Well, that was chaotic. Week 9 of the 2021 NFL season brought fans plenty of surprises, including several shake-ups in the AFC. We also learned more about some of the supposed top teams in the NFC. Spoiler, Dallas and San Francisco aren’t getting any better. I hate to start on a negative note, but Week 9 taught us how few elite teams the league has right now.
Let’s take a look at which squads seized opportunity by the horns this past weekend.
1. Does anyone want to win the AFC?
The top seed in the AFC seems about as popular as bathing suits in December (if you live in the Northeast like me). Buffalo is 5-3 with losses to anemic offenses in Jacksonville and Pittsburgh. Derek Carr killed my fantasy team and Las Vegas with three turnovers against the Giants. Interceptions continued haunting Joe Burrow as Cleveland got right by bludgeoning their Ohio neighbors.
Baltimore was the only projected contender that won in the early slate of games, and it took them almost all of overtime against a middle-of-the-road Minnesota team.
The late games produced some favorable results for AFC West teams as Los Angeles snuck by the Philadelphia Eagles on a last-minute field goal. Meanwhile, Kansas City topped the Packers minus Aaron Rodgers by six points. Neither win was very convincing, but the Chargers did jump Las Vegas in the AFC West standings. Every team in the division has five wins.
Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans were one of the conference’s only competitive teams that put together a clear win, and they did it without Derrick Henry. Tennessee’s defense terrorized Matthew Stafford and confused Sean McVay. The Titans could emerge as a top-two AFC team if they do that every week.
We’re nine weeks into the season, and I’m still unsure which AFC teams are real.
2. No Odell, no problem
Odell Beckham Jr. hit waivers on Monday, and by the time you’re reading this, he might already have a new team. Drama was never far beneath the surface with Beckham in Cleveland, especially because he and Baker Mayfield never clicked. Beckham became dissatisfied with his second team instead of uplifting the Browns with college teammate Jarvis Landry by his side.
Cleveland had no trouble creating offense on Sunday. Mayfield posted his highest passer rating of the season as Beckham watched from his couch. With an 86-yard performance, Donovan Peoples-Jones surpassed the veteran for the most receiving yards by a wide out on the Browns this season.
Opinions of Beckham in Cleveland’s locker room remain overwhelmingly positive, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala. Don’t let the general media bait you into thinking he created a schism or made enemies with fellow Browns. It just wasn’t the right situation for Beckham or Mayfield, but Cleveland’s offense didn’t look like it missed the former All-Pro receiver in Week 9.
Beckham was at the top of the world during his first three seasons with the Giants, but he hasn’t sniffed those heights in the past three years. Out of the past five seasons, only 2018 looked like a potentially elite campaign for Beckham before injuries cut into his playing time.
The Browns had plenty of experience playing without their most talented receiver. Beckham missed nine games last year and battled injuries early in 2021. Cleveland is only 14-15 when the three-time Pro Bowler plays, and stats hint that Mayfield performs better when the LSU product is on the bench.
Beckham averaged 3.9 receptions and 54.7 yards per game during his 29 appearances with Cleveland. He caught under 55.0% of his targets. Each of Beckham’s first three years in the NFL was statistically more impressive than his entire three-year run with the Dawg Pound.
3. Kansas City’s offense is still broken
If I didn’t know better, I’d say Kansas City put the kid gloves on knowing they were up against Jordan Love. We’ve all seen enough of this offense to know better. Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City tried to pour it on against Green Bay, but the well was dry for the third straight week. Luckily it didn’t matter against the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers.
The Chiefs have two games with over 30 points since losing in Week 2, and they’ve failed to score 21 points in three consecutive weeks. Mahomes only averaged 4.5 yards per attempt and 8.3 yards per completion. Kansas City averaged 3.1 yards per carry despite having several bruisers along their offensive line.
Andy Reid’s team can’t generate the game-breaking plays it usually creates better than any team. Kansas City’s offense is defanged without those big plays downfield and a stagnant running game. It also doesn’t help that Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill only have two games where both of them went for 75 or more receiving yards.
4. Take Arizona seriously
Colt McCoy knew replacing MVP candidate Kyler Murray was a tall order, but he showed why he’s survived 11 years in the NFL. McCoy connected on 22 of 26 attempts for 249 yards and a touchdown while hitting several plays of over 40 yards. The veteran quarterback wasn’t the only Cardinal who stepped up on Sunday.
James Conner was electric and a scoring machine once Chase Edmonds went down. Christian Kirk caught all six of his targets for 91 yards as DeAndre Hopkins watched from the sideline. Without J.J. Watt, Arizona’s defense recorded five sacks, including three by Markus Golden. The 31-17 divisional win against San Francisco was a complete team effort.
The 49ers haven’t lived up to expectations this year, but Arizona taking care of them in such dominant fashion without three of their five or six best players should scare the NFL.
5. The Dallas Cowboys are fake
Dak Prescott’s return didn’t give the Cowboys the boost they expected. Dallas’ offense lacked explosiveness until garbage time when Denver finally surrendered the shutout and 16 points. However, the Broncos still walked out of AT&T Stadium with a 30-16 win. That’s the same Denver team that nearly beat itself against the Washington Football Team a week ago.
Even without Von Miller, Denver’s defense pummeled Tony Pollard and kept Ezekiel Elliott contained. Amari Cooper had two catches for 37 yards, but 32 of those came on one play alone. CeeDee Lamb had two receptions on nine targets for 23 yards.
The Broncos also exposed Dallas’ defense with a running game that pounded the rock 41 times for 190 yards and two scores. Teddy Bridgewater even outperformed Prescott in the air as Denver’s pass catchers took it to an overrated Dallas secondary. Trevon Diggs allowed three receptions on four targets for 64 yards and a touchdown. It’s the third week in a row he’s allowed a touchdown.
Maybe Prescott’s condition will improve, and he’ll get the Cowboys back to their early-season form. Dallas didn’t look like a top-shelf team on Sunday.
6. Keep an eye on New England
Bill Belichick and Mac Jones are sneakily 5-4 and one loss behind Buffalo in the AFC East standings. The two teams clash twice in New England’s final five games. The road ahead isn’t easy for the Patriots. They still face Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Tennessee before the season ends, with their only reprieves coming against Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Miami.
However, if Belichick’s team can persevere against their upcoming opponents, they should clinch a spot in the playoffs and maybe even become the AFC East’s most dangerous competitor. Keep in mind, they only lost to Tampa Bay by two points, took Dallas to overtime, and recently defensively confused Justin Herbert.
Deciphering New England’s peak is difficult this year. The Patriots lost to Miami and barely beat Houston, but the defense was awesome over the past three games. Jones continues taking baby steps, but he’s in the perfect system to win via an overall team effort.
The Patriots can challenge anyone if they keep forcing turnovers at this rate.
7. Josh Allen beats up Josh Allen
Hey, did you know Josh Allen played Josh Allen this past weekend? It was fun the first few times the broadcast mentioned it. I was ready to mute “Josh Allen” on Twitter by the fourth quarter. As ridiculous as the whole affair was, Jacksonville’s Allen somehow managed to intercept, sack, and recover a fumble from his Buffalo counterpart.
Defensive end Josh Allen topped quarterback Josh Allen by a mile on Sunday. The latter was BetMG’s NFL MVP favorite entering Week 9 despite opening the year with back-to-back poor showings and ranking tenth in PFF offensive grading among quarterbacks. Hopefully the books make appropriate adjustments after Allen’s two-interception performance.
Buffalo has a very talented defense, but the team only goes as far as Allen carries it. When he’s good, the Bills have the NFL’s highest-scoring offense. When he’s off, the consensus top AFC contender loses 9-6 to the conference’s second-worst team.