Top matchup for each Week 9 NFL game

Focusing on individual matchups as teams battle for the playoffs.

Week 9 acts as the unofficial start of the NFL’s second half. While a ton of teams are pretty much playing for pride right now, we’re seeing some competitive football around the rest of the league.

As the calendar reaches November, individual matchups will be a larger part of the focus as teams battle for playoff spots. That includes Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay attempting to stop a record-breaking receiver in Adam Thielen in an important NFC North matchup.

Over in the AFC, fellow cornerback Chris Harris will attempt to make his Broncos relevant against one of the game’s top receivers, Houston Texans star DeAndre Hopkins.

These are among the top matchups for each Week 9 NFL game.

 

Oakland Raiders at San Francisco 49ers: Jared Cook vs Fred Warner

In a nationally televised game pitting two one-win teams against one another, there’s not much to look forward to here. At the very least, Oakland and San Francisco leaves a whole lot to be desired from a talent standpoint. That can’t really be said when looking at these two breakout performers.

Acting the part of Derek Carr’s favorite target, Cook enters Week 9 having caught 36 passes for 474 yards and three touchdowns. He’s on pace for career-best numbers in each category. That doesn’t mean Cook won’t be tested against a 49ers rookie linebacker in Fred Warner who has proven to be among the best young players at his position in pass coverage. We’re certainly going to be interested to see how this matchup plays out in a game that’s otherwise rather pointless.

 

Atlanta Falcons at Washington Redskins: Adrian Peterson vs Falcons run defense

Peterson just continues to prove his worth as an all-time great back. Even at 33 years old, he’s dominating at a level that we were accustomed to 8-10 years ago. Last week saw the future Hall of Famer gain 156 total yards and two touchdowns on 27 touches. He’s now put up 360 yards over the past three games and is on pace for north of 1,700 yards. This has the Redskins at 5-2 and in complete control of the NFC East.

For the Falcons, it’s all about coming out of the bye strong after winning their final two games before the off week. That has to include continuing to be strong against the run. In their Week 7 win over the Giants, the Falcons allowed Saquon Barkley and Co. a total of 61 rushing yards. This will be key come Sunday morning.

 

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings: Adam Thielen vs Darius Slay

Despite his fumble in last week’s loss to New Orleans, Thielen found himself in the record books. He’s now the first receiver in NFL history to start the season with eight consecutive games of 100-plus yards. Now, through the first half of the season, Thielen has put up 74 receptions for 925 yards and six touchdowns.

He must continue dominating if the Vikings want to rebound and start the second half of the season with a win. It won’t be easy against a Lions cornerback in Darius Slay who shadows opposing No. 1 receivers as much as any cornerback in the NFL. Since the start of last season, Slay has yielded a sub-60 passer rating when targeted.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens: James Conner vs Ravens run defense

What Conner is doing right now is simply remarkable. The second-year back is coming off a 212-yard performance against Cleveland and has posted an absurd 526 yards over the past three games. He’s now on pace for north of 2,100 total yards on the season. Le’Veon who?

He’ll certainly have a difficult test Sunday against a Ravens team that’s in desperate need of a win after losing two consecutive games. Baltimore’s league-best defense will also want to prove its worth after giving up a season-high 154 rushing yards to Cam Newton and the Panthers last week. In a huge divisional game, this one matchup might tell us the story in the end.

 

Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns: Tyreek Hill vs Denzel Ward

Chris Harris and the Broncos did a pretty good job against Hill last week prior to him exiting the game with a groin strain. He caught 3-of-4 targets for 70 yards in Kansas City’s seventh win in eight games to start the season.

Despite the injury, it seems that Hill should be able to go Sunday against Cleveland. If so, he’ll have a major test in the form of Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward, who has recorded nine passes defended and three interceptions while shadowing opposing team’s No. 1 receivers this season. In a game that should be a blowout in Kansas City’s favor, Ward could be a big difference for interim head coach Gregg Williams.

 

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins: Sam Darnold vs Dolphins pass defense

It seems that Darnold’s rookie season plateaued during a blowout win over the Denver Broncos back in Week 5. Since then, the Jets’ starter has thrown four touchdowns and four interceptions in three games. He’s also coming off a 14-of-29 passing performance in a loss to the Chicago Bears last week. At 3-5 on the season, Darnold and the Jets are playing for nothing more than progression moving forward.

The same can’t be said for a Dolphins team that remains somewhat alive in the AFC Playoff race. Despite losing four of their past five, the Dolphins sit at 4-4 on the season and are one game out of a postseason spot. Their ability to contend moving forward will depend heavily on a pass defense that has picked off 11 passes, but continues to yield the huge plays. That latter aspect must change this week against New York.

 

Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills: Mitch Trubisky vs Bills pass defense

Trubisky is a case of the tape telling us a lot less than his on-field success and stats. That’s a rarity when it comes to the NFL. He’s thrown 15 touchdowns compared to six interceptions on the season. The second-year quarterback also has his surprising Bears in first place heading into Week 9. This, despite the fact that he just hasn’t looked all too great throughout the season.

We’ll certainly acquire a better understanding Sunday against a Bills team Chicago should dominate. Buffalo’s only hope of getting a win here will be to hold Trubisky in check. The good news? Sean McDermott’s defense heads into Week 9 ranked No. 5 in total defense and No. 3 against the pass.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton vs Buccaneers pass defense

Having won four of their past five games, Carolina enters Week 9 against a struggling Buccaneers squad with an opportunity to continue this tremendous recent run. For his part, Newton has compiled 14 total touchdowns compared to three interceptions during this five game span. He’s playing at an elite level, and it’s showing on the scoreboard.

The same thing cannot be said about a Buccaneers pass defense that’s given up 20 touchdowns compared to one interception for a 123.5 passer rating on the season. If Tampa is to have any hope of Ryan Fitzpatrick coming out on top Sunday, it needs this aspect of the defense to step up big time.

 

Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks: Duane Brown vs Melvin Ingram

A major part of Seattle’s recent success is the fact that its offensive line has stepped up in a big way in front of franchise quarterback Russell Wilson. Having put up an 0-2 record to start the season, Wilson was sacked a combined 12 times. Over the course of the past five games, he’s gone down just nine times. It’s not a coincidence that the Seahawks are 4-1 during that span.

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In order for this streak to continue, the team’s best offensive linemen must step up against a pass rusher in Melvin Ingram who is well below his career averages without Joey Bosa doing damage next to him. Ingram has put up just 3.5 sacks in seven games after averaging about 10 over the past three seasons. Though, Bosa might just play Sunday, so we’ll see if that changes anything.

 

Houston Texans at Denver Broncos: DeAndre Hopkins vs Chris Harris

Hopkins has proven to be something more than a mere mortal this season. Including a two-touchdown performance in a blowout win over Miami last week, Nuk has caught 53 passes for 789 yards and six scores so far. He’s also put up four touchdowns over the past three games. It’s not a coincidence that Hopkins’ brilliance has come with the Texans being in the midst of a five-game winning streak.

For Denver, it’s ability to break from a recent front is all about how Harris performs against Hopkins. Despite putting up just one interception this season, Harris has yielded a sub-70 passer rating when targeted. The Broncos are also now in the top 11 among defenses against the pass after struggling in that area earlier in the season.

 

Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints: Michael Thomas vs Marcus Peters

This is one of the few matchups we can conclude favors New Orleans in a game between the NFC’s two-best teams. Los Angeles brought Peters on to be that shutdown cornerback. Due to a combination of injury and ineffectiveness, that just hasn’t happened. Peters allowed Davante Adams to catch 4-of-6 targets for 113 yards last week and has yielded a 120-plus passer rating on the season. That makes him one of the worst starting cornerbacks in the entire NFL.

Unfortunately for Peters and his undefeated Rams, Week 9’s matchup against Michael Thomas won’t do the struggling corner any favors. What Thomas has done in his third season is simply remarkable. He’s caught 90.6 percent of the 64 passes thrown in his direction through seven games. Those are numbers we’ve never seen in the history of the NFL. And they are part of the reason New Orleans enters this week having won six consecutive games.

 

Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots: Aaron Rodgers vs Tom Brady

It’s a serious question. Are these the two-best quarterbacks in the NFL of the past quarter-century? Brady’s brilliance is already known. A five-time world champ, he’s still going strong during his age-41 season, having thrown 16 touchdowns compared to seven interceptions for a first-place Patriots squad.

In a game between two Super Bowl contending teams, it will be interesting to see how Brady performs in the face of a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who has led his Packers to multiple fourth quarter comebacks and came up just short last week against the undefeated Rams on the road. This is clearly the top matchup on the Week 9 slate.

 

Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys: Amari Cooper vs Malcolm Butler

Making his Cowboys debut after a bye week, it will certainly be interesting to see how the team gets Cooper involved on Monday Night Football. Given that they are 3-4 on the season and yielded a first-round pick for the receiver, we’re expecting him to be thrown to the wolves immediately.

The good news? Cooper and his Boys go up against a cornerback in Malcolm Butler who has been among the worst starters at his position in the NFL this season. After signing a lucrative free agent contract with Tennessee this past March, Butler heads into Week 9 having yielded a 78.2 percent completion mark and 125-plus passer rating when targeted. That’s ugly.