Tag: NFL Week 9

Commanders’ Week 9 inactives vs. Giants

The Commanders’ Week 9 inactive list is out. Bad news on Brian Robinson Jr.

The Washington Commanders released their inactive list before Sunday’s Week 9 showdown against the New York Giants. In some tough news, running back Brian Robinson Jr. is inactive and will not play against the Giants.

Robinson was listed as questionable on Friday’s final injury report with a hamstring injury. The third-year running back rushed for 133 yards against New York in September and has averaged 83 rushing yards per game in his career vs. the Giants.

Offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas is out with an injury. The Commanders ruled him out Friday. His co-starter at left tackle, rookie Brandon Coleman, is active and will start. Coleman missed last week’s game with a concussion.

Here’s Washington’s list of Week 9 inactives:

  • OT Cornelius Lucas
  • QB Jeff Driskel
  • RB Brian Robinson Jr.
  • S Darrick Forrest
  • TE Colson Yankoff
  • LB Dominique Hampton

Washington elevated Chris Rodriguez Jr. from the practice squad in anticipation of Robinson missing the game. So, the Commanders will have a running back rotation of Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols and Rodriguez.

Patriots vs. Titans inactives: QB Drake Maye IN, QB Will Levis OUT

Who’s in and who’s out for the Patriots and Titans?

The New England Patriots will be shorthanded in the defensive backfield for a second consecutive week in Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.

Starting safety Kyle Dugger has been ruled out with an ankle injury. With Jabrill Peppers still on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, the Patriots are still without their top two starting safeties.

That means another game of extended work for backups Dell Pettus and Jaylinn Hawkins. They’ll be facing a Titans passing offense that averages the second-worst passing yardage per game.

On a positive note, the Patriots will have rookie quarterback Drake Maye under center for the game. He cleared concussion protocol on Saturday after taking a hit to the helmet in last week’s win over the New York Jets.

Here are the inactives for both teams in Week 9:

The Titans will have running back Tony Pollard available for the game, but they will be without quarterback Will Levis. That means Mason Rudolph is set to get the start against the Patriots.

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Bengals shock, make rookie Jermaine Burton inactive vs. Raiders in Week 9

Bengals announce inactives for Week 9 vs. Raiders.

The Cincinnati Bengals pulled a shocker on Sunday before Week 9 against the Las Vegas Raiders by making hyped rookie wideout Jermaine Burton inactive.

The full inactives list the Bengals issued:

  • WR Tee Higgins
  • WR Charlie Jones
  • RB Zack Moss
  • OT Orlando Brown Jr.
  • WR Jermaine Burotn
  • TE Tanner McLachlan
  • DT Jay Tufele

No word on why Burton isn’t active — but he was supposed to get a major playing time boost this week with Tee Higgins out.

Joe Burrow even called for Burton get more playing time and Burton isn’t on the injury report, so the reason must be notable.

Also of note, the Bengals downgraded Zack Moss to out on Sunday morning after he suffered a neck injury on Friday.

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Is Xavier Legette playing today? Saints vs. Panthers injury update

Xavier Legette is dealing with an injury suffered in practice, but is expected to be the focal point of the Panthers’ passing attack against the Saints:

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette is expected to play in Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints, per FOX Sport’s Jordan Schultz. Legette’s became in jeopardy when appeared on the injury report Thursday with a toe injury.

Dionte Johnson is the Panthers’ leading receiver on the season. The thing is he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens earlier this week. That makes Legette the leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns among players still on the Panthers roster.

There is no other receiver on the team with multiple touchdowns or over 200 yards. Legette is still looking to get his feet underneath him in his rookie season, but the importance of his development and presence to the Panthers’ passing game is clear when looking at the rest of the roster.

As the Saints prepare to stall out a stagnant Panthers passing attack, the focal point is the rookie receiver. He hasn’t had a big game, but he was still a first round pick this year. If Legette has a breakout game this year, it wouldn’t be shocking. The Saints just need to make sure that game doesn’t happen against them.

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Panthers receiving corps as riddled with injuries as Saints secondary

Alontae Taylor is the only one of the Saints’ top cornerbacks healthy this week, and Carolina is depending on a WR who was hurt in practice:

The passing game will be an interesting battle to watch when the Carolina Panthers have the ball against the New Orleans Saints. This game will feature a banged up Saints secondary versus a depleted Panthers wide receiver corps.

Paulson Adebo’s season is over with a broken femur suffered in Week 7. Marshon Lattimore and Kool-Aid McKinstry are both out with hamstring injuries this week. That leaves Alontae Taylor as the only piece of the core cornerbacks who will play Sunday.

Xavier Legette is the only wide receiver of note available to Bryce Young. Adam Thielen is doubtful and Diontae Johnson was shipped off to the Ravens. Even Legette, who is expected to play, was added to the injury report midweek with a toe injury.

Carolina has struggled to throw the ball this year with Young or Andy Dalton. This would be normally be an easy matchup for the Saints secondary. With all the injuries, it’s difficult to project how they’ll perform.

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Referee Ron Torbert assigned to Week 9 Saints-Panthers game

Referee Ron Torbert and his crew will be responsible for officiating the Week 9 matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte:

Referee Ron Torbert and his crew will be responsible for the officiating in the Week 9 matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte.

This is going to be quite an interesting one, considering that over eight games, he and his crew have thrown a total of 128 flags for 993 yards. There were 30 of those that were dismissed. 68 of the flags were thrown on the home team and 60 of them were against the visiting team.

Torbert’s team averages 16 penalties per game for an average of 124 yards per game.

The last time the Saints had Torbert as a referee, they came out on top with a final score of 24-17 over the Chicago Bears. Only one penalty was called on the Saints for a mere total of five yards. The Bears were not as lucky, flagged eight times for a total of 71 yards.

The Panthers last had Torbert throwing the flags in the game on Nov. 26 of 2023 when Carolina fell 17-10 to the Titans. Four penalties were thrown on the Panthers for 35 yards. Eight penalties were thrown on the Titans for 53 yards.

In total, the Saints are 8-3 in games with Torbert as the head referee. The Panthers are 8-5. It will be interesting to see how things play out in this one as the Saints and the Panthers prepare to kick off at Noon CT/1 p.m. ET in Bank of America Stadium.

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Final score predictions for Raiders vs. Bengals in Week 9

A final prediction for Raiders vs. Bengals in Week 9.

Against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals face a critical turning point for the franchise.

At first, that might sound a little silly to say about a 3-5 team. But it’s not nearly as simple as a game between two teams with a combined five wins.

Based on a new report, the Bengals are looking to be buyers at Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline in the hopes of upgrading positions of need before making a playoff push.

But as we and plenty of fans have argued, a loss to the Raiders should probably mean they act as sellers at the deadline.

The Bengals remain in the playoff race in an AFC with half the conference sporting three or fewer wins, hence the team wanting to keep pushing. And a game against a rebuilding, 2-6 Raiders team with a minus-66 point differential is certainly winnable.

Those Raiders start Gardner Minshew under center, who has six touchdowns and eight interceptions this year. Lead back Alexander Mattison just rushed for 15 yards on 14 carries last week. The real threat is rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who looks on pace to be one of the NFL’s best with ease. And on the defensive side of the ball, Maxx Crosby is a T.J. Watt-like presence who will give the Bengals problems.

And the Bengals have problems of their own, too. Tee Higgins isn’t going to play, leaving Ja’Marr Chase to do all the heavy lifting again. Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. won’t be able to go, leaving Cody Ford against Crosby.

Despite this, provided Bengals coaches can draw up a proper game plan that eliminates the threat of Crosby, Cincinnati should feel pretty good entering this one. Joe Burrow is playing great ball and the defense, provided it can collapse on Bowers quickly, should have an easier assignment than usual.

The Bengals sort of luck out in the timing of this matchup. Unless there’s a complete, unforeseen implosion in the effort department, this should be a win, which should make the trade deadline more interesting than usual, too.

Prediction: Bengals 27, Raiders 17

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NFL Week 9 picks: See who experts are taking in Commanders vs. Giants today

The experts weigh in on Sunday’s game between the Commanders and Giants.

The Washington Commanders (6-2) enter Sunday’s showdown against NFC East rival the New York Giants (2-6) as four-point favorites. When you first glance at the records of each team, you may think that the spread appears to be a bit low.

However, this is a divisional matchup and one that the Giants have had the upper hand for the past several years. The two longtime foes met back in Week 2, with the Commanders barely defeating the Giants, 21-18, on the strength of seven Austin Seibert field goals.

Much has changed since Week 2. Washington is one of the NFL’s hottest teams, led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Meanwhile, the Giants have had another difficult start to the season.

So, does New York quarterback Daniel Jones continue his streak of playing well vs. Washington? Or does Daniels begin a new streak and go 2-0 vs. the Giants to start his career?

We made our picks for Sunday’s NFC East battle, and we believe the Commanders prevail. However, what do the experts think?

According to NFL Pickwatch, 93% of the experts believe Washington will defeat New York.

The Giants are a reasonable upset pick for Week 9, but the experts strongly favor the NFC East leaders at MetLife Stadium.

When they last met: Commanders and Giants

What happened the last time these rivals met?

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Washington 21, NY Giants 18 – Week 2, September 15, 2024

Austin Seibert, playing in his first NFL game of 2024, successfully kicked seven field goals, the last of which gave the Commanders a walk-off 21-18 victory over the New York Giants in Landover, Maryland.

GM Adam Peters claimed Seibert after Washington released kicker Cade York.

On the other side of the field, the Giants lost their kicker, Graham Gano, which resulted in the Giants attempting two-point conversions twice but missing both of them.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels was spectacular over most of the field, completing 23 of his 29 passing attempts for 226 yards and no interceptions. However, Daniels was sacked five times, and the Commanders never reached the end zone.

Instead, Seibert was called upon and came through with field goals from 27, 45 and 26 yards in the first half, keeping Washington close to the Giants, as they trailed only 12-9.

Seibert tied the game in the third quarter with a field goal from 27 yards. He then gave the Commanders a 15-12 lead, connecting from 29 yards with 2:47 remaining in the quarter.

In the final quarter, trailing 18-15, the Commanders got into position, allowing Seibert to tie the score from 33 yards with 7:12 remaining.

When the Giants turned the ball over on downs, Daniels drove the Commanders down the field one last time, and Seifert’s 30-yard field goal as time expired, gave Washington their first victory of 2024, evening their record at 1-1.

While Daniels manufactured a 99.1 passer rating, Brian Robinson churned up 133 rushing yards on his 17 rushing attempts, and Zach Ertz led the Commanders with 62 receiving yards on his four receptions. Washington moved the ball so well all day that punter Tress Way was never needed to punt.

Is Tee Higgins playing today? Injury updates for Bengals WR

Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is dealing with a leg injury. Here are the latest updates for Week 9.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

While the big talk around Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins pertains to the NFL trade deadline, he’s simply having trouble getting on the field in Week 9.

Higgins suffered an injury in practice before Week 8 and isn’t 100 percent yet, putting his status for Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders in doubt.

Here’s the latest.

 

Tee Higgins injury update

 

How long will Tee Higgins be out?

So far, the Bengals haven’t slapped him on injured reserve, which means they don’t think he’ll be out more than four games. But with soft-tissue injuries, who knows? He missed the first two games of the year with a different issue, then had this setback in practice.

 

Bengals WR depth chart

Ja’Marr Chase, Andrei Iosivas, Trenton Irwin, Jermaine Burton, Charlie Jones

With Iosivas struggling, there’s been a lot of talk about getting the rookie Burton more snaps. Joe Burrow has asked for it too, so expect it.

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