The two will play for first place in the NFC North while the Colts make a switch at quarterback and Buffalo looks to defend its home turf against Miami.
To kick off week nine of the NFL regular season, the New York Jets were able to defeat the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football to take some control of its season and improve its record to 3-6. Houston seemed in desperate need of returning wide receiver Nico Collins from the injured reserve list as quarterback CJ Stroud struggled to connect with each receiver not named Tank Dell on October 31. The Texans still hold a comfortable 6-3 record and first place in the AFC South division, but will need Collins back if it hopes to make a run for the number one seed in the AFC. For the remainder of the week nine slate, two inter-division matchup creates much anticipation, especially the game involving the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers for control of the NFC North.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love is questionable heading into the game, but has practiced in limited fashion despite a groin injury that forced him out Green Bay’s week eight win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The injury is most likely affecting the odds for operators such as FanDuel, which lists Detroit as a 2.5-point favorite despite Green Bay having home-field advantage. If Love gets deemed medically cleared to play prior to Sunday, it would not be surprising to see Green Bay favored on the spread and on the moneyline, where it currently has +124 odds to claim victory on November 3.
The two have been playing its best football over the last few weeks, leaving many hungry to see how both franchises will match up in its first game of the 2024 season. Detroit and Green Bay will meet again during week 14 at the Lions home stadium, which could serve as an even bigger factor in how the NFC North plays out this year.
Buffalo will look to continue its impressive start to the season as the Bills prepare for its AFC East rival Miami Dolphins in a home game that could put the division race to bed. While the Jets were able to improve to 3-6, the Bills are already at 6-2, and a win against the Dolphins would put the team three games ahead of the competition with less than nine games remaining in the regular season. Quarterback Josh Allen has played to a level where winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award isn’t out of the question, and the team just made a move to acquire wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns.
Miami was able to return quarterback Tua Tagovailoa from a concussion sustained during the two’s first matchup in week two, but ultimately lost in the final seconds in week eight to the Arizona Cardinals. At 2-5, the Dolphins will be playing for its Playoff lives essentially, which should provide needed motivation going into an environment it hasn’t won in since 2016. The Bills seem determined to make a push for the number one seed in the conference, however, and are clicking on all cylinders after suffering back-to-back losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. With the Kansas City Chiefs maintaining a perfect 7-0 record, teams such as the Bills, Texans and Ravens can’t afford to lose many games if overtaking Kansas City is the desire.
The Bills are 5.5-point favorites over Miami going into the matchup on November 3, with Cooper carrying a questionable tag and set to be a game-time decision. The injury shouldn’t have much effect on the line from FanDuel, as the Bills had a strong start to the season even before Cooper came on board. How the Dolphins plan to overcome the talent deficiency between the two rosters and find a way to win in Buffalo for the first time in eight years will be a question plaguing Dolphins fans through the weekend. Even with Tagovailoa back in the fold, it remains unlikely Miami is able to leave Buffalo with a victory and cash in on the moneyline odds of +220, but the team could cover the spread given the injuries its opponent is working through.
Finally, the Indianapolis Colts have decided to make a change at quarterback by benching second-year signal caller Anthony Richardson and starting veteran Joe Flacco in his place. Flacco helped the Cleveland Browns qualify for the postseason last year with impressive play down the stretch after taking over for DeShaun Watson. Richardson has been struggling with decision-making and accuracy issues all season, so the Colts felt it was best to give him time under Flacco to learn from the 17-year pro.
Indianapolis selected Richardson with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and watched as he unfortunately missed the majority of that regular season with a shoulder injury. He was seen as extremely raw coming out of Florida University, but his athletic traits and overall size gave scouts the belief that he could turn into an Allen-type quarterback.
The Minnesota Vikings, like Buffalo, are 5.5-point favorites at home heading into the matchup with Indianapolis during week nine. Minnesota is coming off two straight losses to the Lions and Los Angeles Rams, although the Rams game ended in controversy as quarterback Sam Darnold was clearly had his facemask grabbed on the final play but went without a penalty. In order to keep pace with both the Lions and Packers, Minnesota has to win games against opponents such as the Colts.
That is by no means a slight towards Indianapolis, but Playoff teams have to take care of business against competition that is below .500 or carry an even record, such as the Colts at 4-4. When playing tougher opponents, slip-ups can occur, but the best squads are those who beat up on the struggling teams while hopefully playing .500 football against those also at the top.
Week nine of the NFL should produce many intriguing storylines heading into the last half of the season, especially with numerous inter-division matchups such as those listed above. Coming down to the wire of 2024, teams are starting to round into form and begin final pushes for Playoff positioning. As fans grow closer to the most exciting time of the season, the NFL landscape will begin to shift dramatically with the results of each passing week.
