Week 9

We had the big clash between the two AFC giants in Boston and Brady came out on top against Peyton. Manning completed 34 of 57 passes for 438yds, two touchdowns and two interceptions, in the Broncos’ 43-21 loss against New England. His stats were marginally better than his rival, Brady completed 33 of 53 passes for 333yds with four touchdowns and an interception.

This was the 16th duel between the pair and New England outfoxed Denver on both sides of the ball. The defense was in Manning’s face so much his offense struggled on numerous occasions to get the snap off on time. Edelman was the star in this game, catching 9 of 10 targets for 89yds and a touchdown. He also scored on an impressive long punt return.

It was also a case of deja vu for Ben Roethlisberger as he helped the Steelers pick apart Baltimore in their important AFC North contest. Big Ben completed 25 of 37 passes for 340yds and six touchdowns in their 43-23 win. Pittsburgh are now 6&3 and they’re looking hot in their three-game winning streak. The pressure is on Andy Dalton and the 5&2 Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals welcomed back A.J. Green to the fold, scoring a touchdown on his return against the London-bound Jaguars. Cincinnati had their rookie RB to thank in their 33-23 victory on Sunday. Jeremy Hill ran for a career-high 154yds and a pair of touchdowns. He added a bit of guile in an otherwise sloppy performance by the AFC North leaders.

The shock of the week came in San Francisco. 49ers fans must be worried about their weak O-line. Colin Kaepernick was sacked eight times against the Rams. This was the 9ers’ second straight loss and they’re now 4&4 for the season. More worryingly is that they’re 1&2 against division rivals and it looks like Arizona are running away with the NFC West. Harbaugh has key men to return in the coming weeks as his side prepare to face Seattle twice and travel to New Orleans this week. We’ll see how they’re set up for that play-off push at the end of a tricky November.

Dallas head over here hoping to get their season back on track after the wheels appear to have come off their play-off wagon. They missed Romo as Bradon Weedon completed 18 of 33 passes for 183yds and a touchdown with two interceptions against the Cardinals. The Cowboys are now 6&3 after their 28-17 loss on Sunday.

People will be holding onto their MVP nominations for Philip Rivers. The Chargers QB completed 12 of 23 passes for 138yds with three interceptions and a loss fumble before exiting the game in the third quarter in Miami. San Diego were shut out in the 37-0 defeat. Rivers injured his throwing hand during the game, so he’ll be hoping for a quick recovery during his bye week this week. The Dolphins have now won their last three.

Teddy Bridgewater outplayed RGIII, who made his return from injury. The rookie completed 26 of 42 passes for 268yds. Giffin was sacked five times and went 18 for 28 for 251yds, a touchdown and an interception. Minnesota went 4&5 in what was a rough day for Washington who started it with a crash between their two buses on the way to the stadium.

Oakland remain without a win, although they came within a touchdown of beating Seattle in the North West. The Raiders appear to be in the race with Tampa Bay for the first round pick in 2015. The Bucs lost again, this time to Cleveland as Brian Hoyer helped the Browns grind out a 22-17 win.

The week ended with another superb performance from Andrew Luck. The Colts went to New York on Monday night and defeated the Giants 40-24. Luck completed 25 of 45 passes for 354yds and four touchdowns. He’s now on pace to make a run at the single season marks for passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions and pass attempts.