CNN
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Week 9 in the NFL saw plenty of drama as the 2024 season reached its halfway stage.
Not only did we see historic performances from offenses, but there were also overtime victories and last-second game-winning field goals to send teams home happy.
Seven games in Week 9 were decided by seven-or-fewer points, meaning there have been 74 games won by that margin this season, the most such games through Week 9 in NFL history.
Here are the main storylines from Sunday’s action.
Sunday’s game at Lambeau Field between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers was billed as the game of the week with both having excellent starts to the season.
But it was never really a contest as the Lions raced out to an early lead and eventually prevailed 24-14 against their NFC North rivals.
The animosity between the two sides began well before kick-off when Lions star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown arrived at Lambeau Field wearing a shirt emblazoned with the message “Green Bay sucks.”
And St. Brown was impactful in the early proceedings, catching a touchdown pass on Detroit’s opening possession of the game in rainy Wisconsin.
Lions defensive back Kerby Joseph intercepted Packers QB Jordan Love and took it all the way back for a touchdown before halftime to further extend the traveling team’s lead.
And when Jahmyr Gibbs ran for a score midway through the third quarter, Detroit’s lead was at 21 points and the game was essentially over.
Green Bay scored a field goal and a late touchdown to reduce the deficit to 10 but it was all inconsequential as the Lions extended their winning run to six games and cemented their position as the best team in the NFL at the moment.
“I am not shocked one bit that we came over here and played pretty good football out in the elements,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said afterwards, alluding to his own team’s domed stadium. “We are built for this, and it doesn’t matter just because we play indoors. It doesn’t matter.
“We can play anywhere. We can play in the snow. We can play in the rain. Play in the mud. That is just us and we are built to win, man.”
During the Lions’ winning run, quarterback Jared Goff has been playing some excellent football with a 82.8 completion percentage, 13 touchdowns, one interception and a 140.1 passer rating in that stretch.
According to the NFL, Goff’s completion percentage and passer rating are both the highest in a six-game span since at least 1970 (minimum 100 passes attempted), breaking the previous records set respectively by Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
“We’re supposed to be the dome team who can’t play outside,” Goff said afterwards. “We’re supposed to be the team that can only win one way. I think we’ve shown a handful of times we can win in multiple ways. We’re chameleons.”
It was a disappointing result for the Packers at home, despite having 150 more offensive yards than Detroit.
Miscues and costly penalties meant drives stalled at the key times and resulted in the team not being able score as often as it needed to keep up with the Lions.
The Packers fall to 6-3 and head onto their bye, while the Lions improve to 7-2 and travel to face the Houston Texans in Week 10. It is the first time in the Super Bowl era the Lions have started 7-1 or better, with the only other time coming in 1956, per the NFL.
Saquon Barkley is no stranger to producing highlight-worthy plays of special athleticism.
But he might have outdone all of his previous moments of individual skill on Sunday during the Philadelphia Eagles’ 28-23 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In the second quarter of the game at Lincoln Financial Field, the 27-year-old received a pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts on a key third down, still needing to evade two defenders to reach the first down marker.
He first side-stepped one defender and then spun away from another. And with the first down cemented, Barkley produced what Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said afterwards was the “best play” he’s ever seen.
Facing the wrong way and without looking, Barkley leaped into the air and hurdled over the incoming cornerback Jarrian Jones, who flew past before Barkley was eventually tackled.
The replay of the moment on the big screen at Lincoln Financial Field elicited huge cheers while Barkley took a moment to recover on the sidelines.
The official NFL X account commented that Barkley was “not of this world” and Sirianni was equally dumfounded after the Eagles’ victory.
“What I think is so cool is there are going to be kids all over the country and all over Philadelphia – I really think about that – trying to make that play and talking about that play and simulating that play as they play backyard football or Pee Wee Football,” he told reporters.
“They aren’t going to be able to make it because I think he’s the only one in the world that can do that. I’m speechless. It was unbelievable … I can’t say enough about how athletic he is.”
Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat said he “felt like a fanboy for a quick second” while watching Barkley’s play.
That acrobatic moment was the exclamation point on a productive day for Barkley, who was the difference for Philadelphia on Sunday.
He had 199 total yards – 159 on the ground and 40 through the air – as well as a rushing and receiving touchdown.
Hurts also added three touchdowns himself, two passing and one rushing, as the Eagles improved to 6-2 while the Jags fell to 2-7.
The Baltimore Ravens put in a dominant performance to return to winning ways on Sunday, comfortably beating the Denver Broncos 41-10 at M&T Bank Stadium.
More notable than the large winning margin, though, was the historic performances from two of Baltimore’s key contributors.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson has enjoyed an excellent start to the season, and that continued against the Broncos for the reigning NFL MVP as he went 16-of-19 on his passing attempts for 280 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, resulting in a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
It’s the fourth time in Jackson’s career that he has had a perfect passer rating in a game, the most ever in the Super Bowl era as he moves ahead of such luminaries as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger.
But Jackson wasn’t the only Baltimore player to put in a historic display.
Derrick Henry entered Week 9 as the NFL’s leading rusher and he enhanced that status with another 126 yards as well as adding two touchdowns.
It was the 21st time in Henry’s storied career that he’s rushed for at least 100 yards and two scores in a game, tying Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith for the third-most such games in NFL history, trailing only Jim Brown and LaDainian Tomlinson.
The two touchdowns were also Henry’s 100th and 101st career rushing touchdowns. Playing in his 128th career game, he ties Adrian Peterson for the fifth-fewest games played to reach 100 career rushing touchdowns.
Henry’s signing in the offseason has added another element to the Ravens offense and it has paid dividends through the first half of the NFL season, with both he and Jackson performing at extremely high levels.
After Baltimore improved to 6-3, Henry described what it’s been like playing alongside Jackson.
“He’s dangerous with his arm, and I think he showed that today. If you want to take away him running the ball, (he’ll) go over your head and throw it,” Henry told reporters. “If he has to run it, he’ll do that as well. Hats off to him. He’s an engine that makes this thing go – ‘MV3.’”
Away vs. home (winners in bold)
Dallas Cowboys 21-27 Atlanta Falcons
Denver Broncos 10-41 Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins 27-30 Buffalo Bills
New Orleans Saints 22-23 Carolina Panthers
Las Vegas Raiders 24-41 Cincinnati Bengals
Los Angeles Chargers 27-10 Cleveland Browns
Washington Commanders 27-22 New York Giants
New England Patriots 17-20 OT Tennessee Titans
Chicago Bears 9-29 Arizona Cardinals
Jacksonville Jaguars 23-28 Philadelphia Eagles
Detroit Lions 24-14 Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Rams 26-20 OT Seattle Seahawks
Indianapolis Colts 13-21 Minnesota Vikings
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