Week eight in the National Football League was the week of the backup quarterback. Cooper Rush, Trevor Siemian and Mike White all led their teams to victories in games where many people gave them no chance. They showed the league that on any given Sunday, anything can happen. Let’s take a look at the action.
Without his top wideout in Davante Adams, Aaron Rodgers went into State Farm Stadium against an undefeated Cardinals team and reminded everyone to never count him out. In a game where the Pack was six point underdogs, Rodgers connected with his old friend Randall Cobb for his two touchdown passes of the evening and threw for 184 yards. Running back Aaron Jones had himself a day on the ground, totaling 110 total yards and a touchdown. Arizona picked up their first loss of the season, and Kyler Murray threw two interceptions, one being the final play of the game. Green Bay clinched the victory in the dying seconds on a miscommunication where AJ Green didn’t even look for the ball, allowing the Packers to snag an easy game winning interception.
With number two overall pick Zach Wilson injured, Mike White delivered one of the greatest performances ever witnessed by a rookie quarterback in his first game. In fact, only White and Cam Newton have thrown for 400 yards or more in their first game. Going up against the number one seed in the AFC is no easy task for a rookie, but White delivered. The Bengals had a double digit lead with five minutes left, and this season, teams trailing in that situation were 0-59. The Jets made it 1-59. White added three touchdowns to his 400 yards, and the Jets defense made some huge plays late in the game against the Bengals. The Jets are third in the AFC East and Cincinnati loses the top spot in the AFC North to the Ravens, who they beat last week.
Tennessee escaped Indianapolis with a gritty overtime win, but lost their star running back Derrick Henry for most likely the remainder of the season. Ryan Tannehill threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns, and his favorite target AJ Brown had himself a day. Brown caught 10 of 11 targets for 155 yards and a score. Michael Pittman had a great day for the Colts, scoring two touchdowns, but ultimately the Colts’ effort was short in the end. The Titans extend their division lead to three games in the AFC South.
The Eagles finally gave their running backs goal line opportunities in a game against the Lions where they led from start to finish. Jalen Hurts was held quiet only because of the game script in a 30 plus point game, but Jordan Howard and Boston Scott both ran for two touchdowns. Scott ran for 60 yards, while Howard totaled 57. Detroit remains hopeless, and are still the only winless team in the league. Jared Goff was sacked five times, Deandre Swift wasn’t able to get much going, and the offense stalled. The Eagles take sole possession of second place in the NFC East behind Dallas.
Atlanta lost star receiver Calvin Ridley for an unknown period of time as the receiver is taking time away from the game to focus on his mental health. Matt Ryan struggled without one of his top weapons, and only managed 146 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The lone scorer for Atlanta was Cordarrelle Patterson. For Carolina, the offense revolved around the running game as Sam Darnold exited the game with a concussion. Chuba Hubbard led the rushing attack with 82 yards and a six yard touchdown rush.
With the Cardinals losing to the Packers on Thursday night, the Rams were happy to travel to Houston to face a less-than exciting Texans team. Matt Stafford and Cooper Kupp continue to shine, and Kupp is currently on pace to break the receiving yards record held by Calvin Johnson, who also played with Stafford, at 1,964 yards. Stafford threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns, and Darrell Henderson added one score of his own on the ground. The Rams are now tied with the Cardinals at 6-1, but the Cardinals retain the top spot by virtue of their win over LA.
The Browns, who entered the season with fairly lofty expectations, have not been all that impressive to start the season. Pittsburgh came to town Sunday and handled business, led by the trio of Ben Roethlisberger, Najee Harris and Diontae Johnson. Roethlisberger threw for 266 yards and a score, Harris ran for 91 yards and a score and Johnson had six catches for 98 yards. Pat Freiermuth, the rookie tight end from Penn State, made a juggling catch for a two yard touchdown that gave the steelers the lead for good. Pittsburgh moves to third in the AFC North at 4-3, while Cleveland sits at the bottom of the division at 4-4.
It was a good one in Chicago, as the Bears and 49ers went back and forth. For Chicago, Justin Fields finally put together a good performance, with two total touchdowns and 278 total yards, completing 19 of 27 passes. His 84.6 passer rating is one of his better performances this season, and Bears fans should be optimistic moving forward. For San Francisco, Deebo Samuel continues to be a problem for opposing defenses. Samuel has had three games of 150 or more yards, the most in the NFL, and is the fourth highest graded receiver according to Pro Football Focus at 86.1. Elijah Mitchell took advantage of a Bears run defense that lacked Khalil Mack, and ran for 137 yards and a touchdown. San Francisco won, but looks up at Arizona and Los Angeles in the standings.
The Dolphins and Bills gave fans a Scorigami in week eight, being the first game to ever end with a score of 26-11. The first half started slow for both teams, as the game was 3-3 at halftime. From that point on, the Bills offense found their groove. Josh Allen threw for 249 yards and three total touchdowns, and connected with Stefon Diggs for a 19 yard touchdown. Allen finished the game with a passer rating of 100.2. Cole Beasley led the Bills receiving corps with 10 catches and 110 yards. Buffalo extends their division lead in the AFC East and sits at 5-2.
This game was all Seahawks. In Geno Smith’s likely last game before starting quarterback Russell Wilson returns from injured reserve, Smith had himself a day, with two touchdowns, 195 yards on 20 of 24 attempts and a passer rating of 128.3, just 30 points shy of a perfect rating. Tyler Lockett caught 12 passes for 142 yards, but it was DK Metcalf who did the scoring with two touchdowns on six catches for 43 yards. The only score for the Jaguars was a touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Jamal Agnew. Jacksonville has failed to put much of anything around their number one overall pick, and it might be time for Urban Meyer to consider if he is in over his head at the NFL level.
The Patriots and Chargers delivered one of the most exciting games of the week eight slate. The Patriots went into SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and were able to keep a potent offense led by Justin Herbert and Austin Ekeler under wraps. Mac Jones led New England with 218 yards passing, but it was Damien Harris and the Patriots defense who scored touchdowns for New England. The rest of their points came off the leg of Nick Folk, who made all four of his field goal attempts and made his only extra point attempt. For LA, Justin Herbert had 223 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and Austin Ekeler had 124 total yards and a rushing touchdown. The Chargers are currently standing at 4-3 while New England is 4-4.
In a low scoring defensive battle, the Broncos managed to defend home field at Mile High stadium thanks to a seven yard touchdown rush from Melvin Gordon that clinched the win with four minutes left in the game. The Broncos defense intercepted Taylor Heinicke twice and sacked him five times. Teddy Bridgewater threw a touchdown pass to Melvin Gordon in the second quarter, and totaled 213 yards on 19 of 26 attempts. Unfortunately for Denver, they traded a foundational piece of the franchise, Von Miller, to the Rams prior to the trade deadline. Miller will always be remembered for his performance in Denver in Super Bowl 50.
After Jameis Winston left the game with a torn ACL, Trevor Siemian was able to come into the game and defeat the GOAT, Tom Brady. Winston and Siemian both threw for a touchdown, and Siemian totaled 159 yards passing. Alvin Kamara ran for 61 yards and a touchdown of his own. For Tampa, Tom Brady threw for 375 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. Mike Evans caught a touchdown, but it was Chris Godwin who was Brady’s favorite target on the day, catching eight of 12 targets for 140 yards and a touchdown. The Buccaneers may have lost, but remain atop the NFC South at 6-2, with New Orleans right behind them at 5-2.
Sunday Night Football saw Dak Prescott out at quarterback for the Cowboys, but Cooper Rush had no problem putting points on the board, delivering the game winning touchdown pass to Amari Cooper late in the fourth quarter. Rush had 325 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb both went over 110 yards receiving. In the huddle prior to the game winning play, Lamb asked Cooper, “Hey, you wanna let me get this one?” Cooper answered, “Hell nah,” and went on to catch the game winner. Dallas has the NFC East on lock as they move to 6-1, and have won six straight games following the week one loss to Tampa Bay.
The Kansas City Chiefs are officially on the hot seat. Patrick Mahomes now leads the NFL in interceptions thrown, and although they were able to defend their home field on Monday night, the win wasn’t overly impressive. The Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl in back to back seasons, but they currently look like they may struggle to win their division. Daniel Jones and the Giants played a close game against the Chiefs, but KC was able to secure the win on two Harrison Butker field goals in the fourth quarter. Tyreek Hill was the main focal point in the Chiefs offense, commanding 18 targets for 12 catches, 94 yards and a touchdown. Kansas City has some serious work to do as both the Chargers and Raiders sit above them in the AFC West.
Teams on Bye: Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders
All stats courtesy of Bleacher Report and Pro Football Focus.
