Christian McCaffrey gazes before a zombie battlefield. Tyler Shough seeks out the monster terrorizing the townspeople. Is that a Los Angeles Ram or a Xenomorph?<\/p>\n
The NFL earns its \u201cwitching hour\u201d this weekend. Friday is Halloween, Saturday is All Saints\u2019 Day (a toast to Deuce McAllister) and Sunday takes us home with a dozen games across three broadcast windows. Our annual Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen clash is the centerpiece, but there\u2019s a lot of goodness spread around Week 9. This Sunday\u2019s top five sorts the games by spookiness and horror movie comparisons. Gothic spirits congregate as John Carpenter tosses the crimson challenge flag.<\/p>\n
Week 9 Sunday viewing guide<\/p>\n
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub<\/a>.<\/p>\n GameTime (ET)TVStreaming<\/p>\n Bears at Bengals<\/p>\n 1 p.m.<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n 49ers at Giants<\/p>\n 1 p.m.<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n Broncos at Texans<\/p>\n 1 p.m.<\/p>\n Fox<\/p>\n Saints at Rams<\/p>\n 4:05 p.m.<\/p>\n Fox<\/p>\n Chiefs at Bills<\/p>\n 4:25 p.m.<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n In-market CBS and Fox games are free over the air.<\/p>\n 5. Chicago Bears (4-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-5)<\/p>\n Halloween vibes: The Bengals\u2019 home jerseys We start with a straightforward one. The Bengals rock black and orange<\/a> uniforms, so it would be malpractice to leave them off. They deserve to be home for every Hallo-weekend. The franchise is haunted as is.<\/p>\n Ja\u2019Marr Chase hits Week 9 with the second-most receiving yards in the league, even without Joe Burrow throwing him the ball for most of the season. Chase\u2019s 99 targets tops all receivers by a considerable gap. And per NFL Media, his 38 catches in the last three weeks tie a Michael Thomas 2018 stretch for most in a three-game span. Yet Chase\u2019s team remains in an endless loop of psychic despair, one that could be called by Rod Serling instead of Spero Dedes.<\/p>\n Within Soldier Field\u2019s limestone colosseum, Caleb Williams has looked sharp \u2014 five touchdowns to one interception, 99.5 passer rating, just three sacks in three games. On the road, however, Henry Jekyll becomes Edward Hyde \u2014 four TDs to three INTs, 84.0 passer rating and nine sacks across four games. Now is an opportune time to snap the spell. Through eight weeks, Cincinnati\u2019s defense is last in points and yards allowed. The Bengals are the house at the end of the block with an unattended candy cauldron. They don\u2019t even bother to write \u201cplease take one,\u201d not after giving up 39 (!) points to the New York Jets (!!). Williams and the Bears should fill their pillowcases Sunday. Anything less has frightful implications.<\/p>\n 4. San Francisco 49ers (5-3) at New York Giants (2-6)<\/p>\n Halloween vibes: The walking wounded on both sides The hosts have been hurting. First it was Malik Nabers\u2019 deflating ACL tear in late September. Then Cam Skattebo suffered a fibula fracture, deltoid ligament rupture and ankle dislocation last Sunday<\/a>. Now, three starters in the secondary are banged up. Both Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland have knee trouble, while Cor\u2019Dale Flott recovers from a concussion. It\u2019s a tough look for Jaxson Dart\u2019s Giants, who are fitfully warding off new ghosts \u2014 the historic collapse to the Denver Broncos in Week 7, then a Saquon Barkley revenge beatdown in Week 8. On pace for their eighth losing season in nine years, Big Blue will draw non-Halloween boos from the Meadowlands.<\/p>\n The visitors are even more shorthanded, though. The Niners\u2019 injury misfortune is an annual tradition by now, but the 2025 run is getting especially gnarly. Already down two All-Pro defenders in Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, San Francisco\u2019s latest round of \u201cquestionable\u201d tags land on QB Brock Purdy (toe), WR Ricky Pearsall (knee), LB Dee Winters (knee), DE Bryce Huff (hamstring) and C Jake Brendel (hamstring). McCaffrey is poised for a big game against a shoddy opponent, but there are strong zombie vibes along both sidelines. Brian Daboll has incantations to practice, and Kyle Shanahan\u2019s amulet should be stuffed with garlic cloves.<\/p>\n 3. New Orleans Saints (1-7) at Los Angeles Rams (5-2)<\/p>\n Halloween vibes: Fresh-faced protagonist facing a monster pass rush Here\u2019s a timeless horror trope, with the fresh-faced protagonist (Shough) up against the nightmare-fuel brute (L.A.\u2019s excellent defense). TruMedia notes that since 2000, the Saints are 0-7 with rookie quarterbacks starting under center. New Orleans is a two-touchdown underdog at SoFi Stadium, and debut QBs have just three wins in 26 tries against double-digit spreads. The only one to pull off a 14-point upset was Joe Webb with the 2010 Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n The Saints are helpless right now, looking like small-town teenagers as written by Wes Craven. The Rams are surging, entering Week 9 at No. 3 in scoring defense and No. 2 in sacks. Linebacker Byron Young has nine of those sacks. Edge menace Jared Verse has four. They\u2019re tied for the second-most quarterback hits in the league with 17 apiece. If the Saints fall behind early and are forced into long passing downs, we\u2019ll see a Freddy Krueger grin from defensive coordinator Chris Shula.<\/p>\n 2. Denver Broncos (6-2) at Houston Texans (3-4)<\/p>\n Halloween vibes: Two slasher defenses In which Leatherface links up with Toro, the skydiving bull and 2025 Mascot Hall of Fame inductee<\/a>. Houston\u2019s offense has let down its fans the way celery sticks depress sugar-rushing trick-or-treaters. But the Texans\u2019 chainsaw defense leads the NFL in points and yards allowed per game, buoying what would otherwise be a total disaster. That group has forced eight turnovers in its last three outings, including an impressive road four-piece versus the Seattle Seahawks. From Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter up front to Jalen Pitre and Derek Stingley Jr. in the secondary, the Houston D is capital-s \u201cScary.\u201d<\/p>\n So is the Denver defense, which has cruised to the league lead in sacks. The Broncos started this week at No. 2 in net yards allowed per pass attempt. A suffocating secondary with world-class pass rush makes for a tower of terror. Like C.J. Stroud, Bo Nix is a bit behind his rookie-year pace \u2014 he\u2019s dipped in completion percentage, yards per dropback and on-target rate. Unlike Stroud, he\u2019s stepping up in crunch time and gutting out wins, with three fourth-quarter comebacks in six wins. Both passers get their own final-boss battle come Sunday.<\/p>\n 1. Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) at Buffalo Bills (5-2)<\/p>\n Halloween vibes: An eternal, supernatural cycle This is an all-time excellent series demarcated by all-time bonkers moments. There\u2019s \u201c13 Seconds<\/a>\u201d from the playoff meeting during the 2021 season, which has an argument for greatest football game of the 21st century. There\u2019s Dawson Knox\u2019s winning touchdown<\/a> in 2022, and Travis Kelce\u2019s negated lateral<\/a> in 2023. How about Wide Right II: Even Wider<\/a> one month after that, in the divisional round of the playoffs? Or Allen\u2019s fourth-down coronation<\/a> last fall? These two beasts last shared the screen in January\u2019s AFC Championship Game, which the Chiefs eked out 32-29. Orchard Park will be revved up for revenge.<\/p>\n Mahomes has the inside track for his third MVP award. In winning five of its last six games, Kansas City has clawed back from the grave and struck fear through the rest of the sport. The Chiefs still need to keep pace with the Broncos, who lead their division by a full game, as well as the emboldened Los Angeles Chargers.<\/p>\n For Buffalo, the incumbent MVP is a singular force without precedent. With one more keeper across the goal line, Allen would become just the fourth player ever to notch at least six rushing TDs in his first eight seasons. The other three are Hall of Famers (Jim Brown, Marshall Faulk and LaDainian Tomlinson). And yes, they\u2019re all running backs.<\/p>\n This is the NFL\u2019s science-fiction pairing, a tentpole blockbuster of terrors and wonders. It\u2019s Chiefs-Bills week, a holiday of its own.<\/p>\n Updated Week 9 odds<\/p>\n Streaming and ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Christian McCaffrey gazes before a zombie battlefield. Tyler Shough seeks out the monster terrorizing the townspeople. 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Horror film comp: \u201cDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde\u201d<\/p>\n
Horror film comp: \u201cResident Evil\u201d<\/p>\n
Horror film comp: \u201cNightmare on Elm Street\u201d<\/p>\n
Horror film comp: \u201cTexans [sic] Chainsaw Massacre\u201d<\/p>\n
Horror film comp: \u201cAlien vs. Predator\u201d<\/p>\n