Entering Week 9, 13 teams have recorded at least five wins this season, the third-most through Week 8 since 1970, trailing only 1986 (16 teams) and 2020 (14).
Three teams – Baltimore, Miami and the New York Jets – earned victories in Week 8 after entering the week with one-or-fewer wins. The Jets overcame a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to secure their first win of the season.
Entering 2025, teams had lost 135 consecutive games when trailing by 15-or-more points entering the fourth quarter, including the postseason – there have been four such wins so far in 2025 (Buffalo in Week 1, Tennessee Week 5, Denver in Week 7 and the New York Jets in Week 8).
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- 2024 AFC Championship Game rematch:When the Buffalo Bills (5-2) host the Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), it will mark the ninth matchup, including the postseason, between quarterbacks Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. The Bills have won the past four regular-season matchups, while the Chiefs have won the past four postseason meetings, including the 2024 AFC Championship game in Kansas City. In Week 11 last season in Buffalo, the Bills defeated the Chiefs, 30-21, to hand Kansas City its first loss of the season after a 9-0 start.
- Both Kansas City and Buffalo enter Week 9 with a top-five offense, as the Bills ranks third overall with 382.9 yards per game and the Chiefs ranks fifth with 378.3 yards per game. Defensively, Buffalo (161.9 passing yards per game allowed) and Kansas City (177.8) lead the AFC in passing defense.
- Mahomes is tied for first with 17 touchdown passes this season and with at least three touchdown passes on Sunday, it will mark Mahomes’ fourth consecutive game with at least three touchdown passes, a feat he has only accomplished twice in his career (2018, 2021). Mahomes has 46 career games with at least three touchdown passes and can surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (46 games) for the most games with at least three touchdown passes by a player in his first nine seasons all-time.
- Last week, Allen registered his 46th career game with both a touchdown pass and rushing touchdown, surpassing Cam Newton (45 games) for the most such games in NFL history. It also marked Allen’s 81st regular-season win since entering the NFL in 2018, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (80 wins) and Ben Roethlisberger (80) for the fourth-most regular-season wins by a quarterback in his first eight seasons in NFL history.
- Leaders in the AFC: Three of the four division leaders in the AFC – Denver (6-2), Indianapolis (7-1) and New England (6-2) – have at least six wins this season and have winning streaks of four-or-more games. The two NFC teams with six wins – Philadelphia and Tampa Bay – each have a Week 9 bye.
- Denver Broncos (6-2) at Houston Texans (3-4) (1p.m. ET, FOX): The Broncos, who lead the NFL with 36 sacks and have allowed a league-low eight sacks this season, are the first team in NFL history with at least 35 sacks and 10-or-fewer sacks allowed in its first eight games of a season. Denver has won five consecutive games entering Week 9, including one-score road victories over Philadelphia (Week 5) and the New York Jets (Week 6, in London).
- Denver quarterback Bo Nix tied his career high with four touchdown passes last week in his 25th career start. Nix has seven games with at least three touchdown passes since 2024, fourth-most among AFC quarterbacks, trailing only Joe Burrow (10 games), Lamar Jackson (eight) and Patrick Mahomes (eight).
- The Texans have won three of their past four games, including home victories over Tennessee (Week 4) and San Francisco (Week 8). Houston leads the NFL in scoring defense (14.7 points per game allowed) and total defense (266.9 yards per game allowed) this season.
- Indianapolis Colts (7-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) (1:00 p.m. ET, CBS):Indianapolis enters the game with a 7-1 record, their best start since 2009, when they started 14-0. Entering Week 9, the Colts rank first in the league in total offense (385.3 yards per game), touchdowns (32) and points per game (33.8). The last time the Colts finished a season leading the NFL in yards per game was 1976.
- Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor totaled 174 scrimmage yards (153 rushing, 21 receiving) and three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) in Week 8, becoming the fifth player since 2000 and first since 2006 (Pro Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson) with at least three scrimmage touchdowns in four games in a season. Taylor is the only player with four games of 100-or-more rushing yards this season and leads the NFL in scrimmage yards (1,056), rushing yards (850), scrimmage touchdowns (14) and rushing touchdowns (12) this season.
- In his first season with Indianapolis, quarterback Daniel Jones has recorded career bests in passing yards (2,062), completion percentage (71.2), passer rating (109.5) and yards per attempt (8.5) through the first eight weeks. Since 1970, Jones is the eighth quarterback to win at least seven of his first eight starts with a team, among the team’s first eight games of the season.
- Denver Broncos (6-2) at Houston Texans (3-4) (1p.m. ET, FOX): The Broncos, who lead the NFL with 36 sacks and have allowed a league-low eight sacks this season, are the first team in NFL history with at least 35 sacks and 10-or-fewer sacks allowed in its first eight games of a season. Denver has won five consecutive games entering Week 9, including one-score road victories over Philadelphia (Week 5) and the New York Jets (Week 6, in London).
- Minnesota Vikings (3-4) at Detroit Lions (5-2) (1 p.m. ET, FOX): The Week 9 meeting will mark the 127th all-time matchup between the division rivals, with the Vikings leading the series 80-45-2.In Week 18 last season, the Lions defeated the Vikings, 31-9, to secure the NFC North division title. Detroit quarterback Jared Goff has recorded a 116.4 passer rating and 74.9 completion percentage at home this season, both the second-highest mark in the league, trailing only New England quarterback Drake Maye.
- Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson surpassed 8,000 receiving yards last week, becoming the youngest player ever (26 years and 129 days old) and fastest player in the Super Bowl era (84 games) to reach the mark. In 10 career games against Detroit, he has recorded 72 receptions for 1,208 yards, his most receiving yards against any opponent.
- Lionswide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown enters the game tied for the league-lead in touchdown receptions with seven, six of which have come in Detroit’s three home games this season.
- Atlanta Falcons (3-4) at New England Patriots (6-2) (1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Patriots have won five consecutive games entering Week 9 and can win six straight games for the first time since 2021. New England ranks fourth in the NFL in total defense, allowed 18.9 points per game and are one of four teams, along with Houston, Kansas City and Seattle, to allow 20-or-fewer points in six games this season.
- Patriots quarterback Drake Maye became the first player in NFL history with at least two touchdown passes and a passer rating of 135-or-higher in five of his team’s first eight games of a season. In Week 9, he can become the first player under the age of 24 and fourth player in NFL history to record at least 200 passing yards and a passer rating of 100-or-higher in eight consecutive games.
- Seattle Seahawks (5-2) at Washington Commanders (3-5) (8:15 p.m. ET, NBC, Sunday Night Football): Week 9 will mark the first time that Seattle and Washington have met on Sunday Night Football and just the third primetime meeting between the two clubs (Week 5, 2014 and Week 12, 2021, both on Monday night). Since 2024, the Seahawks are 10-1 (.909 winning percentage) on the road under head coach Mike Macdonald, the highest road winning percentage in the NFL.
- Seattle wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 819 receiving yards this season and has recorded at least eight receptions, 100 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in each of his past three games. At 23 years old, he is the youngest player in the Super Bowl era with at least 75 receiving yards in each of his first seven games of a season and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce (833 receiving yards in 1995) as the only players under the age of 24 with at least 800 receiving yards in their first seven games of a season.
- Originally selected in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft by Seattle, Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner faces his former team for the first time since 2022, when he was with the Los Angeles Rams. In 11 seasons with the Seahawks, Wagner totaled 1,560 tackles, with at least 100 tackles in each season. Heenters Week 9 ranked second in tackles this season (83) and has the most tackles (524) in primetime since entering the league in 2012, nearly double the next player (Eric Kendricks – 292 tackles). Since 2000, Wagner is the only player in the league to record at least 500 tackles in primetime games.
