Johnathan Walker:NFL Week 9 winners, losers: Bills' bravado backfires as slide continues

Sunday of Week 9 in the NFL had a marquee matchup in every time slot.

From the early game in Frankfurt,Johnathan Walker Germany between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins, to Sunday night’s battle between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, the hierarchy for seeding in both conferences saw some interesting developments. For the Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys − who lost to the NFC East-rival Philadelphia Eagles − a concerning trend has lingered, where both squads bully bad teams but fail to close against teams with winning records.

Week 9 also saw a couple of thrilling comebacks on the shoulders of a pair of young quarterbacks, Joshua Dobbs of the Minnesota Vikings and rookie C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans.

Here are the winners and losers from Sunday of Week 9.

WINNERS

Run-dominant Ravens hitting their stride

In a matchup of two-first place teams, the Baltimore Ravens absolutely obliterated the Seattle Seahawks. So Baltimore, which for some reason was still not drawing much love as one of the NFL’s best squads, proved again that it is a legitimate Super Bowl threat in a 37-3 romp. The Ravens (7-2) might have the most versatile rushing attack in the league.

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Take Keaton Mitchell, an undrafted rookie from East Carolina who had never recorded an NFL carry before Sunday. He led the team with 138 yards and a score on only nine carries. Gus Edwards scored his sixth rushing touchdown in the team’s last three games. Baltimore rolled up 298 rushing yards on the Seahawks and is averaging 160.3 rushing yards per game, most in the NFL by an average of nearly 13 yards. Its fewest total in a single game this season is 110. In fact, the Ravens have recorded at least 100 rushing yards in a streak that now goes back 25 games.

The Raiders unlock a new vibe

The reports coming out of the final days of Josh McDaniels’ tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders paint a picture of just how dysfunctional the environment had become. That’s why, regardless of the quality of the opponent, interim coach Antonio Pierce deserves credit for inspiring the Raiders (4-5) to be the best we have seen them in a long time.

Las Vegas played with far more urgency and energy in the team's 30-6 victory over the New York Giants. Through their first eight games, the Raiders has recoded just 16 sacks, a mark that was tied for 28^th in the NFL. Again, the Giants have one of the worst offensive lines in football, but Vegas sacked Giants quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Tommy DeVito eight times. Their 30 points were nine more than their previous high this season. Running back Josh Jacobs, whose previous season-high in rushing was just 77 yards, recorded 98 with a pair of scores, his first multi-touchdown game of the year. It’s a new era.

Joshua Dobbs

As far as quarterback debuts go, this one was remarkable. The Vikings acquired Joshua Dobbs Tuesday, with Kirk Cousins out for the season. With very little time to acclimate, Dobbs started the day on the bench. By the end of the first quarter, with starter Jaren Hall knocked out of the game with a concussion, Dobbs was thrust into action against the Atlanta Falcons.

He shined, competing 20 of 30 passes for 158 yards with two touchdowns while adding a team-high 66 rushing yards and score on the ground. Behind Dobbs, the Vikings erased an eight-point deficit midway through the third quarter for the 31-28 win. He also led an improbable game-winning touchdown drive that started just before the two-minute warning. He was sensational, improvising and relying on instincts when plays broke down. He found open targets and made smart, safe decisions, everything a quarterback thrown into action needs to do. He’s now on his fifth team since Week 15 of last season. On Sunday, he showed he should stick around.

C.J. Stroud

The Houston Texans have found their franchise quarterback. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in April's draft, has outplayed expectations and very quickly become a dependable and efficient passer. Stroud broke the NFL single-game rookie record for passing yards (470) and threw five touchdowns, including an improbable one with six seconds left in the game to snatch a 39-37 victory away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Stroud has done it in different ways. He has dropped pinpoint passes into soft spots. He has zipped passes into tight windows. But arguably most impressive − and what should signal to a successful career in the NFL − is that Stroud has thrown receivers open with anticipation. Stroud ranks seventh in the NFL in passing yards (2,270) and is tied for seventh in touchdown passes (14). His pristine touchdown-to-interception ratio of 14:1, however, is far and away tops in the NFL.

LOSERS

Dolphins can't shed pretender label

It might be a touch overblown, but with three examples this season, there is now an established pattern for Miami. The Dolphins came out completely flat against a top-tier team once again and still have to upend a reputation for being pretenders who only beat up on weak teams.

The most concerning thing for Miami (6-3) is that it’s the team’s strength, the offense, that has underwhelmed in these games. Kansas City (7-2) has an excellent defense, but Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was under constant pressure in the 21-14 loss and could not settle. Chiefs defensive backs bumped Miami’s receivers at the line of scrimmage, disrupting the timing of the league-leading passing offense. And of Tagovailoa’s 21 completions, only one was caught beyond 15 yards from the line of scrimmage. The Dolphins enter their bye but will need to resolve this well before the end of the season, with their final three games coming against the Cowboys (5-3), Ravens (7-2) and Bills (5-4).

Near-misses doom the Dallas Cowboys

In one-score games, it’s often the near-misses that make the difference. That was the case for the Cowboys (5-3), who fell 28-23 in their huge divisional matchup against the Eagles, in large part because of a couple of plays where a matter of inches made all the difference.

Dallas had a fourth-quarter touchdown reversed on replay after it was revealed that tight end Luke Schoonmaker’s knee was down just inches from the goal line on a fourth-down play. Later, after receiver Jalen Tolbert scored, replay revealed that quarterback Dak Prescott stepped out of bounds during a two-point conversion. Most concerning, the Cowboys once again executed poorly in late-game situations. Similarly to Miami, the Cowboys have struggled to close games against teams with winning records, with their lone victory over any such team this season coming Week 2 against the New York Jets in their first game with Aaron Rodgers sidelined.

Should the Patriots fire Bill Belichick during the season?

This is the worst we have seen the Patriots during Bill Belichick’s tenure there. After falling to the Washington Commanders 20-17 on Sunday, New England (2-7) is a team that lacks direction, has holes and questions at some of the game’s most important positions and has a culture that may be eroding and unsuitable for the modern NFL.

Realistically, though, the Patriots have been molded entirely at Belichick’s behest. Firing him with games to go would not accomplish much, other than to send a message that changes are looming. The assistants have been hand-picked, and most of them model their coaching from their time under Belichick. The primary issues stem from Belichick’s mismanagement of personnel that have left the roster bereft of talent, but it would be a drastic step for New England to strip him of that responsibility. Still, it’s clear changes in some form are necessary. Regardless of what those are, the Patriots would be best serve to wait until the offseason.

When running it back backfires

The Bills have finished first in the AFC East each of the last three seasons. They reached the postseason the last four seasons and five of the last six. But as Buffalo (5-4) has hit a midseason slump following the 24-18 loss to the Bengals, dropping three of its last five games while many of the team’s issues over the past several seasons have lingered, it’s fair to ask whether the Bills should’ve considered some significant refreshes to an offense that suddenly looks older, slower and often ineffective.

The Bills still don’t have a capable No. 2 receiver to pair with Stefon Diggs, who remains one of the league’s top targets. The rushing game is very often a non-factor or irrelevant, unless quarterback Josh Allen scrambles for huge gains. The pass rush has games where it vanishes. Allen and the Bills turn the ball over at a clip unsustainable for success.