On a day with a great game in each window, naturally the most entertaining were the wins by the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings. I will get to those.
The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs each head into their bye weeks off wins preceding a "Monday Night Football" showdown in Arrowhead, even though both flirted with blowing double-digit leads. The Chiefs' defense, which is the strength of its team this year, held on and they're 7-2. The Miami Dolphins continue to struggle with the best teams they play -- they've lost each game against a team with a winning record.
The Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia ending was amazingly inept on both sides considering both teams are really good. The Cowboys got to the Eagles' 6-yard-line, and somehow ended up taking the last snap of the game from the 27 and came up just short. The mess at the end ought not allow us all to lose the plot here, Philly is 8-1 after all. But given the markets, the teams and the lunacy of the fourth quarter, I understand it.
The Baltimore Ravens game was a dud because for the second straight home game, they annihilated an NFC division leader. They beat the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks by a combined 75-9 score. Their ceiling feels as high as any team in the NFL at the moment. It's the fourth time this season they've held an opponent to single-digits.
What Joshua Dobbs did is hard to fathom. The man just got to Minneapolis, didn't take a snap with the offense, didn't know most of the names of his receivers and led the Vikings to their fourth consecutive win. I'm a huge fan of professionals -- of people who are ready to meet the moment -- that's exactly what Dobbs did. His smile and the team's reaction in the locker room is the good stuff.
C.J. Stroud's day was in stark contrast to the man picked ahead of him -- as Bryce Young continues to struggle with the Carolina Panthers. Stroud became the sixth player -- not rookie, but player -- in NFL history to throw for 450 yards, 5 touchdowns and no interceptions. He joins Peyton Manning, Jared Goff, Ben Roethlisberger, Donovan McNabb and Y.A. Tittle on that list.
Stroud's rookie day went better than Clayton Tune's -- who debuted with Dobbs' most recent team, the Arizona Cardinals. But that came against the Cleveland Browns, whose defense was terrifying again.
Week 9's Sunday action closed with the Browns' division rivals in Cincinnati getting a big victory. And speaking of defenses, Lou Anarumo and the Cincinnati Bengals defense continues to shine as the Bengals poor start feels like long ago. So do Joe Burrow's calf troubles. Four wins in a row and five of six... and they look like the Bengals.
The Buffalo Bills, meanwhile... 5-4, man. We will see you next Monday night, western New York. Their schedule is loaded down the stretch; I keep using the same words -- but it is an uphill climb at this rate and they are running out of wiggle room.