Who'll win the weekend in NFL's Week 9: Brady vs. Rodgers, NFC supremacy and Browns chaos
Yahoo Sports NFL senior writers Terez Paylor, Kimberley A. Martin and Charles Robinson select games this week that will leave us buzzing heading into Monday.
Martin’s pick
Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots
Tom Brady, the ageless wonder.
Aaron Rodgers, the master of the Hail Mary.
There’s an aura, a mystique, some tangible feeling in the air that something special is about to take place whenever these two are on the field in the fourth quarter. The competition is heightened, the stakes even higher. And lucky for us, we get to watch two of the greatest of all time go at it on “Sunday Night Football.”
The rarity of these regular-season meetings between the Patriots and the Packers only adds to the allure of this week’s prime-time matchup. It’s only the second head-to-head game between the quarterbacks and it just might be the last, considering this AFC-NFC divisional game isn’t slated again until 2022 – when Brady will be close to 60. (Just kidding, Gisele!)
The Packers won the previous Brady-Rodgers battle, 26-21, in November, 2014. Both quarterbacks combined for 613 passing yards (Rodgers had 368 of it) and four touchdowns at Lambeau Field. Hopefully, we’ll be treated to another offensive explosion this time around.
Brady has 300 or more passing yards in three of his past four games. Meanwhile, Rodgers — who is averaging 326.1 passing yards per game — will face a Patriots defense that has allowed an average of 328.3 passing yards over its past four games (vs. the Bills, Bears, Chiefs and Colts).
Between them, Brady and Rodgers have six Super Bowl rings, five Super Bowl MVPs and 19 Pro Bowl appearances. So call them goats or unicorns — whatever you like.
It doesn’t get any better than this clash of the titans.
Paylor’s pick
Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints
The two best teams in the NFC are set to duke it out in an awesome venue (The Superdome!) in front of a charged up crowd. Oh yeah, this is going to be lit.
We get to see an elite offense (Saints) squaring off against an elite defense (Rams). And there’s no shortage of stars, either. Whenever you’re primed to put Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh on the field at the same time, magic will happen.
What’s more, if the Saints (6-1) hope to earn the NFC’s top seed, this is a game they better win. Because the Rams (8-0) show no signs of slowing down, and a win here will put them firmly in the driver’s seat to host the likely rematch in January, only this time it will be in the NFC championship game.
Robinson’s pick
Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns
Under most circumstances, this game would be a dog. But the upheaval in Cleveland has put Gregg Williams back into the head coaching seat, which makes the Browns a bit of a wild card this week.
And don’t kid yourself, Williams would probably cut off an appendage or two for a stunning win in his head coaching return. One thing is for certain: You can bank on him throwing the kitchen sink at Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. I’d expect a lot of pressure from Cleveland and some white-knuckling from a Kansas City coaching staff that has to be at least a little worried about how often their franchise quarterback could get hit in this one.
I expect one of two things: either the Browns are going to surprise everyone and show up motivated and aggressive coming out of a coaching change, or they’re going to pressure like crazy and get torched by a lethal Chiefs offense. Blowout or nail-biter, it will be worth it just for the drama.
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