Week 9 of the NFL season is here, and there continue to be weekly stakes as we get deeper into the 2024 season. Some teams are fighting for relevancy, and others are trying to remain at the top. Here are six teams under pressure in week 9.
NFL Teams Under Pressure
The New York Jets
The New York Jets were able to keep their season alive with a win over the Houston Texans on Thursday night. The win puts them a 3-6 on the season, however, each game until the Jets can even their record up will have major implications to them.
Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Jets players acknowledged that they were in a do-or-die situation Thursday night and for the rest of the season if they wanted to make the playoffs. It’s going to be tough, but Rodgers believes the team can win out as was explained on the Thursday Night Football broadcast by Al Michaels. Even though he was skeptical of how it would happen, he did mention that Rodgers sounded like a great salesman and was very convincing about how the Jets could pull it off.
Thursday was a good win for the Jets, but the pressure is still on.
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a bye week and get to go on the road to face the Atlanta Falcons. For lack of a better term, the Cowboys season is on the line this Sunday against the Falcons. If the Cowboys lose the game, they will go to 3-5 and will have them scrambling to stay in the NFC wildcard race. The NFC East division will be out of their reach, with the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles both playing well at the moment and each team only having two losses a piece.
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins go on the road to take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Like their division counterpart, the NY Jets, the Dolphins are also playing for the right to stay in contention on Sunday. The Dolphins have beaten the Bills just once since Tua Tagovailoa has been the team’s starting quarterback. If the Dolphins want to be taken as a serious contender in the AFC, they will need to win a statement against the Bills on Sunday.
Chicago Bears
After a disastrous Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders, the Chicago Bears will need to find a way to come out and get back on track. Finger-pointing started after the Bear’s loss to the Commanders as players expressed frustration with some of the offensive and defensive playcalling. At the same time, Bears coaches took issue with some of the execution of what the coaches called in last Sunday’s loss by the players.
To keep the rest of the season from spoiling over, the Bears will need to bounce back against an Arizona Cardinals team that sits in first place in the NFC West. The Bears have yet to play any divisional games yet so if they don’t get back on track quickly those tough divisional games could do it to the Bears who have high hopes for this season.
Baltimore Ravens
After a divisional loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens are somewhat in a must-win situation. The Ravens are 5-3, and their opponent, the Denver Broncos, is also 5-3. For playoff implication, the Ravens will need to make sure they come away with the win here at home against Denver.
Los Angeles Rams
The LA Rams go on the road to take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. If the Rams win and the Arizona Cardinals lose, the LA Rams will be in first place in the NFC West division. The opportunity to take over first place in the division puts a lot of pressure on the Rams to get the job done on the road. Matthew Stafford should expect a second executive big day as he will finally have enough time at practice with his big-time receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp on the field together since the season started.
If the LA Rams want to go on a run, they will have to go on the road and beat Seattle.
Main Image: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
