One of my favorite moments of Week 9 was watching Antonio Pierce shake Mark Davis’s hand on the field while the stadium speakers blasted Eazy-E’s Real Mutha(bleeping) Gs after the Raiders crushed the Giants.
Pierce is an old-school, no-nonsense type of coach, but you can tell the interim coach knows how to relate to his players, and his presence paved the way for the Raiders to deliver their best performance of the season a few days after Davis fired Josh McDaniels.
Speaking of Real Gs, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud also announced himself as the real deal at quarterback with his five-touchdown performance during the comeback win against the Buccaneers. Stroud and Pierce are both from the L.A. area, so they know plenty about Eazy-E and N.W.A music.
Joshua Dobbs isn’t from Compton, but he had a Real G-like performance after guiding the Vikings to a come-from-behind victory in Atlanta five days after being traded by the Cardinals.
The Texans, Raiders and Vikings were definitely highlighted for this week’s “Winners and Losers” column.
Eric Christian Smith/AP
Winners
Texans
The Texans (4–4) are the biggest winners of Week 9 because Stroud announced himself as the league’s newest star quarterback with his special performance against the Buccaneers.
There’s no better feeling for a rebuilding franchise after realizing their young signal-caller will be a top-15 quarterback for the next decade and there’s nowhere to go but up. The Chargers and Bengals knew quickly with Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow, respectively. The Jaguars and Eagles did too after rocky rookie seasons for Trevor Lawrence and Jalen Hurts, respectively.
Stroud isn’t on the level of those aforementioned quarterbacks yet, but he will be soon with how well he’s performed in his rookie season. Stroud went from being a very good rookie quarterback to a special one after picking apart the Buccaneers' stout defense for 470 passing yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winning strike to Tank Dell with six seconds left in regulation.
You might remember a time when many pundits soured on Stroud because he didn’t have a high test score and wasn’t as mobile as Anthony Richardson or Bryce Young. Turns out, being a pocket assassin can still win games in the NFL.
Vikings
First of all, I was wrong in saying the Vikings wouldn’t compete for the postseason with Dobbs as the quarterback. How foolish of me to say when all the Vikings and Dobbs have done this season is fight.
Dobbs showed plenty of fight during eight games with the Cardinals. (He joined Arizona in late August after spending training camp with the Browns.) They didn’t win many games, but they were competitive more often than not, despite the football public thinking they would roll over for 17 games this season. Also, Dobbs helped the Cardinals record a shocking victory over the Cowboys earlier this season.
So, of course, Dobbs would help the Vikings (5–4) with their playoff push. Minnesota opted against being sellers during the trade deadline last week, despite losing Kirk Cousins for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.
It’s been a roller coaster of a season for the Vikings, but they’ve been competitive in every game this season and have overcome an 0–3 start. Credit to coach Kevin O’Connell for having this team in the playoff mix with four consecutive wins without their best player. Justin Jefferson could soon return from the injured reserve list.
Raiders
Some might not have liked seeing the Raiders (4–5) smoking cigars in the locker room after a regular-season win against the two-win Giants. But the Raiders needed to let loose after a rocky year-and-a-half with McDaniels as the head coach.
Obviously, they can’t celebrate like that after every regular-season victory, but that shouldn’t be a concern with Pierce running the show. He already proved he’s more than just a players’ coach with how impressive the Raiders were on both sides of the ball against New York.
We still need to learn a lot more about Pierce as a head coach, but he quickly got results from the Raiders’ offense. Josh Jacobs had a season-high 98 rushing yards, and the offense scored 24 points in the first half alone. The unit didn’t crack 20 points in eight games with McDaniels.
It was just one game, but it was a positive week for the Raiders.
Bengals
Burrow has regained his MVP form and the Bengals (5–3) might be the best team in the competitive AFC.
Burrow had no trouble spreading the ball around against the Bills’ banged-up defense, but what made his performance memorable was the way he moved in the pocket to avoid pressure and extend plays. That was a clear indication that Burrow’s calf is no longer giving him fits.
But enough about the calf injury. The Bengals just beat the Seahawks, 49ers and Bills in three consecutive games. Not many teams would go 3–0 through that gauntlet. Cincinnati is clicking on both sides of the football. There might, however, be some concerns with Ja’Marr Chase’s back injury.
Nick Wass/AP
Ravens
I hesitate to call the Bengals the best in the AFC because they might not even be the best team in the AFC North.
The Ravens (7–2) recorded a dominant 37–3 win over the Seahawks last week. The Bengals went down to the wire with the Seahawks during a 17–13 win in Week 6. Baltimore also crushed the Lions 38–6 in Week 7, and might have the two most impressive wins of the regular season.
Lamar Jackson is now 18–1 against NFC opponents. But the Ravens will be tested the next two weeks in the AFC North with meetings against the Browns and Bengals. We might find out whether they’re the best in the AFC after that two-game stretch.
Losers
Dolphins
Yes, the Dolphins were playing against the Chiefs’ standout defense, which might be the best in the Patrick Mahomes era, and were thousands of miles away from home in Frankfurt, Germany. But shouldn’t the so-called best offense in the league be able to score more than 14 points on a weekly basis?
Many have stopped calling the Dolphins Super Bowl contenders because they again lost to a winning team (They’re 0–3 against the Bills, Eagles and Dolphins). But they might no longer have the label of best offense in the league because they only put up points against losing teams. It’s cool that they scored 70 points against the Broncos, but they averaged 17 points against the Bills, Eagles and Chiefs.
The Dolphins (6–3) don’t have a backup offensive identity, and that could cost them in the postseason if they don’t learn how to adjust when opposing defenses don’t allow them to score quickly. Miami has too many home run hitters and not enough chain-movers. The Dolphins punted a whopping seven times against the Chiefs.
Panthers
Young has a win over Stroud in the NFL, but Young hasn’t come close to playing the way Stroud did against the Buccaneers.
It’s way too soon to say the Panthers (1–7) made the wrong choice with selecting Young over Stroud, but it’s going to be tough for Young (and next year’s QB draft class) to match what Stroud has done so far in his rookie season. And let’s not forget that the Bears passed on Stroud too because they traded the No. 1 pick to the Panthers. We can probably already say Stroud is better than Justin Fields.
Jenna Watson/IndyStar/USA TODAY NETWORK
But this is not to say Young won’t have a stellar career. He definitely could develop into a top quarterback in the league because he’s made some big-time throws and recently had a game-winning drive against Stroud’s Texans. But everything will be harder for him because of his 5'10", 194-pound frame. The Panthers are responsible for making life easier for Young, and so far they have failed him in that area.
Young had one of his worst performances of the season in Sunday’s 27–13 loss to the Colts. He threw three interceptions, including two pick-sixes to Kenny Moore II.
Seahawks
It’s starting to make sense why the Seahawks (5–3) went across the country to meet with the top quarterbacks in the 2023 draft. They might have feared that Geno Smith was a one-season wonder.
It hasn’t gotten that bad, but Smith needs to stop committing turnovers at a high rate. He had two more turnovers during Sunday’s blowout loss to the Ravens to bring his total to eight in the past four games.
Smith’s numbers are down across the board compared to his sensational 2022 season. But it’s not all Smith’s fault, because the offensive line has struggled and the rushing attack has been quiet in recent weeks. Seattle has plenty of talent on the defensive side to hang with the top teams in the NFC, but they won’t get far unless the offense improves in the coming weeks.
Bills
It’s time to wonder whether the Bills (5–4) will make the postseason because their defense is ravaged by injuries and the offense refuses to wake up.
The Bills won’t be a threat in the AFC without a ground game. That was clear in Sunday’s loss against the Bengals, as Josh Allen tends to play hero ball when the offense is one dimensional and that often leads to missed throws and turnovers. This is nothing new, but coach Sean McDermott needs to shake up the offensive coaching staff soon because what offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey has done the past two seasons hasn’t worked.
McDermott should also be bothering the front office to find another running back because James Cook has been too inconsistent this season.
Giants
The Giants took another devastating hit after it was announced that Daniel Jones will miss the remainder of the 2023 season because of a torn ACL.
With the Giants (2–7) on track for a top-five pick in the draft, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team drafted a quarterback to officially end the Jones era one year after handing him a four-year, $160 million contract extension.
It’s evident that this roster needs a full teardown with how poorly this season has gone. Most rebuilding projects need a new quarterback to be built properly.
