With the NFL regular season at the halfway point for teams that have not seen their bye week, many teams are still left jockeying for playoff positioning. Teams that are at .500 or even a game under, know a run of wins will greatly improve their chances of postseason play.
Here are the five most intriguing Week 9 matchups as we turn to the second half of the regular season.
5. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3)
After a 0-3 start, the Bengals look to continue their ascent towards the playoff picture. They have won three of their last four, with the most recent being a 24-23 victory over the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday.
At 4-3, the Jaguars are tied with the Tennessee Titans for first in the AFC South. They have alternated a win with a loss in their first seven games. Jacksonville had a bye in Week 8, and they defeated the Colts 27-0 in their last outing.
Cincinnati will look to force Blake Bortles into making turnovers, something their defense has not excelled at. They have a -10 turnover margin as their defense has forced just five turnovers in the first seven games. They do get to the quarterback though with 22 sacks on the year, and their 5.3 yards allowed per pass attempt ranks third in the NFL.
Andy Dalton will be heading to Jacksonville to face a Jaguars’ defense that is league-best in points allowed per game (15.7), sacks per game (4.7), and takeaways per game (2.3).
Their pass defense has been phenomenal as opposing quarterbacks are completing 58.3 percent of their passes, just 4.2 yards per attempt, and only have four touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions.
4. Denver Broncos (3-4) at Philadelphia Eagles (7-1)
The Broncos’ slide down the AFC standings continued last Monday, as they lost their third game in a row to fall under .500.
They lost 29-19 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8 and have decided to switch quarterbacks for this Sunday. Meanwhile, the Eagles have won six games in a row after a 33-10 Week 8 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Their 7-1 record is the best in football.
Denver decided it was time for a change of the signal caller as Trevor Siemian had two touchdown passes and six interceptions during their three-game losing streak.
Former Broncos starter Brock Osweiler will lead the offense after a mostly awful 2016 season when he started 14 games for the Houston Texans. Osweiler went 5-2 in his seven starts with Denver in 2015 throwing 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.
It may be up to Osweiler for the Broncos to have a chance as they are going up against an Eagles defense that has been stout against the run. Only once have they allowed the opposition to run for over 100 yards, and that was in their Week 2 loss to the Chiefs.
3. Baltimore Ravens (4-4) at Tennessee Titans (4-3)
The Ravens had lost four of their last five games before their blanking of the Miami Dolphins 40-0 in Week 8 to move back to .500. The Titans barely squeaked out a 12-9 overtime win over the winless Cleveland Browns in the game prior to their Week 8 bye and sit in a tie for first in the AFC North with the Jaguars.
Halfway through their season, it has been as simple as scoring at least 20 points for Baltimore to prevail. They are 4-0 when scoring 20+, but 0-4 when they do not reach that threshold. Their defense has remained solid most of the season, and their 1.5 interceptions per game is the most in the NFL.
Tennessee is currently over .500 despite being outscored on the season and despite Marcus Mariota not quite reaching the heights of his sophomore season so far in 2016. In six starts, he has four touchdown passes and four interceptions. In 15 starts last year, Mariota had a nearly 3:1 touchdown to interception ratio at 26 and nine respectively. His yards per attempt is also almost a yard lower than last season despite a slightly higher completion percentage.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) at Dallas Cowboys (4-3)
After losing back-to-back games to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders, Kansas City got back on track with a 29-19 win over the Broncos last Monday. The Cowboys moved back over .500 as they defeated the Washington Redskins last week by the score of 33-19.
Alex Smith is on the short list of MVP candidates around the halfway point of the season. He has completed 69.1 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and no interceptions. He is just 28 pass attempts away from breaking the NFL record of most attempts to start a season without an interception set by Bernie Kosar with 286 in 1991.
For the second straight season since drafting Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys rely on establishing the run game.
They received good news when it was announced Elliott would be allowed to play after it was previously announced his six-game suspension would begin. Dallas ranks second with 150.6 rushing yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry.
1. Atlanta Falcons (4-3) at Carolina Panthers (5-3)
The reigning NFC champion Falcons ended their three-game losing streak with a 25-20 triumph over the New York Jets in Week 8. The Panthers entered Week 8 with a two-game losing streak, but defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday and now sit half a game behind the 5-2 New Orleans Saints in the NFC South.
After leading the NFL in 2016 averaging 33.8 Points Per Game, Atlanta is at just 21.9 points per game through seven outings.
They currently own a -5 turnover margin after finishing at +11 last season. They rank dead last in forcing turnovers which they have done only four times.
Much like the Falcons, a negative turnover margin has stopped the Panthers from having even a better record. They currently sit at -7, and they are just two seasons removed from finishing at +20 as they reached the Super Bowl. Cam Newton has nine touchdowns and three interceptions in their five wins and just one touchdown and eight interceptions in their three losses.
