The NFL this season hasn’t been short of talking points, and week nine was no different. The Buffalo Bills headed to face the Jets at New York’s MetLife Stadium. The Jets were stunned by the New England Patriots on week eight thanks to an uncharacteristically poor display from quarterback Zach Wilson. The Bills, on the other hand, have made a brilliant start to this campaign, which has triggered OddsChecker, a platform which provides free NFL bets, to make the team favorites for Super Bowl glory next February.
But how would they fair in the Big Apple?
Another team who have been firing on all cylinders is the Philadelphia Eagles. The Pennsylvania-based outfit is the only side whose perfect record remains intact. They traveled to the lowly Houston Texans on week nine, who have picked up just one win all season. Nick Sirianni’s side piled further misery on the hosts, winning 29-17 at the NRG Stadium and improving to 8-0.
Elsewhere, perennial postseason protagonists Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both continued their recent impressive form. Tom Brady’s Bucs hosted the Los Angeles Rams – the team who eliminated the Florida outfit at the divisional round of last year’s playoffs – at Raymond James Stadium, and managed to secure a narrow 16-13 victory. The Chiefs were dragged into overtime by the Tennessee Titans. However, a late Harrison Butker field goal was enough to seal a 20-17 victory.
Those three games were talking points in their own right, but here are our top two from week nine…
Bills stunned in New York
The Bills have taken everyone by storm this season. We all knew that they had an incredible roster in preseason, featuring the likes of Stefon Diggs and Micah Hyde. But it was the brilliance of quarterback Josh Allen that fired them to six victories in their first seven games, including impressive wins over the likes of the Chiefs and the Rams. And following on from the Jets’ unusually disappointing display against the Patriots, where aforementioned QB Wilson threw a whopping three interceptions – two of which were in the final quarter – the visitors were expecting another comfortable afternoon’s work. How wrong they were…
The Bills started in dominant fashion. Two rushing touchdowns from the brilliant Adams gave them an early 14-3 lead. The hosts. however, started to show the fighting spirit that was sorely lacking and dragged themselves level courtesy of two touchdowns, the first ran in by Michael Carter and the second received by James Robinson. As such, the scores were level heading into the fourth.
Both sides fancied their chances, but it was the hosts who found themselves on goal with barely two minutes remaining. They weren’t able to convert the touchdown, however, Greg Zuerlein sent over a field goal and the visitors were unable to respond. The Bills now fall to 6-2 while the Jets improve to 6-3.
The Bengals show their class
Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals surprised everyone by reaching the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years. And they would have won it if it wasn’t for Cooper Kupp’s last-gasp touchdown, which wrestled the Lombardi Trophy out of their arms and into those of the Rams.
This season however has been a stark contrast to last term. An opening-day overtime defeat to their local rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, was followed up with another heartbreaking defeat against the Dallas Cowboys. In recent weeks, however, the Bengals have bounced back from those defeats. On week seven, a mammoth 481 yards from Joe Burrow handed them a 35-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons. And so, a fortnight later, they were back up to their old tricks.
‘Jackpot’ Joey threw another 206 yards but it was running back Joe Mixon who stole the show. He picked up 153 rushing yards and ran in a mighty four touchdowns as the Ohio-based outfit sealed a 42-21 victory against the Carolina Panthers. The Bengals are rediscovering their form from last season and now have a record of 5-4. Don’t be surprised to see them in the playoffs once again in the new year.
