Home Sports Week 9 NFL Roundtable: Anthony Richardson, Lions-Packers, coaches on the hot seat

Week 9 NFL Roundtable: Anthony Richardson, Lions-Packers, coaches on the hot seat

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Week 9 NFL Roundtable: Anthony Richardson, Lions-Packers, coaches on the hot seat

Maybe the NFL knew what it was doing when it put the Indianapolis Colts-Minnesota Vikings in prime time.

The benching of quarterback Anthony Richardson has been a major talking point around the league this week. Another act from Joe Flacco’s career begins against the Vikings, who were once the hottest team in the league before losing their last two. Minnesota strengthened its offensive line by trading Jacksonville Jaguars OT Cam Robinson.

Speaking of trades, the NFL trade deadline approaches on Tuesday. So there’s plenty more that our NFL writers Jeff Howe, Mike Sando and Zak Keefer will discuss in this roundtable previewing Sunday’s Week 9 list.

We’ll see more of the wide receivers who have already been traded to new squads, including Amari Cooper of the Buffalo Bills and DeAndre Hopkins of Kansas City Chiefs. New Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson should make his debut against the Denver Broncos.

Elsewhere, we can’t seem to go a week without a big NFC North game. Is it also time to gauge which head coaches are on the hot seat?

Read more below.


Another week, another big NFC North game. This time it’s Lions-Packers. Green Bay has won four in a row. Detroit has won five in a row. What or who makes the biggest difference in this?

How: The Lions are the best team in the league right now, but I think the Packers are close and can beat anyone if Jordan Love is healthy. However, I will focus on the Packers defense. It has been a top-10 unit thus far and the overall defense has been solid for the most part. The Lions have been so successful on offense because they can run the play whenever they want and have kept Jared Goff on schedule. From what I’ve heard, teams want to see if Goff can play at this level if he’s forced into a more standard drop-back game — essentially if the Lions aren’t able to dominate on the ground and allow Ben Johnson make use of his most creative plays. If Goff can handle such a test, the Lions will be more dangerous than anyone probably realizes. If not, this opens the door in the NFC for some teams nipping at the Lions’ heels.

Beetle: I’m with Jeff. I think the Lions are the best team in football right now, even if the Chiefs are the team with an impeccable record. Love’s availability after last week’s win with a groin injury remains paramount, and I wonder if he plays how that could limit some of his playing ability. But the key here is what Josh Jacobs can give the Packers offense. They lean heavily on him. Jacobs has more carries through the first eight weeks of the season (145) of any Packers in the last 25 years except Ahman Green (in 2003 and 2004). Since Love is probably less than 100 percent, breaking open one or two of Jacobs might be the Pack’s best shot.

GO DEEPER

Lions-Packers preview: Can Green Bay slow down Jared Goff and the red-hot Detroit offense?

Sando: Love being less than 100 percent is the most important variable and this game swings towards Detroit for me. From Green Bay’s standpoint, I’m afraid we’ll see the worst of Love without the best, and that he simply won’t be efficient enough to keep up with Detroit.

The Saints (at Panthers), Jaguars (at Eagles) and Cowboys (at Falcons) are each on the road on Sunday and desperately need a win. Which head coach’s seat is the hottest of the three?

How: All three are in serious danger anyway. I guess it depends on how you quantify the heat. As with everything involving the Cowboys, every situation there is always at its most extreme, and the focus on Mike McCarthy’s job with Bill Belichick potentially waiting in the shadows is an unprecedented situation this season. On the other hand, Doug Pederson has been under fire the longest for the Jaguars’ poor start, and it appears it will take a monstrous turnaround before he gets another chance in 2025.

Beetle: The Saints’ collapse this season after a blistering start has been staggering. It’s hard to see Mickey Loomis and the owners backing Dennis Allen again, especially after the two disappointing seasons that preceded this year. I think Mike McCarthy’s future in Dallas is a fait accompli at this point. The Cowboys have been far too uneven, and the roster isn’t nearly as deep as it has been in the past, for this team to be a serious contender later in the season. Missing the playoffs would end McCarthy’s five-year career and potentially open the door for Belichick to join the circus.


Would Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy be fired if his team misses the playoffs in 2024? (Kelley L Cox / image)

Sando: I expect all three places to change in the off season. In the short term, I think Dallas and New Orleans are least likely to change during the season. These franchises have a longer-term vision.

We’ll get a chance to see more of Amari Cooper (Bills vs. Dolphins on Sunday) and DeAndre Hopkins (Chiefs vs. Bucs on Monday). Diontae Johnson’s Ravens debut could come this week against the Broncos. Which of these three wide receiver trades are you most confident moving forward?

How: I want to say Cooper because he has already experienced a midseason trade, and that experience should pay off when it comes to learning a new playbook. But having said that, I can’t think about it. Hopkins has had the best career of the three and he finds himself in the best offensive situation. Additionally, Hopkins may only need to catch three or four passes per game to be effective.

Beetle: Jeff is right. Something tells me Hopkins will make a crucial catch late in a playoff win for Kansas City in the coming months. He is one of the best of his generation and doesn’t even have to be remotely open and still find a way to catch the ball. But I loved what the Bills did in adding Cooper to their young receiving unit; this team will need all the firepower they can get against Baltimore or Kansas City in the playoffs. He will also help Keon Coleman continue to develop.

Sando: Hopkins, with Cooper right behind him, and then Johnson. Hopkins seems like a good match for Mahones in the scramble drill. I think he can complement Travis Kelce in such situations and expect this to shine through in critical moments.

Given a choppy NFC West race this year, should the Rams (at Seahawks) stick with Cooper Kupp?

How: The only reason to trade Kupp, without receiving a significant return, would be if the Rams believed Matthew Stafford would retire this season — or Kupp, for that matter. I certainly understand other points, like an aging receiver having more injuries lately, but the Rams are still in the NFC. Executives and coaches around the league still hold Sean McVay in the highest regard, so they have a chance to hang with anyone if they can reach the playoffs. Are they a realistic Super Bowl threat? Probably not. But why remove Kupp from the equation if they think he still has a few years left?

Beetle: This division is currently wide open, with the Rams only half a game back. And if they beat the Seahawks on Sunday, there’s no way I’m trading Cooper Kupp. McVay will make up the offense if Kupp is healthy again – and if that offensive line holds up. First-year coordinator Chris Shula has the defense playing much better than it did in the first month of the season. With Seattle and San Francisco both looking vulnerable and Arizona as unpredictable as it has been, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams make a run late in the season with Kupp at center.

Sando: I would support the Rams getting value for Kupp because of his durability issues and because of his contract. Those are also the reasons why I don’t expect teams to line up to acquire him. I think he’ll stay with the Rams.


The Los Angeles Rams have shot down the Cooper Kupp (10) trade rumors as Tuesday’s deadline approaches. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

Colts-Vikings takes center stage on Sunday evening. Is Anthony Richardson’s benching justified?

How: There’s no argument that Richardson’s performance has declined this season, but that’s a small piece of a much larger puzzle. Richardson will not improve from the bench. He needs experience. If he doesn’t play again this season, he’ll enter 2025 with 23 NFL players and start college in five seasons. It seems like the Trey Lance conversation is starting again. If you don’t give a raw, young QB a chance to gain the experience he so desperately needs, you’ll likely never get the return on your investment.

go deeper

GO DEEPER

‘It’s so short-sighted’: NFL executives debate Colts benching Anthony Richardson

Beetle: That question is still alive here in Indianapolis. I think it was. The Colts have made it clear they are not giving up on Richardson, so this is a reset: This team wants him to earn the starting job back. His prodigious athletic talents were enough to get him where he is today — the fourth pick in the draft after just thirteen college starts and a dismal completion percentage at Florida — but they’re not enough to keep the job. He needs to catch up in every other area: preparation, leadership, performance. I wrote earlier this season that Richardson needed to become more than a standout. So far he hasn’t done that. And this benching, as humiliating as it seems right now, will reveal whether Richardson is truly the Colts’ QB moving forward.

Sando: Yes, it is clear that Richardson is not ready to play and he is not making any progress. The tap-out turned out a complete lack of understanding of his role in the team. Here’s where my thoughts went: Think of how many other ways this lack of understanding has surely manifested itself behind the scenes. The decision to bench him tells me that the situation was untenable for the coaching staff.

(Top photo by Anthony Richardson: Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

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