NFL Week 9 Winners and Losers: Jim Harbaugh’s Old-School Chargers Are a Real Threat

Los Angeles has found the recipe to win games in all types of conditions. Plus, Jordan Love’s turnover problem has reached a critical point.

Harbaugh has emphasized defense and a potent rushing attack to unlock the Chargers in his first season as head coach. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Books could be written about all the bad hot takes that occurred during the first half of the NFL season. 

Some questioned whether Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman were using star quarterback Justin Herbert properly. Turns out, they know what they’re doing and many took notice of the Chargers’ complete domination of the Cleveland Browns last week.

Many wanted to end the Los Angeles Rams’ 2024 season after a 1–4 start, but now they’re on a three-game winning streak with a fast-improving defense in their first season without Aaron Donald.

Others were quick to crown the New Orleans Saints after a 2–0 start, but they fired coach Dennis Allen on Monday after a seven-game losing streak and an embarrassing loss to Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers. Young was all smiles after rallying in a game that signified how much can change throughout the course of an NFL season. Not many expected Young to win a game for the Panthers after being benched for Andy Dalton before Week 3.

Perhaps the most foolish hot takes from the first nine weeks of the regular season were the ones who called New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson overrated for a slow first month of the season. Maybe those who have been criticizing Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love for his bad interceptions will look foolish in a few weeks. 

But enough with revising bad takes, because I’ve had a few horrendous ones myself. Let’s get to the NFL Week 9 winners and losers before my bad takes get exposed.   

Winners

Chargers’ old-school coaches

Harbaugh has quickly turned the Chargers into a team no one will want to face come December and January. 

The Southern California team known for fumbling late leads has turned into a physical outfit with a dominant defense and a productive rushing attack that can close out games in any kind of element. So maybe Harbaugh’s Chargers won’t mind playing in frigid Kansas City, Pittsburgh or Buffalo when the playoffs arrive. They have a strong shot of getting there with a 5–3 record, which is currently good enough for the sixth seed in the AFC.

Heck, maybe the Chargers would welcome a high-scoring playoff game against Harbaugh’s older brother, John, and his Baltimore Ravens. Herbert has quietly been one of the best quarterbacks in the league the past month and seems to be getting better now that he has a strong grasp for Roman’s scheme. Herbert, who has only one interception this season, has averaged 286.8 passing yards in the past four games. 

Some wondered whether Roman was too conservative for a quarterback as gifted as Herbert. But that notion can end because Herbert has attempted at least 27 passes in five consecutive games. He might have had more passing attempts last week against the Browns, but the Chargers were up 20–3 by halftime in a game where they had total command. Beware of the Chargers, AFC contenders. 

Rams’ young defense 

It took time, but the Rams’ defense has shown vast improvements during their first season without Donald, the generational great who retired in the offseason. 

The Rams’ young defensive front, which the team has heavily invested in the past two drafts, stepped up in Sunday’s thrilling overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks. Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske combined for five of the team’s seven sacks in Seattle. 

The secondary is still allowing many explosive plays—Jaxon Smith-Njigba recorded 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns—but now they’re at least creating takeaways. Rookie third-round safety Kamren Kinchens had two interceptions against the Seahawks, including the pick-six return for 103 yards in the fourth quarter.

Many were quick to criticize first-year defensive coordinator Chris Shula, who replaced Raheem Morris, but this has been a different unit since the bye week. The Rams (4–4) keep hitting on draft picks and that’s why they’ll once again be in the mix for the NFC West crown, even in their first season without the greatest defensive tackle of all time.  

Young got a chance at redemption with a positive showing in a win over the Saints in Week 9. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Bryce Young’s comeback story 

It was nice to see Young in victory formation in the final seconds against the Saints because of the bad hand he got dealt once the Panthers made him the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. The Panthers weren’t equipped enough to have a rookie starting quarterback and the toll from playing with one of the worst rosters in the NFL affected Young’s confidence in his second season. 

He really needed Sunday’s win, but it might be premature to say Young will get his full comeback story with the Panthers (2–7). Maybe his performance against the Saints will encourage a different team to strike a trade with the Panthers with hopes of reviving his career.  

If Young doesn’t get moved by Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Panthers should see this through with Young and not go back to Andy Dalton. Either Young increases his trade value or the Panthers are completely sure he’s not their franchise quarterback. Or maybe Young continues to build off what he did Sunday and thrives throwing to rookies Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette and Ja’Tavion Sanders to finally give Panthers fans hope for the future. 

Cardinals’ Coach of the Year candidate 

It wasn’t that long ago when many expected the Arizona Cardinals to be the worst team of the 2023 season. Some even took it as far as saying the Cardinals would tank for the No. 1 pick to replace Kyler Murray with Caleb Williams.

That didn’t happen because Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon led his team to a few upset wins in his first season to set the tone for the success they’re having in Year 2. Gannon needs more attention for Coach of the Year after quickly turning the Cardinals into a playoff contender. 

Arizona is leading the NFC West with a 5–4 record and has wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Rams this season. Some might shrug at the record, but it’s pretty impressive after realizing that the Cardinals also faced the Buffalo Bills, Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions, Packers and Chargers in the first nine weeks. 

The Cardinals survived that grueling stretch and did it with stud rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. having a few quiet performances. If Harrison finds consistency in the second half, the Cardinals have a strong shot of holding off the 49ers, Rams and Seahawks in the wild NFC West. Also, let’s not overlook the job Gannon has done with a defense that lacks star power. The bend-but-don’t-break approach has worked and maybe the defense gets better after the trade for former Broncos edge rusher Baron Browning. 

Gannon can help his Coach of the Year odds by beating the Jets next week before the bye week.  

Garrett Wilson’s stud status

There was a time when some Jets fans soured on Wilson and Las Vegas Raiders fans viewed him as a potential throw-in player when the Davante Adams trade discussions got serious.  

First of all, not even the Jets would be foolish enough to give up on a player as talented as Wilson, let alone trade him for a wide receiver that’s seven years older. I blame fantasy football for delusional trade proposals and the lack of patience toward young players not scoring enough on a weekly basis.

What a weird time that was to think Wilson wasn’t one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. He carried the Jets’ offense, despite constantly seeing double coverages since being drafted in 2022. Now, he’s flirting with Justin Jefferson status because of the beneficial matchups he has gotten with Adams as his teammate. Wilson had a sensational jumpman-like touchdown during his dominant performance last week to help the Jets (3–6) save their season in the win against the Houston Texans. Wilson leads the league in receptions (60) and ranks third in receiving yards (663). 

I’m not sure if the Jets will make the postseason, but I’m pretty certain Wilson will continue to be dominant next to Adams and put a smile on his hard-to-please fantasy football managers. Maybe now more people will appreciate what Wilson did in his first few seasons in the league without much help. 

Losers

Jordan Love’s turnover problem

Packers coach Matt LaFleur was “really annoyed” about fielding questions regarding Love’s ball security issues after the loss to the Detroit Lions. 

Love continues to make costly mistakes and is tied with Geno Smith for the most interceptions in the league (10) through Week 9. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

His reaction is understandable because Love is a gifted quarterback who’s capable of being one of the top five best players at his position. LaFleur has already accepted that his young quarterback will make mistakes, which is easy to do when the highs certainly outweigh the lows. But reporters still have to ask about errors as costly as the one Love had Sunday when he threw a pick-six to Lions safety Kerby Joseph to essentially end the game by halftime. 

This isn’t an Anthony Richardson situation with a talented quarterback struggling to just complete passes. We’ve already seen Love play at an elite level for long stretches, but we can’t overlook that he has a turnover problem. 

Love might end up being more Brett Favre than Aaron Rodgers—a good problem to have for a franchise known for having star quarterbacks. The Packers won a Super Bowl and many games with Favre often throwing ugly interceptions. And let’s not forget that Love hasn’t even been a starting quarterback for two seasons. He can certainly correct his mistakes, which he did during the second half of last season.

But LaFleur can’t just ignore that Love has a consistency and availability problem this season with a league-high 10 interceptions and multiple games missed due to injury. Love wasn’t at full strength against the Lions because of a groin strain sustained the week prior. He also wasn’t at his best in the Week 4 loss against the Minnesota Vikings because that was his first game back since injuring his knee in the season opener in Brazil vs. the Eagles. 

There are issues with the franchise quarterback, but the Packers are 6–3 with plenty of time to correct mistakes.    

Dennis Allen and Derek Carr 

The Allen and Carr partnership in New Orleans wasn’t as bad as the one with the then-Oakland Raiders in 2014 when Carr was a rookie. But there weren’t many positives before Allen was fired by the Saints after two and a half seasons as the head coach.

The Saints (2–7) hit rock bottom after losing to the struggling Panthers last week to extend their losing streak to seven games. Also, Carr made the wrong kind of history after becoming the first quarterback to lose to 31 different teams thanks to the embarrassing loss to the Panthers. 

Now that Allen is gone, it’s fair to wonder whether Carr’s days in New Orleans are numbered. The next coaching staff might want a change at quarterback and possibly commit to a younger signal-caller, which could be the case with a potential top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL draft. 

Carr is a quality quarterback, but it’s tough to decide whether he’s as good as Kirk Cousins, who many view as a top-16 quarterback. Or maybe Carr is more of Geno Smith and is a tier below the Cousins and Baker Mayfields of the football world. 

But then again, Carr could be a good bridge quarterback for an incoming rookie quarterback in New Orleans. Just don’t ask Michael Thomas for a Derek Carr assessment because we all know what he thinks about his former quarterback. 

Coaches on the hot seat 

Many coaches might be feeling the heat after Allen became the second head coach to be fired this season, joining Robert Saleh, who was let go by the Jets a few weeks back. 

There could be a wave of firings brewing after brutal Week 9 performances from Bears coach Matt Eberflus, Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson and Giants coach Brian Daboll. 

No coaching seat is hotter than Pierce’s after the Raiders were blown out in Cincinnati to drop their fifth consecutive game. Hours later, Pierce fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, offensive line coach James Cregg and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello. If the Raiders don’t show offensive improvements soon, Pierce will have no one else to blame for the season that has spiraled out of control. 

It might help Pierce that Raiders owner Mark Davis could be hesitant about possibly having a third coaching search in as many years after firing Josh McDaniels last season and Jon Gruden resigning in the middle of the 2021 season for inappropriate emails. But Davis now has to please new minority owners Tom Brady and Richard Seymour and they might not be as patient with Pierce. 

Eberflus has had a brutal two-game stretch after the walk-off Hail Mary against the Commanders and the embarrassing effort in Arizona. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bears give him an opportunity to prove himself against divisional opponents—Chicago’s first NFC North game of the season doesn’t occur until Week 11. 

Daboll and Pederson have received support from ownership publically, but that could always change if losses continue in November and December. As for McCarthy, he’s on an expiring contract with a boss in Jerry Jones, who’s constantly voicing his displeasure with the team. But Jones has shown plenty of patience with coaches over the years. 

Perhaps most of these coaches will get a chance to at least finish the season, but you never know with impatient NFL owners. 

Bears’ playoff hopes 

The Bears (4–4) might have blown their opportunity to make the playoffs after losing back-to-back games against the Commanders and Cardinals. Chicago was the betting favorite in Washington because of the injury to Jayden Daniels and arrived in Arizona as small underdogs before being blown out.

Eberflus has overseen a pair of back-to-back, disappointing defeats in the last two weeks. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Bears will be looking back at this two-game stretch if they miss the postseason by a game or two. There’s an opportunity for a get-right game next week against the New England Patriots. After that, they might not be favored in any of the final eight games of the regular season.

Chicago has six divisional games against the Packers, Vikings and Lions, and a road game against the 49ers and a home matchup vs. the Seahawks. Maybe they won’t be looking back at this current two-game losing streak because it’s tough seeing the Bears winning many games with that brutal schedule in the final eight weeks. 

Broncos’ misleading record 

To steal a line from Sean Payton, the Denver Broncos got “whooped” by the Ravens in Sunday’s 41–10 loss.

This wasn’t just one bad game. This game exposed the Broncos as a playoff contender with a misleading record. Payton deserves credit for the 5–3 start to show encouraging signs that the Broncos are trending in the right direction after a brutal two seasons with Russell Wilson.

They’ve made the most of a bad situation, but the Broncos (5–4) aren’t ready to be a playoff team. They’re an average team that can’t hang with the top teams in the NFL. That will likely be an obvious observation again next week when they travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Chiefs. 

Perhaps the Broncos stack wins down the stretch to clinch a wild-card spot, but Sunday’s ugly loss in Baltimore strongly suggests they won’t get far if they find a way into the postseason.