Week 9 was a smattering of disappointment and cathartic joy. In the Philadelphia Eagles’ case, it was occasionally both at the same time.
The 2023 regular season reached its halfway point with an occasionally thrilling, slightly disappointing Sunday. The Kansas City Chiefs fended off the Miami Dolphins in an international game where neither team looked especially great. The Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys played a gross fourth quarter where Philly appeared content to give the game away and the Cowboys were raised too properly to accept such an unearned gift.
Thus the most exciting comebacks of the week belonged to … C.J. Stroud and Joshua Dobbs. Wild! Ultimately there was plenty to like about Sunday’s action. There was also plenty to hate, particularly if you were a big fan of the matchups in Super Bowls 42 and 46.
Let’s dig in.
Worst: Jaren Hall and the Vikings' horrible injury luck
Hall acquitted himself well early in his first NFL start. The fifth round rookie wasn’t asked to do much, but showcased his accuracy and ability to find open targets by completing five of his first six passes for 78 yards over two drives, the second of which ended in a field goal.
This, unfortunately, was all we saw of Hall in Week 9. He left the game due to a concussion. Minnesota, already playing without Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson, also lost K.J. Osborn and Cam Akers in the middle of the game. All this served to make Joshua Dobbs’ first appearance as a Viking even more memorable. He led his new team back from a four-point deficit with under two minutes to play, hitting Brandon Powell for a game-winning touchdown.
WHAT A MOMENT
📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/2UNQtqRDd0
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 5, 2023
Best: Josh Dobbs, improv legend
Dobbs wasn’t even supposed to be playing Sunday. He had four days to learn an entire playbook and, unsurprisingly, didn’t. So head coach Kevin O’Connell had to effectively describe plays to him in the huddle before he could execute them.
Unbelievable. Josh Dobbs said that Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell was essentially translating calls and mapping out plays mid-huddle, as the play clock was ticking down. KOC called Dobbs’ ability to handle it all one of the most impressive things he’d seen in his career.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) November 5, 2023
It took some time, but after two failed starts — a safety and a fumble — Dobbs looked like the guy who’d exceeded expectations early in the season for the Arizona Cardinals. His success might be fleeting and Hall might be the starter once again when healthy, but Dobbs’ performance in Week 9 was downright inspirational.
This is video of said event on the sideline, going through the cadence with the line, before Dobbs goes into the game. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/Ke3HDRKnSu
— Reggie Wilson (@ReggieWilsonTV) November 5, 2023
Best: C.J. Stroud, franchise quarterback
I understand a throw chart can’t fully convey a player’s impact behind center but, good god, this one comes close.
Five touchdown passes, three of which came on deep balls. One of which came with six seconds left on the clock in a 37-33 game, set up by some picture perfect deep shots downfield.
This throw and catch to set up the game-winning touchdown.
CJ Stroud 🤝 Tank Dell pic.twitter.com/58yhquLlHE
— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2023
No rookie quarterback had ever thrown for 470 yards before. Congrats to you if you had him in your fantasy lineup this weekend. And, uh, sorry to the Pittsburgh Steelers fans who might read this next stat.
CJ Stroud has more career touchdown passes than Kenny Pickett
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) November 5, 2023
Worst: Baker Mayfield, who did enough to win Sunday and still looked like this
That’s the face of a man who threw a go-ahead laser with 46 seconds left on the clock and still lost. Regardless, Mayfield’s comeback season persists after a 265-yard, two touchdown, zero turnover afternoon.
Worst: Bryce Young, who picked an awful day to be awful
The Carolina Panthers could have drafted C.J. Stroud. In fact, they’d paid handsomely for the right to, and the banter between team quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and the then-Ohio State star sure made it seem like Stroud was their guy.
Instead, owner David Tepper, a man who keeps a literal pair of brass balls on his work desk, reportedly overruled that decision and opted for Young. The rookie hasn’t been a disaster in his first season at the helm, particularly because he hasn’t been given much to work with in Charlotte. But he hasn’t been Stroud, and that’s never been more evident than it was in Week 9.
One pick six is good. One Moore is better. ⚡️⚡️
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/e4z7VSoHBn
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 5, 2023
Yep. Young threw more touchdowns to Colts defenders (two) than his own players (one) Sunday. This was a big deal in a game the Panthers lost 27-13, as Young’s -21 expected points added (EPA) were a career low and the second worst number of Week 9 — so if he’s feeling charitable, Clayton Tune and his stunning -34.3 EPA could probably use a muffin basket around now.
Young, to his credit, won the head-to-head matchup with the No. 2 overall pick last week when his Panthers earned their first win of the season via walk-off field goal against the Texans. But that may be a case of winning a battle and losing the war if Young can’t outplay his fellow rookie the rest of the way.
Best: The Baltimore Ravens death star defense
In a season where the AFC is loaded with good teams but no one who’s been quite great, the Ravens are making a statement. On Sunday, they didn’t just beat the then 5-2 Seattle Seahawks, they crushed them into a powder and let the remnants blow away in the wind behind a defensive front that erased DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett from the game plan, snuffed out the Seattle run game and generally made life miserable for Geno Smith.
.@KVN_03 forces the fumble and @B_Washington96 recovers❗❗
Tune in on CBS! pic.twitter.com/Jn3fFOIu2q
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 5, 2023
Smith came into Week 9 as a top-12 quarterback and proceeded to complete fewer than half his passes in Baltimore. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, the young running back duo who’d carried the offense in stretches, ran for 24 yards on 13 carries. The Seahawks had 13 third or fourth down situations and converted ONE of them.
And, per tradition, a Ravens backfield stung by injury has produced yet another solid performer from the ether of the league’s unwanted.
Rookie Keaton Mitchell gained +108 rushing yards over expected on 9 carries, the most a running back has gained in a single game since Week 10, 2020 (Ronald Jones, +110).
Mitchell had played just 2 snaps all season before playing 13 (21.0%) in Week 9.#BALvsSEA | #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/9eUTemLKkV
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 5, 2023
Sigh, Baltimore is scary again.
Worst: JuJu Smith-Schuster, who the Patriots have under contract for two more seasons
With the game on the line, Mac Jones hit a well-covered Smith-Schuster in the hands with a completion that would have moved the Patriots into field goal range late in a game they trailed 17-20. Instead, this happened.
first career INT for @JartaviusM_ was a big one 😤
📺 #WASvsNE: FOX pic.twitter.com/7IODQZz87U
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) November 5, 2023
Meanwhile Jakobi Meyers, the player New England developed as an undrafted free agent and turned into its WR1 before allowing him to leave in free agency to be replaced by Smith-Schuster, led off the scoring in the afternoon’s New York Giants – Las Vegas Raiders tilt with a 17-yard rushing touchdown.
A 25-yard reception and then this 17-yard rushing TD.
What an opening drive for Jakobi Meyers!
📺: #NYGvsLV on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/d4RDZpcMkc pic.twitter.com/Z9nUugCOay— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2023
Things have been better in New England, but at least the Patriots are churning toward a high draft pick.
Best: The Las Vegas Raiders, who really, really hated Josh McDaniels
Las Vegas is paying Josh McDaniels and his staff a reported $85 million NOT to coach their team. And, judging by their Week 9 performance, the Raiders could not be happier about it.
Vegas hadn’t scored more than 21 points in a single game in their eight 2023 games under McDaniels. The Raiders had 24 Sunday behind fourth round rookie Aidan O’Connell … by halftime. Turns out, that’s sort of their thing.
#Raiders lead 24-0 at half in 1st game after firing Josh McDaniels as coach. The last time they had a bigger halftime lead came 10/24/2010, when they led Josh McDaniels' Broncos 38-7 at the half
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) November 5, 2023
The Raiders hadn’t run for 100 yards in a single game in 2023 under McDaniels. They hit that number on Sunday as Josh Jacobs, mired in a contract dispute with the since-deposed head coach and his general manager, ran for a season-high 98 and two touchdowns. They’d turned the ball over every game under McDaniels. Despite starting a rookie quarterback, they didn’t give up the ball once in Week 9.
Granted it was against the New York Giants who, spoiler, will not be making the happy side of this column. But hooooo buddy, that was a statement for new head coach Antonio Pierce against the incompetent man-child who’d been steering the franchise into the ground the past year-plus.
Worst: The New York Giants, a smoldering underground coal fire that cannot be extinguished and will only poison the world above
Daniel Jones returned in Week 9, saving an offense that had lost backup Tyrod Taylor to injured reserve due to a rib injury. His recovery from a neck injury kept the team from having to turn to undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito, whose Week 8 appearance resulted in a net average of -1.1 yards per dropback.
His triumphant comeback lasted 21 plays.
Daniel Jones –
Concern for Right ACL.
This was the play before he dropped back and collapsed to the ground. pic.twitter.com/dUTPB89eur— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) November 5, 2023
The Giants fear a torn ACL, which would be one hell of a way to celebrate the four-year, $160 million contract extension Jones signed just last offseason. DeVito returned in relief and was better than he was in Week 8 but still threw a pair of first half interceptions before some garbage time completions and, eventually, the first touchdown of his NFL career.
Since a Week 2 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Giants have five offensive touchdowns in seven games. Two have come from DeVito, which I suppose is encouraging since he appears to be the team’s QB1 going forward. Otherwise, uh, at least you’ve got Saquon Barkley for the rest of the year?
Worst, and also best?: The Eagles and Cowboys battle to disappoint their fans the hardest
Philadelphia and Dallas played a very compelling, very stupid fourth quarter Sunday. The Eagles offense disappeared just in time to turn a potential double-digit win into a nailbiter. The Cowboys offense stared opportunity in the face, made a few cautious steps toward it, then ran shrieking in the opposite direction.
It was the kind of performance that only served to spike stress levels and misery of both fanbases. A goal line stand left the Eagles at their own one-yard line with roughly 10 minutes to play and a 28-17 lead. A touchdown, or even a long sustained drive, could have iced the game. Instead they went three-and-out thrice, burning less than four minutes of game clock and, impressively, nearly turning the ball over deep in their own territory through sheer doofus-ry.
Eagles avoid an absolute disaster here. D'Andre Swift collides with A.J. Brown, forcing a fumble. Rookie lineman Tyler Steen was on the spot for the recovery. pic.twitter.com/F0tpGevkPg
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 6, 2023
The Cowboys scored on an efficient six-play drive to make this a one-possession game. It appeared as if they’d pulled to within three points when Dak Prescott dove for the pilon on the ensuing two-point conversion. But, nope, he stepped out early, leaving the score 28-23 — surely that wouldn’t come into play later, right?
Dak steps out of bounds on two point conversion. #dakprescott #daktwopointconversion #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/fTiPNKQJfZ
— Pardon Me (@Pardonmeyal) November 6, 2023
OF COURSE IT DID. Dallas would push two late drives into field goal range when a field goal would do no good. The first fizzled out on fourth-and-eight, thanks in part to a pair of Eagles sacks — one made possible by a picked-up flag on what would have been a first-down granting hands to the face penalty:
Flag was originally thrown on this play but picked up pic.twitter.com/1vbrhCJKPR
— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) November 6, 2023
That drive ended on a vital incompletion to Jalen Tolbert, who wasn’t nearly as open as tight end Jake Ferguson and who exists solely to showcase his team’s lack of receiving depth.
The aforementioned near fumble and three-and-out gave the Cowboys one last chance. Three Philadelphia penalties totalling 56 yards helped create first-and-five at the Eagles’ six-yard line with 27 seconds to play. That included this impressively dumb Haason Reddick roughing flag.
"it can't be roughing the passer if i tried to help him up, your honor" pic.twitter.com/Mgtf93AnzI
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 6, 2023
But the Eagles rallied to sack Prescott some more and his final pass of the game, in dire need of a touchdown, sailed short of the end zone where CeeDee Lamb caught it at the four before being tackled. It was gross all around, but somehow the football gods decided the Cowboys’ horrible decisions were more deserving of their scorn on Sunday afternoon.
Anyway, the Eagles are 8-1. The Cowboys are 5-3. Both remain in great shape for the NFC side of the playoffs. Neither team is remotely trustable, but that pretty much sums up the state of the league in general at the halfway mark of the 2023 season.
