Week 9 of the NFL season features pretty big matchups between some of the best teams in the NFL. In fact, the top two teams in each conference will battle for an opportunity to gain some momentum starting out the second half of the regular season schedule.
The Arizona Cardinals will take on a Dallas Cowboys team reeling from a Monday Night Football loss to the Washington Redskins and still uncertain about the status of one Tony Romo.
Meanwhile, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will continue what seems to be a never-ending rivalry between the best quarterbacks of the modern era.
Outside of those two games, there are also some pretty important divisional matchups set to take place this week. Here is our look at the top storyline for each Week 9 NFL game.
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers: Battle for First Between Sub .500 Teams
Courtesy of Huffington Post: Battle for first between Cam and Brees.
The NFC South is there for the taking for both of these teams. With a tie on its resume, the Panthers are in a less enviable position here. They also have to maintain home-field advantage with the second matchup between these two teams being played at the Superdome.
Unfortunately for Cam Newton and Co., the Panthers have won one of their last six games and will be taking on a Saints team that’s riding high after a dominating victory over the Green Bay Packers last week. The good news here is that home teams are 6-2 on Thursday Night Football this season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cleveland Browns: Home Team Looks to Best 2013 Win Total
New Browns head coach Mike Pettine is looking to nab his fifth win of the season, which would surpass the team’s total of four wins from a season ago. It would also mark the earliest that Cleveland has put up five wins in a season since Bill Belichick was manning the sideline in 1994.
And to be perfectly honest, there is no reason for the Browns to lose this game against a Buccaneers squad that has won just one game on the season. Then again, the Browns haven’t played great football as of late. They lost to a previously winless Jacksonville Jaguars team two weeks ago before playing substandard football in a win against the hapless Oakland Raiders last week.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati Looks to Remain in First
This has all the looks of a major mismatch. Cincinnati is coming off an impressive win over a tough Baltimore Ravens team last week and may very well be getting star wide receiver A.J. Green back after he missed some time with a toe injury. As it relates to the Jaguars, they’re going through some tremendous growing pains. Rookie signal caller Blake Bortles leads the NFL with 12 interceptions and has thrown multiple picks in five of the six games he’s played in. Cincinnati should be able to exploit that as well as a 27th-ranked scoring defense en route to a blowout victory here.
Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys: Rebound Game for the Cowboys?
Courtesy of Washington Times: Can the Cowboys pick themselves up off the turf?
It sure does look like Tony Romo will be a game-time decision. Some reports out there indicate that he might miss a little time due to a back injury he suffered against the Washington Redskins last week. Meanwhile, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said that it’s just a matter of Romo being able to work through the pain of the back contusion. Either way, that’s likely going to be the biggest determining factor in this game.
The Cowboys, who failed to win a seventh consecutive game in a brutal loss to Washington on Monday Night Football, need to get back on track against a Cardinals team that boasts the best record in the NFC heading into Week 9. Unfortunately for Cowboys’ fans, they are also taking on a defense, led by Todd Bowles, that blitzes more than any other unit in the league. Considering Dallas had a heck of a time picking up blitzes against Washington and might have an injured Romo under center, this should be of utmost concern for Jason Garrett and Co.
Philadelphia Eagles at Houston Texans: Home Team Attempting to Remain in AFC Playoff Conversation
Can Houston move to over .500 heading into the second half of its schedule? That would be a huge boost of confidence for first-year head coach Bill O’Brien, who seems to be working wonders with a well-below average starting quarterback and a makeshift secondary. And while the Texans haven’t necessarily been incredibly impressive in the majority of their outings this season, a 5-4 record would be nice heading into a Week 10 bye.
In order for Houston to pull off an upset here, it will have to control the time of possession battle with Arian Foster on the ground. That will keep Nick Foles and the Eagles high-powered offense off the field and could enable the Texans to come away with a close win.
New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs: Michael Vick, Geno Smith, Rex Ryan and John Idzik
The storylines here. They are so real. Michael Vick will have the pleasure of going into Arrowhead to take on the league’s top-ranked pass defense a week after turning the ball over three times against the Buffalo Bills. He will be doing so after Jets head coach Rex Ryan benched second-year signal caller Geno Smith. He will be doing so in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. And he will be doing so with Ryan’s seat about as hot as it gets. Unfortunately for the embattled head coach and washed-up quarterback, this doesn’t look like it’s going to turn out too well.
San Diego Chargers at Miami Dolphins: Miami Attempting to Make a Statement
Courtesy of Fox Sports: Tannehill and the Dolphins are playing good football.
Can Miami finish off the first half of its schedule with a 5-3 record? If so, that would be a major statement for head coach Joe Philbin and Co. heading into the second half. Even more than that, Miami could notch another big win after starting the season out with a victory over the New England Patriots.
The key here for the home team will take advantage of a Chargers secondary that will likely be without top cornerback Brandon Flowers, who also missed last week with an injury. Opposing quarterbacks have tallied 14 touchdowns compared to four interceptions against San Diego this season. Meanwhile, Ryan Tannehill has thrown twice as many touchdowns (eight) as interceptions (four) in the Dolphins last five games. If he continues to play at a high level, Miami may very well win a third consecutive game and put the pressure on the New England Patriots to defeat Peyton Manning and Co.
Washington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings: Robert Griffin III Likely Starting
RGIII will reportedly get the start over Colt McCoy in this matchup against another last-place team. If RGIII is fully healthy, there is little doubt that he will be the long-term option for the Redskins moving forward this season. And at 3-5 on the year, the Redskins need to run off a nice little winning streak in order to jump back into contention in the NFC East.
The major question here is whether RGIII will be 100 percent and ready to go. We have read this book before. The book that says he’s cleared to play, but ends up being severely limited when game time comes. That simply can’t be the case if Washington has any hopes of continuing the momentum from an upset victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night.
St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49ers: Can Rested 49ers Team Start a Second Half Surge?
It looks like the 49ers will be getting Pro Bowlers Mike Iupati and Patrick Willis back for this game. In addition to that, defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and cornerback Chris Culliver have practiced this week and could return. That would be absolutely huge for a 4-3 49ers team that is coming off a bye and desperately needs to put up a full game against the cellar-dwelling Rams.
Considering the Rams will be short-handed after losing offensive tackle Chris Long and wide receiver Brian Quick, the 49ers should be in a good position to make a statement against a lesser team. If not, it could speak to larger issues for the perennial Super Bowl contenders. It is, however, important to note that Colin Kaepernick is playing the best football of his career. He’s completing 64 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and two interceptions since a Week 2 loss to the Chicago Bears. That’s something else to look at here.
Denver Broncos at New England Patriots: Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady. Duh!
Two of the greatest quarterbacks of our era going up against one another for a chance to grab the upper-hand for home-field advantage in the playoffs. Does this sound like a familiar story to you? And this is coming at a time when both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are playing at the top of their game. The two have combined for nearly 4,200 yards with 40 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. With New England currently in the midst of a hot streak, this could be a statement game for Brady and Co. against the team with the best record in the NFL.
Oakland Raiders at Seattle Seahawks: Upset of Epic Proportions?
Honestly, there really isn’t much of a storyline here. Can the winless Raiders go into the Pacific Northwest and defeat the defending champions for their first win of the season? Okay, that’s not happening. Maybe the Raiders can make a game of it into the second half. Then again, remember when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into Seattle last season and opened up a 21-0 lead before ultimately falling to the Seahawks in overtime? Stranger things have happened.
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers: Continuation of Fierce Rivalry
Courtesy of ESPN.com: This is always one of the best games on the schedule.
One of the hardest-fought rivalries in the entire NFL, this game takes on more significance than either of their two matchups from a season ago. Pittsburgh is coming in after a record-setting performance against the Indianapolis Colts, while Baltimore travels to Heinz Field following a close loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week. The loser of this game will fall to 5-4 and potentially last place, depending on the outcome of the Browns game against Tampa Bay.
Indianapolis Colts at New York Giants: Can Andrew Luck and Co. Rebound?
Remember when this was the Manning Bowl? Luckily for Eli, he actually stands a chance against Andrew Luck and Co. on Monday Night Football. Coming off their bye and in desperate need of a win after two consecutive defeats, New York needs a win in order to stay even remotely close in the playoff race. Meanwhile, Indianapolis could potentially fall into a first-place tie with the Houston Texans with a loss. After falling flat on their face last week against Pittsburgh, the Colts needs to get back on the winning side of the ledger against what has to be considered a lesser team.
Photo: USA Today