Week 9 shook up both playoff races, and the biggest swing in the NFC came from Green Bay. Jordan Love carved up the Patriots in a 45-27 win, a performance that kept the Packers in the hunt and tightened the picture as the second half of the season starts to take shape.
The Packers’ latest surge is hard to ignore. Love threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns as Green Bay picked up its fifth win in its past six weeks. At 6-3, the Packers are now in the NFC playoff mix and head back to Lambeau next Sunday for a crucial NFC North meeting with the Vikings.
Minnesota, meanwhile, will finish Week 9 on Monday night against the Bills. The Vikings are 6-1 and sitting in the NFC’s No. 2 spot, but the offense has been uneven for much of the year, scoring 20-plus points only twice. With Carson Wentz set to start in place of the injured Kyler Murray, the Vikings could also be in the market for a quarterback before Tuesday’s deadline.
Detroit stayed right in the thick of things too. Jake Bates kicked four field goals to lift the Lions to a 19-9 win over the Dolphins in Miami, moving Detroit to 6-2 and giving the club its third straight victory. The Lions now head to Germany next Sunday for a matchup with the Patriots in Munich.
Chicago is also climbing. The Bears are 6-2 and hold the NFC’s No. 6 spot entering Sunday night, but a win over the Buccaneers would move them up to No.
- Since Caleb Williams returned from a hamstring injury, Chicago has won three in a row and is being talked about as a legitimate Super Bowl contender as the season moves deeper into November.
The Giants continue to own the NFC East at 5-2-1. They’ve won two straight since handing the offense to J.J.
McCarthy, including a 19-9 win over the Eagles, and now have two winnable games ahead against the Commanders and Colts over the next three weeks. Dallas sits next in the division at 4-5 after holding off the Colts 27-23.
San Francisco also bounced back in a big way. After a Week 7 loss to the Falcons and a bye last weekend, the 49ers beat the Raiders 38-17 to improve to 7-1. They’ll travel to Dallas next before a Week 11 matchup with the 6-1 Vikings that could carry major weight in the NFC standings.
At the bottom of the NFC playoff race, Tampa Bay took advantage of Carolina’s loss and moved into first place in the NFC South at 3-5. But the Buccaneers could be right back behind the Panthers if they lose to the Bears on Sunday night.
Elsewhere in the NFC, the Seahawks sit at 4-4, the Rams are 5-4, and the Cowboys are 4-5.
In the AFC, Buffalo remains in control of the No. 1 seed at 6-1 and will close out Week 9 against the Vikings on Monday night. The Bills’ offense is scoring a league-high 33.3 points per game, while Minnesota’s defense is allowing a league-low 13.3 points per game, setting up a matchup of strengths on both sides.
Denver kept rolling too. The Broncos improved to 7-2 with a 26-21 win over the Panthers, their fifth straight victory, even after being outgained for the fourth time in five weeks. That result keeps Denver in charge of the AFC West for another week, and with both games against the Chiefs already in the books, the Broncos are in a strong position to win their second straight division title.
Jacksonville continued to look like one of the AFC’s top teams. The Jaguars beat the Ravens 33-10 on Thursday night, got a sixth 100-plus passer rating game this season from Trevor Lawrence, and forced three Baltimore turnovers. At 6-2, they now get a favorable stretch, including two games against the 1-7 Titans in the next three weeks.
Pittsburgh stayed atop the AFC North at 6-2 despite being on bye. The Steelers hold the tiebreaker over the Bengals by conference winning percentage and will face Cincinnati next Sunday night before a stretch that includes games against the Broncos, Texans and Jaguars.
Kansas City got back on track in a hurry. After losses to the Seahawks and Broncos in Weeks 7 and 8, the Chiefs crushed the Jets 35-12 and moved to 6-2. Kenneth Walker III powered another strong rushing effort, and Kansas City remains in the wild-card chase while still within reach of the AFC West.
Cincinnati also handled its business. The Bengals beat the Falcons 34-17 behind Joe Burrow’s sharp day, as the quarterback completed 83% of his passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns with a 140.1 passer rating. The Bengals are 6-2, have won four straight since their 2-2 start, and look like a real AFC threat as the trade deadline nears.
New England’s loss to Green Bay dropped the Patriots to 5-4, leaving them barely clinging to the final AFC spot. They’ll head to Germany next weekend for a game against the Lions in Munich before a Week 11 bye. The Browns are 5-4, the Raiders are 4-5, and the Ravens are 4-5 behind them in the AFC race.
In Other News...
49ers Suddenly Face A D-Line Problem At The Worst Time
The 49ers took another hit to their defensive front in Week 9, losing rookie Gracen Halton to a broken ankle and thinning a rotation that had already been leaning on him more than expected. His emergence had given San Francisco a useful boost up front, the kind of depth piece that can quietly change how a line holds up over the course of a season.
Now the challenge is less about replacing one player than preserving the balance of the entire D-line as the trade deadline approaches. San Francisco will have to ask more from the rest of its interior defenders and edge rotation, and with the season moving into its most demanding stretch, the timing could hardly be worse. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Hold The NFCs Top Spot But The Pressure Is Building
The 49ers are still sitting alone at the top of the NFC at 7-1, but the margin for error is getting thinner by the week. San Franciscos grip on the conferences top seed comes with a caveat, and the standings behind it are starting to tighten as Minnesota keeps pace in the chase and the rest of the playoff field sorts itself out.
Out west, the Rams and Seahawks both moved to 5-4, adding another layer to a division race that already feels crowded. Seattles edge over Los Angeles in the divisional tiebreaker matters for now, and the bigger picture only gets more interesting with key NFC matchups still ahead, including the kind of games that could reshuffle the playoff board before the 49ers and Vikings even get to settle anything head to head. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Just Got A Huge Boost From An Unexpected Breakout
The 49ers came out of Sundays 38-17 win over the Raiders looking every bit like a team that can keep stacking victories, with Brock Purdy directing the offense efficiently and Christian McCaffrey doing damage both on the ground and through the air. At Levis Stadium, San Francisco moved to 6-1 behind a balanced performance that also featured Fred Warner making his usual presence felt on defense.
What made the afternoon even more encouraging was the way a lesser-known piece of the roster suddenly entered the conversation. Alongside the established stars, one unexpected breakout gave the 49ers another layer of production and hinted at a deeper offensive ceiling, the kind of development that can matter just as much as the final score when the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]