What We Learned in NFL Week 9: Cardinals Best in NFC West

Arizona may not end up winning its division, but it’s been the best team in the NFC West in the first half. Plus, a bevy of two-win teams lurch toward seller mode ahead of the trade deadline.

Murray and the Cardinals have won three in a row after Sunday’s victory over the Bears. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

NFL Week 9 started with one of the many two-win teams in the league saving their season after the New York Jets defeated the Houston Texans on Thursday night. 

The other seven two-win teams weren’t as fortunate on Sunday, which could lead to plenty of wheeling and dealing for Tuesday’s trade deadline. The pair of one-win teams heading into Week 9 went undefeated against the two-win teams, with the Carolina Panthers beating the New Orleans Saints and the Tennessee Titans getting by the New England Patriots in overtime.

The Saints might have finally hit rock bottom with a seven-game losing streak and could be getting ready to trade many notable veterans. The Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants were the other two-win teams that lost Sunday. 

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As for the mid-tier group, they might have lost a few teams, because the Los Angeles Chargers have made a strong case for being a playoff team that can make noise in January thanks to a dominant defense that shut down Jameis Winston and the Browns on Sunday. The Denver Broncos are in the midst of a playoff race, but they might be more of an average team that could fade down the stretch after getting crushed by the Baltimore Ravens. 

The Arizona Cardinals went from middling team to the best in the NFC West after increasing their lead in the standings thanks to a victory against the Chicago Bears. But the top team in the NFC is still the Detroit Lions, who improved to 7–1 after holding off the Green Bay Packers. Jordan Love went back to his old ways of committing head-scratching mistakes.

Here’s what we learned about the Cardinals, Packers, Chargers, Broncos and Saints during NFL Week 9.

Cardinals are the best team in the NFC West 

The Washington Commanders and Minnesota Vikings have gotten most of the attention this season when it comes to surprise teams. But the Cardinals need more shine because they’re currently the best team in the NFC West after cruising against the Chicago Bears, 29–9.

Now this is not to say that the Cardinals (5–4) are going to win the division—it’s tough to write off the San Francisco 49ers (4–4) despite their slow start. And the Los Angeles Rams (4–4) will likely be in the race until the end after their thrilling 26–20 overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks (4–5). But the Cardinals at least have the claim of being the division’s best team for the first half of the season because they beat the 49ers and Rams. 

The Rams and Seahawks were in a dogfight, while the Cardinals pummeled a respectable Bears squad. And don’t let the stars on offense fool you, because the Cardinals are a lot more than Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. Coach Jonathan Gannon’s defense didn’t allow Caleb Williams and the Bears to score a touchdown and held them to 241 total yards.

Not many saw the Cardinals leading the NFC West heading into the second half of the season partly because the defense lacks star power. But this is a well-coached team that’s endured a difficult first-half schedule, with games against the Commanders, Buffalo Bills, Lions, Packers and Chargers. From those winning teams, the Cardinals only beat the Chargers, but it bodes well that they’ve already proven that they can beat divisional opponents. The 49ers and Rams weren’t at full strength earlier this season, so there could definitely be different outcomes when the Cardinals play these two teams again later this season. And they still have two games against the Seahawks. But, again, they handled business against the Bears, Dolphins and Chargers and now have an easier schedule the rest of the way. 

The Cardinals are a surprise team, but it should no longer be surprising if they win the NFC West this season.

Jordan Love continues to hurt the Packers in loss to Lions 

Here’s a strange sentence: Jordan Love makes the Green Bay Packers a Super Bowl contender, but he’s also the reason why this team can’t be trusted in the postseason. 

When Love is at his best, there aren’t many teams that hang with the Packers. But every now and then, Love makes some head-scratching mistakes that are too difficult to overcome for his team. Bad Love showed up during the Packers’ 24–14 loss against the Lions. But maybe this game deserves an asterisk because Love was clearly hobbled by the groin injury he sustained last week against the Jaguars.  

Even if Love should get a pass here, he’s developed a reputation for having many highs and lows over the course of a game. Love had an ugly interception in the second quarter to Lions safety Kerby Joseph. He needed to be perfect with Green Bay’s defense facing the best offense in the league—Detroit scored on three of its first four drives—but finished 23-of-39 for 273 yards, no touchdowns and the one costly interception. 

There’s plenty to like about the Packers (6–3) as contenders, but it’s concerning that they’re 0–2 in the NFC North, including the Week 4 loss to the Vikings, who jumped to a 28–0 lead at Lambeau Field. That was also the game that Love returned after missing the prior two games due to a knee injury. Does that game deserve an asterisk, too? Maybe the football public was too quick to crown the Packers as Super Bowl contenders. 

Green Bay has a very good quarterback, but the second-year starter is struggling with consistency and availability. 

Chargers safety Derwin James Jr., right, celebrates with cornerback Tarheeb Still after his interception. / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Chargers’ defense will be a problem for contenders 

Some might say there wasn’t much to take away from the Chargers’ 27–10 victory against the Browns, one of the worst teams in the league. But we did receive more evidence that the Chargers’ defense should be dominant on a weekly basis, regardless of the opponent. 

Los Angeles (5–3) could be a dangerous wild-card team if they continue to stack wins. Division winners won’t be lining up to face this high-flying defense with star quarterback Justin Herbert and coach Jim Harbaugh once the postseason arrives.  

There’s nothing fluky about the Chargers allowing a league-best 12.6 points per game in the first eight games of the season. There’s now enough of a sample size to know this unit led by rising defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is the real deal. Los Angeles forced Browns QB Jameis Winston into three interceptions and held the Cleveland offense to 292 total yards. 

Seven of the Chargers’ first eight opponents were held to 17 points or fewer, including the Kansas City Chiefs and Cardinals. The Pittsburgh Steelers scored 20 points on Minter’s defense in a game the Chargers might have stolen if that game took place in November.

With a dominant defense holding down the fort, the Chargers’ offense has had less pressure to carry the team while they learn another scheme after the arrivals of Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Herbert has quietly been one of the best quarterbacks in the league the past month and could continue to get better now that inexperienced receivers, such as Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston, have become reliable playmakers. On Sunday, Herbert went 18-of-27 for 282 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions vs. the Browns. Johnston, the 2023 first-round pick, recorded four catches for 118 yards and one touchdown. 

The Chargers might not be able to catch the undefeated Chiefs for the AFC West title, but division winners should want to avoid facing this smash mouth squad. The doubters will say the Chargers haven’t faced enough high-scoring offenses to take seriously as playoff contenders. Perhaps those doubters will turn into believers when the Chargers face the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons and Chiefs during a tough four-game stretch that begins in Week 11. 

Broncos prove they’re pretenders after embarrassing loss 

NFL fans probably don’t want to watch a playoff game that involves the Denver Broncos after the embarrassing effort Denver had in a 41–10 loss against the Ravens.

The Broncos entered Sunday as the fifth seed in the AFC playoff picture, one spot ahead of the Ravens in the standings. While it doesn’t come as a shock that the Broncos were exposed in Baltimore as playoff pretenders, it was somewhat surprising that this game wasn’t even close, especially with Denver having one of the better defenses in the league. Derrick Henry galloped for 106 rushing yards with two touchdowns, and Lamar Jackson completed 16-of-19 passes for 280 yards, three touchdowns and a perfect passer rating of 158.3. The Ravens scored on seven consecutive drives before Denver finally got a stop late in the fourth quarter.  

It was a strong bounce-back performance from the Ravens after an ugly upset loss to the Browns last week. Baltimore’s offense will be tough to stop come the postseason, and the unit got stronger with the arrival of Diontae Johnson, who didn’t register a target in his Ravens debut Sunday against the Broncos. 

The Ravens (6–3) will likely find a way into the postseason, and it’s not far-fetched to say the Broncos (5–4) could do the same after glancing at their final eight games. The Broncos, who are currently the seventh seed, get the Chiefs twice, Falcons, Raiders, Browns, Colts, Chargers and Bengals. A 4–4 split could be enough for Denver to secure a wild-card spot.  

Football fans would probably be better off not seeing the Broncos in the postseason, because Sunday’s poor performance showed how far apart Sean Payton’s team is compared to the real contenders in the AFC. We don’t need to see a rematch between the Broncos and Ravens in January. Maybe a combination of the Chargers, Bengals and Colts, and maybe even the Jets, take the final two wild-card spots in the AFC.  

Carr’s tenure in New Orleans may be coming to an end soon. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Saints need a fire sale after hitting rock bottom vs. Panthers

The Saints have stubbornly rejected a full rebuild since Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season, but they might finally come to their senses after hitting rock bottom. 

It doesn’t get any lower than falling to the Panthers to extend a losing streak to seven games. Bryce Young executed a late go-ahead drive to give the Panthers a 23–22 victory against the Saints, who dropped to 2–7.  

Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan was so in disbelief about losing to the Panthers that he tweeted as if they’re in a better position than their NFC South rivals. It’s definitely debatable and that says plenty about where this organization stands. 

After three consecutive mediocre seasons with a veteran-filled roster, the Saints are now one of the worst teams in the league and have the messiest cap-space situation—they’re currently $62.4 million over the red line for the 2025 season. The quick fix route turned into a deterioration for the organization. Expect to see several fans wearing brown paper bags over their heads during the team’s upcoming three-game homestand.

All hope isn’t lost, though. There can finally be a bright future in New Orleans to completely move on from the Payton era. (Yes, the former Saints coach deserves blame for this mess, but he’s been gone for more than two years).

It’s time for the Saints to trade Jordan, Marshon Lattimore, Demario Davis, Tyrann Mathieu and other veterans that could net a draft pick before Tuesday’s trade deadline. And maybe it’s also time to move on from Derek Carr because this team hasn’t done much with him the past two seasons. If coach Dennis Allen gets fired that would likely signify the beginning of the end for Carr in New Orleans. 

New Orleans should be all about clinching the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Even with many two-win teams in the race for last, the Saints have a strong shot of picking first in April. Only a true No. 1 pick contender would have the sort of downfall they’ve experienced. 

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