NFL Week 9 Best Pictures and Highlights of the Games 2009

Welcome to week 9 of the NFL. There were some surprising games and some not so surprising. The divisions are taking form and the teams are etching out their place in the race for the playoffs. And here are some of the highlights of all the games from the NFL week 9.

Thanks to NFL.com for the photos.

Washington Redskins 2-6

Atlanta Falcons 5-3

After a tough Monday night loss to the Saints a home game against the Redskins were exactly what the Falcons needed. They needed a win to stay alive and today that is exactly what they did.

Gashed in the running game all day one might think that the Redskins after coming off a bye week might just come out and the move the ball a little bit. But It was Michael Turner who gave it to the Skins good today, with 166 rushing yards and a 58-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to put the game away.

The Falcons sacked Washington quarterback Jason Campbell 5 times tying a team record. On a high note for the Redskins, their defense kept pressure on Matt Ryan, sacking him three times and forcing one interception.

Things got a bit ugly with a little sideline skirmish when safety LeRon Landry hitting QB Matt Ryan as he was going out of bounds. DeAngelo Hall got some of his previous frustrations out and Atlanta's coach Mike Smith almost got crushed in it all. Redskins were penalized for unnecessary roughness.

Hard season for Washington, my heart goes out to you.

Arizona Cardinals 5-3

Chicago Bears 4-4

The Bears got blown out in Soldier Field today. The Bears had no answers for the Cardinals passing game. Among the many embarrassing stats for the Bears, they gave up 182 rushing yards. That's more than three times what the Cardinals are averaging this year.

The Bears showed no passion, no force and no enthusiasm. To say they were flat would be an understatement.

The Cardinals came to win and so they did and they did. And more importanly what they did was to dominate a decent team on the road.

Arizona's offense was tremendous today. And we saw a very balanced Kurt Warner who went 22/32 with 261 Yards and 5 Touchdowns and he went 0 interceptions.

Seems to me the Bears have a whole lot of soul searching to look forward to.

Baltimore Ravens 4-4

Cincinnati Bengals 6-2

Earlier this year, Benson became the first player to rush for over 100 yards against the Ravens since 2006. Today he rushed 34 times for 117 yards and a touchdown. Enough said?

The  Bengals are agressive right now... 4th and 2 and they go vertical  . .. 

As for the Ravens, they couldnt get near the quarterback, and their cornerbacks were not very good in man coverage. That's an awful combination for any defense. When Baltimore tried to bring extra defenders, the corners either got beat or they got a flag.

This might be Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco's worst game of the season.

Houston Texans 5-4

Indianapolis Colts 8-0

This week presented the real test for the Texans and they failed. With all the injuries to the Colts defense and the problems in the running game, they still somehow manage to pull out another win..Is anyone surprised? It was a great win for the home team and a big disappointment for the visitors.

After one quarter, Peyton Manning has threw 25 passes. Manning's sick first quarter: 19 of 25, 176 yards and a TD.He ended the game: 34 of 5 and a total of 318 yards, 1 Touchdown and 1 Interception.

These 2 teams will meet again on Nov 29 when the Texans host the Colts at Reliant Stadium. Maybe then they can get what they almost got done today.

Kansas City Chiefs 1-8

Jacksonville Jaguars 4-4

The Jaguars had the ball today and their offense controlled it and pretty much did what they wanted.

Did you know. .. . that the Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio played two years with the Chiefs (1987-88)

The Chief's' season-long issues on offense are continued today in Jacksonville. Almost got something going late in the game but almost doesnt count.

Jags recovered from a loss well yet again, and they did to KC what they needed to do.

Miami Dolphins 3-5

New England Patriots 6-2

Miami pulled out all they could . . and it just wasnt enough.

The Patriots are now 6-2, that put them two games ahead of the Jets and three ahead of the Dolphins and Bills. As if the Giant loss just now wasnt enough.

Brady commanded the game. He completed 25 of 37 throws for 332 yards. Chad Henne stats show 19 of 34 for 219 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions.

Randy Moss finished with 6 receptions for 147 yards.

Green Bay Packers 4-4

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1-7

Josh Freeman made his starting debut today and with not much to lose after an 0-7 start, Tampa Bay got its first win since November 30, 2008 and stunned the world with a 31-28 win.

On a high note for Green Bay, Ahman Green became the leading rusher in Green Bay Packers franchise history. On a low note Aaron Rodgers was sacked six times making him the league leader with 37 times. Last season he had a total of 34. What does that say?

Carolina Panthers 3-4

New Orleans Saints 7-0

The Panthers came into this game with determination to win. . .but it wasnt enough and when they blew the 17-3 lead I think everyone knew what the outcome was to be.

Drew Brees overcame two early turnovers to pass for 330 yards and a touchdown in a 30-20 comeback victory over Carolina. This was the first game all season that the Saints did not intercept a pass all day and add to that for the entire first half the Saints failed to score a touchdown.  But then came the third quarter and they needed only four plays to score. Devery Henderson's 63 yard gain on a short slant pass set up Pierre Thomas to score a 10 yard run. This was the start of the demise of the Panthers determination.

Detroit Lions 1-7

Seattle Seahawks 3-5

The Detroit Lions just couldnt hold on.

Matt Hasselbeck threw an interception on his first play but finished with the first 300-yard passing game in two seasons for the Seahawks (3-5). He was 39 of 51 for 329 yards. An early 17-0 deficit forced the Seahawks to pass on 52 of their 70 offensive plays, Hasselbeck set a career-high with 40 completions. "The plan was definitely to commit to the run," he said. "I thought we ran the ball better once we took the lead."

And then there was Seahawks RB Louis Rankin who finished with 82 kickoff yards, including a 41-yard return that helped his team crawl back from a 17-0 deficit.

For the Lions Matthew Stafford threw two touchdowns and five interceptions and he was 22-for-42 for 203 yards.

San Diego Chargers 5-3

New York Giants 5-4

New York Gives the Game to San Diego in the last minutes 21-20

Lets Imagine for a second and go back to the fourth quarter . . its 3rd and 9 and Eli sees Mr. Third Down himself, you know the NY Giant that leads the league in 3rd down receptions for 1st down conversions.Ya gotta know who I mean . . this guy is a great route runner . .he is all in all one you would call a "Clutch Player" 

Yes I am talking about Steve Smith #12.

This is a shout out to the coaching staff. . . throw the damn ball to Smith on a play like this or else please someone tell us why you go for that ridiculous draw play. Do you want to win a game or what????

Tennesee Titans 2-6

San Francisco 49ers 3-5

A Stunned San Francisco team has lost four straight following a 3-1 start - and the 49ers have little time to recover before they host a Thursday night game against the Bears.

Young has been clutch and it shows when he gets the Titans into the endzone when it matters. With back to back victories, the Titans morale has been restored.

Dallas Cowboys 6-2

Philadelphia Eagles 5-3

Tonight Roy Williams and Tony Romo showed that a little extra practicing together was exactly what they needed. Williams had five catches for 75 yards and on this evening he was Romo's favorite target.

But the winning touchdown came from Miles Austin which gave the Cowboys a 20-13 lead. The boys are now ready to travel to travel to Green Bay with the confidence that comes when you win four consecutive games.

Romo had his first interception in the past four games but he threw for 307 yards and a touchdown. Romo led his team to a win and prevented the Eagles from finishing off a three game sweep of their division.

McNabb threw for 227 yards, one TD and was intercepted twice for the first time this season. The Eagles played without star running back Brian Westbrook for the second straight game because of a concussion and linebacker Chris Gocong sat out with hamstring and quad injuries. Fokou, a seventh-round pick, made his first start in Gocong's place.

Pittsburgh Steelers 6-2

Denver Broncos 6-2

To beat a good defense, domination over the clock is key. And when you rush the ball well the clock is yours.

Lets take a look . . In the first half the Steelers had only 23 yards rushing and Denver had not only outgained the Steelers, 183 yards to 54, they also outpassed them, 157-31.

And then the 2nd half began and somehow Pittsburgh came out knowing what they had to do and made some important adjustments. Domination came with no huddle and three-wide receiver sets. And so the self destruction of the Broncos began to unfurl. For nothing Denver could do now could stop the Steelers.

Orton was 16 for 21 for 163 yards in the first half compared to 7 for 17 for 58 yards in the second half.He had one touchdown and 3 interceptions one returned for a touchdown.

Roethlisberger was 21 for 29 for 233 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Great show by Rashard Mendenhall who went for a stunning 155 yards on 22 carries.