NFL Week 9 Grades: Resurgent Falcons get an 'A +'; Ravens get a 'C-' in loss to Steelers

The Falcons defense started by shutting down Adrian Peterson. Peterson went into the game ranked fifth in the NFL and third in the NFC in rushing, but he could not find anywhere near the Falcons. In the first half, the Falcons held him to just 15 yards on six carries, which was a big deal, because by the time the Redskins touched the ball for the first time in the second half, they were already trailing 28-7, which forced to abandon the run game. Peterson plays the ball only for two yards in the second half.

When the Redskins were forced to pass, the Falcons were ready. They were the best of the second half on Alex Smith, who had nowhere to throw. Jack Crawford Falcons defensive end. The Falcons also forced Smith into making a rare mistake: An interception.

The fourth quarter by Damontae Kazee marked the first time since Week 4 that Smith had thrown an interception. The only thing more impressive than the play of the Falcons' defense was the play of Ryan.

Ryan has been one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL over the past month and the Redskins have definitely not been able to cool him off. Ryan shredded Washington's defense for 350 yards and four touchdowns and he even threw in surprise for Julio Jones fantasy owners: A touchdown pass to Jones!

It marked the first time since Week 11 in 2017 that Jones had caught a touchdown. Ryan now has 17 touchdown passes since Week 3, which is one of the most recent in the NFL, only one Andrew Luck and Patrick Mahomes, who both have 19, bye yet.

Ryan is playing like he did during his MVP season in 2016, which is good news for the Falcons, because Atlanta gets to play six of its final eight games against teams that are currently .500 or below. That number could jump to seven of the packers lose to the Patriots on Sunday night.

Basically, the Falcons have been in the NFC playoff race with Ryan's playing, it would not be a shock to see them sneak into the postseason.

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Pittsburgh 23-16 over Baltimore

After losing to the Ravens in Week 4, Ben Roethlisberger apparently took it personally, because he made sure it did not happen again in their rematch. Not only did Big Ben throw for 270 yards and two touchdowns, but he also tackled a rushing touchdown in the third quarter that gave Pittsburgh a 20-6 lead, and for good measure, he also had a punt. James Conner also came up big for the Steelers with 163 total yards (107 rushing, 56 receiving) and a touchdown catch. Conner is now officially doing things that Le'Veon Bell has never done.

If Bell actually shows up this week, he's going to wrestle the starting job away from Conner.

If John Harbaugh is on the hot seat, the Ravens definitely did not do anything to make things better against the Steelers. The Ravens struggled on offense for the first time in the red zone, scoring a touchdown on just one of four trips. That's a notable number because Ravens went into Week 9 with the NFL's fourth-best red zone scoring offense. The Ravens defense, which came into the game leading the NFL in sacks and few yards surrendered, could not get any pressure on Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 270 yards and was only sacked once.

Atlanta 38-14 over Washington

With Matt Ryan having his way against the Redskins, that opened up things for the Falcons on the ground and they definitely took advantage of that. The Falcons averaged an impressive 6.4 yards per carry (24 carries for 154 yards). Atlanta was led by Tevin Coleman (13 carries, 88 yards) and Ito Smith (10 carries, 60 yards and a touchdown). Thanks for those two running backs, the Falcons have not missed a beat on the ground. Devonta Freeman on injured reserve.

This game was a total disaster for the Redskins: Their defense was bad on third down, their offense disappeared and they seemed to be penalized on every other play. The Redskins allowed the Falcons offense to convert 10 of 13 third downs, which allowed Atlanta to extend drives against a Redskins defense that started to look tired in the second half. 14 points on Falcons defense that went into the NFL's third-worst scoring defense, giving up 30.3 points per game. The penalties were also ugly as the Redskins racked up their most penalty yards (147) since 1971.

Miami 13-6 over N.Y. Jets

The Jets had their best defensive performance in four years, but it was not enough to overcome a rookie meltdown from Sam Darnold. An erratic Darnold threw more touchdown passes to the Dolphins (1) than he did to the Jets (0). Darnold's interceptions in Miami cost the Jets dearly. Due to Darnold's play, the Jets offense never really came close to scoring a touchdown. Things were so bad for the Jets that they did not get inside of Miami's 20-yard line at single time the entire game. Jordan Jenkins was one of the few bright spots for the Jets as he picked up two of New York's four sacks. The Jets held the Dolphins to just 168 total yards, which was the lowest total they've surrendered since Week 1 in 2014.

This was not the first lesson in Dolphins history, but it was probably close. We have a day where the Dolphins got absolutely nothing from their offense (just 168 total yards), Miami's defense saved the day. Cameron Wake and Akeem Spence each sacked Darnold Sam in a game where the quarterback Jets rarely had time to throw. Oh and when he did throw, most of his passes were caught by the Dolphins. Miami picked Darnold off four times, including a 25-yard pick-six by Jerome Baker in the fourth quarter that basically iced the game. This game marked the first time since 2010 that Miami won a game with under 170 total yards. Coincidentally, the last time it happened also came against the Jets.

Minnesota 24-9 over Detroit

Maybe trading away your leading receiver is not actually a good idea. In their first game since the Golden Tate to Philadelphia, the Lions offense had a disastrous performance from start to finish. They could not protect Matthew Stafford (sacked 10 times), they could not score touchdowns in the red zone (0-for-3) and really, they could not move the ball. The Lions put up only 209 yards of total offense, which is the second-lowest total in Stafford's career and the lowest total in a game where Stafford plays from start to finish.

The Vikings have gone to some of the best defenses in the NFL history (Purple People Eaters, anyone), but none of them ever gotten off what Minnesota's defense pulled off on Sunday. The Vikings set a franchise-record by racking up 10 sacks against the Lions and there's a good chance that Matthew Stafford is going to be having nightmares of Danielle Hunter for the rest of the year. Not only did it go well, but it also took a bad pitch by Stafford and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings offense was not great, but they did get a small spark from Dalvin Cook, who was playing for the first time in five weeks. Cook, who finished with 89 yards, set up the Vikings' second touchdown when he broke loose for a 70-yard run in the second quarter.

Kansas City 37-21 over Cleveland

Kansas City's offense continues to be unstoppable. The Chiefs scored a touchdown on five of their first six possessions in this game and the only possession they had with a touchdown cam Patrick Mahomes threw an interception on Hail Mary to end the first half. Mahomes had his way with the Browns, throwing for 375 yards and three touchdowns. Kareen Hunt also had his way with the Browns, terrorizing them on the ground (91 yards, two touchdowns) and through the air (50 receiving yards, 1 touchdown). You know what? Pretty much everyone on the Chiefs offense had their way with the Browns.

If the firing of Hue Jackson was supposed to inspire the Browns this week, that plan definitely did not work. Despite being an interim coach (Gregg Williams) who has been specializing in defense, the Browns had no answers for the Chiefs offense, which racked up 499 yards. The one thing the Browns did in this game was encouraging play from their rookies. Both Baker Mayfield (297 yards, two touchdown passes) and Nick Chubb (22 carries, 85 yards, one touchdown) were impressive for parts of the game. The other thing we saw from the Browns was the "unveiling" of Duke Johnson. For some reason, Todd Haley refused to use Johnson, but with Haley out, the Browns took advantage of having Johnson on Sunday as he took nine passes for 78 yards and both of Mayfield's touchdowns.

Chicago 41-9 over Buffalo

The Bears did not want to be in the same position because of the defense provided enough points (14) to win it on their own. The Bears defensive touchdowns came from Leonard Floyd (19-yard pick-six) and Leonard Floyd (65-yard fumble return), who both scored in the second quarter. The Bears also sacked Nathan Peterman four times. It was a good thing the Bears defense had a big game because the offense only produced 190 total yards. This game has just been marked out in the past 10 years and the Bears have won 200 yards of offense.

Nathan Peterman was the first quarterback in this game, so you probably already knew what happened: There was a lot of Buffalo turnovers and the Bills got blown out. Peterman threw three interceptions, including a pick-six, which was not really his fault because it was bounced off one of his receivers. Peterman was not the only player who was giving to the other team. Tight end Jason Croom fumbled to a ball in the second quarter that Chicago returned for a touchdown.

Carolina 42-28 over Tampa Bay

The Buccaneers might want to start their next game, but it seems like Ryan Fitzpatrick thrives. After falling behind 35-7, the Panthers got a full dose of FitzMagic and the Tampa cut the lead to 35-28. Unfortunately for Tampa, the FitzMagic ran out in the fourth quarter. Defensively, the Buccaneers got gashed for 179 rushing yards, which is the most they've given up all season. The Bucs went into this game with the NFL's 10th ranked rushing defense.

The Panthers scored a franchise-record 35 points in the first half and that's mainly because the Bucs could not figure out how to stop Cam Newton's or Christian McCaffrey's. McCaffrey totaled 157 yards against Tampa (79 rushing, 78 receiving), including two rushing touchdowns in the first half. As for Newton, he was almost perfect in the first half (9 of 12), throwing for 127 yards and a touchdown on his way to a 247-yard, two-touchdown performance. Defensively, Ryan Fitzpatrick is probably never going to want to see Mario Addison ever again. The Panthers had three sacks against Tampa and Addison accounted for all of them.

L.A. Chargers 25-17 over Seattle

The Chargers did the impossible on Sunday: They beat Russell Wilson in Seattle. Going into this week, Wilson had been 12-0 all-time at home against the AFC teams, but that's now 12-1 thanks to the Chargers. Los Angeles got Melvin Gordon back in this game, which was huge, because they needed him. Playing for the first time since Week 6, Gordon rushed for 113 yards and touchdown on just 16 carries. The Chargers also got a big game from Allen Keenan, who totaled 152 yards (28 rushing, 124 receiving). Of course, the Chargers' biggest problem is still their biggest problem. Caleb Sturgis almost lost this game for the first time, with two missed points and one missed 42-yard field goal.

Russell Wilson did not make a lot of mistakes in this game, but he did make a big mistake in Seattle. With just 6:44 left, Wilson threw a pick-six that turned a 19-10 Chargers lead into a 25-10 lead Chargers. Of course, there's a good chance, no one's going to remember that everyone is going to remember that David Moore dropped a potential game-tying touchdown pass on the final play.

Houston 19-17 over Denver

If there's any team in the NFL that's perfected the win, it's the Houston Texans. Deshaun Watson got hot early in the game, throwing two first-half touchdown passes, which was almost all the Texans needed to win. Although the Texans struggled against the Broncos defense at times, one player who was not DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins caught 10 assists for 105 yards and a touchdown.

If Vance Joseph is trying to keep his job, his late-game coaching against the Texans is not going to help the cause. The Broncos botched the final minute of the game with some questionable coaching that left Brandon McManus attempting a 51-yard field goal on the final play. Joseph did not try to get his kicker any closer, which was bad enough. Earlier in the game, he also iced Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn we have 46-yard kick. Although Fairbairn missed the first attempt, he got another shot at Joseph's timeout and he nailed it on his second attempt. In a two-point game, those two by Joseph cost the Broncos big time.

New Orleans 45-35 over L.A. Rams

The Rams only made a few mistakes in this game, but they were all big. In the first half alone, they have a field goal and an interception, two mistakes that both eventually lead to touchdowns for New Orleans. Also in the first half, the Rams ran to the field goal that did not work (although it was close) and the Saints got the ball back, they scored another touchdown. Sean McVay loves to take risks and risks in New Orleans.

The Saints needed a big day from their offense to knock off the undefeated Rams, and that's exactly what they got. Michael Thomas ran circles around the Secondary Rams, catching 12 passes for 211 yards and one touchdown. And then there was Alvin Kamara, who kept the scoreboard operator active by scoring three of the Saints' six touchdowns. The Saints did not punt a single time in the first half as they shot out to a 35-17 lead. Drew Brees was the man who made all of this happen. The Saints threw quarterback for 346 yards and four touchdowns. The Saints are now 21-1 when Breezy throws or more touchdown passes and no interceptions in a game.