Week 9 Remix

November 6, 2023

By: Carlos Alvarez

Welcome Back

A football-heavy newsletter is hot off the press. It\’s all things gridiron on this Monday morning before tonight’s tip-off to the NCAA basketball season. The rich got richer in the NFL on Sunday…

Stat of the Day: The Eagles are the first NFL team in 17 years to start 8-1 or better in consecutive seasons. Only three other teams have done that in the last 30 years. Each of them won the Super Bowl following the second season.

2006 Colts

1998 Broncos

1995 Cowboys

Letter Rip!

NFL

Week 9 Remix: Elite Teams Flex

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Bengals, Eagles, Ravens & Chiefs All Win Big Games to Open November, Solidify Top Tier of NFL

Week 9 was an important one in the NFL, and we’ve begun to separate the pack. As teams turned the corner on the trade deadline and stepped into November with a renewed purpose, Sunday delivered four marquee matchups amongst elite teams. The four winners — Bengals, Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs — all flexed their muscles. To top it off, one rookie QB had himself a historic outing. Here’s the Week 9 Sunday remix:

Week 9 Remix

Raiders Response: Less than a week after the Raiders canned their coaching staff and GM, interim head coach Antonio Pierce and new starting QB Aiden O’Connell handed the Giants a beatdown (30-6).

Stroud Makes History: The Texans scored 29 points in their second-half comeback to beat the Bucs (39-37), and rookie QB C.J. Stroud has a breakout performance to remember. Stroud threw for 470 yards and 5 TDs. His 470 yards was an NFL rookie record, and Houston is .500 (4-4).

Ravens Riptide: Records aside, the Ravens might be the best team in football. Baltimore swept the Seahawks out to sea with a 37-3 blowout with three rushing touchdowns. That’s two 30-point wins against the Lions and Seahawks in the last three weeks.

The Dobbs Effect: Newly acquire QB Josh Dobbs led a game-winning 4th-quarter drive to get his first win with the Vikings. Minnesota beat the Falcons (31-28), and Dobbs was magnificent (20/30, 224 total yards, 3 TDs).

Chiefs in Charge: The early game on Sunday took place in Germany where the Chiefs held off a Dolphins comeback (21-14). Miami is 6-0 against teams with losing records and 0-3 against teams with winning records.

Birds Beat \’Boys: The Eagles beat the Cowboys in an intense game of inches. Dallas had two late drives come up short, including a final pass stuffed inside the 5-yard-line to save the game for Philly (28-23). The Eagles (8-1) now have a 2.5-game lead in the NFC East over the Cowboys (5-3).

Bengals Win 4th Straight: Cincinnati continues to climb up the ranks with another quality win, beating the Bills last night (24-18) behind an aerial assault. The Bengals have now beaten three straight tough opponents — Seahawks, 49ers and Bills — and QB Joe Burrow is clicking.

Top Performers (Stats)

QB C.J. Stroud (HOU): 30/42, 480 total yards, 5 TDs

QB D. Prescott (DAL): 29/44, 388 total yards, 3 TDs

QB J. Burrow (CIN): 31/44, 348 yards, 2 TDs

QB J. Hurts (PHI): 17/23, 243 total yards, 3 TDs

QB J. Dobbs (MIN): 20/30, 224 total yards, 3 TDs

RB R. White (TB): 24 touches, 119 yards, 2 TDs

RB J. Jacobs (LVR): 26 carries, 98 yards, 2 TDs

WR C. Lamb (DAL): 11 receptions, 191 yards

WR T. Dell (HOU): 8 touches, 116 yards, 2 TDs

WR A. Cooper (CLE): 5 receptions, 139 yards, 1 TD

TE D. Schultz (HOU): 10 receptions, 130 yards, 1 TD

Week 9 Scores & Highlights

Steelers def. Titans (20-16)

Chiefs def. Dolphins (21-14)

Vikings def. Falcons (31-28)

Browns def. Cardinals (0-27)

Packers def. Rams (20-3)

Commanders def. Patriots (20-17)

Saints def. Bears (24-17)

Ravens def. Seahawks (37-3)

Texans def. Buccaneers (39-37)

Colts def. Panthers (27-13)

Raiders def. Giants (30-6)

Eagles def. Cowboys (28-23)

Bengals def. Bills (24-18)

Monday Night Football

Chargers at Jets (8:15 pm ET, ESPN)

ESPN: Tua Tagovailoa Shoulders Blame for Dolphin’s Struggles, Loss to Chiefs

Yahoo! Sports: C.J. Stroud Caps Historic 5-TD Day With Game-Winning TD Drive to Beat Bucs

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CFB

Pac-12 Shootout Gets Emotional

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Washington-USC, Michael Penix Jr. vs. Caleb Wiliams, Pac-12 Shootout Proves Huskies Belong in CFB Playoff Convo

Five undefeated title contenders entered Week 10, and five remain. One of those five is screaming for attention as Washington is still on the outside looking in. The Huskies hung 52 points on USC while Michael Penix Jr. got the win over reigning Heisman champ, Caleb Williams. Williams went viral for his emotional post-game actions and quotes, but Washington (9-0) still needs to prove it to the CFB Playoff committee. USC, on the other hand, is 7-3 and on the brink of spiraling out of the top-25 with Williams still projected as the No. 1 overall pick in next year\’s NFL Draft.

Elsewhere across college football, Georgia and Ohio State stayed perfect despite some adversity, and Michigan rolled Purdue, but the Wolverines are still the talk of the week as coaches call for action after the sign-stealing scandal. We’ll have a new set of CFB Rankings tomorrow night.

College Football Highlights

#1 Ohio State def. Rutgers (35-16)

#2 Georgia def. #12 Missouri (30-21)

#3 Michigan def. Purdue (41-13)

#4 Florida State def. Pittsburgh (24-7)

#5 Washington def. #20 USC (52-42)

#6 Oregon def. California (63-19)

#7 Texas def. #23 Kansas State (33-30, OT)

#8 Alabama def. #14 LSU (42-28)

#22 Oklahoma State def. #9 Oklahoma (27-24)

*CFB Playoff Rankings

Editor’s Note (AP Poll): No movement among the top 9 in AP Poll. Only #10 Oklahoma lost (fell 7 spots to #17).

Yahoo! Sports: CFB Week 10 Winners & Losers: Ranking Playoff Chances of Remaining Contenders

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HIGHLIGHTS

Lightning Round

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NASCAR: Blaney Takes the Cup

Back-to-back for Team Penske! Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series title at Phoenix Raceway, outlasting his Championship 4 competitors Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and William Byron. Blaney finished second overall to race-winner Ross Chastain, but he passed Larson and Byron on a late restart with 20 laps to go to secure the title. It took the 29-year-old Blaney eight seasons to earn his first NASCAR championship. Congrats to the No. 12 car!

NYC Marathon: Tola Breaks Race Record

Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia won the men’s race in the New York City Marathon on Sunday with a race-record time of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 58 seconds. Hell Obiri of Kenya won the women’s race, clocking in at 2:27:23. The race saw increased security due to the cultural climate, but the weather was warmer (67 degrees) than most NYC November races of the past.

NBA

NHL

Soccer

MLS Playoffs

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NCAA

College Hoops Tip-Off Night

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More Than 300-Plus Division I Games Tonight as NCAA Opens 4-Month Sprint to March Madness

Not a full story in this section, but rather a warning shot to basketball fans. The NCAA basketball season tips off tonight in unique fashion. Seasons past have seen college basketball begin with a few appetizer games or a four-team “classic.” In 2023, not so. Both men’s and women’s hoops will do a hard launch, all at once, with 175-plus men’s games and 125-plus women’s games across all of Division I tonight. There are few high-level clashes in men’s ball, but at least three ranked matchups you’ll want to see in the women’s game. Here’s a refresher of the preseason AP rankings and tonight\’s mega-schedules:

Men’s Preseason AP Poll (Top-5)

1. Kansas

2. Duke

3. Purdue

4. Michigan State

5. Marquette

Women’s Preseason AP Poll (Top-5)

1. LSU

2. UConn

3. Iowa

4. UCLA

5. Utah