Going into Sunday’s Week 9 matchup between the 7-0 Pittsburgh Steelers and 2-6 Dallas Cowboys, it was tough to bet against the undefeated team going up against an opponent that was using its fourth different starting quarterback this season.
But at halftime, the Steelers found themselves trailing the Cowboys 13-9 in Garrett Gilbert’s first NFL start. It was certainly a nailbiter for most of the game, as Ben Roethlisberger had to orchestrate a fourth-quarter comeback to ensure the Steelers would improve to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history.
This game had a lot going on between Roethlisberger leaving just before half with an apparent knee injury, and the Cowboys deciding to throw some trickery on special teams.
showing #PITvsDAL @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/x4ZkQKwoIm
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 8, 2020
With the win, Pittsburgh ensured their 17th straight season with a .500-plus record since drafting Roethlisberger in 2004. According to NFL research, Big Ben now owns the most career seasons without playing on a sub-.500 team in NFL history.
Here are things we learned from Week 9 of the NFL season.
No stopping Dalvin Cook
One thing NFL teams are learning this season when facing Dalvin Cook is that it doesn’t matter what your gameplan is, he’s going to find a way to blow it up.
The latest victim was the Detroit Lions’ defence which saw Cook rush for 206 yards on 22 attempts and two touchdowns, along with another 46 yards on two receptions. As Pro Football Focus pointed out, Cook had 166 yards after contact, including a 70-yard touchdown run where he just plowed through the Lions.
Top 2 back in the league and he ain’t #2
: https://t.co/EYGyNNxBPN pic.twitter.com/32SPgVFJn3
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 8, 2020
It was the second straight game that Cook put up more than 225 yards from scrimmage and two scores, becoming just the third player in NFL history to do so.
This gives the 25-year-old 478 total yards and six touchdowns the past two weeks and the outright lead among running backs with 858 yards. He also leads the NFL with 12 rushing touchdowns, and his 1,031 yards from scrimmage have him just ahead of Alvin Kamara for the most in the league. He’s accomplished all this despite missing a game because of a groin injury.
Safe to say, Cook has justified the five-year, $63-million extension he signed in the off-season, and the Minnesota Vikings are probably glad they were able to get it done.
Mahomes joins elite company
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see Patrick Mahomes setting records in the NFL, and this week was no different as he became the fastest quarterback to throw 100 career touchdown passes, accomplishing the feat in just 40 games.
Mahomes has 788 passing yards and nine touchdowns over the past two games but has also made sure to protect the ball as he has not thrown an interception. He is just the second quarterback to have at least 775 Pass yards, nine touchdown passes and no interceptions in a two-game span with.
Just when you thought you have seen everything, Mahomes actually caught a snap while running in motion before throwing a touchdown pass to DeMarcus Robinson.
Showtime to Honey Thunder for our first touchdown of the game #CARvsKC on FOX pic.twitter.com/KPtNkCjo50
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 8, 2020
The NFL MVP race will be an interesting one with Mahomes improving his passer rating to 115.9 and looking to catch up to Aaron Rodgers (117.5) and Russell Wilson (117.1).
McCaffrey doesn’t miss a beat in return
Many fantasy football owners breathed a sigh of relief with Christian McCaffrey making his long-awaited return to the field.
McCaffrey totalled 151 yards and didn’t waste any time finding the endzone as he scored on the Panthers’ first drive of the game.
The 24-year-old had 100 scrimmage yards after the Panthers’ first drive of the second half, giving him 15 games with 100-plus scrimmage yards. Not only is that the most in the NFL since the 2019 season, he was able to maintain that while missing the past six games with an ankle injury.
