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NFL Week 9: Steelers, Saints leave winners, Packers losers on Sunday

By Cody Williams

BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 04: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates with wide receiver Antonio Brown #84 after a play in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 04: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates with wide receiver Antonio Brown #84 after a play in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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FOXBOROUGH, MA – NOVEMBER 04: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers reacts as he holds his right wrist during the second half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA – NOVEMBER 04: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers reacts as he holds his right wrist during the second half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

Loser: Green Bay Packers outlook

Losing to the New England Patriots isn’t necessarily a death sentence for any team, even for the best teams in the league. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are a dynasty and, put simply, teams lose to them frequently, especially in the confines of Gillette Stadium. However, Sunday night’s loss for the Green Bay Packers now leaves them in a tough spot moving forward through the second half of the season.

With the Week 9 loss, the Packers are in heavy danger of missing out on the NFL Playoffs. At 3-4-1 now, they trail both the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears in the NFC North race and are just as far behind in a heated NFC Wild Card race that has the 6-2 Panthers and 5-3-1 Vikings occupying the two spots right now. Given the Packers injuries, defensive woes and the fact that Aaron Rodgers still doesn’t appear to be 100 percent healthy, things are in danger of getting away from the Packers right now.

Winner: Chargers, Panthers as sleepers

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Chargers and Carolina Panthers were largely afterthoughts thanks to other teams in their division, as has been the case much of this season. The Chargers appear forgotten thanks to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, while the Panthers feel the same as the New Orleans Saints may have established themselves as the class of the NFC (or the NFL as a whole).

While that may be true, both the Chargers and the Panthers moved to 6-2 on the season with wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively, in Week 9. Both teams are playing well on both sides of the ball and have proven to be able to compete with some of the best in the league already at this point. They may not be the most touted teams in their own divisions, but the Chargers and Panthers are continually stating that we need to take note of them as sleepers in their respective conferences.

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