What we learned in NFL Week 9: Seahawks flex in prime time, NFC North up for grabs

Sunday spoke how ludicrous an afternoon in the NFL can be. Leads crumbled. Upsets reigned. Contenders faltered.

The Carolina Panthers — two-touchdown underdogs at Lambeau Field — stunned the one-loss Green Bay Packers on a last-second field goal, 16-13. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ reeling defense — a unit that had given up 68 points during a two-game losing streak — bullied the hottest offense in football and beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-20. The Minnesota Vikings, starting J.J. McCarthy for the first time in seven weeks, went into Detroit and handed the Lions their second loss in three games, 27-24.

Then there was the finish of the day, and maybe the finish of the year, featuring two defenses that couldn’t find a way to get off the field. That the Chicago Bears escaped Cincinnati with a 47-42 triumph over the Bengals doesn’t begin to do justice to the theater that unfolded late at Paycor Stadium.

The Bears led 41-27 with less than three minutes left before Joe Flacco — the Bengals’ quarterback for less than a month — led an impossible comeback. He pushed Cincinnati in front with 54 seconds to go after throwing his second touchdown in a span of 49 seconds (a successful onside kick helped). Then Caleb Williams answered with his best throw of the year, and maybe his young career: a 58-yard strike to rookie tight end Colston Loveland that saved the Bears the embarrassment of another unthinkable collapse, something that’s become far too familiar for this franchise in recent years.

“Don’t apologize for a win in this league, guys!” first-year coach Ben Johnson told his players afterward. “Don’t apologize! We did what we had to do!”

As far as best games of 2025, the Bears’ thriller — their fifth win in six games, by the way— sits right up there with the Buffalo Bills’ wild comeback over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 and the Denver Broncos’ 33-point fourth-quarter eruption against the New York Giants in Week 7. Hug a Bengals fan if you can: Cincinnati is now the first team since the 1960s to score 38 points or more in back-to-back games and lose both. The defense missed 15 tackles on the day, and the frustration was evident in the losing locker room.

“Finish the (expletive) game,” running back Chase Brown said when asked about the Bengals’ defensive collapse on the final drive. “Just end it.”

All that, and we still haven’t gotten to the league’s annual meeting of AFC heavyweights. In Orchard Park, N.Y., Josh Allen and the Bills continued their regular-season mastery of their biggest rivals, beating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs 28-21. It was Buffalo’s fifth straight victory over K.C. in games not played in January. But at this point, making it to January is no lock for the Chiefs: at 5-4, they’re in third place in the AFC West and one spot out of the playoffs.

In Washington, one of the league’s best offenses shone on the national stage, as the Seattle Seahawks raced to a 28-0 lead on the Commanders before winning 38-14. That’s now four NFC teams tied atop the conference at 6-2: the Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Packers are just behind at 5-2-1.

Most concerning for Washington was star quarterback Jayden Daniels exiting the game in the fourth quarter after what appeared to be a serious arm injury. A disastrous year for last season’s NFC runners-up continues.

In Houston, the league’s most dangerous fourth-quarter team, the Broncos, did it again, ripping off 11 points in the final period to beat the Texans 18-15. That’s six straight wins for Sean Payton’s team and Denver’s fourth fourth-quarter comeback of the season. Houston, now 3-5, lost quarterback C.J. Stroud to a concussion during the game, which means a rocky season could get rockier.

In Foxboro, one of the league’s hottest teams — the New England Patriots — won its sixth straight by beating the Atlanta Falcons 24-23. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye has set the bar pretty high when a 259-yard, two-touchdown performance feels like an average week of football for him. Maye’s been that good of late, and Mike Vrabel’s Patriots (7-2) are tied with the Broncos for the longest winning streak in the league. After starting 3-2, the Falcons have dropped three straight.

In East Rutherford, N.J., the San Francisco 49ers overpowered the New York Giants 34-24 in a vintage game for Christian McCaffrey: 33 touches, 173 yards, two scores. Mac Jones is now 5-2 in place of Brock Purdy, and the 49ers are 6-3 and very much in the thick of the NFC West race. The Giants are 2-7 under Brian Daboll for the third straight year.

In Nashville, the Los Angeles Chargers survived a scare from the lowly Tennessee Titans but held on for a 27-20 win that moved them to 6-3. This one required a goal-line stand — including a stop of Titans rusher Tony Pollard on the 1-yard line on fourth down — and a 99-yard touchdown drive to seal it. But another injury to tackle Joe Alt looms large for the Chargers moving forward.

In Las Vegas, the Jacksonville Jaguars needed overtime to halt their two-game losing streak and beat the Raiders 30-29. Tied 23-23 after regulation, the Jaguars scored first on a Trevor Lawrence QB sneak from the 1-yard line. The Raiders answered with a touchdown to tight end Brock Bowers — his third of the day — before coach Pete Carroll rolled the dice and went for the 2-point conversion. Geno Smith’s pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Jacksonville is now 5-3 and holding onto the last AFC playoff spot, while Las Vegas is 2-6.

Also noteworthy: Jags kicker Cam Little set an NFL record with a 68-yard field goal, breaking Justin Tucker’s mark of 66 yards set four years ago.

In Los Angeles, Matthew Stafford and the Rams stayed hot with a 34-10 rout of the New Orleans Saints. Sean McVay’s team has won three straight, by a combined margin of 86-20, and it’s about time his quarterback heard his name in the MVP conversation: Stafford has thrown 21 touchdowns and just two interceptions this season.

Here’s what stood out from Week 9 in the NFL:

Bills’ decimated defense makes Mahomes look mortal

Most figured the 10th all-time meeting between two of the best quarterbacks of this era would end up a shootout, like so many iterations before. Who would have the ball last between Allen and Mahomes? There’s your winner. We’ve all watched enough Chiefs-Bills games over the years to know how this works.

Instead, this one was decided by a Buffalo defense that harassed Mahomes into the most inaccurate night of his illustrious career. Which is fairly stunning, considering how well the Chiefs quarterback has played in recent weeks: During a three-game win streak that revived title hopes in Kansas City, Mahomes piled up more touchdowns (10) than any other quarterback in football.

The Chiefs were heating up, while the Bills — outside a romp over a Panthers team playing without Bryce Young last week — looked far shakier, losing to the Patriots and Falcons.

Then came Joey Bosa and a ferocious Bills’ front. The result: a 15-for-34 night for Mahomes. No touchdowns. One interception. His 44.1 completion percentage was the worst of his nine-year career. He was hit 15 times and never looked totally comfortable, shades of February’s Super Bowl loss to the Eagles.

On the other side, Allen was excellent: his 88.5 completion percentage set a franchise record. He piled up three touchdowns, and in the process became the quarterback with the most rushing scores in NFL history.

A regular-season win over the Chiefs is nothing new; Allen is now 5-1 against Mahomes this time of year. It’s the 0-4 record in the playoffs that remains the biggest hole on his resume. If Buffalo’s defense can replicate Sunday’s type of performance in January, there’s a good chance the Bills will finally get over the hump.

There’s a long way to go, and the Chiefs still have to play the Broncos twice, plus the Colts and Chargers. If they find their way back in the postseason, they’re going to have to earn it.

One bad day or a sign of things to come?

Maybe a game like this was bound to happen. Maybe the Colts were always going to come back to earth after their otherworldly start, an eight-game stretch in which the offense couldn’t be stopped and the wins just kept piling up. Maybe all they’d proved was that they were really good at beating up on bad teams.

The Steelers’ defense did what no other unit has in 2025: made Daniel Jones and the Colts look pedestrian. After Indianapolis’ opening-drive touchdown, Pittsburgh dominated.

“There’s a fine line between drinking wine and squashing grapes in this business,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “It’s nothing dramatic.”

Translation: His team wasn’t playing that poorly. A few simple tweaks and the Steelers looked like the Steelers of a different era. Pittsburgh’s six takeaways were the franchise’s most since 2010.

During their 7-1 start, the Colts committed just four turnovers; they had six on Sunday, including one on special teams. Daniel Jones, stirring MVP chatter with his electric play over the last month, had a hand in five. Jonathan Taylor, who’s been darting through defenses every Sunday since early September, finished with just 45 yards on 14 carries and didn’t find the end zone for the first time since Week 4.

If this was a preview of what the Colts’ stiffer tests will look like later in the season — games against the Seahawks and 49ers — they’re in trouble. If it was just a lousy day for the offense — particularly the line, which was facing an angry Steelers’ front— then they still remain a player in the crowded AFC. The next few weeks should further reveal the Colts’ legitimacy as a contender: After a date with the Falcons in Berlin and a bye, the Colts will travel to Kansas City for a showdown with the Chiefs on Nov. 23.

Darnold, Seahawks flex in prime time

It’s time to take the Seahawks for real, as both contenders in the NFC West and the conference as a whole.

It starts with one of the league’s most prolific offenses. Coordinator Klint Kubiak and quarterback Sam Darnold — both in their first years in Seattle — have proved a perfect pair: Darnold is playing just as well as he did in Minnesota last season, if not better, piling up 16 touchdowns, a 70.3 completion percentage (the best mark of his career) and five games with passer ratings north of 100.

Sunday night in Washington was his best outing yet: Darnold didn’t have a single incompletion in the first half, going 13-for-13 for 229 yards and four touchdowns. He finished with 330 passing yards and a 141.0 rating.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (eight catches for 129 yards) has quietly become one of the game’s most prolific receivers. The offense has scored more than 30 points four times already, and throw in Mike Macdonald’s stingy defense, which ranks first against the run and is top 10 in points and yards allowed, and you have the makings of a bona fide NFC threat. The Seahawks suffocated Daniels all night, holding him to just 153 passing yards and no touchdowns before Daniels’ fourth-quarter injury.

Making it out of the division is the first step. The NFC West could be a bloodbath down the stretch. Both the Rams and Seahawks are 6-2, while the 49ers are a half- game back at 6-3.

The Commanders, meanwhile, have failed to sustain the magic of 2024. After a stirring run to the NFC Championship Game — the franchise’s first since 1991 — Dan Quinn’s team has regressed, especially on defense. Washington is now 3-6 with a playoff rematch against the Lions coming next week.

Kings of the North? Anybody’s guess

The league’s deepest division in 2024 might even be more competitive in 2025.

A year ago, three NFC North teams won 11 games or more, including a 15-win Lions squad and a 14-win Vikings team that battled on the final night of the regular season for the conference’s top seed.

Just past the halfway point of 2025, the division remains a four-team race. At 5-2-1, the Packers sit on top but have suffered two of the most stunning upsets of the NFL season — a 13-10 loss to the Browns in Week 3 and a 16-13 loss at home to the Panthers on Sunday. It gets worse: Green Bay now fears tight end Tucker Kraft could be lost for the season with an ACL tear.

The Lions are 5-3 but have dropped two of three, and already have two losses in the division. The most recent arrived Sunday, when J.J. McCarthy — starting for the first time since Week 2 — threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in a Vikings win. Credit Kevin O’Connell and his staff: Despite McCarthy’s early struggles and ankle injury, plus the roller coaster ride that was the Carson Wentz experiment, the Vikings (4-4) are again in the thick of the division race. So far, Minnesota is unbeaten in NFC North games.

The Bears, meanwhile, have ripped off five wins in their last six. Things are changing in Chicago under Ben Johnson, and Sunday offered a telling example: That’s exactly the kind of game the Bears would have found a way to lose over the years. Instead, Williams delivered in the clutch and the Bears are breathing as we inch into November.

Of the league’s eight division races, the AFC North might be the most captivating down the stretch. The Ravens, just 3-5, look revived after Lamar Jackson’s return and have a soft schedule over the coming month. An extended win streak isn’t out of the question. Meanwhile, the Steelers are 5-3 but have some tougher teams on the docket, including the Chargers, Bills and Lions. It’s still Pittsburgh’s division to lose, but Baltimore has the look of a team that’s going to make it interesting.

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