The San Francisco 49ers moved to 7-1 on Sunday and were joined at the top of the NFL standings by the Buffalo Bills, who won on Monday, as the regular season reached its halfway point in week nine.
Buffalo beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-6. The Bills defense shone while Minnesota's offense struggled again. The Vikings were booed by their own fans, and veteran quarterback Carson Wentz, starting in place of the injured Kyler Murray, was benched in the final quarter after completing only eight of his 25 passes. Minnesota, now 6-2, fell from first to third in the NFC North, where all four teams have at least six wins.
The Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos both improved to 7-2 heading into their bye weeks. Chicago led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14-0 before quarterback Caleb Williams threw a career-high four interceptions and the Bucs drew level with three minutes left. Cairo Santos then kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bears a 27-24 win and a fourth straight victory.
Denver won 26-21 at the Carolina Panthers, scoring two touchdowns in the final quarter and sacking Bryce Young with just over a minute left. It was the Broncos' fifth straight win and their 16th straight win in one-score games in the regular season, a new NFL record.
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-17 at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, the seventh of a record nine international games this season, to go 6-2. Joe Burrow completed 24 of his 29 passes for 271 yards and played a part in four touchdowns. Ja'Marr Chase had a season-high 155 receiving yards. The Bengals are joint-top of the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers, whom they face next Sunday.
In New England, four-time Super Bowl winner Rob Gronkowski was inducted into the Patriots' hall of fame, and his former team-mate Tom Brady returned to Gillette Stadium for the first time in his broadcasting career. The Green Bay Packers spoiled the occasion with a 45-27 win. Quarterback Jordan Love had 372 passing yards, three touchdown passes and a touchdown run. It was the most points the Patriots had allowed at home since 1970.
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the New York Jets 35-12. Patrick Mahomes brushed off an injury scare, and he and Travis Kelce passed Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates (9,352) to reach 9,360 passing yards as a quarterback-tight end duo, the most all-time. Brady and Gronkowski are third with 9,186.
The Los Angeles Rams beat the Washington Commanders 20-13, with Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald playing together for the first time. Garrett had three sacks and forced a fumble. The 49ers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 38-17, and defending champions Seattle beat the Arizona Cardinals 17-3.
Source: BBC
