NFL Week 9 2023: 3 teams on upset alert this Sunday

The 2023 NFL season is on the verge of reaching the halfway point. A week ago, the league saw its share of surprises, perhaps no bigger than the Denver Broncos ending a 16-game losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs with a stunning 24-9 victory.

Here are three favored clubs, one that will have an interim head coach on Sunday, that have to be wary of being bitten by the upset bug this weekend.

Indianapolis Colts (at Panthers)

This was a team that was coming off a miserable 4-12-1 showing in 2022 and dropped its final seven games. However, first-time NFL head coach Shane Steichen got the new-look Indianapolis Colts off to a surprising 3-2 start this season.

There was a tough Week 1 loss to the Jaguars and three weeks later an overtime setback to the Los Angeles Rams. In between were victories over the division-rival Texans and Titans, as well as a Week 3 overtime upset of the Ravens at Baltimore.

That was then and this is now.

The Colts have dropped three games in a row. The team has given up 37, 39 and 38 points, respectively, in losses to the Jaguars, Browns and Saints. The latter two games came at home. The defense has gotten steadily worse over this stretch and last Sunday against New Orleans, gave up 511 total yards. In these three setbacks, Gus Bradley’s unit has allowed a dozen offensive touchdowns.

The Carolina Panthers are at home for the second consecutive week. The team comes off a last-second 15-13 victory over the Houston Texans, the first of the season for Frank Reich’s club. The thinking here is that the momentum for that win carries over and Reich takes advantage of a Bradley defense he has familiarity with.