NFL week nine: Colts v Steelers, Falcons v Patriots, Texans v Broncos and more – live | NFL
Key events
LANDING! Patriots 21-7 Falcons 5:11, 2nd quarter
Drake Maye scores his second touchdown of the day with an 11-yard strike to veteran Stefon Diggs. The QB has 157 yards at an average of 12.1 per pass, tasty
LANDING! Steelers 7-7 Colts 6:09, 2nd quarter
The drive is sparked by a massive play on 3rd and 10. A fingertip cartch from Calvin Austin with a diving finish puts him just over the finish line to win. Or did he?! The Colts are not so sure and challenging. Pittsburgh waits nervously. Challenge… ACCEPTED and the Steelers have a no-brainer at 4th and 1. They run over lineman Cam Heward who rumbles for four.
Then Rodgers hits Austin again for 11 yards, then, incredibly, almost finds the touchdown with a run on 1st and goal, but it’s just stopped short. It looked painful as he was violently bent over the turf. The second try is an unsuccessful slant on the outside to DK Metcalf. Third down is the charm as Jaylen Warren bundles it in from a yard out. The old ways are the best. Great second effort from the running back to bring the ball home.
LANDING! Lions 14-14 Vikings 9:39, 2nd quarter
Human wrecking ball David Montgomery puts the Lions even with a deadly two-yard run after stiff Minnesota defense. End-to-end Detroit stuff.
LANDING! Patriots 14-7 Falcons 8:51, 2nd quarter
Running back Terrell Jennings scores from three yards out for his first in the NFL. Fantasy football gurus would be pleased with themselves if they started Jennings. Genius!
Steelers 0-7 Colts 11:27, 2nd quarter
HUGE piece from TJ Watt. The edge fights through the offensive line and sneaks into the corner behind Daniel Jones and snatches the ball out of the unconscious QB’s hand. Pittsburgh with another big lead. They need to make it count. 62 meters to pay.
LANDING! Bengals 10-14 Bears 14:54, 2nd quarter
Cincinatti’s defensive struggles continued as they allowed Olamide Zaccheaus to sprint to the right and dive into the end zone. One of the few players had a chance to stop the receiver, but he ran it home for a 15-yard touchdown.
LANDING! Giants 7-14 49ers 13:08, 2nd quarter
Jauan Jennings gives San Francisco the lead with an 11-yard touchdown run from Mac Jones. The strong backup play for the 49ers continues with their second of the day.
LANDING! Titans 14-7 Chargers 1:55, 1st quarter
Tennessee came to play. And it’s the special teams that play an important role for the Titans. Rookie Chimere Dike returns the punt 67 yards to give the home team something to shout about. It’s not going as planned so far for Los Angeles. They have to… uh… rise up like a titan.
Packers o-0 Panthers 12:15, 2nd quarter
Interception master Xavier McKinney picks Bryce Young to give the Packers the turnover. A floated ball is just too easy for the corner back to pass over and be on its way to the end zone long before it gets to the receiver. Can Green Bay capitalize?
LANDING! Lions 7-14 Vikings 4:08, 1st quarter
JJ McCarthy cooks. A seven-yard pass to tight end TJ Hockenson gives the visiting team the lead and the young quarterback his second touchdown pass of the day.
LANDING! Patriots 7-7 Falcons 0:24, 1st quarter
Michael Penix Jr quickly passes it to Drake London at the goal line for a 1-yard score. All square.
It’s good! Texans 3-0 Broncos 3:00 p.m., 2nd quarter
As expected in this battle of powerful defenses, the scores are low. Houston takes the lead but it is Denver who will be the happiest in attack. The Broncos stuffed the Texans at the goal line then forced a fourth down, but when they attempted the touchdown again, they were caught offside and had to settle for a 23-yard field goal from Kai Faibairn.
Steelers 0-7 Colts 4:17, 1st quarter
The Steelers come out moaning over and over again. Pittsburgh’s second punt goes deep, Josh Downs is there but knocks it down and the Steelers recover. Instant red zone for Pittsburgh. They get close but Indi’s defense forces a fourth down, they go for it and Rodgers fires a fastball to his tight end Darnell Washington. He would have had a walk-off touchdown if he had caught it. The Colts take over with 95 yards to go.
LANDING! Titans 7-7 Chargers 7:24, 1st quarter
LANDING! Giants 7-7 49ers 6:34, 1st quarter
It’s officially raining touchdowns and all of them are equalizers. Christian McAffrey does some Christian McAffrey things and catches the pass and runs it for a five-yarder for the 49ers. Justin Herbert then quickly redeemed himself with a lovely strike from two meters to full back Scott Matlock. The big man has only two receptions in his career and this one gets the Chargers back on track.
LANDING! Bengals 7-7 Bears 8:44, 1st quarter
They keep coming as Caleb Williams drives the Bears down the field and lays it out to DJ Moore for a two-yard score.
LANDING! Lions 7-7 Vikings 10:17, 1st quarter
LANDING! Steelers 0-7 Colts 8:05, 1st quarter
Minnesota immediately answered back with a 10-yard touchdown run from JJ McCarthy to Justin Jefferson as the Colts got off to a fast start against the Steelers. Pittsburgh’s defense forced itself to the goal line to force a fourth down, but it didn’t matter to Indianapolis. They go for the QB sneak and Jones dives. Cheeky!
CHOOSE SIX! Titans 7-0 Chargers 11:19, 1st quarter
Oh no. Justin Herbert looks for Keenan Allen but only finds linebacker Cody Barton who returns the interception for a 24-yard touchdown.
LANDING! Giants 7-0 49ers 10:50, 1st quarter
LANDING! Patriots 7-0 Falcons 5:53, 1st quarter
Jaxson Dart hits Theo Johnson for a 15-yard touchdown for the Giants while Drake Maye finds Pop Douglas with a 16-yard pass and score. A dazzling start for both.
LANDING! Lions 7-0 Vikings 12:37, 1st quarter
Detriot digs into his bag of tricks with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta on fourth down. With four yards to go, they risk everything for the score and Jared Goff finds his man, but the tight end has to fight tooth and nail against three defenders and barely falls into the end zone.
Steelers 0-0 Colts 12:43, 1st quarter
Disappointing start for Pittsburgh with a punt highlighted by a shocking fall by tight end Jonnu Smith.
The Colts come out on offense and Jonathan Taylor gets stuffed on their first play behind the line of scrimmage. They’ll need a few more.
LANDING! Bengals 7-0 Bears 14:49, 1st quarter
Are you not amused? Are you not amused?!
Cincinnati’s Charlie Jones snatches a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown! Only the second comeback for a score this season. Wow.
Preamble
Hello football fans, welcome to week nine of NFL action. After Thrashageddon seven days ago, the playoff contenders are emerging, but there’s still enough rope left on the reel for the underdogs to chart their playoff course. So what about Houston? What do you have in Atlanta? The Ravens are flying, Pittsburgh, so can you beat the mighty Colts?
With a total of eight games to go, we want drama, no, we DEMAND drama. So, as they say, let’s do it.
Your byte from 12pm CST/1pm EST/6pm (home teams listed first):
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(3-5) Cincinnati Bengals vs. Chicago Bears (4-3)
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(5-2) Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings (3-4)
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(5-1-1) Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers (4-4)
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(3-4) Houston Texans vs. Denver Broncos (6-2)
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(6-2) New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons (3-4)
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(2-6) New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers (5-3)
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(4-3) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts (7-1)
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(1-7) Tennessee Titans vs. Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)
There are a number of potential upsets in store here, but Pittsburgh seeing Indianapolis would be the most dramatic. The game plan will likely be to stop Jonathan Taylor from Indianapolis. The back is having a breathtaking year as he ranks first in total rushing yards with nearly 100 with 850, second (by a whole tenth of a yard) per carry at 5.9 and first in rushing touchdowns with 12. Slow him down and you have a foundation from which to build success, as the Rams found out when they held Taylor down for 76 yards at 4.5 per carry and none hit during their 27-20 victory in September.
Pittsburgh’s defense has been solid enough against the run. Just five touchdowns conceded is promising with an interim EPA per carry of -0.02, meaning that on average they are performing, well, very averagely. So, above all, not disastrous like their pass defense. What they haven’t faced yet is an offense as stellar as the Colts’ that puts quarterback Daniel Jones and his receivers firmly in the conversation for being one of the best passing attacks. They might even be at the top if Taylor didn’t hog so much attention.
The Steelers are in a bind. Head coach Mike Tomlin has to pick his poison, Jones is the likely pick, so Pittsburgh could throw bodies in the box to force the Colts to pass. It’s a gamble, but the risk could be worth the reward of a vital victory in the AFC North race.
