Chris Berman and Tom Jackson analyze the Chiefs' victory against the Vikings and what Matt Moore needs to do for the team. (1:07)

The Bears dropped another game as the offense struggled to get going, the Dolphins got in the win column, and Buffalo moved to 6-2. In the afternoon, Green Bay was stunned by the Chargers, and Cleveland continued its disappointing season with another loss. Meanwhile, the Chiefs got a big victory without quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Steelers inched by the Colts to get back to .500 on the season, and the Cowboys' luck turned after a black cat ran on the field.

All that and more in Week 9's biggest takeaways from NFL Nation.

Jump to a matchup:

DAL-NYG

NE-BAL | MIN-KC | CHI-PHI | IND-PIT

TEN-CAR | WSH-BUF | NYJ-MIA

TB-SEA | DET-OAK | GB-LAC

CLE-DEN | JAX-HOU | SF-ARI

The Cowboys' win was hardly a thing of beauty, but it was greatly needed. A loss to the Giants would have been the Cowboys' second crushing loss at MetLife Stadium in a month and would've potentially changed the scope of their season. Dak Prescott threw touchdown passes of 42, 15 and 45 yards after seeing his first pass of the night intercepted. Ezekiel Elliott went for more than 100 yards for the third straight game. The defense allowed one touchdown for the second straight game. At 5-3, the Cowboys have a monster meeting Sunday against the 6-3 Vikings. -- Todd Archer

Next game: vs. Minnesota (8:20 p.m. ET Sunday)

It's getting ugly early for the Giants just past the midway point of the season. Make it five straight losses after Daniel Jones had three more turnovers Monday night. The state of the franchise is as such: The Giants (2-7) haven't won since late September, and they have the most losses (31) by any team since the start of the 2017 season. Their struggles set up perhaps the strangest of key matchups for coach Pat Shurmur and the Giants when they meet the rival Jets on Sunday. A loss would send the Giants into their bye week with six straight losses and questions about the state of the franchise. Who knows how ownership would handle such an embarrassment. -- Jordan Raanan

Next game: at New York Jets (1 p.m. ET Sunday)

What's up with the Patriots' run defense? For all the talk about the dominance of the Patriots' defense through the first half of the season, it has been gashed on the ground for two straight weeks. Last Sunday against the Browns, the Pats got a bit of a pass because of the rainy conditions, which created an additional challenge with fundamentals and tackling. But their first-half play against the run versus Baltimore -- albeit with a dynamic quarterback in Lamar Jackson -- was well below their acceptable standard. They allowed 155 rushing yards in the first half. They will need to be better going forward as the level of competition remains high after their Week 10 bye. -- Mike Reiss

Next game: at Philadelphia (4:25 p.m. ET, Nov. 17)

Jackson delivered the most monumental victory of his career, and the Ravens can stake their claim to being the AFC's best team. The Ravens QB ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, which caused the sellout crowd at M&T Bank Stadium to serenade him with chants of "MVP" in the final minutes of the game. Sidestepping and slashing past a defense that stacked the box, he finished with 224 yards of total offense, throwing for 163 yards and rushing for 61. Baltimore not only showed it belongs in the same class as New England, but the Ravens are threatening the Patriots' hold on the AFC's top seed at the midway point of the season. The Ravens (6-2) are 1.5 games back of the Patriots for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. -- Jamison Hensley

Next game: at Cincinnati (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)

The Chiefs might eventually look back at Sunday's win as the one that allowed them to reach their goals. From this vantage point, this victory looks like it saved their season. The Chiefs raised their record to 6-3 just as it appears they will get reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes back in their lineup for next week's game against the Titans. -- Adam Teicher

Next game: at Tennessee (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)

Kirk Cousins completed 50% of his passes and had a career-high 12 overthrows, but the Vikings' loss doesn't rest entirely on the QB's shoulders. "I don't think we helped him a lot today," coach Mike Zimmer said. Three flags in the third quarter -- all on the Vikings' offensive line -- killed drives and resulted in a 16-point swing for Kansas City upon getting the ball back. Cousins was 0-for-9 when passing under duress, according to ESPN Stats & Information, the worst mark of his career. And he's now 0-10-1 when trailing in the fourth quarter. Up next for the Vikings are the Cowboys, key for two teams in the playoff hunt. -- Courtney Cronin

Next game: at Dallas (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday)

Fueled by their success on the ground, the Eagles responded to consecutive blowout losses with back-to-back wins. Eagles running back Jordan Howard made a statement against his former team on Sunday, rushing for 82 yards and a touchdown. Now the Eagles (5-4) have home games against the Patriots and Seahawks coming out of the bye, but their finishing schedule is favorable after that. It's a two-horse race between the Eagles and the Cowboys (4-3) for the NFC East crown, and Philly plays four of its next six games at home, including a Week 16 game against Dallas. -- Tim McManus

Next game: vs. New England (4:25 p.m. ET, Nov. 17)