NFL Week 9: Five things we liked and didn't like, including J.J. McCarthy's return, Bo Nix plays with fire

We are officially halfway through the NFL season after a doozy of a Week 9. Remember when Week 8 only delivered one one-score game? Well, Week 9 delivered seven, including four decided by scores in the final minute of regulation or in overtime. We saw underdogs go 5-8 straight up, their second-best week this season.

The third month of the NFL calendar will create some space, and with the trade deadline today, some teams will turn their eyes to the future, at least somewhat. But fascinating playoff and division races abound. The Chiefs have won the AFC West nine straight times, but they're behind both the Broncos and the Chargers. The Bills have won the AFC East five straight times, but they're behind the Patriots. The uber-competitive NFC North got even more competitive after an upset-filled week. The NFC West has three teams with six wins!

We like games taking on more importance as the season progresses. The back half of the season has a ton of intrigue, as it always does.

Here's what else we liked in Week 9:

Five things we liked in Week 9

1. J.J. McCarthy delivers.

Coaches find out a lot about their teams -- and we find out a lot about how coaches feel about their teams -- in key moments late in games. Here's one for you: Vikings 27, Lions 24, 1:41 left, Minnesota facing third-and-5. Detroit has one timeout.

You run the ball here, right? Your quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, is playing his first game in over a month, and your defense has dominated the line of scrimmage all day long. Force Detroit to use its last timeout.

Wrong. Kevin O'Connell dialed up a slot fade to Jalen Nailor. McCarthy put it on the money. Nailor made a great catch in tight coverage, his first reception of the afternoon.

Game over.

It's important to not handle McCarthy -- not give him more credit than is necessary for a single good throw here or there -- but on Sunday, he made a ton of big boy throws. The first one below is my favorite.

Oh yeah, and he also ran for a touchdown. He's a very good athlete, and his movement skills shouldn't be slept on.

McCarthy got love in Cody Benjamin's Week 9 winners and losers and Tyler Sullivan's Cover 32, and we're going to pile on here, too. A coach who doesn't believe in his quarterback doesn't dial up that play call. O'Connell believes in his quarterback. And if McCarthy can keep making those throws, the Vikings might be worth believing in, too.

2. Walter Nolen and Calais Campbell: the rookie and the vet

The Cardinals finally got their defensive line to full strength with Walter Nolen making his NFL debut after an offseason calf injury. What a debut it was: four tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss.

That lateral movement on the run stuff is a big part of what made Nolen such an intriguing, high-upside prospect.

Next to him was Calais Campbell, who is still getting it done at 39 years old. Campbell had two sacks to bring his career total to 114.5, passing JJ Watt for 24th on the all-time list. Watch him just bully Nathan Thomas here:

Add in two Josh Sweat sacks, and the Cardinals' five sacks were a season high. We like the makeup of this front with Nolen in it. He's a superb athlete, Campbell is just so strong, and Sweat and Zaven Collins can bring it on the edge. Coming out of their bye, the Cardinals badly needed a win, and they got one.

3. Alohi Gilman-Odafe Oweh swap has been a win-win

When the Harbaugh brothers did business in early October, swapping Alohi Gilman for Odafe Oweh, it signaled a fundamental change for the Ravens and an important swing for the Chargers.

It has been the rare in-season win-win for both. With Gilman in the fold since Week 6, Baltimore has more than doubled its rate of dime personnel (six or more defensive backs on the field), from 10.5% to 22.3%, the fourth-highest rate in the league. Kyle Hamilton has been able to sneak closer to the line of scrimmage, and Baltimore's defensive success rate has gone from the league's fifth-worst to its 12th-best.

Oweh, meanwhile, has notched four sacks in four weeks with the Chargers after zero in five games with the Ravens to start the season. That included two sacks against the Titans in Week 9.

4. Lamar Jackson gets under center

Gilman's addition has helped save the defense. Lamar Jackson's return in Week 9 rejuvenated the offense. In the three games Jackson missed, the Ravens threw one touchdown pass. Jackson had four in a blowout win over the Dolphins.

Almost everyone is beating up on Miami. What's more impressive, though, is the new way the Ravens attacked: Jackson was under center on a season-high 50% of his snaps, and he used play action on a season-high 37% of his dropbacks.

This provides a great example of the power of under-center play action: Just the slightest step forward by Tyrel Dodson (No. 25) and Jordyn Brooks (No. 20) allowed Charlie Kolar to get down the seam, a throw Jackson loves.

We love midseason wrinkles, and this could be one that bears fruit.

5. Tee Higgins' monster day

The caption to this post does it justice.

This might be the best catch I've seen all year. The combination of concentration, hand-eye coordination and body control is insane. And then how about this one?!

Have yourself a day, Tee Higgins. Now, about that defense ...

2025 NFL Trade Deadline Tracker: Live updates and analysis as Colts add Sauce Gardner in stunning blockbuster

Zachary Pereles

Five things we didn't like in Week 9

1. The Bengals defense

If you somehow haven't seen the all-time finish between the Bears and the Bengals, we have all the details here. Even if you did see it, this Colston Loveland touchdown is worth rewatching.

Great effot by Loveland. Great throw by Caleb Williams. Credit Chicago, absolutely.

But my goodness, this defense is atrocious. And it's been atrocious. Doug Clawson has the details, including ...

• They are the first team in 59 years to lose consecutive games while scoring 38 or more points. ...
• They have allowed 500 total yards in two straight games and three times this season. The rest of the league has done it a combined two times.
• They are allowing 33.3 points per game this season, the most by any team since [the] 1966 Giants.
• They have allowed at least 27 points and 350 or more total yards in eight straight games, the longest such streak within a single season in NFL history.

And perhaps worst of all, the offense is sick of it, using some NSFW words to express their frustration.

Yikes.

2. Bo Nix keeps putting the ball in harm's way

The Broncos are 7-2, have won five straight and lead the AFC West . You might be surprised, on first glance, to see them in this half of this column.

But look below the surface and see during this streak, the Broncos have beaten ...

• the Eagles 21-17, outscoring them 18-0 in the fourth quarter
• the Jets 13-11
• the Giants 33-32, outscoring them 33-13 in the fourth quarter
• the Cowboys 44-24
• the Texans, who lost C.J. Stroud to a concussion early, 18-15, outscoring them 11-0 in the fourth quarter

The Broncos' first three quarters have been an eyesore.

I am a huge proponent of "wins are wins no matter what," but playing like one of the NFL's worst offenses for 75% of the game and then playing like one of its best for the final quarter is not a great strategy, even if it works against some of the NFL's worst offenses.

I think this will eventually even out, at least a little bit. But Bo Nix's looseness with the ball might not; he has five interceptions on throws 10+ yards downfield, tied for third-most in the NFL. That included one interception and two interceptions dropped Sunday.

More discretion downfield would be helpful.

3. Colts fall victim to Steelers' voodoo

Acrisure Stadium (it'll always be Heinz Field to me) is a house of horrors for opponents, and the Colts were the latest team to find out. Indianapolis, which entered with four turnovers all season, had six Sunday. That includes this one, which portended a long day ahead:

The Colts outgained the Steelers 368-225. This was Pittsburgh's 13th win over the past three seasons when being outgained but winning the turnover battle. No other team has more than eight such wins.

Turnovers are not just luck. TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith dominated, and the Steelers linebackers in particular were excellent, too. But somehow the Steelers just keep on using this formula to get wins. Don't hate the player; hate the game. We certainly hated seeing the Colts put up this dud.

4. Tucker Kraft's injury is absolutely brutal

There were bigger names -- Jayden Daniels, Stroud, Puka Nacua -- who got hurt this week. Joe Alt's season-ending ankle surgery is devastating for a Chargers offensive line ravaged by injuries.

But the injury that might make me the saddest is Tucker Kraft's torn ACL. Kraft made the "like" section of this column just last week for being everything a tight end should be: physical, nasty, talented, athletic, a true football psycho.

And now he's done, just like that. The Packers have Luke Musgrave, the smooth-running tight end who can get downfield, but he's not nearly the physical presence in the run game nor the yards after catch monster that Kraft is. The Kraft-Jordan Love connection is tremendous.

This is one of the best tandems in the league, bar none. The Packers don't have a true No. 1 wide receiver -- a phrase coach Matt LaFleur hates -- but Kraft had become a No. 1 option in the passing game. He could beat up on defensive backs and run past safeties and linebackers (and even some defensive backs). He can play in-line tight end, slot or even wide receiver. This is just a brutal blow for Green Bay.

5. Could special teams woes loom large?

Special teams have taken on a larger-than-normal significance this year with the dynamic kickoff and the increase in long-distance field goals leading the way. And while the highlights have been fun, there are some major lowlights that could potentially scare some very good teams. Here's the bottom six in special teams expected points added:

• 27. Chargers
• 28. Packers
• 29. Buccaneers
• 30. Falcons
• 31. Saints
• 32. Rams

Of those six, four are current playoff teams, and one might be in the playoff race if it had competent special teams! This should be a blaring alarm, people!

The Rams are particularly concerning. They had two kicks blocked in a collapse against the Eagles this season, and Joshua Karty has flat-out missed three more, including two inside 40 yards.

The Falcons saw John Parker Romo miss what would have been a game-tying extra point Sunday against the Patriots in a 24-23 loss. Earlier in the year, Younghoe Koo missed what would have been a game-tying field goal against the Buccaneers in a 23-20 loss. Atlanta is also last in yards per kick return.

The Buccaneers are one of the league's worst coverage teams and have had two punts blocked. The Packers currently have a kicking issue with normally dependable Brandon McManus struggling through an injury. The Chargers are the NFL's worst team in yards per return allowed on both punts and kickoffs.

The margins in the NFL are too thin for special teams to turn wins into losses, especially as it gets later in the year and into the playoffs.