N.F.L. Week 9: The Steelers hold on and the chefs win big

It is this point in the N.F.L. season where the winners and losers of each week begin to become steadily predictable. Kansas City will beat Cleveland and the Panthers will not be the reason why the Buccaneers will win a win in the 9th week.

But that's what happens before the final score is blocked which keeps the interest: Ben Roethlisberger had a big success in the fourth quarter, and it is now a question of whether the Steelers can hang on to beat Baltimore. Sam Darnold throws four interceptions against Miami, but the Jets still have a chance to win.

And then there is this, in Seattle:

Here is what happened in week 9:

Pittsburgh Steelers 23, Baltimore Ravens 16

Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes, was slender and scored an unexpected left kick to help the Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Baltimore Ravens 23-16 on Sunday.

James Conner had 107 yards and a touchdown pass for the Steelers (5-2-1), who have won four straight since their loss to the Ravens at home on September 30.

Roethlisberger went 28 for 47 for 270 yards. The 36-year-old showed his courage by missing only one game after being flattened during a sprint in the pocket with just over 13 minutes.

The Ravens (4-5) scored only one touchdown in their third straight loss, scoring two goals in the first half in the first half while taking 14-6. Baltimore converted 72.4% of its opportunities in the red zone into touchdowns, the fourth highest percentage of N.F.L. – but that day it was a struggle.

"Holding these guys to score goals in the first half while they were down was an important task," said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

Patrick Mahomes makes this look too easy.

Mahomes racked up 375 yards, throwing three touchdown passes – two to Travis Kelce – and maintained the best start by N.F.L. The quarterback in 68 years as Kansas City's unmanageable attack continued with a 37-21 win Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, who were playing their first game since Coach Hue Jackson's shot.

Kareem Hunt, from Cleveland, scored two points and a goal for the Chiefs (8-1), who scored an average of 36.3 points with an overloaded weapon attack for Mahomes.

"It's very funny," said 23-year-old Mahomes. "It makes my job a lot easier, knowing that I can trust that these guys will be in the right place. They take care of their business. They run routes and make route adjustments on the fly just because they've watched the film and know how to do it. "

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said preparing for the Chiefs was not like playing with them.

"Their attack has a good tempo and he quickly gets the ball out of his hand, so it's hard to stop," Garrett said of Mahomes. "He passes the ball very well and everyone touches himself. You do not know who will come back. "

Carolina Panthers 42, buccaneers of Tampa Bay 28

Cam Newton completed 19 of 25 passes for a total of 247 yards and two touchdowns, Christian McCaffrey had 157 yards in the scrum and scored two goals and the Carolina Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 42 -28, after taking the advantage early.

Newton sent Curtis Samuel 19-yard touchdown passes and Greg Olsen's 17-yard touchdown for his seventh consecutive game since at least two touchdowns. McCaffrey had 17 passes for 79 yards and five catches for 78 yards. He played the game when he jumped over a defender after a reception in the apartment and continued his run, giving him a 32-yard gain.

The Panthers (6-2) posted touchdowns on five straight holdings in the first half to give themselves a 35-7 lead before the Buccaneers returned to a touchdown early in the fourth quarter behind Ryan Fitzpatrick.

But the return of "Fitzmagic" was not enough. In the fourth quarter, he was chosen by rookie cornerback Donte Jackson to seal Carolina's win.

Miami Dolphins 13, New York Jets 6

Linebacker Jerome Baker intercepted Sam Darnold and scored the only touchdown of a goal on 25 yards 11 minutes from the end. A resilient defense allowed the Miami Dolphins to beat the New York Jets, 13-6, Sunday.

Darnold threw four steals and took four sacks, and the Jets earned 2 points for 15 points, the third and fourth socks.

The hindered dolphins suffered a new wave of injuries and the mysterious departure of security, Reshad Jones, who withdrew from the game. But their defense has improved a lot after three bad consecutive games.

"We have never panicked; we knew what our defense was capable of, "said Baker. "When we perform and do our work and we play together, we are one of the best defenses of the market."

The quality of the opposition helped the defense to dominate; Miami won with only seven first tries.

Darnold attempted to catch up with his sputtering team from a 6-3 deficit, but following a punt, the rookie took a high slap and made a misguided throw at the tight end, Eric Tomlinson. Baker took the lead for his first career interception and scored without touching anything.

"I did not throw with confidence," said Darnold. "I just have it alligator-armed – thrown a little short."