We blinked and now the NFL season is at the halfway point. One of its most obvious features is its parity. There is simply no dominant team this season, and the results have never been more week to week. That means there will be a whole lot of teams that are likely to still be vying for playoff spots deep into December. And that means that every turnover, every injury, every breakout performance could prove to be pivotal when the season is sorted out.
Week 9 provided some developments that we may look back on as critical as teams ramp up for a playoff push. We're focusing this week on the AFC, where the traditional conference powers struggled in the early weeks, opening the door to upstarts. Mark these developments from this week, when the field is finally set at season's end.
1) The Chiefs lost their fourth game. The Bills owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and also won time of possession by nearly 10 minutes, halting the momentum of the Chiefs' red-hot offense on Sunday. The most concerning problem for the Chiefs is a familiar one: The offensive line did not hold up against the Bills' pass rush, which sacked Patrick Mahomes three times and hit him an astounding 15 times. He completed just 15 of 34 passes, the first time in his career he completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes. There's more: Right tackle Jawaan Taylor suffered an ankle injury. And still more: The Chiefs' loss dropped them behind the Broncos and Chargers in the AFC West and, combined with the Jaguars' win over the Raiders, dropped the Chiefs to the eighth seed in the AFC. And their defense struggled to impact Josh Allen, who went 23-of-26, threw for one touchdown and rushed for two. The Bills have now beaten the Chiefs five times in a row during the regular season but have been unable to eclipse them in January. Let's hope we see them meet again.
2) The Steelers defense absolutely overwhelmed the Colts offense. The Colts had the league's leading total and scoring offense and had allowed just nine sacks and committed four turnovers entering the game against Pittsburgh. But the Steelers, who were embarrassed by a fourth-quarter collapse against the Packers last week, made the Colts look worse than they have all season. They bottled up the league's leading rusher, Jonathan Taylor, and Daniel Jones was sacked five times, threw three interceptions and fumbled twice. A muffed punt by Josh Downs added to the damage. The game was close because the Steelers offense is still not entirely in rhythm. The win snapped a two-game losing streak and pushed the Steelers to 5-3, two games ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North. The loss was the first real setback the Colts have had this season and even then, they were not blown out. Receiver Michael Pittman Jr. kept things in perspective. “Honestly, I think that the adversity is good.” It helps to still be 7-2 and the AFC's top seed. The Jaguars, with a win Sunday, are two games back in the AFC South and the seventh seed in the AFC.
4) Lamar Jackson returned to Baltimore and order has been restored. Jackson, of course, was the most important name on the Ravens' injury report, and his return and four touchdown passes helped the Ravens dominate the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night and went a long way toward saving the season. But the gradual return to good health for a number of injured players, including safety Kyle Hamilton, has helped the Ravens stay alive after a miserable 1-5 start. A dramatic turnaround on defense has keyed the last two wins in a row, and the Ravens’ schedule is far more manageable from here on out, as long as Jackson stays on the field. The Ravens still have five division games, including both against the division-leading Steelers, so a leap from their current 10th seed is entirely plausible.
4) Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud suffered a concussion. The Texans have been clawing their way back from an 0-3 start, trying to stay in reach of the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South, and a big win last week over the 49ers seemed to signal a turning point. But when Stroud went down during a scramble early in the second quarter and exited the game, the tenor of the next few weeks changed. Stroud will have to clear the concussion protocol, and there is no way to predict how long that might take. In the meantime, the Texans have five straight AFC games ahead of them and the last-second loss to Denver dropped the Texans to 3-5, four games behind the Colts in the win column and the ninth seed in the AFC.
5) The Bengals defense gave up a 58-yard catch-and-run TD with 17 seconds left to fall to the Bears. The Bengals' season now is all about staying alive for a possible late-season return by Joe Burrow, so every loss makes that possibility more remote. The Bengals were down by 14 points at the two minute warning, but they took the lead with just under a minute remaining thanks to two Joe Flacco touchdown passes in 49 seconds and an extremely rare onside kick recovery. Alas, the Bengals defense could not hold on, allowing Caleb Williams to find Colston Loveland over the middle and then allowing Loveland to bounce off multiple missed tackles and run for the touchdown. The Bengals are now 3-6, behind both the Steelers and Ravens in the division, and the 11th seed in the AFC.
6) Chargers left tackle Joe Alt left the game on a cart. Alt's right ankle was rolled up on in the second quarter of the Chargers' victory over the Titans, and he left the stadium on crutches. Alt missed three games earlier this season with an injury to the same ankle and it's no coincidence that the Chargers lost two of them, with Justin Herbert struggling, or that Herbert was sacked on the play immediately after Alt exited Sunday. Compounding Sunday's damage was that replacement right tackle Bobby Hart suffered a groin injury earlier in the game (Herbert was sacked immediately after he exited, too). The Chargers are 6-3 and the AFC's sixth seed -- firmly in wild-card position -- right now. But if Alt misses significant time, the Chargers' hopes of winning the AFC West -- or even just adequately protecting Herbert from the repeated hits he took Sunday -- take a massive blow. The Steelers' pass rush is up next week.
7) The Patriots keep winning. Protection issues are a concern -- Drake Maye has been sacked 16 times in the last three games, including six Sunday by the Falcons – and the defense struggled in the red zone, but the Patriots have won six games in a row, sit atop the AFC East at 7-2, keeping one game ahead of the Bills, and are tied with the Colts and Broncos for the best record in the conference. One injury to keep an eye on, though: Receiver Kayshon Boutte left the game with a hamstring injury. The Patriots have a very manageable schedule. They face the Bucs next week and that is one of just two games remaining against teams that currently have a winning record (Buffalo in Week 15), although the Ravens could have one by the time they face the Patriots in Week 16.
