)
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(5-2) Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings (3-4)
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(5-1-1) Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers (4-4)
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(3-4) Houston Texans vs. Denver Broncos (6-2)
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(6-2) New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons (3-4)
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(2-6) New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers (5-3)
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(4-3) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts (7-1)
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(1-7) Tennessee Titans vs. Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)
There are a number of potential upsets down the road here, but a Pittsburgh win over Indianapolis would be the most exciting. The game plan will likely revolve around stopping Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor. The running back is having an incredible year so far as he ranks first in total rushing yards by nearly 100 with 850, second (by a full tenth of yards) per carry at 5.9, and first in rushing touchdowns with 12. Slow him down and you have a foothold from which to build success, as the Rams found when they braked Taylor to the tune of 76 yards per carry and zero touchdowns during their 27-20 win in September.
Pittsburgh’s defense has been solid enough against the run. Only five downs show some promise with an EPA road average per rush of -0.02 meaning they perform on average, well, very average. So it’s not as disastrous as their pass defense. What they haven’t faced yet is an extremely impressive offense like the Colts that puts quarterback Daniel Jones and his receivers firmly in the conversation for being one of the best passing attacks. They might be at the top if Taylor wasn’t hogging so much of the spotlight.
The Steelers are in trouble. Head coach Mike Tomlin has to pick his poison, and Jones is a likely option so Pittsburgh may throw bodies into the box to force the Colts to pass. It’s a gamble, but the risk could be worth the reward of a vital win in the race for the AFC North.