NFL Week 9 puts us at the halfway point of the 2021 season, meaning the intensity is heating up as the best and worst teams in the NFL become established. With that in mind, it’s time to look ahead to what could happen in Week 9.
There are plenty of marquee matchups for fans to get excited about on the NFL schedule this weekend. The Kansas City Chiefs host the Green Bay Packers, the Cleveland Browns battle the Cincinnati Bengals and we’ll get a Tennessee Titans vs. Los Angeles Rams duel.
We might also remember NFL Week 9 for some jaw-dropping performances and the ramifications potential blowouts can have for coaches on the hot seat. With so much at stake, including award races, it could be a Sunday to remember.
Let’s dive into our NFL 9 Week 9 bold predictions.
Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes combine for eight touchdowns
Facing one of the best defenses in the NFL and playing without Davante Adams, David Bakhtiari, Allen Lazard and Marquez-Valdes Scantling, Green Bay beat the previously undefeated Arizona Cardinals. In NFL Week 9, the Packers should find it much easier to move the football against Kansas City’s defense.
Opposing quarterbacks are playing at an MVP level when facing the Chiefs. Through seven games, Kansas City surrendered an average 104.0 passer rating, a 67.8% completion rate, 275.7 passing yards per game and 8.3 ypa. Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson each posted 300-plus yards or three-plus touchdowns against the Chiefs. Now, imagine what Rodgers will do behind a better offensive line and his full cast of wide receivers.
Projecting Rodgers to throw for 300-plus yards with four touchdowns puts pressure on Patrick Mahomes to carry Kansas City once again. With Jaire Alexander on injured reserve, Green Bay will need safety help to have any shot of containing Tyreek Hill. But if they do that, Travis Kelce will make big plays.
Tua Tagovailoa delivers career-best performance
The Miami Dolphins put quarterback Tua Tagovailoa through Deshaun Watson trade rumors for months. It can be a draining experience for a young quarterback, making them feel like one mistake could end things for them, causing distractions and raising even the slightest self-doubt. Tagovailoa can now put that all behind him and prove, against the team that Miami spent months negotiating with, that he can be a franchise quarterback.
We’ve praised the Houston Texans’ defense in previous weeks, but this team is rebuilding. As the losses piled up, the effort got worse and this secondary started allowing bigger plays far more frequently. Miami’s receiving corps is also getting healthier and rookie Jaylen Waddle is settling in with a bigger role. With an enormous weight lifted off his shoulders and a nice matchup, Tagovailoa can deliver the first 300-yard, three-touchdown game in his NFL career.
Dallas Cowboys get Vic Fangio fired
Things looked so promising for Vic Fangio and the Denver Broncos defense early in the season. In the first three games, opposing quarterbacks had a 2-4 TD-INT ratio with a 5.2 ypa, 52.4% completion rate and 162 yards/game. Entering NFL Week 7, Denver’s defense allowed 270.5 passing yards, 9.1 ypa and a 108.3 passer rating in four consecutive losses.
Struggling to generate pressure, falling apart against the run (4.3 ypc in last four games) and unable to do much in coverage, this is the worst matchup possible for the Broncos. The Dallas Cowboys are going to keep a clean pocket for MVP candidate Dak Prescott and he’ll have little trouble spreading the ball around to CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. After the Broncos get blown off the field by Dallas, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Fangio is fired.
Justin Jefferson posts 200-plus receiving yards
The Baltimore Ravens secondary used to be one of the strongest units in the NFL. Needless to say, that is no longer the case. We saw the Ravens’ defensive weakness on full display against the Bengals with rookie Ja’Marr Case erupting for 201 receiving yards. In NFL Week 9, we could see another LSU alum do the same to Baltimore.
Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson has been off to a relatively slow start in 2021. He’s eclipsed 100-plus receiving yards just twice, a surprise given he hit that mark seven times in his rookie season. This is a fantastic opportunity for Minnesota to feed Jefferson and they will need him in a game that should go wire-to-wire. With how sharp Cousins has played as of late, a 200-yard game for Jefferson isn’t out of the question.
Pittsburgh Steelers defense outscores Chicago Bears
If we learned one thing from quarterback Justin Fields’ performance against the San Francisco 49ers, it’s that he magically seems to perform better when Matt Nagy is away from the team. Assuming Nagy clears COVID protocols before NFL Week 9, he’ll return to the sideline for Monday Night Football.
Click here for the latest 2021 NFL defense rankings
That in itself is a big problem for Fields, but this matchup is equally concerning. He entered Week 8 with the seventh-worst completion rate (38.2%), the second-lowest yards per attempt (3.4) and the worst passer rating (21.2) when pressured, per Pro Football Focus. The Pittsburgh Steelers defense boasts the third-highest pressure rate (28.8%) and the second-highest quarterback hurry rate (15.9%) in the NFL. On a night when Chicago’s offense could struggle to find the end zone, it might only require a pick-six for this bold prediction to happen.