NFL Week 9 winners and losers: Saquon Barkley stars, Dak Prescott exits early originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The calendar has flipped to November and it's time for NFL teams to get serious.

With the season now halfway over, time is of the essence as teams look to position themselves for the playoffs. That scramble continued into Week 9, with several playoff contenders suffering painful losses.

Here are all the winners and losers from Sunday's games:

WINNER: Buffalo still owns Miami

It took a 61-yard field goal from Tyler Bass with five seconds left, but the Buffalo Bills are still the owners of the Miami Dolphins.

The Bills have now won a total of six straight times against the Dolphins, plus nine straight at Orchard Park. The Dolphins needed this to compete in the AFC, as they now fall to 2-6 and still have a lot of work to do to make the postseason. Miami's offense continued to look solid after Tua Tagovailoa returned to action in his second game back from a concussion, but was unable to hold its own defensively.

Meanwhile, Josh Allen continues to build his case for MVP. The Bills quarterback had 235 yards and three touchdowns as his team improved to 7-2.

LOSER: Dak Prescott

The Dallas Cowboys have lost another game – and their quarterback.

Dak Prescott left with a hamstring injury and did not return in the 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, while Cooper Rush finished the game for Dallas. But even before the injury, Prescott wasn't helping the Cowboys much. He completed 18 of 24 for 133 yards.

Atlanta, on the other hand, is now 6-3 and has a firm grip on the NFC South. Kirk Cousins ​​was solid again with 222 yards and three touchdowns.

WINNER: Jayden Daniels moves on

The Washington Commanders can't stop winning.

Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels helped the team to another win, their seventh of the season, in a road game against the New York Giants. In the end it was a narrow 27:22 victory, but Daniels once again showed an outstanding performance. The LSU product went 15 of 22 for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

The Giants now have the opposite record of the Commanders at 2-7. After falling behind 21-7 at halftime, Daniel Jones turned things around in the second half, but it still wasn't enough. He finished with 174 passing yards and two touchdowns after totaling 0 passing yards in the first two quarters.

LOSER: Jameis Winston's Magic

Last week it looked like Jameis Winston had transformed the Cleveland Browns. This week it was reality again.

The former No. 1 overall pick had three interceptions in Sunday's 27-10 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. It's unlikely the Browns, now 2-7, will make another Cinderella postseason run like they did with Joe Flacco last year.

On the other hand, the Chargers are 5-3 and continue to improve offensively. Justin Herbert had 282 yards and two touchdowns, marking the team's first total of four touchdowns all season.

WINNER: Bengals at home

It took almost two months, but in 2024, the Cincinnati Bengals finally got a home win.

Joe Burrow's team won an easy 41:24 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders after five touchdown passes from their QB. After falling behind 7-0 in the opening minutes, the Bengals closed the game on a 41-17 run to secure the win and improve to 4-5. It's been a season full of disappointments for Cincinnati, but the team is still alive in the open AFC wild card chase.

For the Raiders, they are now 2-7 as the season begins to wind down. Antonio Pierce's team has lost five games in a row after a 2-2 start – and the quarterback situation remains a problem. They made several changes from Gardner Minshew to Aidan O'Connell – and Desmond Ridder even had a lot to offer on Sunday. Until this is resolved, such results will continue to occur.

LOSER: The Broncos defense can't hang

The Denver Broncos defense entered Week 9 as one of the top five units in points scored (third), total yards allowed (third) and passing yards allowed (fourth). That all fell apart in Baltimore as the Ravens put together a dominant performance.

The Ravens won easily, 41-10, in a game that quickly spiraled out of control. The score was 17-10, with Baltimore taking the lead late in the first half before an intercepted play gave Zay Flowers a 53-yard score in the final minute. The rout continued from that point on, with the Ravens winning in the second half.

Lamar Jackson had 280 yards and three touchdowns, while Derrick Henry added 106 yards and two scores on the ground. Bo Nix came back down to earth for the Broncos, completing 19 of 33 yards for 223 yards and an interception – although he did have an impressive touchdown catch.

WINNER: Cardinals move over .500, atop NFC West

The Cardinals maintained their lead atop the NFC West with a strong 29-9 victory over the Chicago Bears, securing their third straight victory.

Kyler Murray was mostly a spectator, completing just 13 of 24 passes for 154 yards. The touchdowns came on the ground, with Emeri Demercado, Trey Benson and tight end Trey McBride all rushing home. James Conner had 107 rushing yards but no scores.

Caleb Williams didn't get much going, completing 22 of 41 passes for 216 yards, no touchdowns and no picks, while D'Andre Swift managed just 51 yards on 3.2 per carry (16 attempts).

LOSER: Jordan Love struggles with inconsistency

The Lions got to 7-1 after a quiet game from Jared Goff and another double performance from David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

But the Packers fell to 6-3 in another game marred by the inconsistency of star quarterback Jordan Love, who completed 23 of 38 passes for 273 yards, no touchdowns and one pick returned for a touchdown.

If the Packers want to take the next step, they need improved all-around performances from their key players, and that starts with Love. Disciplinary issues have also hurt the team, but they have time to think with a bye coming up.

WINNER: Saquon Barkley drives the Eagles forward

Unsurprisingly, Barkley continued to dominate in Philadelphia colors as the Eagles defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-23.

Barkley recorded 159 rushing yards and a score on 27 carries and 40 receiving yards and a score on three catches. As for highlights, Barkley made the rounds on social media with a 180-degree reverse hurdles.

The Eagles moved to 6-2 despite a shaky second half in which Jacksonville outscored them 22-12. But the Jaguars simply couldn't generate a rush, while Trevor Lawrence continued to struggle, completing just 16 of 31 passes for 169 yards, no touchdowns and two picks, dropping the team to 2-7.

WINNER: Demarcus Robinson of the Rams hits a one-handed throw in OT

It was originally supposed to be a losers' bracket for Seattle, as a 13-3 first-half lead was squandered by Geno Smith's three picks, but Demarcus Robinson deserves the nod.

Robinson made the game-winning touchdown catch for the Los Angeles Rams, who won 26-20 in Seattle and moved into second place in the NFC West ahead of the San Francisco 49ers, who are currently on a bye.

Like the Cardinals, the Rams are on a three-game winning streak as the division remains tight. Seattle used to be first, but has lost two in a row and is now last.