NFL Teams Who Reminded Us to Rethink Their Status After Week 9

If anything, we were reminded on the ninth Sunday of the 2021 NFL regular season that it's a long campaign and drawing conclusions prior to November is unwise.

Several supposed contenders laid eggs of various sizes in Week 9, giving us reason to take pause.

With midseason officially upon us, let's look at each of those squads.

One week after beating a talented and well-rested opponent in prime time on the road without superstar quarterback Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys got Prescott back...and got smoked at home by a team that had lost four of its last five games and just traded its biggest star.

How in the world did the Denver Broncos take down Dallas 30-16 Sunday in Arlington? You'd have to believe Prescott's injured calf was a factor when looking at the boxscore, but it wasn't empirically obvious that was the case. This was just an utter dud from Prescott, who completed just 19 of 39 passes and was 3-for-11 on attempts that traveled 15-plus yards downfield.

There were unforced throwing errors, turnovers, and dropped passes. It also didn't help that Broncos backs Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon III dominated a vulnerable run defense.

Was this anomalous, or should Cowboys fans panic? Duds happen, Prescott might have been rusty and Dallas at least still has a solid pad in the soft NFC East. If they can bounce back with an easy win against the Atlanta Falcons at home next weekend, it'll be pretty easy to forget about this one.

Still, it's a reminder that the Cowboys aren't exactly a juggernaut right now.

Denver 30, Dallas 16 would have been the most shocking result of the week if not for the Jacksonville Jaguars' mind-blowing 9-6 win over the Buffalo Bills. The Bills are somehow just 5-3 and fighting for playoff positioning despite owning an AFC-best scoring margin of plus-117.

Buffalo closed as a 15.5-point favorite, making it just the fourth team this century to lose a game despite laying that many or more points.

What the heck happened? MVP candidate Josh Allen turned the ball over three times, his running backs were useless, and his team took a ridiculous 12 penalties.

This was extreme, but it is troubling that Buffalo has won just a single game since beating the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football in Week 5. They now hold just a half-game lead over the New England Patriots in the AFC East, and we all know you can never count out Bill Belichick's squad. The good news is the remaining schedule isn't too daunting, but that might not be much of a consolation considering that the Jags hadn't won a game on American soil since last September.

You know why else I'd be worried? While Sunday's issues with the offensive line shouldn't be too concerning because injuries played a role, problems with penalties and execution in the red zone have become regular for the Bills. This might not have been a complete aberration.

Will the Las Vegas Raiders finally falter despite a 5-3 start? Head coach Jon Gruden's sudden resignation was one thing, and the Raiders surprisingly held up with back-to-back late-October wins sans Gruden, but now there's the absence of Henry Ruggs III, and it might be taking a toll on the team.

Ruggs is facing four felony charges and a misdemeanor after a traffic collision that resulted in the death of a young woman and her dog. The Raiders released him last week, leaving quarterback Derek Carr without one of his top targets. Football is, of course, secondary there, but business resumed on the field Sunday, and Carr had arguably his worst game of the season as the Raiders fell 23-16 to a previously 2-6 New York Giants team.

Carr committed three turnovers, and none of his wide receivers registered 50 yards as the Raiders converted just four of 12 third-down attempts. Incredibly, they scored just one touchdown on six red-zone trips.

Like the Bills, the Raiders hadn't been great in the red zone prior to Week 9. Going 1-of-6 is ridiculous and likely somewhat of a fluke; that said, this team was arguably playing above its head in the first place. Even at 5-3, it ranked just 19th in total DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) at Football Outsiders through eight weeks (they had remarkable luck when it came to not turning it over on turnover-worthy plays).

With Gruden and Ruggs not coming back and games against the Chiefs (twice), Cincinnati Bengals, Cowboys and Cleveland Browns on the upcoming schedule, Las Vegas is in trouble.

The Cincinnati Bengals were once a surprising 5-2, and 7-2 was looking mighty probable with the New York Jets and limping Cleveland Browns on their schedule for Weeks 8 and 9. Instead, they were shocked by the lowly Jets before getting crushed at home by the Browns on Sunday.

Losing to a Cleveland team that went 11-5 last season and entered 2021 as a Super Bowl contender is nothing to be ashamed of on the surface, but 41-16 at home? With injury-plagued Cleveland reeling following a 1-3 stretch and Odell Beckham Jr.'s release? It was an indication that the young Bengals are still likely at least a year away from truly competing.

Quarterback Joe Burrow threw two interceptions, and sensational rookie receiver Ja'Marr Chase caught just six of 13 targets, dropped a pass in the end zone and lost a fumble. Meanwhile, Browns back Nick Chubb owned the Cincinnati defense as the Browns won handily despite taking 10 penalties (compared to four for the Bengals).

It was easily the sloppiest game all season from a team that almost always puts up a fight.

The good news is they now have a bye week to stop the bleeding. However, it's going to be challenging to keep up with Cleveland, as well as the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, in the experienced AFC North. Don't be surprised if the Bengals are out of the playoff picture after a post-bye run against the Raiders, Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers.

The post-Drew Brees era showed promise for the New Orleans Saints during the first eight weeks of the 2021 season. Before Sunday, they had lost just one game in regulation, which came in Week 2.

But injuries—including the one that recently ended quarterback Jameis Winston's season—have continually posed a threat to their campaign. And a home loss to the division-rival Atlanta Falcons on Sunday was a potential indication that New Orleans won't have a playoff run it is this year.

Sure, the 27-25 defeat came under tough circumstances just one week after they impressively beat the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nonetheless, it's pretty discouraging that they've now lost to both the Giants and Falcons at the Superdome this season. Winston replacement Trevor Siemian didn't perform too poorly, but he's not a game-changer, and the offense converted just three third downs while the team took 10 penalties.

Are they still a factor? Sure, thanks mainly to the fact the NFC wild-card race appears as though it will be wide open. But there simply hasn't been enough consistency or reliability from an experienced but thin Saints team in 2021. They had us wondering if they could make waves despite Brees' retirement this, but Sunday was a reminder that there likely isn't enough there.

The only team on this list that won on Sunday was the Baltimore Ravens, who overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to edge out the Minnesota Vikings in overtime. But that win didn't come easy enough for a Baltimore squad that had two weeks to prepare for a home game against an opponent with a losing record.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw two interceptions, including what could have been a back-breaker in overtime. But what's amazing is the Ravens nearly lost despite gaining 36 first downs to only 13 for Minnesota. They dominated time of possession and went 6-for-15 on third down and 3-for-3 on fourth down.

That, paired with Baltimore's depth and experience, makes you wonder if this would have been somewhat of an aberrational loss anyway. However, a weak first half coming off a bye combined with a humiliating pre-bye defeat at the hands of the Bengals is worthy of some concern.

The Ravens haven't strung several quality performances together yet this season, and they better hope that happens now as they travel to play the inferior Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears the next two weeks. The rest of the schedule is extremely treacherous.