Houston Rookie QB C.J Stroud and Texans Reserve RB Make Record-Breaking Feats, Ravens Dominate, and Dolphins Struggle: Week 9 NFL Wrap

Houston rookie QB C.J Stroud is the toast of the NFL world after his record-breaking performance this morning.

Staying in Houston; a Texans reserve running back has also put himself in the record books after his bizarre and seldom-seen feat.

Baltimore made a huge statement with a win over a NFC heavyweight, the second time they’ve done that in as many weeks.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins continue to come up short against the league’s best teams as their QB has a moment he would desperately like to have back.

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Read on for our Week 9 NFL Wrap!

ARE THE RAVENS THE AFC’S BEST TEAM?

Despite all the craziness you’ve read about above, the Baltimore Ravens’ 37-3 beatdown of the Seattle Seahawks may just be the most shocking result of the week so far.

The Ravens and Seahawks both entered the game as two-loss teams, with the latter holding first place in the NFC West and the former in top spot in the tough AFC North.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has been one of the form players this season and a red-hot chance of picking up a second MVP award and against Seattle, he was faultless, running for 60 yards and throwing for 187 with an 80% completion percentage.

Jackson had plenty of help though, especially from his running backs.

Rookie Keaton Mitchell embarrassed the Seattle defense all day, running for 138 yards from just nine carries while Gus Edwards added two touchdowns.

Odell Beckham Jr. also got in on the fun, scoring his first TD as a Raven.

With the win, Baltimore improve to 7-2, which is tied with Kansas City for the best record in the AFC.

The Ravens boast the best defense in the conference and with the way the offense is gaining yardage with ease on the ground, a match up with the Chiefs would be a mouthwatering clash.

On the other side, coach Pete Carroll admitted his disappointment with the result and shared his concern of QB Geno Smith’s recent turnover issues.

Smith has had eight turnovers in the last four games, including two against Baltimore.

‘WHAT A SPECTACLE’: QB BREAKS 20+YEAR RECORD IN IMPROBABLE COMEBACK WIN

Texans rookie C.J Stroud has set the Tampa Bay defense and the NFL world alight, orchestrating an insane 75-yard game winning touchdown drive in just 40 seconds while setting the record for most passing yards in a game by a rookie.

Stroud found fellow rookie Tank Dell for a 26 yard touchdown with six seconds on the clock to give Houston a 39-37 win in an entertaining, back-and-forth battle.

Stroud was sensational over the course of the afternoon, throwing for five touchdowns and 470 passing yards, breaking Marc Bulger’s rookie record of 453 which was set in 2002.

The 22-year-old was the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, taken just after QB Bryce Young who was selected by the Carolina Panthers.

Comparing the two, Young has struggled to get much going for the Panthers, and threw two pick-sixes just a couple of hours after Stroud’s epic comeback.

Additionally, Stroud is amongst the league leaders in passing yards and has been the best-performed rookie out of this year’s draft.

The Texans had been in need of a franchise quarterback since essentially the start of the 2021 season, when Deshaun Watson grew disgruntled with the Houston front office and held out until he got a trade. It was a blow for the franchise because at the time, Watson was one of the best quarterbacks in football.

Amid sexual assault allegations, Watson was traded to Cleveland in March 2022 (signing on a five year $230m deal, $353m AUD) and with former third round pick Davis Mills failing to inspire in this time as the team’s signal caller, the Texans needed a QB in this year’s draft.

They had the draft capital and it appeared that Houston would pick either Young or Stroud, depending on who was selected first.

Stroud was the choice, and Texans fans couldn’t be happier. In fact, it could be said that Watson demanding a trade out of Houston ended up being a great thing for the Texans.

FALCONS COACH CONTINUES TO FRUSTRATE FANS

One of the most puzzling aspects of the NFL season to date is the usage of Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson from coach Arthur Smith.

The Falcons selected Robinson eighth overall in this year’s draft, a very high pick for a running back, especially in today’s climate.

With the high pick should mean the lion’s share of the carries, however the Falcons have given Tyler Allegier just as much work.

Bizarrely, the Falcons started with the ball at the Vikings’ one-yard line during the second quarter of Atlanta’s 31-28 loss to Minnesota, but Robinson didn’t even see the field.

Instead, Allegier and second string tight end Jonnu Smith were heavily featured as the Falcons weren’t able to get into the end zone and had to settle for a field goal.

Robinson finished the game with 51 yards from 11 carries, averaging a very decent 4.6 yds per carry.

Two weeks ago Smith caught the ire of fantasy football owners and NFL gamblers everywhere when he gave Robinson just one carry for the entire game.

DOLPHINS STRUGGLE FOR STATEMENT WIN AS GRIM REALITY LAID BARE

The Miami Dolphins’ poor record against the top sides has continued with a 21-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Germany, with QB Tua Tagovailoa copping heat for an eye-opening play late in the game.

Miami are now 6-3 on the season, but are 0-3 against teams with a record over .500, which has caused many to query whether the Dolphins are genuine Super Bowl contenders. In fact, it has been 406 days since Miami have beaten a team with a winning record.

A seven point loss to the reigning champs is nothing to scoff at, but until Miami can show that they can win these big games, the ‘frauds’ tag will follow them, whether it’s fair or unfair.

Miami fell in a hole early, trailling 21-0 heading into halftime with the Chiefs pulling off a very rare sequence for a touchdown late in the second quarter.

Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie forced a fumble after stripping the ball out of the hands of Dolphins WR and former teammate Tyreek Hill, which was recovered by Mike Edwards who in turn passed it back to safety Bryan Cook who ran 60 yards down the right sideline to score.

The Dolphins were able to limit the Chiefs’ offense in the second half and scored a couple of touchdowns to bring the margin back to seven.

They had a chance to drive down the field to tie the game up, however Tagovailoa badly underthrew a wide open Cedrick Wilson with one minute left.

If the pass to Wilson connected, the wide receiver would have likely walked into the end zone untouched.

Tagovailoa spoke on the play post-game, taking ownership for the poor pass.

“It was a miscommunication with Cedrick Wilson,” he said.

“In big time moments those things can’t happen. On the last play of the game I’m always going to blame myself… Can’t end the game like that.”

It’s not all doom-and-gloom for the Dolphins, considering they didn’t allow on of the league’s more potent offenses score a point in the second half with star TE Travis Kelce limited to just 14 yards receiving.

With the victory, Kansas City (7-2) becomes the first seven win team in the AFC, however they were joined three hours later by the Baltimore Ravens.

Sunday’s game was the NFL’s first in the city of Frankfurt, and second ever in Germany after Tampa Bay and Seattle clashed in Munich last year.

TEXANS RUNNING BACK’S BIZARRE BUT HISTORIC MOMENT

Texans reserve running back Dare Ogunbowale has become the first non-kicker to convert a field goal in nearly 20 years.

The Texans lost their kicker Kaimi Fairburn through injury in the second quarter, and with Aussie punter Cam Johnston unable to placekick, Houston attempted two-point conversions after their touchdowns instead of going for the extra point in their clash with Tampa Bay.

However, with the game tied at 30 with eight minutes to go, the Texans decided to rely on Ogunbowale to attempt a 29 yard field goal, which he nailed.

Those three points turned out to be crucial, with the Texans going onto win 39-37 in a wild game.

Ogunbowale is the first non-kicker or punter to hit a field goal since Wes Welker in 2004 while playing for the Dolphins.

WEEK 9 RESULTS

Tennessee 16 @ Pittsburgh 20

Miami 14 @ Kansas City 21

LA Rams 3 @ Green Bay 20

Washington 20 @ New England 17

Chicago 17 @ New Orleans 24

Seattle 3 @ Baltimore 37

Minnesota 31 @ Atlanta 28

Arizona 0 @ Cleveland 27

Tampa Bay 37 @ 39 Houston

2023-11-06 01:07:19
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