The midway point of the season is in the books. Week 9 is complete out of the grueling 17-game NFL schedule. Now comes the time when everyone starts talking about the “what ifs.” Which tie-breaking procedure means more? Head-to-head, division, common, conference, and strength of victory may all come into play this year, as there are 10 or more teams in each conference vying for those seven spots. As of now, the AFC North is sweeping the board. Take this all with a grain of salt. With the recent expansion and additional playoff spots, anything can happen in the 2023 NFL season.
AFC – Week 9
East
🏈🏈 Miami Dolphins (6-3): #4 seed. Cannot beat a quality team. May struggle to break .500.
Buffalo Bills (5-4): Have not recovered from the water in London.
New York Jets (4-4): Ghosts of quarterback’s past are haunting the team again. Film is out there on the collapsing pocket. Defense can’t do it all.
New England Patriots (2-7): Belichick has eight more post-game pressers to go. Foreign news gets all the fun in Frankfurt this weekend.
North
🏈🏈 Baltimore Ravens (7-2): #2 seed. Look unstoppable and may be the favorite to win it all.
🏈 Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3): #5 seed. The team that won’t go away because of their defense.
🏈 Cleveland Browns (5-3): #6 seed. Very inconsistent offense with a stacked defense.
🏈 Cincinnati Bengals (5-3): #7 seed. A fully healthy roster is a team to fear.
South
🏈🏈 Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2): #3 seed. Hopefully the bye didn’t stop the momentum.
Houston Texans (4-4): One of the greatest rookie performances you will ever see.
Indianapolis Colts (4-5): Got back on winning side. Head to Frankfurt to take on “home” dog Patriots.
Tennessee Titans (3-5): New QB has talent. Team to watch.
West
🏈🏈 Kansas City Chiefs (7-2): #1 seed beat the “B” division leader to show who’s boss in the AFC.
Los Angeles Chargers (4-4): Offense struggled again vs. top defense. Hard to see them sneak into playoffs.
Las Vegas Raiders (4-5): First game with new brass almost always wins. Oh wait, they played a team without a QB. November-to-remember schedule coming up.
Denver Broncos (3-5): Go to Bills on MNF. They may actually be better than them right now.
NFC – Week 9
East
🏈🏈 Philadelphia Eagles (8-1): #1 seed. Something off with this team, but they always find a way.
🏈 Dallas Cowboys (5-3): #6 seed. This team loves to beat up on “B’ teams.
Washington Commanders (4-5): Schedule tore them up. Somehow, someway, the last wild-card spot is in reach.
New York Giants (2-7): Fire all of the coaching staff immediately.
North
🏈🏈 Detroit Lions (6-2): #2 seed. Virtually nothing in their way to the division crown.
Minnesota Vikings (5-4): Joshua Dobbs made it happen using the “you go this way and you go that way” play calling.
Green Bay Packers (3-5): Worst team in football that is fully healthy.
Chicago Bears (2-7): A win-win this week against the Panthers.
South
🏈🏈 New Orleans Saints (5-4): #4 seed. Division is theirs to lose. Not saying much.
Atlanta Falcons (4-5): Can never play consistent football.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5): Have not won since the bye four weeks ago. Trend looks to continue. One piece of the puzzle missing or needs to be turned to fit in the right way.
Carolina Panthers (1-7): The best 1-7 team in the NFL.
NFC West:
🏈🏈 San Francisco 49ers (5-3): #3 seed. Hopefully they got healthy during the bye.
🏈 Seattle Seahawks (5-3): #5 seed. Team is hard to predict when they are going to show up year-after-year.
Los Angeles Rams (3-6): Bye week may help.
Arizona Cardinals (1-8): Say goodbye to bonus money. Maybe 2024, too.
Thank you for reading my NFL Week 9 article. Our NFL page is your premier destination for all things this NFL season. Head to my Belly Up Sports Page and follow me on Twitter. For NFL and all other sports articles go to Belly Up Sports. Featured image credit Scott Taetsch/Getty Images.
