USFFL Season 21 – Week 9

Week 9 is in the books. It was definitely an interesting week in the USFFL. In reviewing the scores, it is interesting to see the point differential breakout for the week:

Point Differential1 to 34 to 78 to 1415+
Totals1346

We are used to USFFL games coming down to the wire, with a last minute field goal separating the winner from the losing team each week. Week 9 saw the exact opposite. there was only one game where the teams were separated by a field goal or less: Houston 32 – Jacksonville 30. On the other hand 10 games were separated by more than a touchdown, including Green Bay’s 34 point margin of victory, and the LA Chargers +33.

Week 9 Standings

The Division leaders are tied or within 1 game in the AFC East, North, South, and the NFC East, South, and West. KC has a 1 1/2 game lead over LA in the AFC West, and the Packers are up 4 in the NFC North.

Game of the Week

Carolina 20 – Kansas City 9 

The Panthers came into Arrowhead with a 4 game losing streak and desperate for a win.  Both teams struggled all game to get any offense going.  KC took the opening kickoff and with Mahomes completing 7 of 8 passes ended up settling for a field goal.  The Panthers could not move the ball until late in first quarter when they put together a 7 play 61 yard drive ended with a Bridgewater 6 yard TD pass to  TE Manhertz.  A blocked extra point resulted in a 6-3 score. The second quarter consisted of Panthers’ drives that ended in 2 punts and an interception and Chiefs drives that ended with 2 punts and downs.  The Panthers went into the locker room at halftime up 6-3.  The second half started very differently than the first half with the Panthers taking the kickoff and going 75 yards in 8 plays culminating in a Bridgewater 18 TD pass to Mike Davis.  The Chiefs responded with a 75 yard drive of their own that ended with a Mahomes 4 yard TD pass to Kelce.  The Panthers blocked the extra point so midway thru the third quarter, the Panthers led 13-9.  The turning point in the game came late in the third quarter.  With the Chiefs driving at the Panthers 30 yard line, Mahomes fumbled the snap and the Panthers recovered.  Taking advantage of a this miscue, Bridgewater marched the Panthers down the field and on the last play of the third quarter, extended the Panthers lead to 20-9 with a 31 yard pass to DJ Moore.  Things got dicey for the Panthers at the 9 minute mark of the 4th quarter when Bridgewater limped off the field.  Walker came onto bringing with him a high interception rate.  Knowing more points were probably not coming, the Panthers were going to need to hold on with their D for the rest of the game.  The Chiefs punted on their next 2 possessions and late in the fourth quarter, the game effectively ended when Mahomes threw an interception in the Panthers endzone.   Bridgwater was 28-39 for 252 including 3 TDs and one interception.  Mahomes was 36-57 for 353 yards with 1 TD and one interception.  Neither team established a running game.   The dice were clearly in the Panthers favor in this one.  Plenty of 2’s, 3’s and 12’s in critical times of the game.  The Chiefs and Coach Tim were not as fortunate as time after time they could not get a good roll when they needed it.  I enjoyed our game Tim!  Panthers host the Bucs next week while Chiefs have a bye as they get ready for a divisional match up against the Raiders in 2 weeks.

Top Performers

Quarterback – Justin Herbert 22 for 29, 310 yards 3 TD no Int

Receiver – Diontae Johnson 11 Receptions, 108 yards and 3 TDs

Running Back – David Montgomery 16 carries 130 yards, 1TD

Week 10 Lookahead

The USFFL has some great games on the slate for week 10, including Indianapolis at Tennessee (separated by 1 game at the top of the AFC South), Seattle at Los Angeles (Battle for the NFC West), Baltimore at New England (AFC East and AFC North leaders), and Philadelphia at NY Giants (Battle for NFC East).